As you can probably tell, I’m really excited about the new web site.  Hopefully now I’ll have more time to come back and post here now that the heavy lifting is done of getting this site off the ground.

Once again, apologies for the recent dearth of content.

The Death Of Harry Houdini

The common idea of Houdini’s death goes that while he was relaxing on a couch backstage before a show, a couple of college kids asked if it was true he could withstand any punch to his torso without pain. Houdini said he was. He was used to being tested on this and started to rise but before Houdini had a chance to prepare himself, they gave him a punch to the gut that had him doubled over and ruptured his appendix. Despite his injury, Houdini hobbled onstage, and proceeded with his water-torture chamber escape attempt. Many people mistakenly believe that Houdini died during the attempt at the escape, due to the ending of the popular Disney movie biography of Harry Houdini’s starring Tony Curtis.

The truth is that Harry Houdini died several days later on Halloween afternoon, October 31, 1926, after doing several more shows, while suffering for days with stomach pains and a high fever. But it is also a misconception to believe that the punches to the gut caused his appendix to burst. Such a blow could not, according to doctors, cause a ruptured appendix, but in fact it would have been a separate problem. Although it probably made the blows to the stomach that much more painful. Houdini had simply been suffering through his illnesses and pain as he was used to. As a matter of fact, at the time, he also was ignoring a broken ankle despite doctors insisting he get treatment.

This has been the official story of Houdini’s death in most biography works to date. However, with a new biography out by Larry Sloman, The Secret Life of Houdini, new mystery and controversy has arisen surrounding not only Houdini’s life but his death as well. Sloman talks about Houdini’s possible career as a spy for Brittan during his travels through Germany and Russia, and sheds some new light on the cloudy life of Harry Houdini. But also, Sloman raises some questions about the death of Harry Houdini.

Was Harry Houdini Murdered?

In his biography, Sloman suggests that in fact, Harry Houdini may have had some enemies, and that his death is not so clear cut as previously thought. There was a lot of bad blood between Houdini and fraudulent spiritualists and mystics, due to Houdini’ driven hobby of exposing the fraudulent seances and other mystic practices that were often played upon the unsuspecting public.

One group in particular, who called themselves ‘The Spiritualists’, whose members included Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, had a grudge against Harry Houdini. Houdini was very outspoken in his opposition to such frauds and would often use his very popular shows as platforms for exposing and debunking various mystics. According to Sloman, Conan Doyle wrote a letter in 1924 claiming that Houdini will get his ‘just deserts’ and would have a ‘payday’ very soon.

One of the mystics, Mina Crandon, who went by the stage name Margery, was very famous at the time, exhibiting amazing effects in some of her seances, and was seemingly on the verge of winning a prize in a contest sponsored by Scientific American magazine when Houdini began a public campaign discrediting her, duplicating some of her tricks on stage, and even publishing a pamphlet describing how some of her performances were done. Houdini took a great interest in particular in discrediting Mrs. Crandon, perhaps due to her extreme claims and wide popularity, and his work in discrediting her is perhaps the most well known example.

Conan Doyle was a huge supporter of Crandon, and publicly clashed with Houdini over this. Conan Doyle believed Houdini had supernatural powers himself that he used to perform his acts, as well as to interfere with other mystics that he was discrediting.

All of this goes toward motive, which was substantial. But there was much that was suspicious regarding the circumstances surrounding Houdini’s death. For example, there is the suspicious coroner’s report that lists Houdini’s appendix as being on his left side, when the appendix is actually on the right side of the body. No autopsy was performed, and his body was buried before his death certificate was even filed. Add to that the fact that Houdini’s wife was simultaneously laid up in the same hospital as he with what was declared food poisoning, and the vehement hatred and threats layered upon Houdini by the Spiritualists and mystics community, and you can begin to see why rumors that Houdini was murdered by the Spiritualists have been around since his death. Within days of his death, some newspaper headlines were already asking, “Was Houdini Murdered?”

Houdini’s Body Escapes the Grave

Well those who have been asking that question for most of a century may soon have new answers to their questions. George Hardeen, Houdini’s great-nephew, and other relatives have recently announced plans to exhume the body of Harry Houdini and see if any evidence can be found of foul play. They hope to find evidence as to whether Houdini was poisoned in retaliation for his dogged exposure and debunking of the spiritualist community. Depending on the results of the testing, a new chapter may soon be added to the biography of Harry Houdini.

