Cube dice

The Ancient Origins of Dice

Gambling is one of humankind’s oldest activities. Elaborate technologies and customs have emerged around games of chance. Dice in particular have drawn attention from scholars.
Purple Prince

The History of Purple, From Pliny to Prince

In August Pantone honored late singer/songwriter Prince with a new shade of purple called Purple Rain. Why is the color purple considered to be so special?
The Burning of the Library at Alexandria in 391 AD

A Brief History of the Yazidis of Iraq

From the Christian mob’s destruction of Sarapeum in Alexandria in 391 CE to the Taliban’s 2001 dynamiting of ...