The mayor and the lion
John Gayer, a 17th century Lord Mayor of London, had a close encounter with a lion while working in Syria. He prayed, the lion left, and he gratefully endowed a sermon to be given every year thereafter.
Category: Society
Shin-kicking
Everyone loves to give someone’s shins a good kick (no? just me then?) but leave it to the English to make it into a sport.
Medieval rocket launchers
We think of rocket launchers as a modern invention, but the Koreans were using them four hundred years ago. The hwacha could fire two hundred rockets at once, blowing up enemies more than a hundred metres away.
Staircase wit
Ever thought of the perfect comeback, but thought of it way too late? Then you’ve got a case of staircase wit.
Best, middle, centred, balanced
The Arabic word Wasat (or Wasatiyyah) refers to the Islamic concept of moderation, described as “best, middle, centred, balanced.” The concept is described in multiple passages in the Quran and Ḥadīth.
The most beautiful words
What is the most beautiful noun phrase in English? Cellar door is the favourite of many famous writers, including Dorothy Parker, J. R. R. Tolkien, and C. S. Lewis. But no-one is quite sure who said it first.
The Skeleton Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant church modelled on pseudo-military lines. It was founded in Victorian London and often protested about the evils of alcohol. And another army arose to fight them.
The seven naval toasts
In the officers’ room of a ship of the British Royal Navy, there are seven traditional toasts for the midday meal, one for each day of the week.
Jazz harp
When most people think of jazz they don’t think of the harp. But in the 1960s and 70s Alice Coltrane recorded two dozen albums of jazz with the harp in a central role.
Murdered in parliament
In 1966, the sixth Prime Minister of South Africa was stabbed to death inside the House of Assembly.
The monks’ elixir
According to tradition, a military marshal in the court of Henry IV of France presented some Carthusian monks with an alchemical manuscript for an elixir of long life. You can still buy the resulting concoction today.
The Twelve Battles of the Isonzo
In World War I, the major front for the Italians – in alliance with the Allied powers – was the Isonzo River, between Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Over the course of three years they fought twelve major battles for control of this area, now known as the First through Twelfth Battles of the Isonzo. Half of the Italians that died in the war died here.
Illustrated book of demons
Jacques Collin de Plancy’s 1818 book Dictionnaire Infernal contained a list of demons, part of a long tradition of grimoires and demonology texts. What made it stand out were the illustrations.
Pizza farms
How do you grow a pizza? On a pizza farm.
The Dead Sea treasure map
One of the Dead Sea Scrolls is a treasure map.
Dice chess
Dice chess is a Medieval variant of chess in which you roll dice to determine which pieces you are allowed to move.
The Generalist Academy 