Tag Archives: planets

Being Jovial Is the Best Medicine

I remember learning in fifth grade health class that the Rx symbol for prescriptions came from the symbol for the planet Jupiter, only with an extra line added. I thought that was really cool, and it did check out. As … Continue reading

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As the Hours and the Days and the Weeks and the Months and the Years Go By

With this year soon coming to an end, I was thinking about whether there’s any connection between the number of days in a year and degrees in a circle, and apparently there is. Of course, a modern year doesn’t have … Continue reading

Posted in African, Astronomy, Babylonian, Christmas, Easter, Egyptian, Greek Mythology, History, Holidays, Islam, Judaism, Mathematics, Mesopotamia, Mythology, New Year's Day, Norse, Religion, Roman, Science | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Where the Worlds Have No Name

One night last week, I had a fitful sleep with a bunch of weird dreams. I remember one of them had me ranting about how J.R.R. Tolkien was never clear on whether Middle-Earth was his entire imaginary world or just … Continue reading

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The Moon Has His Eyes on You

Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes, by Roshani Chokshi – The series based on Hindu mythology continues with this volume, where the reincarnated Pandavas seek out the magical tree Kalpavriksha with the help of a proud naga prince. Over … Continue reading

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The Solar System Really Turns Me On

Is there a link between the seven-day week and the visible planets, as the names of the days indicate? I’d seen it suggested that this connection dates back to the Babylonians, as they had a seven-day week and had identified … Continue reading

Posted in Astronomy, Babylonian, Greek Mythology, Mythology, Norse, Roman, Science | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments