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The British Library has created a new word and phrase bank to preserve local sayings. The database holds 4,000 words and is still growing. It has been compiled with the help of the public for the British Library’s ‘Evolving English’ exhibition. Local dialect and local word-usage in the UK is becoming lessened for various reasons, [...]
Gay marriage has been legalised in New York state, after a long and acrimonious passage. The new law will allow gay marriage cermonies to take place in the city from the end of July 2011. The move is part of a wider battle for civil rights in America, that has so far led to same-sex [...]
A rare find of prehistoric art in North America has been confirmed as genuine after two years of tests by experts. Found by a fossil hunter and announced in 2009, the find has since been subject to exhaustive analysis and has now passed all tests. The art shows a mammoth, which died out around 13,000 [...]
A UK newspaper has struck a rare note of success in diverting national policy. The Independent‘s campaign on vegetable-growing allotments has culminated in government ministers promising that a citizens’ right to an allotment will be protected. The 1908 Allotments Act had been on a list on local rules that were being consulted on for possible [...]
New 25,000 year-old cave paintings have been discovered in Spain, Europe. The cave in the north of Spain contains red ochre depictions of horses and hand-marks. The cave was discovered by chance, and is currently undergoing further investigations. Creative Commons picture by Petr Kosina.
Book reading is good for you at age 16. New research shows reading to be the only teenage-years indicator for getting a professional job in later life. The reputable University of Oxford research announced today is examining the lives of 17,000 British people all born in May 1970, tracking their progress across time. They found [...]
Not content with planning trips into Earth orbit, British businessman Richard Branson has announced Virgin Oceanic in partnership with Google. The new Virgin/Google two-year project will work with U.S. explorer Chris Welsh, and designer of undersea vehicles Graham Hawkes, to explore “the last frontiers of our own Blue Planet: the very bottom of our seas”. [...]
An important Jewish library, thought lost in the Second World War, has surfaced in New York.
Google has launched a new service, Google Art Project. This uses the familiar Google Maps service to view huge hi-res images of the world’s finest paintings. Google has launched with the collections of 17 of the world’s top galleries, and plans to add more in the future.
The magnificent granddaddy of historical documentaries, the BBC’s Civilisation, has been fully remastered from the original 35mm film that it was shot on. The 13-part series will broadcast on the BBC’s HD (High Definition) channel in February 2011. Presenter Kenneth Clark.
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