The Smartest Woman Alive

Have you ever heard someone say “Be careful, you’ll become a crazy old cat lady” as if being an independent boss bitch with pet cats is something to look down on? Why is that? Why do cats, especially when linked to a single woman, have this negative connotation? I mean yeah, if you die a cat will likely eat you if no one finds you for a few days, but a dog might eat your face off, and a cute little hamster might build a nest from your skin. Yep. Its true, just ask real live Bones aka forensic anthropologist Carolyn Rando. So, what’s with all the pussy cat prejudice? Well, it wasn’t always so. Cats have been around us humans for thousands of years, Ancient Egyptians are well known for their feline affinity, Bastet (or Bast) was the goddess of protection, fertility, pleasure and the bringer of good health. In Norse Mythology, one of the most renowned goddesses Freyja rode a chariot drawn by cats, and she was the goddess of love, fertility, battle and death. Cats were depicted in reli...

A Long Time Ago, In a Galaxy Far Far Away. I study Ancient History. When I tell people, they all usually have the same general response. It is an irrelevant, albeit interesting, field of study, and they are usually unsure as to why I am even undertaking to learn about such irrelevant things.  So why do I, and why should we all, care about things that happened so long ago, in what seems like a different world? The answer, first and foremost, is simple. The study of Ancient History, or any other period of history, is the study of humanity and human behaviour.  Why do we do what we do?  The fact is, that the trials, tribulations, morals and priorities of those in the past are not that dissimilar than those that we have today, and developments in the humanities are providing us with new ways of looking at the past, and bringing these similarities to light. Concatenation of scientific and humanitarian disciplines is providing a more wholistic view of ancient empires, civilisat...