Income tax is a form of taxation that has been the subject of great debate between political parties for ages. Some politicians want to raise the income tax, and some want to lower it. Some want to allow special favors for certain groups, which may or may not be a popular decision for the people that it affects. Income tax comes in various forms, depending on the individual or body of people being taxed. For example, an individual who works [...]
When asked who their favorite writer is, the chances that a person will say William Shakespeare may be relatively small. With that in mind, if say to that same person, “to be or not to be” they will most likely respond with “that is the question” and even if they don’t they are sure to know what it is from. Aside from the Christian Bible, Hamlet is the most quoted and known piece of literature in history. Many of the [...]
About a hundred years ago, drugs in the United States weren’t usually regulated. Over-the-counter pills, such as aspirin and cold remedies, contained heroin and cocaine, with the responsibility for safety placed on the consumer’s shoulders. If you weren’t careful, the medicine you took to cure you could also kill you. In 1914, however, the Harrison Tax Act, limited the sale of heroin and went on to restrict cocaine sales, too. In a little over two decades, Federal health regulations were [...]
While Las Vegas may be thought of as a place to get married quickly, nearly a hundred years ago Reno, Nevada, already had the reputation as a place to go for divorces. In 1910, the city was considered the divorce capital, allowing residency requirements in the city to be shortened, and therefore allowing divorces to be as fast as possible. Known as the Biggest Little City, Reno today may be known more for the Comedy Central program, Reno 911. However, [...]
Many of us use our PCs, Macs or even cell phones to access the internet every single day. But have you ever thought to ask yourself how it all works? The Internet started as a small internetwork of military computers. The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), a division of the U.S. Department of Defense, laid the foundations for the modern Internet we know today. By 1992, the network bandwidth of the Internet had increased 20 million times the bandwidth seen [...]
Before the stars and stripes was adopted, the colonies and militias in America had many different flags including the famous Rattlesnake flag with the motto, “Don’t Tread On Me.” Another interesting navel flag had a white background and a green pine tree and the motto, “An Appeal to Heaven.” However, many of the flags used were actually a version of the British Union Jack. Obviously, as the colonies prepared for war against Britain, they needed a new flag! So what are the [...]
The origin of language is perhaps one of the most contested histories in contemporary culture. It’s not simply a matter of lack of information, where it’s impossible to go back and find out when and where people first started to articulate in a recognizable way. It is also related to the complicated notion of history itself. If history begins with a record, then the possibility of finding a record of sound and utterance is not possible with the available tools. [...]
When looking at history, one of the interesting perspectives to take on is considering various historical figures in the context of today. For instance, could you imagine what Aristotle might have though if he’d had access to Galileo’s telescope, at the very least, and the technological advances that have occurred throughout the centuries? Where would his mind have taken us from this point forward if he’d had all of human history to contemplate, rather than only the early years of [...]
If there’s ever any doubt that there’s no longer a relationship between people and the earth they walk on, just ask anyone in Sydney about sandstone. What is now conceived of primarily as a building material, at least in public discourse, is in fact the foundation of the city, in more ways than one. And any lengthy discussion about sandstone in the city will invariably lead much further into the past than more tourists and travelers have time for. It [...]
One of the more uncanny experiences in any kind of historical work comes when the correspondences between past and present become closer than one could have possibly suspected. That everyday household objects have connections to a deeper past can come as no quiet shock, because there is a tendency to take what’s best from the past generation and repeat it. But when small connections between things, like window blinds and the walls of an ancient theater, become obvious, then history [...]