Fireworks were created using black powder as a base mixed with other chemicals that burn different colors or create spark effects when ignited. These mixtures are often called pyrotechnic stars. These mixtures are packed tightly in paper tubes and set off with timed fuses. Complex series of paper and cardboard tubes separate different sections in the firework, and precisely cut fuses and other methods allow for exact timing to ignite the sections with the correct timings, so the rocket whizzes into the air for a few seconds before the pyrotechnic stars are ignited and the colorful explosions and sparks are released.

An aerial shell, the most common kind of firework, uses a solid propellant rocket, (again originally created using gunpowder) to shoot into the air where the timed fuses will light the pyrotechnic stars. Modern fireworks can use other kinds of solid propellants and many different chemicals.

The invention of the firecracker, part of the popular fireworks package, was said to have taken place about 1,000 years ago by a monk named Li Tian. Firecrackers were thought to scare off evil spirits with the loud noises they make, and so they began to be used in religious celebrations. Today they are used in all sorts of celebrations from births to weddings to new years celebrations in China.

According to history, Marco Polo is given credit for bringing fireworks to the West in his travels to China in the 13th Century. And of course, the military uses of gunpowder came with them. The Italians were the first Europeans to use black powder to create fireworks for entertainment, as well as for military explosives.

Today fireworks are a popular celebration tool around the world, and of course, on July 4th in the United States, they have been used to commemorate the birth of our country since the very beginning beginning, and many large popular fireworks displays are held around the country every year to mark the celebration.

Fireworks Safety

It is important to remember that fireworks are an explosive, and they require adult supervision and a clear head. I know that children often play with fireworks and it is easy to forget with their colorful lights and wrappers, and small size, that they do explode and they are dangerous. I speak from experience when saying make sure to supervise your kids carefully with fireworks. A childhood accident with firecrackers left me with hearing loss and permanent nerve damage, and that is by no means the worst of the accidents you hear involving fireworks every year. They can be a lot of fun to enjoy, and help us to celebrate happy events, but be careful out there.

So, enjoy celebrating the history of our country and learning about the history of fireworks as well. Happy 4th of July!

Will there come a day, many, many years from now, when ancient broken pieces of current civilizations will be left behind to tantalize and intrigue some future people? Will shattered towers or broken pieces of concrete be left scattered over the earth? Will the broken top of the Statue of Liberty be left littering the shores of a beach somewhere, giving mysterious testament to the past of humankind? Only Charlton Heston knows for sure. But meanwhile, there are plenty of mysterious relics of lost civilizations for us to explore.

Mysteries of Stonehenge

Well, not just Stonehenge. There are ancient megalithic standing stones and stone circles all over sections of Europe. There are a large number of stone circles, standing stone rows, and other megalithic monuments in the UK, France, Italy, and elsewhere. Stonehenge being the most famous, due to the size of the stones, mysterious nature, and the advanced engineering thought to have been needed to place the stones as they stand. Was Stonehenge a burial site? Was it considered a place of mystic power? Was it simply a giant calendar used to mark seasons and times of the year? Given the importance of the seasons, the sun, and the moon to ancient civilizations, its use as an ancient calendar may have been religious and ritualistic as well as being of practical use in marking the seasons.

One of the most fascinating aspects of Stonehenge has always been the question of how it was constructed. Some people have even claimed extra-terrestrial help. Recently, a man named Wally Wallington has demonstrated techniques that he says could have allowed ancient people to build Stonehenge, the Egyptian Pyramids, and many other large, seemingly impossible ancient constructions, using just physics and no modern tools.

What about the other megaliths and standing stones in Europe? They vary in size and function as much as their placement. Some may have had religious or ritual signifigance, some were burial sites, some may have simply been nothing more than monuments to their own creators.

Ancient Egyptian Pyramids

The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest of the Ancient Egyptian pyramids, and the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World to have survived today. It is generally accepted that most of the Ancient Pyramids served as burial monuments to the Pharaohs. Egypt still exists, but much of their civilization’s past has been covered by the sands and lost to time. How the pyramids were built has been a mystery, much like the construction of Stonehenge. Most archaeologists have often agreed that the pyramids required a fantastic amount of manpower to build, and some of the ramps and structured believed to have been used to place the stones in construction of the pyramids seem almost more impressive than the construction of the giant pyramids themselves. Although, with Wallington’s demonstration, listed above, it may be that the construction was easier than initially thought.

Relics of Mayan Civilizations

The ancient Mayan architecture is fantastic in the pure and simple lack of tools that they had for construction. They did not have metal tools or pulleys and yet they managed to create amazing and intricate stone temples and pyramids and amazingly sprawling cities. Another amazing aspect of the Mayan architecture is the general lack of cement used to hold the ruins together. While they did have a form of cement-like substance made from limestone, they used it surprisingly sparingly on post and lintel constructions, and most of the large base stones were laid without it, relying purely on how precisely the stones were cut for their structure. The ancient ruins are visible scattered throughout Central America as a testament to the ingenuity of pre-Columbian American civilizations.

