Today the Houston Museum of Natural Science is hosting a fascinating lecture titled Black Pharaohs: Egypt, Nubia and Cultural Merging. The lecture will be presented by Dr. Peter Lacovara, who has been working in Egypt for over 30 years. Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Lacovara during a recording for the upcoming season of the Beyond Bones Podcast. This […]
In Russian Orthodox tradition, Easter is the most important celebration of the year, even more so than Christmas. It’s probably for that reason that the Russians took the ancient tradition of decorating Eater Eggs to a whole new level near the end of their Imperial Age at the turn of the 20th century. Beautiful, Easter […]
The other day as I was walking past the beautiful displays of sporting arms from the 16th to the 19th centuries in our new special exhibition Art of the Hunt, I found myself completely awed by the beauty of the utilitarian devices being exhibited. It seems like everything made during the age when monarchs ruled is so beautiful. […]
Long ago, in a galaxy that is actually the one we’re in now, the ancient Egyptians had a myth about a time when beer saved the world. In honor of National Beer Day, I thought I’d share this interesting historical tidbit with you on today’s edition of Beyond Bones The story begins with the sun […]
Worldwide shortages of helium are sparking heavy concerns that the noble gas may soon be too scarce to fill our balloons or even provide it’s vital cooling properties to the MRI’s that so many health providers depend on to save lives. In today’s edition of Beyond Bones we’re going to discuss how we got ourselves […]
As this year’s Spring Break Celebrations reach their peak, many college kids are probably partaking in what they believe are the most epic vacations ever. However, history begs to differ, and I’ll explain why in today’s edition of Beyond Bones. Everybody needs a vacation every once in a while. The drive to get away from […]
Houston is a wonderful city for many reasons. Unfortunately those reasons do not include awesome fossil hunting spots. I suppose it’s a small price to pay for the great food, amazing academic institutions and a cool music scene we have access to every day in the Bayou City. But still, nothing beats the thrill of […]
In honor of Texas independence day, I thought I’d reveal a little known fact about the legendary history of our state. Most people know that Texas was once its own country. Between 1836 and 1845 we were the Republic of Texas. But most people don’t know that we were never supposed to be our own […]
Everyone loves crayfish, or crawfish as most people I know call them. The delicious little swamp bug tantalizes the taste buds of millions of Americans every year. What most connoisseurs don’t know, however, is that the creatures we’re putting in our mouths are closely related to the pests we squash at fist sight. Recent genetic […]
With today being Go Texan day, I thought it would be a good time to highlight a few iconic symbols of Texas that actually have their origins outside the Lone Star State. So let’s jump right into the list: 1. Stetson Hats Nothing says Texan like a Stetson, right? Well interestingly the invention of the […]
