Automatic Weapons – Where They Began

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A machine gun is a weapon that can fire many bullets very quickly, one after another. This is called automatic (or 'burst') fire. The first machine guns were invented in the middle of the 19th century, using different techniques.

Drug Usage through the Ages

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Alcohol is part of European culture and tradition. Ten thousand-year-old jugs have been discovered in many parts of the world showing traces of strong beer. Since the Ancient Greeks, we have used it not just for pleasure but as the basis of perfumes and medicines. It is at the heart of Christianity, where it is used as part of the most important celebration of Jesus Christ’s promise to humanity of eternal life. What’s more, for hundreds of years, beer and wine were a much healthier alternative to water, which often carried disease, so that children went straight from their mothers’ milk to weak beer. (We should remember that beer contained about 1% alcohol before the nineteenth century, whereas it is typically not less than 4% today.)

The Piltdown Man Hoax

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In the middle of the 19th century, there was a breakthrough in natural science: the theory of evolution. An English scientist called Charles Darwin suggested that all living things had gradually turned into modern creatures over millions of years; and, infamously, that human beings came from monkeys. This caused great trouble at the time because people were far more religious. The Christian, Muslim and Jewish religions all said that God created the world and everything in it in seven days. Did Darwin's theory mean there was no God?

Death in the Woods - Sherwood Anderson

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Sherwood Anderson was born in Ohio, USA, in 1876. His childhood was a very hard one because his father’s business went broke, forcing him to do many different and boring jobs. As an adult, he worked as a manual labourer until he joined the US Army. Afterwards, he entered university and later married a rich woman. He also managed his own very successful paint company. However, in 1912, he had a nervous breakdown and disappeared for a few days. He was later found walking in a field. He left his job and family, became an artist and led a very different life.

Antwerp Road by Henry van Dyke

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Henry van Dyke was born in Pennsylvania, USA, in 1852 and graduated from Princeton University, where he became a professor of literature for nearly twenty-five years. He was also a visiting professor at the University of Paris and US Ambassador to Holland and Luxemburg just before the beginning of the First World War.

Why was the 20th Century so Deadly?

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Although there were many wars in the nineteenth century, they usually took place in the colonies that the British, French, Dutch, Portuguese and Belgians occupied against the wishes of their populations. Sometimes war broke out because powerful European governments forced other countries to co-operate with them for economic reasons. This was known as ‘gunboat diplomacy’. These colonial wars were usually one-sided because Western powers had the advantage of technologically advanced weapons used against people defending their lands with swords, spears and pistols.

The Idea of Summerhill, a Radical School – an Interview with A. S. Neill

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A.S. Neill opened a radical school, called ‘Summerhill’, in 1924, where children are free from adult decision-making and live in a truly democratic environment and make their own decisions about their studies, lives and futures for themselves. Although Neill, a Scotsman, died in 1973, his school survives to this day. This is an interview with Neill about the story of a really modern school.

Madrassahs: Their Role in Achieving Equality for Women

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Bangladesh has always been among the most active of least-developed countries (LDCs) in fighting gender inequality. The country's achievements in education and gender equality in education have been remarkable. Nevertheless, some sections of the population have been left behind. One is female students in madrassahs.

Coaching, Exams and Grades versus Creativity, Cooperation and Learning

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Throughout South Asia, testing and grades have very great importance. It seems that there are major exams every month – so often, in fact, that there is no time for students to learn enough for tests to be meaningful measurements of how much they know.