Category: Society
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Anemospilia, or how much human sacrifice is too much?
On a certain day around the year 1700 BC, on the slopes of Mount Juktas in central Crete, a small group of people had gathered in a temple for a religious ceremony. A young woman assisted a man a few years her senior: the high priest. His status was obvious from his splendid adornments, perhaps…
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Agder, or the benefits of child labour
The interior of southern Norway offers spectacular hiking opportunities. Dense, mixed forests are intersected by babbling brooks. Tranquil marshy pools dot the landscape and give home to a wide array of waterfowl. A lucky wanderer may spot both deer and the imposing, though mostly harmless elk. But what is idyllic in the daytime, takes on…
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Kerry, or the problem with genocide
On 16 November 1846, John Browne was walking from Tralee in County Kerry, Ireland, to his home north of Dingle. In Tralee he had tried to gain admittance into the poor house, but the place was already full, and Browne had no choice but to walk the 30 miles back home. On the way, he…
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Mols, or stupid, lazy, inbred peasants
In Denmark, there is a story about the villagers of Mols in Jutland. Fearing that war was about to break out in the country, they decided to hide their most treasured possession: the church bell. A handful of men set out to sea in a rowboat to sink the bell, where it could be retrieved…