Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) is primarily known as a classical composer of Christian music. It was rare that he strayed from religious themes in his music, but when he did it was for a purpose. One such occasion was when he wrote “Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht” (“Be still, Stop Chattering”), a composition devoted to coffee addiction. Continue reading
A planetary year is defined as the time it takes for that planet to make one complete orbit around the sun. Neptune was discovered on September 23, 1846. In terms of planetary years, it turned one year old on July 12, 2011, when it completed its first full orbit since its discovery. Continue reading
J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis were inseperable friends, but despite that, Tolkien felt the need to put his friend on notice prior to reading one of his newest works: “I warn you, if you bore me, I shall take my revenge.”
In news that is sure to excite college students everywhere, a team of Scottish scientists announced the development of a pizza that is healthy enough to eat at every meal. Continue reading
The Vatican Bank (officially known as the Institute for the Works of Religion) is the only bank in the world that allows the user to select “Latin” as the language of choice.
Dominus providebit — the Lord will provide.
In 2008 19-year-old George Garratt legally changed his name to “Captain Fantastic Faster Than Superman Spiderman Batman Wolverine Hulk And The Flash Combined.” He said he wanted to “be unique.”
Not to be outdone, these guys went a step further a couple of years later.
They still didn’t match the complexity of this fellow, whose given name at birth may have lacked comic book references but surpassed everyone else as measured by mouthfuls.
The next time you are in Denmark and see a traffic sign that says, “Fartkontrol”, don’t be so quick to hold your nose and snicker. It actually is warning you that the speed limit is highly enforced.
