In turn, the Romans borrowed and modified the Greek alphabet to fit the sounds of Latin. Most modern writing systems use some form of the Roman alphabet, although there are several other scripts that have found widespread use, including Cyrillic, Arabic, and Devanagari. However, there are a few cases of unique writing systems that were invented to suit the needs of a single language. Here are 10 of those writing systems....
I love wine – most people on here (or on my facebook page) know that. But this fact is gross enough to even make me reconsider it! When grapes are harvested by machine for wine making, the machine shakes the grapes off the vine. But this also means that insects, birds and basically anything else in the vine comes off too. Cheap wine makers don’t generally sort the grapes before pressing, so all of that extra stuff goes into the wine....
A man is accepted into a church for what he believes and he is turned out for what he knows. – Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain, pictured) Philosophy is questions that may never be answered. Religion is answers that may never be questioned. – Anonymous With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion....
At the Democratic National Convention of 1948, delegates officially adopted a pro-civil rights platform for the first time, which was quickly embraced by President Harry Truman. Some Democrats, however, did not like this at all, and the delegations from a number of Southern states marched out of the convention to have their own. This breakaway party called themselves the “States’ Rights Democrats” or the “Dixiecrats,” and they nominated then-Governor Strom Thurmond of South Carolina for the presidency....
Server Migration We are now fully operating on our new servers, and aside from a few problems with hotlinking images, we seem to be stable. We have had very little downtime since the move and what downtime we have had has been dealt with extremely quickly. Thank you all once again for your patience during the move! Christmas As you know, I leave for New Zealand in just over one week and I will be gone for a month....
A camera crew follows a serial killer/thief around as he exercises his craft. He expounds on art, music, nature, society, and life as he offs mailmen, pensioners, and random people. Slowly he begins involving the camera crew in his activities and they begin wondering if what they’re doing is such a good idea, particularly when the killer kills a rival and the rival’s brother sends a threatening letter. This is the only movie on this list that I have not yet seen and therefore cannot accurately give any rating but the review on IMDB stated that “Our killer’s absolute disregard for human life, other than a thick crew of visually stunning characters, is nothing short of a masterpiece....
It may not seem obvious, but a clean home can save a lot of money. Clutter can result in broken or lost items, and a messy home will always depress you- leading to a weakening of resolve to save money. This is nowhere more obvious than in the kitchen. You will be a lot more inclined to cook at home (and thus save money) if your kitchen is clean. Remember when cooking to keep a sink full of warm water to make clean up a breeze....
The competition will run for one month (ending September 18). At the end of the month, the answers will be posted here, and all correct entries will be added to a draw. One random entry will be selected as the winner – so every correct submission has a chance. You have three options for downloading or filling in the puzzle: Download the PDF document If you don’t know how to read a PDF, you need to download a copy of a PDF viewer – it is completely free and you can download it here....
SEE ALSO: 10 Things You Probably Don’t Know About Jack The Ripper Melville Macnaghten, the chief constable at Scotland Yard, named three main suspects; M. J. Druitt, Michael Ostrog, and Aaron Kosminski. There are hundreds of theories with additional suspects posited by true crime junkies. For over 100 years, people have been trying to figure out the true identity of Jack the Ripper, but all of the theories are based on circumstantial evidence....
The bloodiest conflict in United States history and the last major war on the North American continent pitted brother against brother, bringing together an unlikely list of characters whose fame exceeded their actions on the battlefield. 10 Lewis Wallace Lew Wallace’s military career had its ups and downs, as he served in both the Mexican-American War as well as the Civil War. As one of Ulysses S. Grant’s generals, he was relieved of his command after allegations that he had been late in bringing reinforcements to the Battle of Shiloh in early 1862, claims which he would deny continuously....
But just because Oswald almost certainly committed the deadly deed himself doesn’t mean he did so, as the Warren Commission contends, entirely on his own. His odd life included limitless opportunities for outside influence by powerful players. Here are ten questions about Oswald that remain unanswered—including, at #1, the most important mystery. 10 How Could Someone So Incompetent Accomplish So Much? Oswald’s brief biography—he died at 24—reads like a tale of two drastically different people....
