Mirabilis.caAn eclectic assortment of stuff: food, archaeology, fun, books, history, geekery, etc.Fire in the sky: Tunguska at 100- June 30, 2008 This is the 100th anniversary of the Tunguska event! From the BBC: Fire in the sky: Tunguska at 100. At 7:17am on 30 June 1908, an immense explosion tore through the forest of central Siberia. Some 80 million trees were flattened over an area of 2,000 square km (800 square miles) near the Tunguska River. The blast was ...http://mirabilis.ca/2008/06/30/fire-in-the-sky-tunguska-at-100/ Insights into original explorers- June 28, 2008 From the New Zealand Herald: Insights into original explorers. A replica 3000-year-old Pacific canoe, modelled on the world&8217;s first ocean-going vessels, has been tested in a world-leading Auckland wind tunnel. Preliminary results show the canoes of the type sailed from New Guinea to Fiji, Tonga and Samoa about 1000BC were so well designed they could probably sail ...http://mirabilis.ca/2008/06/28/insights-into-original-explorers/ Biblical text-writing may have poisoned monks- June 28, 2008 From discovery.com: Biblical Text-Writing May Have Poisoned Monks. Medieval bones from six different Danish cemeteries reveal that monks who wrote Biblical texts and other religious materials may have been exposed to toxic mercury, which was used to formulate just one of their ink colors: red. The study, which will be published in the August issue of the ...http://mirabilis.ca/2008/06/27/biblical-text-writing-may-have-poisoned-monks/ Inuit oral stories could solve mystery of Franklin expedition- June 27, 2008 From the National Post: Inuit oral stories could solve mystery of Franklin expedition. More than 150 years after the disappearance of the Erebus and Terror &8212; the famously ill-fated ships of the lost Franklin Expedition &8212; fresh clues have emerged that could help solve Canadian history&8217;s most enduring mystery. A Montreal writer set to publish a book ...http://mirabilis.ca/2008/06/27/inuit-oral-stories-could-solve-mystery-of-franklin-expediti... Dig shows Paris is 3,000 years older than first thought- June 27, 2008 From The Independent: Dig shows Paris is 3,000 years older than first thought. Paris has long been known to be a very old city but its history as a settlement has just been extended by more than 3,000 years. An archaeological dig, whose findings were revealed yesterday, moves back Paris&8217;s first known human occupation to about 7600BC, ...http://mirabilis.ca/2008/06/27/dig-shows-paris-is-3000-years-older-than-first-thought/ Odysseus Bloody Homecoming Dated to 1178 B.C.- June 25, 2008 From discovery.com: Odysseus&8217; Bloody Homecoming Dated to 1178 B.C.. Using clues from star and sun positions mentioned by the ancient Greek poet Homer, scholars think they have determined the date when King Odysseus returned from the Trojan War and slaughtered a group of suitors who had been pressing his wife to marry one of them. It was ...http://mirabilis.ca/2008/06/25/odysseus-bloody-homecoming-dated-to-1178-bc/ Microbes eating away at pieces of history- June 25, 2008 From the International Herald Tribune: Microbes eating away at pieces of history. At Angkor Wat, the dancers&8217; feet are crumbling. The palatial 12th-century Hindu temple, shrouded in the jungles of Cambodia, has played host to a thriving community of cyanobacteria ever since unsightly lichens were cleaned off its walls nearly 20 years ago. The microbes have not ...http://mirabilis.ca/2008/06/25/microbes-eating-away-at-pieces-of-history/ Migrating songbirds learn survival tips on the fly- June 25, 2008 From EurekAlert: Migrating songbirds learn survival tips on the fly. Migrating songbirds take their survival cues from local winged residents when flying through unfamiliar territory, a new Queen&8217;s University-led study shows. It&8217;s a case of &34;When in Rome, do as the Romans do,&34; says biologist Joseph Nocera, who conducted the research while working as an NSERC Postdoctoral ...http://mirabilis.ca/2008/06/25/migrating-songbirds-learn-survival-tips-on-the-fly/ "Arab" found in Danish Iron-Age grave- June 25, 2008 From National Geographic: &34;Arab&34; Found in Danish Iron-Age Grave. An ancient Dane with Arabian genes is part of a DNA study that suggests Scandinavians of 2,000 years ago were more genetically diverse than today. Researchers say the Iron Age man may have been a soldier serving on the Roman Empire&8217;s northern frontier or a descendant of female ...http://mirabilis.ca/2008/06/24/arab-found-in-danish-iron-age-grave/ |