http://www.randomhistory.com/xml.rss Recent 10 history articles en-us 2010-07-31T16:07:11+01:00 Shu Recent Randomhistory Articles http://www.randomhistory.com/money-history.html Easy as it is to comprehend now, money has not always been so clearly defined. For millennia, the exchange of things throughout civilization had much to do with an object’s intrinsic value to its society. Money, in other words, meant something useful, such as barley, tools, or precious metals. Today, most currency systems use money that has symbolic value.  Whether a dollar, . . . http://www.randomhistory.com/money-history.html http://www.randomhistory.com/censorship-history.html While the right to the freedoms of speech and expression is one that is highly prized by many throughout the world and is certainly considered a founding precept of the United States, the actual use and protection of that right has varied greatly throughout history. Because human beings live in a complicated social web in which interaction is all but unavoidable, the speech of one. . . http://www.randomhistory.com/censorship-history.html 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.html 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.html 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.html 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.html 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.html 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 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.html 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.html