Everyday History

Imagine walking into completely silent abandoned building. Dust covers the floor, old furniture sits exactly where it was left, and in the corner stands a beautiful stone angel with its hands covering its face. You don't know what it is so you stare at it, curious. You look away for just a second, and then you look back. It's closer, frightening you. That is the nightmare at the heart of the Weeping Angels, one of the most terrifying creatures ever created for Doctor Who. Strangely enough, these weeping angel story didn't begin with an alien planet or some complicated science-fiction idea. It began with a statue in a graveyard. The Weeping Angels first appeared in the 2007 Doctor Who episode "Blink," written by Steven Moffat. The basic rule was simple but very horrifying: They can move when you're not looking at them. The moment you look at one, it becomes completely still - like an ordinary stone statue. You turn your head? It moves close. You so ...

Alexander the Great . Alexander the Great had conquered everything from Greece to the edge of India before he turned 30. He'd never lost a single battle. He personally led cavalry charges, absorbed arrows, sword cuts, and blows to the skull across years of near constant warfare, and came back fighting each time. His soldiers believed he was divine. He may have believed it, too. Then, he developed a fever in Babylon in late May of 323 BC after a prolonged night of banqueting and heavy drinking. Alexander fell violently ill. What followed was 11 days of steadily worsening fever. He lost his ability to speak. He lost his ability to move. His generals, desperate and anxious about succession, filed the entire army past his bed so each soldier could say goodbye. Alexander could no longer form words, but reportedly managed to raise a hand to acknowledge each man as he passed. On June 10th, 323 BC, Alexander the Great died. He was 32 years old. The cause of death has been debat...

The Bible tells us Cain had a wife, but never tells us where she came from. Was she his sister? Did other people already exist? Or is there something many readers overlook? For centuries, this question has fascinated believers, skeptics, historians, and Bible scholars alike. It's one of the most frequently asked questions in all of Genesis. The mystery seems simple enough: Adam and Eve had two well-known sons, Cain and Abel. Cain killed Abel. God banished Cain to the land of Nod. Then, almost casually, Genesis tells us that Cain had a wife. But where did she come from? The Bible never introduces her. It never tells us her name. It never explains her family. So, no we're going to carefully examine what scripture actually says, explore the most common interpretations, and separate biblical fact from popular speculation. Let's start from the very beginning: The first family. The opening chapters of Genesis introduce humanity's first family. God created Adam fro...