Free Republic

Paintings can be a window to more than the outmoded dress and strange customs of the past — sometimes, they have modern-day science lessons to impart, too. That's the case with Giovanni Stanchi’s 17th century still life of fruit, as Phil Edwards points out for Vox — just look for the watermelons. Stanchi’s work, painted between 1645 and 1672 (and now up for auction at Christie’s), includes strange watermelons that look so foreign they could be from outer space in the bottom right corner. If watermelons looked like that in the Renaissance, then why do they look so different today?...

Even if you already understand the concept behind a stick-shift transmission, this 1936 film explains it so perfectly a school kid could grasp it. take a 10-minute educational break and learn the basics of what's going on inside your stick-shift transmissions. Even if you understand the concept implicitly, we're certain you'll learn something from the irrepressible Jam Handy.

A Norwegian further education college is starting a programme for want-to-be Vikings where students will learn essential Viking crafts, such as sword forging, jewellery making, and roof thatching. During the course at Seljord Folkehøgskule 150km west of Oslo, students -- many inspired by TV series such as ‘Game of Thrones’ -- will celebrate even celebrate the Norse rituals of the year, going so far as to make animal sacrifices during the winter feast. “We see a large number of applicants who have applied for different reasons," the school's principal, Arve Husby, told Norwegian broadcaster NRK. "Some have become interested through...

Most teenagers in the United States start the school day too early each morning, robbing them of the sleep they need to concentrate properly and remain healthy, according to a study published Thursday. Fewer than one in five middle and high schools in the United States start at 8:30 am or later, as recommended, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Research from the American Academy of Pediatrics has found that adolescents are biologically programmed to stay asleep longer than adults. Depriving teens of that sleep could wreak havoc on their academic performance, the CDC...

There is a relatively rare case developing in Connecticut where Professor Minati Roychoudhuri, 62, has been charged with making a false police report after charging that she was racially profiled by a police officer. A review of the dash cam video contradicted factual assertions made by Roychoudhuri in her sworn statement. Roychoudhuri was pulled over on May 9th by an officer and cited for failure to drive in the established lane. A month after the citation, she filed a complaint with the Commissioner of Public Safety: Dear Sir/Madam I was traveling to Wethersfield on Route 15/5 to attend a meeting...

Aristotle may have been more on the money than he realised in saying man is a political animal, according to research published Wednesday linking genes with liberal or conservative leanings. Or, to be precise, a specific variant of one gene that would seem to exert greater sway over women than men. Working with 1771 university students of Han Chinese origin in Singapore, researchers compared answers to surveys—including one tailored to hot-button issues in the city-state—with the presence of a permutation of the DRD4 gene. DRD4 is one of several genes that determines the way dopamine—a crucial neurotransmitter, or chemical messenger—is...

EGSY8p7 is the most distant confirmed galaxy whose spectrum obtained with the W. M. Keck Observatory places it at a redshift of 8.68 at a time when the Universe was less than 600 million years old. The illustration shows the remarkable progress made in recent years in probing early cosmic history. Such studies are important in understanding how the Universe evolved from an early dark period to one when galaxies began to shine. Hydrogen emission from EGSY8p7 may indicate it is the first known example of an early generation of young galaxies emitting unusually strong radiation. Credit: Adi Zitrin, California...

All about the Barack Hussein Obama Muslim connection to Common CoreIn the last few years we have seen a movement in our country to nationalize our educational system, to implement Common Core in all schools. Inside the schools, the most drastic change has been an overwhelming influence of Islam and Sharia law. Education publishing giant, Pearson, whose biggest investor is the Libyan Investment Authority, is a major supplier of Islam-oriented text books for American schools. As is the nation of Qatar.Pearson owners are deeply involved in the Muslim Brotherhood and linked to CAIR. “Muslim Brotherhood documents seized by the...

The death of a Danish backpacker who drank a brew of tea made from poppies has prompted a warning from a Tasmanian coroner about the dangers. Jonas Havskov Pedersen died on his 26th birthday in February 2014 as a result of morphine intoxication after drinking poppy tea. He was on a working holiday at the time he climbed a poppy field fence somewhere between Jericho and Oatlands and took some poppy heads. Mr Pedersen began to vomit several hours after drinking the tea and his travelling companion said he looked "scared" and did not "look right". Both men eventually went...

