Welcome...

From the sublime to the ridiculous...from obscure to erudite, what facts of fancy do we miss during our daily ritual and wondrous travails? They say knowledge is power, but what we don't know about our world would fill the Sea of Atlas.

WHO am I? I'm simply a senescent student of the world, who at times is amazed by information I think I ought to have learned long ago.

To take a twist on an antiquated, yet oft-quoted phrase: you know not because you ask not.

Visit me here often so you can discover the world with me. If you'd like to add a fact or two (three, four...) to this blog yourself, email me and I'll post the most intriguing ones.

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Imho-who?

Imhotep. You might think he was just the scary mummy dude as portrayed in "The Mummy," movie. Yes and no. Mostly no, though. Imhotep, whose name means, "the one who comes in peace," (the mummy dude was truly evil) was an Egyptian high priest during the 3rd Dynasty. He served as chief architect under King Djoser and built the Step Pyramid. He also practiced healing medicine and is credited with performing the world's first brain surgery. He is considered to be the father of modern medicine having lived thousands of years earlier than the Greek Hippocrates.

In addition, Imhotep was a scribe and astronomer. After his death he was deified by the Greeks and Romans who built temples to his greatness. He was also known as the Prince of Peace.

Tantalizing tidbit: On several internet sites Imhotep is credited with originating the phrase, "eat, drink and be merry. For tomorrow you shall die."

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Voting with Conscience

Voting is mandatory in the western Europen country of Belgium and several other countries around the world. This law is strictly enforced. The law also compels citizen participation at the polls on election day.

Could mandatory voting in the U.S. help to crack-down on those using unscrupulous, if not illegal, tactics like purging voter rolls of eligible voters in order to suppress certain voting constituencies?

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A Dictatorship Is Easier...

With George W. Bush's recent signing of executive orders giving himself authority to seize property of American citizens and/or their spouses and children, as well the continuing warrant-less wiretapping of Americans, citizens are suspicious over Bush's possible nefarious intentions toward the American populace.

Add to that the recent BBC Radio4 report on a little known 1933 plot to seize power from Franklin D. Roosevelt and overthrow the American government. According to BBC Radio4, the plot allegedly involved "famous families in America, (owners of Heinz, Bird's Eye, Goodtea, Maxwell Hse & George Bush's grandfather, Prescott)."

The plot was thwarted when General Smedly Butler testified before a congressional committee.

Tantalizing tidbit: In December 2000 after the hotly-contested presidential race had been decided in Bush's favor he uttered these words while meeting with congressional leaders: "I told all four that there were going to be some times where we don't agree with each other. But that's OK. If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier... just so long as I'm the dictator."

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Dogon It!

Today, there lives in Mali, West Africa an ancient tribe called Dogon. In the 1930's Dogon high priests revealed to two French anthropologists stunning secrets about Sirius, "the brightest star in the night sky."

The Dogon told the two anthropologists of Sirius companion star Sirius B and its elliptical orbit. Apparently, the Dogon have known of the mysterious Sirius B centuries before the invention of the telescope.

The Dogon, with a population numbering 300,000, are thought to be descendants of ancient Egyptians whose famous Step Pyramid keeps Egyptologists in disagreement today about the significance of the Step Pyramid and what possible relationship exists between Sirius, the Pyramid and the Egyptian Goddess, Isis.

Tantalizing tidbit: The Ancient Egyptians thought that souls went 'home' to Sirius. Sirius is also known as the 'dog star' and actually corresponds with Sirius' appearance in the sky during the hottest days of the summer; thus creating the saying, "dog days of summer."

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(Many thanks to Tommy who always
asks questions and to Wouter who
challenges me to seek the answers)