Cahokia Mounds

In western Illinois, used to exist a culture of mound-building Native Americans, who left huge man-made mounds of earth behind, they were part of the Mississippian Native American civilizations. At the site, archaeologists have found huge ancient man-made mounds, most prominently Monk’s mound, and ‘woodhenge’ a circle of wooden posts used probably for astrological markings. The mound builders disappeared suddenly hundreds of years before European explorers came to the area. The Mississippians, (often commonly called ‘Cahokians’) who left the mounds behind apparently had no written language and left no record behind, and no one knows where they went or who the descendants of this ancient and mysterious civilization may be.

Moai, The Easter Island Statues

Often referred to as the ‘giant heads’ on Easter Island, these are actually statues, with huge heads and miniature bodies. The finished statues were all very large, with the largest standing statue about 33 feet tall, and even a discovery of one under construction statue that was never finished that would have been 69 feet tall! These stone monoliths were all carved and placed around 1,000 to 1,100 AD by Polynesian immigrants to the island. Archaeological evidence seems to indicate that for some reason the construction was abandoned rather abruptly, with many statues not being placed, though why they were never finished and why they were abandoned so quickly is not known. They were apparently intended to represent deceased ancestors and possibly to capture the mana energy of ancient chiefs.

Dubai Tower

This is not an ancient relic. As a matter of fact, this tower is not even finished as of this writing. It is projected to be completed in 2009 and to be over 2,651 feet tall–over half a mile up! And it’s going to have company. There are a number of new tower constructions competing right now for the future title of world’s tallest man-made tower. But some day, after many thousands of years have passed, will this still be standing? Will the Statue of Liberty, or the St. Louis Arch be standing? And if any of these structures are standing, or still exist in some way, what will future civilizations think of our great constructions? Will they wonder what religious purposes we had for these ancient constructions? Will they think of the Statue of Liberty as some deity we must have worshiped? Or will modern civilizations stand the test of time and our history survive? Did these questions cross the minds of people in ancient civilizations?

The Journey of Einstein’s Brain

Einstein’s brain was removed and weighed during the course of his autopsy by Dr. Thomas Harvey of Princeton Hospital. Dr. Harvey cut Einstein’s brain into 240 sections and placed the pieces in jars of formaldehyde. The rest of Einstein went to the crematorium to be cremated in accordance with Einstein’s wishes.

The question of whether Dr. Harvey had permission to do this at the time has caused debate to this day. Dr. Harvey claimed that he did have. Einstein’s family did not. The latest biography about Einstein, written by Walter Isaacson, explores the various claims and evidence in a chapter toward the end. Apparently Dr. Harvey called up Einstein’s son, Hans Albert, after the fact and got him to give grudging permission, claiming that Dr. Einstein would have wanted his brain to be used in research and to enhance knowledge. Hans Albert agreed under the condition that Professor Einstein’s brain be used only for scientific research, the results of which be published in qualified scientific journals.

Despite these promises, and despite holding onto Einstein’s brain for years, Dr. Harvey never published any findings. Any time someone of the press would find him and ask, he would always remark that he was just a year away from publishing his findings. Eventually Dr. Harvey lost his job from the controversy, got divorced, and began moving around the country, taking Einstein’s brain with him wherever he went. Occasionally he would send off pieces of the brain to researchers, but mostly he guarded the treasure closely.

In 1978, Steven Levy, a reporter then of New Jersey Monthly, tracked down Dr. Harvey in Wichita, Kansas. There Levy wrote about Dr. Harvey taking out the mason jars holding the sections of Einstein’s brain to show him, from where they were being stored in a box in the corner of his office labeled ‘Costa Cider’. The publication caused a flurry of excitement in the media, and again aroused interest in the sacred cerebrum.

In the 1980s, after Dr. Harvey gave her some sections of the brain, Professor Marion Diamond of the University of California, Berkeley performed some tests and found the first possible differences between Einstein’s brain and ‘normal’ people. Einstein’s brain had a higher ratio of glial cells to neurons than the other test brains in some regions. The findings, published in 1985, again caused a swirl of speculation and interest. However, this test has come under criticisms for some of its methods, including the differences in age between most of the other brains and Einstein’s, as well as the fact that only one test out of 22 were chosen as significant.