Quickly on the heels of the release “Love Gov” -- the Independent Institute’s satirical videos series on meddlesome government -- a new study from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York concludes that federal aid to college students raises the cost of higher education. Duh! Many observers have been puzzled by the relentless increase in tuitions charged by private and public schools alike -- at a growth rate greater than that of any component of the consumer price index, including health care. Some blame the price increases on the greed of campus administrators. But that assessment is an unfair...

Answer the following questions to see which 2016 Presidential candidate you side with. --- snip --- This is a short quiz to see how your personal views and political desires match up with stated views of all current candidates for 2016. I matched Ted Cruz at 95%!!

Full title: UCLA student labeled 'pathetic' and 'idiotic' by 'sexist' trolls after writing an article about why women should get tampons for free A UCLA student has faced a barrage of cruel and sexist taunts from online trolls labeling her 'pathetic' and 'idiotic' after she wrote a piece for her college newspaper, arguing that women should be given tampons for free. In the piece, entitled 'Free tampons would slow flow of gender inequality', Daily Bruin reporter and incoming senior Zoey Freedman suggested that the government needs to 'recognize that even the most basic health care needs to start subsidizing the...

Wowwww.

The first book printed in America was the Bay Psalm Book by John Eliot, who was baptized in England as an infant on Aug. 5, 1604. Called “Apostle to the Indians,” he sailed to America and preached his first sermon in the Algonquian language in 1646. He translated the Ten Commandments, Lord’s Prayer and the Bible – the first to be printed in America, in 1663. In a 1674 census, 4,000 “Praying Indians” were in 14 self-ruling villages with houses, streets, bridges and their own ministers. “Praying Indian” villages were located throughout Massachusetts, Martha’s Vineyard and Rhode Island. John Eliot...

1. They don't waste time feeling sorry for themselves. "Feeling sorry for yourself is self-destructive," she writes. "Indulging in self-pity hinders living a full life." It wastes time, creates negative emotions, and hurts your relationships. The key is to "affirm the good in the world, and you will begin to appreciate what you have," Morin writes. The goal is to swap self-pity with gratitude. 2. They don't give away their power. People give away their power when they lack physical and emotional boundaries, Morin writes. You need to stand up for yourself and draw the line when necessary. Read more:...

I just happened to search Warren Buffet's position on or even a statement about the on-going situation with Planned Parenthood and lo and behold look what I came up with. I've never seen this website in my life but it is conservative and present you with the link.Although there are people on the ground on this issue sometimes the head of a fish needs to be brought to focus. I'm sure they are other money "whales" and high rollers involved but here's a part of the "head"of this rotting fish called the abortion industry.

Social engineers have a knack for destroying history, then self-servingly reshaping it to align with political agendas for consumption by the masses.  The results of their skill are no better exemplified than we are currently witnessing.  Confederate history is quite literally being destroyed, as monuments to Robert E. Lee and other Confederate heroes are being defaced by ignorant vandals who know nothing more than the legend of how Abraham Lincoln and his brave Union army crushed Jefferson Davis’ and Robert E. Lee’s Southern hordes in the name of liberating enslaved blacks.  That this is legend is in no way...

''SAN ANTONIO - A group of South Texas parents say they are being denied their children's birth certificates. The allegation from 17 families has resulted in a lawsuit against the Texas Department of State Health Services filed by the Texas Rio Grande Legal Aide and the South Texas Civil Rights Project. TRLA is representing 19 adults from Cameron, Hidalgo and Starr counties while the TCRP is representing the 23 children, according to court documents. "It is absolutely illegal. The federal government Constitution says anyone born within the U.S is entitled to privileges and immunities of U.S citizenship," TCRP senior attorney...

Ever wonder what might happen if a python ate a porcupine? Well, wonder no more. One of these giant snakes — which kill prey by suffocating it and then consuming it whole — recently dined on a porcupine and didn't live to brag about it. On June 14, a cyclist riding along one of the mountain bike trails at the Lake Eland Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, spotted a very engorged snake. The cyclist snapped a few photos of the gluttonous python and posted them to social media, where they quickly attracted the attention of locals who wanted to...

This artist's rendition released by NASA on July 30, 2015 shows one possible appearance for the planet HD 219134b ======================================================================================================================== Astronomers said Thursday they had found a planetary system with three super-Earths orbiting a bright, dwarf star—one of them likely a volcanic world of molten rock. The four-planet system had been hiding out in the M-shaped, northern hemisphere constellation Cassiopeia, "just" 21 light years from Earth, a team reported in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. It comprises four planets—one giant and three super-Earths orbiting a star dubbed HD219134. Super-Earths have a mass higher than Earth's but are lighter than gas...