Tagged: history

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The Little-Known 49-Star Flag

Back in the 1800s, the American Flag changed every couple of years. Every time they added a new state, they added a new star. By the twentieth century however, Manifest Destiny had run its...

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How Mario Got His Mustache

Super Mario Bros. is one of the most successful video game franchises of all time. For people of a certain age, Mario and other Nintendo characters are better known than old-school cartoon characters like...

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Television Inflation

When it comes to currency, the more you print, the less it’s worth. This is a basic law of economics, and it doesn’t just apply to the money supply. If there are only three...

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Who’s Afraid of Big Government?

You often hear politicians complaining about Big Government, even though they work for the government. Our fear of government in the United States borders on pathological. After all, there’s nothing wrong with government per...

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Fixing the Electoral College

Every four years, Americans complain about the Electoral College, only to forget all about it once the election is over. And while a single blog post will lead to reform, I’d still like to...

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Lost Letters: New Alphabets

Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve looked at letters of the alphabet that didn’t quite make the cut. Some of the these letters were added to the alphabet and later dropped. Others were...

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Lost Letters: Old English Letters

In previous installments of this series, we’ve looked at letters of the alphabet made and lost in the days of ancient Greece and Rome. Now let’s look at some of the Old English Letters...

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Lost Letters: The Claudian Letters

Last week, we looked at some of the letters dropped from the Greek Alphabet — letters that never even made it into Latin. This week, we’ll look at the Claudian Letters, three new letters...

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Greetings From Springfield: A Postcard

While writing a recent article about a childhood trip to Springfield, Illinois, I had an idea for a postcard. I was originally going to include it in the article itself, but as sometimes happens,...

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Scarborough Faire 2012 Photos

Scarborough Faire is an annual Renaissance Festival in Waxahachie, Texas, an hour south of Dallas. My friends and I went back in 2011 and had a blast, so when the 2012 festival rolled around,...