10 Seemingly Innocent Pranks That Ended In Tragedy 10 Mercedes McCambridge was Forced to Relapse In her most famous role, Mercedes McCambridge is never seen. Her name does not even appear in the credits. She is merely heard. That was enough to become a legend. McCambridge lent her voice to Pazuzu, the demon that possesses Linda Blair’s Regan MacNeil in 1973’s The Exorcist. It takes a lot of embody a Mesopotamian monster....
10World’s Oldest Alcohol In China, archaeologists recently discovered the oldest evidence of alcohol consumption in the world. Chemical analysis of broken pottery revealed that Chinese were imbibing in 7,000 BC. Vessels examined showed evidence of the same type of beverage brewed from rice, honey, and fruit. The Jihua pottery showed traces of tartrates—a chemical class associated with grapes and hawthorne trees. Honey, grapes, and hawthorne would have provided a brew with all the sugars and yeast required for fermentation....
The komodo dragon is the largest living species of lizard, growing to an average length of 2 to 3 metres (6.6 to 9.8 ft) and weighing around 70 kilograms (150 lb). Their unusual size is attributed to island gigantism, since there are no other carnivorous animals to fill the niche on the islands where they live. Although attacks are very rare, Komodo dragons have been known to attack humans; five people have been killed since 1974....
Born in Vancouver British Columbia, in 1982, Rogen is the youngest comedian to appear on this list, but I have included him, to show that Canada can still produce great Comedian’s, and to show what may be coming. Rogen got his start in the television show Freaks and Geeks. But his big break came in the movies. He has stared in such movies as The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up. He also stared in and co-wrote the movies Superbad and Pineapple Express....
Top 10 Conspiracy Theories That Were Actually True Conspiracy movies always involve a “Good Guy” and some “Dark Forces”—usually represented by corrupt businesses and/or self-serving and secret government agencies with far too much autonomy and far too little regulation. In other words, the alphabet agencies, chemical and pharmaceutical companies, and anyone who deals with money. In the interests of Truth, Transparency, and standing against the latest attack on free speech from Google, which is now banning all conspiracy related content, we have put our feet up, watched a load of films, and come up with the ten greatest conspiracy movies based on real-life conspiracy theories....
On 31 July, 1815, in Philadelphia, County Durham, England, an early experimental railway locomotive, Brunton’s Mechanical Traveller, blew up. This engine, also known as the Steam Horse, ran on four wheels but was pushed by mechanical feet. This was both the first recorded boiler explosion and the first railway accident causing major loss of life, as 16 people were killed. The accident is not included in many texts because it was on an industrial waggonway or plateway, rather than a public railway....
See Also: Top 10 Bizarre Coffins While most people regard these as superstitious trinkets, others see them as genuine magical objects . . . sometimes malicious, sometimes neutral, but always fascinating—to readers here at least! While some of these items have fallen out of favor, a few remain; some are even still made today. So, with that in mind, let’s dive into the world of witchcraft! 10 Witch Bottles In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Witch Bottle was a popular item for protecting the home from malicious witchcraft....
SEE ALSO: 10 Real-Life Kisses Of Death 10 Most Confusing Kiss—Transamerica Confusion aspect 1: we have Felicity Huffman (a woman in real life) playing the part of Bree, a man who is about to undergo gender reassignment surgery to become a woman. Confusion aspect 2: his son (Kevin Zegers, playing Toby) unaware that Bree is his father, falls in love with him thinking he is a woman. Bizarre aspect: Toby kisses his father passionately....
Top 10 Bizarre But True Drugs And Their Effects 10 Breast Implants In February 2016, German border officials arrested a Columbian woman at the Frankfurt airport in Germany bound from Columbia. She was found to be carrying 1 kilogram of cocaine hidden inside of her breast implants. The German officials found fresh scars below the women’s breasts indicating she had recently undergone surgery to have the drugs implanted. Shortly after being arrested, she was sent to a local hospital where doctors removed two 500 gram packages from her breasts each containing cocaine....
