1573
A widow cast her precious icon into the sea rather than see it dishonoured by government agents, but that wasn’t the end of the story.
In the days of the Byzantine Emperor Theophilus (829-842), it was illegal to possess religious art depicting people. Houses were searched, and offenders saw their precious icons destroyed with dishonour.
Posted March 13 2015
1574
Ruth Lorimer’s strangely comfortless life changes when she finds a scruffy little cat on the stairs, but not everyone is pleased.
Little Ruth Lorimer has nice toys and a nice house, but she is dreadfully lonely. Then one day a scruffy little cat brings some warmth into her life.
Picture: © John Lord, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.. Source.
Posted March 13 2015
1575
The Duke of Argyll was pleasantly surprised to find one of his gardeners reading a learned book of mathematics - in Latin.
Edward Stone (1702-1768), mathematician, Fellow of the Royal Society, and the man who gave us aspirin, was self-taught. His story reminds us that the purpose of education is not to tell us what to think, but to give us the tools we need to think for ourselves.
Picture: © Michael Garlick, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 4.0.. Source.
Posted March 13 2015
1576
John Lambton goes fishing on a Sunday, and lets loose all kinds of trouble.
This tale from County Durham is one of the best-known local legends. A ‘worm’ is an Old English word for a dragon, in this case something strangling and slimy rather than fire-breathing. The hero (if that is the right word) is John Lambton, a much-travelled Knight of Rhodes whose father died in 1431 and left him the Lambton estates.
Picture: © Antony Dixon, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.. Source.
Posted March 13 2015
1577
The people of Rome suddenly turned their back on centuries of ‘sport’ - all because of one harmless old man.
After Alaric the Goth’s assault on Rome was successfully turned back, victory games were held in the Roman Colosseum on January 1st, 404. As usual, they quickly descended into savagery.
Picture: © Gobbler, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.. Source.
Posted March 13 2015
1578
A casual act of mercy brought an unexpected reward.
When the King of Jungle let a lippy little mouse go, he had no idea that he was saving his own life too.
Picture: © Soerfm, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.. Source.
Posted March 13 2015