A recent find shows that ancient Hebrew was in use four hundred years earlier than previously thought.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20100115/sc_livescience/biblepossiblywrittencenturiesearliertextsuggests

A large tomb, believed to be of the 3rd century General Cao, has been excavated in China.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_china_general_s_tomb

My good friend, Anthony Stevens was up at the Rough and Tumble Harvest Festival on Saturday and put together this video of the live steamers and other oddities at work.
Fair warning, it is a fairly big file at 300Mp plus.

The world's oldest hotel is also the longest continuously owned and run business. It was founded in Japan more than 1200 years ago.

Lovingly nestled in the hills of central Pennsylvania, there is a narrow-gauge tourist railroad called the East Broadtop. It has been around for more than a hundred years and much of the original shops, roundhouse, turntable, train station and service yard are still there and in use. If you enjoy industrial archeology or steam technology, it is worth the visit.
I spent most of Saturday taking pictures around the yard and surrounding areas. You can see the gallery of East Broadtop RR images here.
If you're in the shop area, ask around for Reggie. He really knows his stuff and loves to share his knowledge.

Imagine this...
The year is 1909. One hundred years ago. Here are some statistics for the Year 1909 :

The average life expectancy was 47 years.
Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.
Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower
The average wage in 1909 was 22 cents per hour.
The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year .
A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year,
A dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME.
Ninety percent of all doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!
Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which Were condemned in the press AND the government as 'substandard.'
Sugar cost four cents a pound.
Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.
Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.
Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.
Five leading causes of death were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhoea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke
The American flag had 45 stars.
The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30!
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn't been invented yet.
There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write.
Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health."
Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.
There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A. !
I am now sharing this with others and it can be seen all over the WORLD - all in a matter of seconds!
Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years.

This is an incredible find in Vero Beach Florida.
An ancient bone with carvings means humans were active in south Florida right at the end of the last ice age.

Some of my favorite reading during my formative years were Big Little Books. I have a dozen left in my collection and decided to scan and share the cover art.

I think some of us might enjoy the memories.

Armstead Snow Motors from Seeking Michigan on Vimeo.

A very well-preserved battlefield has been found in a German forest. Weapons, armor and coins have been recovered.
I really love seeing how some of the old texts that had been discounted by modern historians occasionally have proven true.

The sinking of the Mary Rose was not an early accident!

An intact ancient dugout has been recovered from the Black Sea. Ballard isn't the only one doing breakthrough research there.

How to properly lay down tracks for mining railroads.

1800 year old bronze chariot discovered in Bulgaria!
The Russian Buran Space Shuttle might have been better, but came too late.

Although I applaud the finding, the fact they are rushing this tells me the mining company and the government officials are unwilling to put the resources into a proper archaeological investigation. The only thing that really is of interest to them is the gold and silver.
The wreck appears to be a Portuguese vessel and was lost on the African coast of Namibia.

I think my readers might find these statistics interesting.
What a difference a century makes!
Here are some statistics for the USA for the Year 1908 :
---
The average life expectancy was 47 years..

Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.

There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!

The average wage in 1908 was 22 cents per hour.

The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year.

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, a dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME .

Ninety percent of all doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!

Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press AND the government as 'substandard. '

Sugar cost four cents a pound.

Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.

Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.

Five leading causes of death were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars.

The population of Las Vegas , Nevada, was only 30!

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn't been invented yet.

There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.

Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write.

Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, 'Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind,regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health.'

Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help

There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A. !

Now I copied and pasted this from someone else without typing It (all) myself, and sent it to you and others all over the world, in a matter of seconds!

Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years.