Slenderman is a character born on the Internet, a “creepypasta” (a neologism derived from the computer command “copy-paste”). We could say that he is the personification of some of our most atavistic fears, such as the fear of being watched by someone or something we cannot see, one of the pillars of our survival instinct. … Read more
A tragic last minute news slipped into the inner pages of the newspaper El Liberal on the early morning of November 25, 1891: Last night’s catastrophe. Spain is in mourning. Fire at the Museum of Paintings, said the headline. The Prado Museum was burning violently. People crowded in front of that infernal spectacle. Wailing, crying, … Read more
The day when the peculiar star of Bethlehem indicated to the Three Wise Men the time of the Epiphany, a fourth Wise Man was also informed of this event, an Iranian Zoroastrian priest who was waiting for the prophetic sign to set out on his journey: Artaban. His goal was to meet the other Wise … Read more
It might seem a rhetorical question because of its obviousness. A year has 12 months, so it is logical to place the annual restart in the first month calends of the sequence. But this was not always the case. The beginning of the year for the Romans began on March 1st, the month that paid … Read more
In many countries, families hang socks on or near chimneys for Santa Claus to fill them with gifts. Well, this tradition would have its origin in the generosity of the real Santa Claus. St. Nicholas of Myra or Bari was a bishop from Turkey. He was born in Patara in the 3rd century A.D. in … Read more
Since the last century, the Dollar has been the reference currency of the international economic system. Its sign is unmistakable and inseparable from the contemporary world. It personifies wealth, power, possession and even an entire country. A very simple character in appearance: an S crossed by two vertical bars (although its variant reduced to an … Read more
We continue to expose some examples of the German Wunderwaffen from World War II. As with the ones we saw in the previous post, many of these new exponents were never built, or only reached the test phase at the most. Even so, they are still fabulous and impressive. If the reader has already been … Read more
Many Heavy Metal lovers have their hair bristle when they hear the name of Manowar. Currently formed by Eric Adams, Joey DeMaio, Anders Johansson and E. V. Martel, they are experts in the creation of authentic musical hymns, celebrated and extolled all over the world, not in vain have sold nearly 10 million records. But … Read more
Wars are always tragic, without exception. They feed on the worst of the human being, although the best of him can also be manifested. Solidarity, empathy, personal sacrifice… and creativity and imagination, even though they are often applied to the war. Whether we like it or not, wars produce important technical and scientific advances. Many … Read more
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, the genius of literature capable of immortalizing several literary works. A name that is repeated unceasingly and that is taught from an early age. Name: Miguel. Surname: de Cervantes Saavedra. But here there would be an error according to a recent theory exposed by the researcher Luce López-Basalt. The writer from … Read more
It is well known that Spain did not participate in the tragic and destructive First World War. Both the country and its colonies remained neutral between 1914 and 1918. However, there were occasions when Spain was almost forced to participate in the conflict. In 1916, after two years of siege, French and English troops conquered … Read more
Classic sirens have not always been the beautiful half women and half fish beings. The first descriptions characterized them half woman half bird, and they were daughters of Achelous, the Greek spirit-god of the homonymous river, or god Phorcys, and of the nymph Calliope according to some versions or of some muses according to others. … Read more
Although one of the passions of the human being is to decipher the unknown, it is not less certain that when we are for the first time face to face with it we tend to recede. There is a certain fear of the unknown that can manifest itself in the form of superstitions. This has … Read more
This time we weren’t going to explore the Republic of Ireland, we were going to change territory… and nation. Our destination was Northern Ireland, which belongs to the British crown and which, like everything on the Emerald Isle, also possesses that inherent magic typical of legendary lands. The next day we got up early. We … Read more
Behind February 14, Valentine’s Day, lies the biography of a character who had a rather tragic and nothing “valentinian” ending. St. Valentine would have been a priest from Rome who was beaten and beheaded in 270 A.D. His crime: secretly marrying soldiers with their partners in defiance of the rule of Emperor Claudius II, who … Read more
Did you know that Charles Darwin’s nose almost prevented him from making the trip aboard the HMS Beagle, which was decisive in elaborating his Theory of Evolution? And all because its captain, Robert FitzRoy, was a supporter of Physiognomy, a discipline that holds that facial features and characters are a reflection of the individual’s personality. … Read more
According to a famous creepypasta (an urban legend generated by Internet users), 107 people between 6 and 12 years old took commited suicide in the summer of 1996 in Japan. They all had one thing in common: they had acquired the video game Pokémon Red Version or Pokémon Blue Version and had saved the game … Read more
The well-known “roscón de Reyes” (ring of the kings) is not a contemporary food by a long shot. Its origin, moreover, is pagan. We have to go back to the time of the Roman Empire. The Romans celebrated festivities known as Saturnalia between 17 and 23 December of the Roman calendar in honour of the … Read more
The Three Kings weren’t always three. In fact, the canonical Gospels never established their number. The first Christian theologians and exegetes discussed this aspect, and went so far as to establish from two to several dozen Magi. Three was the definitive number thanks to Origen of Alexandria (184 or 185-254), who established that if three … Read more
Balthazar didn’t always have African features. In the sixth-century Byzantine mosaic presented here, from San Apolinar el Nuevo (Ravenna), Balthazar is white (the first character on the left). Like the other two Kings, he is dressed in a Phrygian cap and Persian vestments, thus indicating the origin of the Magi protagonists of the Epiphany. We … Read more