Free Republic

Most of us know we own too much stuff. We feel the weight and burden of our clutter. We tire of cleaning and managing and organizing. Our toy rooms are messy, our drawers don’t close, and our closets are filled from top to bottom. The evidence of clutter is all around us.Today, increasing data is being collected about our homes, our shopping habits, and our spending. The research is confirming our observation: we own too much stuff. And it is robbing us of life.Here are 21 surprising statistics about our clutter that help us understand how big of a problem...

Iranian sources blamed the architect of a recently-built mosque for having a an affinity for "secular Judaism" and participating in a "Zionist plot." The new mosque, built in Tehran, follows a minimalist design which according to the architects is symbolic of "early Islam's modesty." However, more conservative voices have criticized the mosque's design for the fact that it differs from traditional mosques around the world. In their opinion, the design is the result of "secular and Jewish influence." Mashregh, a local news site, claimed the new mosque looks like a kippah (skullcap or beanie), and that the architects must stand...

Hardly had the minimalist argument been developed than it was profoundly undermined by an archaeological discovery. In 1993 and 1994, several fragments of an Aramaic stela were found at the long-running excavation of Tel Dan led by Avraham Biran of Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem. The historical references in the inscription and the paleography of the writing make it clear that it dates to the ninth century B.C.E. Moreover, the text specifically mentions a king of Israel and a king of the "House of David" (Hebrew, bytdwd ), that is, a king of the dynasty of David. This discovery led...