The More Things Change | Issue 26

Posted 4:26pm Sunday 6th October 2013

This week, “The More Things Change” comes to its inevitable end. History, meanwhile, does not. 12 October, 1216: King John of England, best known for sealing the Magna Carta, ran into trouble on a journey and lost the Crown Jewels in a swamp. He’d been out fighting the barons and the French, Read more...

The More Things Change | Issue 25

Posted 2:29pm Sunday 29th September 2013

This week, animals are important. 30 September, 1846: Modern medicine advanced once again when Dr W. M. Morton first used ether as an anaesthetic, administered by simple inhalation of the fumes. Ether is rarely used for anaesthesia today, but has become a mildly popular recreational drug, Read more...

The More Things Change | Issue 24

Posted 1:47pm Sunday 22nd September 2013

This week, science and technology progress in leaps and bounds. 27 September, 1066: Duke William II of Normandy set sail for England, and went about taking over the place in a significant, and ultimately successful, quest for the throne. (He is now known as William the Conqueror for precisely Read more...

The More Things Change | Issue 23

Posted 2:39pm Sunday 15th September 2013

This week, various governments get up to typical government things. 17 September, 1863: Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch scientist known as the “Father of Microbiology,” wrote a letter to the Royal Society describing a bunch of tiny little things he saw down his homemade microscope. He called Read more...

The More Things Change | Issue 22

Posted 1:51pm Sunday 8th September 2013

This week, people say a lot of things – some more useful than others. 14 September, 1752: In the British Empire, this day came after 2 September. This was due to the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, the one that’s still used today, in place of the Julian calendar. Because Britain changed Read more...

The More Things Change | Issue 21

Posted 3:48pm Sunday 1st September 2013

This week in history, societies advance … or try to. September 2, 31 BC: In the final and decisive confrontation that sealed the demise of the Roman Republic, Octavian faced off against Antony and Cleopatra at a place called Actium. Octavian was the adopted great-nephew of Julius Caesar, and Read more...

The More Things Change | Issue 20

Posted 4:47pm Sunday 18th August 2013

This week, some things happen in Europe. August 23, 79: Mount Vesuvius began stirring, and it was all downhill from there. There’d already been small earthquakes that apparently nobody realised were warning signs, and everybody was left fleeing for their lives when the volcano went off. Read more...

The More Things Change | Issue 19

Posted 2:29pm Sunday 11th August 2013

This week a few things go slightly wrong, but most people have good intentions. August 15, 1040: King Duncan I of Scotland, an otherwise unremarkable figure, was killed in battle by his own men. They had turned against him to fight for his scheming Duke: a guy called Macbeth (yes, the very Read more...

The More Things Change | Issue 18

Posted 3:50pm Sunday 4th August 2013

This week, technology progresses again, but politics doesn’t. August 6, 1806: The Holy Roman Empire ceased to exist after nearly 850 years of being neither holy, Roman, nor an empire. It was actually a union of Central European political territories (or something equally complicated) and had Read more...

The More Things Change | Issue 17

Posted 4:59pm Sunday 28th July 2013

This week, alcohol makes an appearance and breakfast changes forever. 2 August, 1377: In the name of land and power (as such things often are), a bunch of Russian troops faced off against a bunch of Mongol troops. It was at a place called Pyana River, and the memorable thing about it is that Read more...