Random History
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Recent 10 history articlesen-us2010-03-12T00:36:26+01:00ShuRecent Randomhistory Articles“We Shall Overcome”: Black History in America
http://www.randomhistory.com/black-history-in-america.html
As president-elect Barack Obama took the stage in Chicago on the night of
November 4, 2008, after winning the race for the White House in a truly momentous
election, he uttered these words to the gathered rally of supporters: “It's
been a long time coming. But tonight, because of what we did on this date,
in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America” (Ob. . . http://www.randomhistory.com/black-history-in-america.htmlGoing for Gold: A History of Olympic Controversies
http://www.randomhistory.com/history-of-olympic-controversies.html
From the beginning, controversy has followed the Olympic Games. Indeed,
at times it seems as if the Olympic movement would fall apart under its own
weight, with several commentators even suggesting that the world would be a
better place without the Games. Since ancient times, the Games have been accused
of compromising sportsmanship, inflaming political passions, and establishing
. . . http://www.randomhistory.com/history-of-olympic-controversies.htmlAmerica’s Tug of War over Sanctioned Death: The U.S. History of Capital Punishment
http://www.randomhistory.com/2009/09/19_capital-punishment.html
Capital punishment’s history in the United States is basically a debate
between two ways of viewing the world: that state-sanctioned death is necessary
for society, and that a civilized society should not see death as the only
fair way to punish any crime or criminal. Throughout the history of capital
punishment in the United States, reformists have spoken out against capital
p. . . http://www.randomhistory.com/2009/09/19_capital-punishment.htmlFashion Revolution: A History of the Miniskirt
http://www.randomhistory.com/2009/05/25_miniskirt.html
The 1960s was a politically charged decade of revolution and change. Apollo
11 became the first capsule to land on the moon, the Civil Rights Act of 1964
became law, Vietnam was raging, Beatlemania was sweeping the world, birth control
pills hit the market, and a new cult of youth, known as “Youthquake,” had
radically taken over many areas of life. In the midst of these dramat. . . http://www.randomhistory.com/2009/05/25_miniskirt.htmlProtecting Your Skin: The History of Sunscreen
http://www.randomhistory.com/2009/04/28_sunscreen.html
Ultraviolet rays from the sun are a constant presence on the earth. These
rays can permanently damage the largest organ of the human body, the skin.
The most obvious sign of this damage is sunburn, which can range from a mild
irritation to a serious burn requiring medical treatment or even hospitalization.
A sunburn can take days to heal and can result in permanent mottling of the
. . . http://www.randomhistory.com/2009/04/28_sunscreen.htmlIn Sickness and in Health: The History of Health Insurance
http://www.randomhistory.com/2009/03/31_health-insurance.html
Practices of insurance, broadly speaking, have long histories related to contracts
and procedures designed to protect people from loss of property. Guarantees
on property loans and insurance based on carefully distributed shipping wares
are modes of insurance dating back to the second millennium B.C., and life
insurance has a long and distinctive history that reflects humankind’s
. . . http://www.randomhistory.com/2009/03/31_health-insurance.html“Horrid Bushes of Vanity”: A History of Wigs
http://www.randomhistory.com/2009/02/24_wigs.html
As a species, humans show an almost obsessive preoccupation with hair--or
lack of it. From the earliest written records, hair has exerted a certain fascination
over both men and women. It is central in myth, magic, and folklore: Rapunzel
lets down her hair for her prince, Delilah cuts Samson’s hair to render
him helpless, scalping is seen as taking one’s spirit, and various reli. . . http://www.randomhistory.com/2009/02/24_wigs.htmlThe Long Tobacco Road: A History of Smoking from Ritual to Cigarette
http://www.randomhistory.com/2009/01/31_tobacco.html
Humans first came into contact with tobacco plants about 18,000 years ago
when migrant Asiatic people first crossed the Bering Strait and spread across
the continents known today as the Americas, where tobacco is native. The 18,000-year-old
evolution of humans' relationship with tobacco has seen wide dissemination
both of the plant’s cultivation and of the practice of smoking, a k. . . http://www.randomhistory.com/2009/01/31_tobacco.htmlBeing and Becoming: A History of Yoga
http://www.randomhistory.com/2009/01/27_yoga.html
Yoga is an ancient and spectacularly diverse phenomenon that resists easy
definition. Predating archaeological evidence, yoga was most likely born in
the ancient lands of India 5000 years ago and was subsequently adopted by Hinduism
as well as Buddhism and Jainism. Both its origin in an oral culture and its
great many vocabularies make the diverse branches of yoga in all of their ri. . . http://www.randomhistory.com/2009/01/27_yoga.html“The Standard of the World”: A History of the Cadillac
http://www.randomhistory.com/2009/01/21_cadillac.html
The first Cadillac to hit America roads was a far cry from your grandfather’s
Cadillac. The manufacturing mission of the Leland and Faulconer Company that
was to become the Cadillac Automobile Company was to create a reliable and
functional, yet inexpensive, horseless carriage. The race was on at the turn
of the century to replace the expensive, handmade cars that were inaccessibl. . . http://www.randomhistory.com/2009/01/21_cadillac.html