This ancient clay tablet is inscribed in cuneiform with a map of the countryside around the important Mesopotamian city of Nippur, now part of southeastern Iraq, south of Baghdad. Written in cuneiform, it is dated to some point in the 14th-13th century BC, making it one of the oldest known maps in the world!
Read MoreTechnology is Allowing Researchers to Read Damaged Ancient Texts From Herculaneum
Reads For The Road: "Mossad" by Michael Bar-Zohar and Nissim Mishal
You can't turn on the TV without coming across fictional shows about the FBI, CIA, NCIS, MI6 or some other covert organization operating somewhere in the world. I have to admit that I am definitely a sucker for these shows (who doesn't love Homeland?), and while I have managed to figure out generally what these organizations do in the real world, the one that I have always been a bit confused about is the Mossad.
Read MoreExploring The Queen's Royal Yacht "Britannia" in Edinburgh, Scotland
I have to admit, the last tourist site that I was interested in visiting when I was in Edinburgh, was the former Royal Yacht Britannia.
It was well off the beaten path, and as far as I knew was just a boat.
What was the big deal?
Read MoreDrinking Champagne Out of Marie Antoinette's Breast (or, the history of champagne glasses)
The small bowl, or saucer-shaped champagne glass (called a coupe) is often claimed to be modeled on the left breast of the famed French aristocrat Marie Antoinette (1721-1793).
Read MoreStephenson, William Stephenson: Did you know that James Bond was based on a real person?
Often considered to be the inspiration for the romanticized, over-sexed spy, and credited with being a key player in the creation of the CIA, Sir William Samuel Stephenson was an inventor, real-life master spy, and businessman.
Read MoreFact or Fiction? The Great American Streetcar Conspiracy
Like most big cities, the one that I live in used to have an efficient and elaborate street-car system that was dismantled long before I ever came along, and the streets were overtaken by cars.
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