Anay Ganesh

The Way of the Ninja – Myths vs Facts

Ninja are stock characters today as the masked spies of medieval Japan. While a lot of what people know about the ninja is true, there are a lot of misconceptions about these mysterious assassins. The ninja, or shinobi, was a spy or covert martial artist hired by daimyo (feudal lords) or samurai (warriors) to performContinue reading “The Way of the Ninja – Myths vs Facts”

Incident at Petrich

The Incident at Petrich is perhaps, one of the most ridiculous wars ever to have been fought, if you believe what people say. It is advised when reading about this incident to take all accounts with a grain of salt. Anyway, here goes. In 1925, there was a crisis between Greece and Bulgaria during whichContinue reading “Incident at Petrich”

Alcohol: Why humans and chimps love the liquid courage

Alcohol is a definite feature of the human race. We simply drink too much of it, we have huge industries producing bottles by the minute, we have so many different varieties of alcohol that it is just ingrained into our culture. Something most people don’t know about alcohol, though, is that our closest cousins, theContinue reading “Alcohol: Why humans and chimps love the liquid courage”

Dates of American colonizations

This is a list of the times people explored the Americas or made significant changes in travel or territory.

History of the French language

The French language has a reputation for being difficult, fancy, and also has the name of ‘the language of love.’ However, the nuances of the French language are understood by few, so today I will try to explain in layman’s terms. French is a Romance language descended from Latin, and is related to Spanish, Italian,Continue reading “History of the French language”

History of Bread

Bread, like cheese, is a fundamental food and is more common than cheese, with form of bread found all over the Old World, including Europe, Ethiopia, India, the Levant, and Central Asia. Bread is very versatile and can go with just about anything, so let’s look at how bread became a thing. 12,000 years agoContinue reading “History of Bread”

A concise history of cheese – part I

Cheddar, Mozzarella, Gruyere, Blue, Feta, Gorgonzola, cheese is a fundemental ingredient in many cuisines. Cheese is very versatile (almost a bit too versatile, in the case of Easy Cheese or Cheez Whiz) and one of the oldest fermented foods ever. So today, we’re going to take a look at this overlooked food item and seeContinue reading “A concise history of cheese – part I”

Ethnic Groups: Indo-Iranians

So this series is going to cover major ethno-linguistic (connected by shared languages and cultural similarities) groups, and I thought, why not start with a group that has done a big part in written history and whose languages and culture are among the most widely-spoken and followed even today? To start with a basic history,Continue reading “Ethnic Groups: Indo-Iranians”

A timeline of human cuisine

A compact history of gunpowder

Gunpowder is perhaps THE most influential thing in history. Except, maybe for iron. Still, without gunpowder, much of today’s resources, countries, and even fun wouldn’t exist. Unlike its name suggests, gunpowder is used for a lot more things than guns. And, as most important things do, gunpowder’s humble origins can be traced back to secretContinue reading “A compact history of gunpowder”