One of the stranger twists of this story took place when Dr. Harvey and a writer by the name of Michael Paterniti, took a cross country road trip with Einstein’s brain in the trunk of a Buick Skylark to visit Einstein’s granddaughter Evelyn. Paterniti wrote a book entitled Driving Mr. Albert, recounting the tale.

The Return of Einstein’s Brain

Einstein’s brain was returned to Princeton in 1996 when Dr. Harvey handed it over to Dr. Elliot Krauss, his successor at Princeton Hospital. Finally the brain was given serious scientific study.

It wasn’t long until another team of scientists, working from the samples of Einstein’s brain, published results indicating another anomaly of Einstein’s brain. The study, published in 1999, found that Einstein’s brain was wider in the area concerned with mathematics and spacial thinking. Also, the Sylvian fissure was almost absent in Einstein’s brain in this area. Scientists speculate this may have allowed parts of his brain to communicate a little better. So, finally it was proven that there were some structure differences in Einstein’s brain. Though whether his constant mental exercise caused some differences, or whether differences in brain structure made a difference in his thinking is unknown. Kind of a mental chicken and egg.

Einstein himself dismissed ideas of a physiological, mental difference between himself and others, preferring to lay the credit for his successes on an insatiable curiosity and drive to unravel the mysteries of the universe. One thing is certain, with the strange journey that Einstein’s brain has taken so far, it’s mysteries are far from over.

The plan is to launch their lunar orbiter sometime this year, with their moon exploration to continue until eventually they land a lunar rover on the moon–which is now scheduled for 2012.

The moon may be starting to feel a little neglected lately. It has been just about thirty eight years — almost four decades, since the first human footprint appeared on the moon. Niel Armstrong first stepped off the ladder and made the first ever extra-terrestrial steps for humanity. The space project continued for only a handful of years. The last moon landing was in 1972. No moon landings, manned or unmanned, have hit the surface since the Luna 24 project by the Soviets in 1976. Since then, space exploration has focused on probes, satellites and shuttle missions–though the shuttle seems to be endangered at this point as well, with no clear replacement, and lunar exploration has consisted of orbits and flybys.

Honestly it is good to have some more exploration going on, more international cooperation to help get mankind to the stars. With China and the new and developing private sector of space really taking off since the X-Prize competition, things are looking good for humanity’s reach for the stars. Maybe someday we will find we are no longer a one-planet people, but can find a home on new planets as well.

The Traditions of the Graduation Robe

Back in the day, most medieval institutions of learning were set up to cater to nobles and clergy. All students there were at least some order of clergy, and they were required to wear clerics robes in appropriately dark colors at all times. Kind of like in Harry Potter’s world. Many European Universities picked up these traditions. Even today, in many older universities the scholarly robes were worn at all times.

Traditionally, different colored garments were intended for different degrees or areas of study, such as green for medical studies, white for humanities, purple for legal studies, etc. Many institutions still follow the color-coded graduation robe traditions. However, it is common, especially in high schools now, to find the graduation robes done in school colors, one of the colors for the young men and one for the ladies.

The Graduation Cap Traditions

The traditions involving the graduation cap, or ‘mortarboard’ also probably comes from the dressing habits of the clergy, who wore similar hats called birettas. Originally, these special hats were reserved only for students who had completed their masters degrees. Eventually it found itself starting to be worn by the bachelors and undergraduates, and finally finding its way down to the high schools. Like with the gowns, the tassel colors were originally intended to indicated the area of study, but are often today done in the school colors.

The Graduation Diploma

Yes, the guest of honor, the piece of paper that everyone came to see. The diploma is a written document to certify the graduation, that the holder did pass their course of study and attain a degree. Originally written on sheepskin and rolled up, it was later written on parchment and today is often bound in leather, though in movies and media it is often still displayed as a scroll.

Graduation Commencement Speech

Finally, the tradition of graduation speech-making by a guest speaker, teacher, or student probably comes once again from the religious traditions of the European universities. It originally started out as a prayer and blessing, and over the years, and schools moving to more secular paths, traditions held to make a speech. Over the years different people made commencement speeches, including one of the students, a successful alumnus, and now can even include celebrities with no ties to the school.

If your school or culture has different graduation traditions, we would love to hear what traditions you have. Drop us a line and let us know how you celebrate graduation where you are. Leave your graduation traditions in the comments to share.

While the hype may overshadow the facts, there is research to show that green tea does indeed have a lot of potential health benefits in preventative medicine and treatment. The research is ongoing, but here is the short list of potential health benefits of green tea.

Green Tea May Prevent Cancer

First, the big one. Yes green tea may have some properties that help prevent everyone’s top of the list disease. One of the potential health benefits of green tea has to do with preventing cancer. It’s not the only superfood to hint at helping keep away cancer, and obviously researchers are exploring every avenue. These claims are fairly untested. Everyone wants to cure cancer. While green tea is probably not the wonder cure for cancer, there may be some benefit in helping prevent some forms of cancer, at least when combined with other factors. So stay tuned for further information on this one.

Increase Metabolism with Green Tea

Yes, it is the never-ending battle against the bulge. This time it is green tea stepping into the ring to try and drop the pounds. The idea is that green tea increases metabolism and fat oxidation, that is, the ability of the body to use fat for fuel, and thus lose weight. This one may have some very small benefit to weight loss. It may help increase metabolism enough to burn a few extra calories, but the few studies so far show that it is far away from making a significant difference to dropping pounds. People looking here for a miracle weight loss cure had best keep watching those Billy Blanks videos.

Prevent Mental Degenerative Diseases

Alzheimers and Parkinsons are on everyone’s target list today, and it seems that they might be in green tea’s crosshairs as well. There have been a couple studies so far that show very good promise and suggest that green tea may help prevent neurodegenerative diseases, and even help maintain and treat patients who are already stricken with one of those diseases. Some studies have shown some effectiveness in fighting alzheimers disease effects.

Cardiovascular Disease

This one has more evidence on the table, and shows a lot of promise. It seems that green tea has a place in your heart that Ben & Jerry’s can only envy. In some studies, green tea drinkers have shown a statistically lower risk of death due to cardiovascular disease.

Boost Immune System with Green Tea

OK, everybody say, “Antioxidants“. Green tea has lots of everybody’s favorite free radical-fighting little wonders. Antioxidants are known to help limit cell damage due to oxidation and help in preventing everything from cancer, to neurodegenerative diseases to boosting immune system response. In other words, antioxidants are the ninja of health-boosting molecules. This is where the most testing has been done, and most of the evidence of the health benefits of green tea lie. For the antioxidant effect alone is reason enough to buddy up to the teacup.So, does green tea seem to have health benefits? Yes, green tea seems to be a very healthy drink, and be able to help boost your immune system and may help prevent certain diseases, but it also seems that this is another case where the hype may be more than the reality. Green tea, while good for you, can’t do anything on its own, and while it is probably a good idea to think of adding it to your diet, you need to have an all around healthy lifestyle to go with it.Research will march on, as it always does. And maybe someday green tea will provide us a key to a fabulous new cure to an incurable disease. In the meantime though, it still tastes great with honey.

What are some of the other health benefits of green tea? Any new research be sure to let us know.

We’ve all had our own experiences with bees. They’ve come buzzing around from time to time. You may have been stung, or at least been frightened of stinging. Perhaps you’ve shooed them away, told them to ‘buzz off’, or just wished they would go away and leave you alone! But honestly never really expected them to leave for good. Just what is going on?

Honey Bees are disappearing in droves. Scientists and the media have dubbed the recent and sudden disappearance ‘Colony Collapse Disorder’. It’s happening all across the country, in Canada, India, Brazil and in parts of Europe. Bees are dying off, and other bees are just leaving the hive and not coming back, leading some to think that their navigation systems are being messed up somehow.

Why Care About the Bees?

Who cares? So what? The less bees to sting you, right? Bees are very important to agriculture. Over $15 billion worth of crops in the US alone are solely dependent on honey bee pollination, including strawberries and other fruits, almonds, and soybeans- a very important staple crop for huge parts of the American food supply- and, of course, honey. That’s a good chunk of your local grocer that needs the honey bees.

What to Do About it?

The honey bee forensics team has swung into action across the globe, with scientists, environmentalists, and beekeepers all trying to figure out what exactly is causing the disturbance with the bees. Some of the possibilities being thrown around include the use of pesticides, malnutrition, new diseases or parasites including a possible AIDS-like immunodeficiency disease in the bee population, global warming and climate change effects, the use of genetically modified crops, or perhaps it is a combination of a number of different causes coming together at this time to cause this collapse. The truth is, the experts just don’t know.

With the importance that the honey bee population plays in our world ecosystem, this is a very big issue. Hopefully we have enough experts working on this problem that we can see a solution before it’s too late for the bees. Maybe we’ll be lucky and the bees will come buzzing back in next year, not saying or giving any clue where they went, but just getting back to their busy little lives as usual. There’s the common debate out there about the End of the World. Will it come with a bang, or a whisper? Did anyone hear that low buzzing?