If you ever get a ride in my car, you might notice a collection of empty water bottles sitting quietly in the front passenger footwell. They have no more purpose to me, and I would throw them out in gas…
This week was Bli Ayin Hara, my oldest son’s birthday. When looking back at Shabbos emails from years gone by, I found this one, and while it’s a bit dated, I thought it was really nice, so we’re doing a…
Let’s start with a number: 38,055,354,510,682, also known as, thirty eight trillion, fifty five billion, and change. I’m sure many of you recognize this number as the total US National Debt. But I’m sure none of you know what that…
The historical information in this essay is mostly culled from Bill Bryson’s book on human anatomy and physiology, The Body. For most of human history, scratching your arm on a rusty nail could be a death sentence. The scratch wasn’t the…
For most people, the rule of thumb is to stick to what you’re good at. But there are those rare individuals who can’t seem to stick to anything and are good at everything. Joseph Paxton was one of those people,…
It was hot, I was trapped, and it was getting hotter. I fidgeted uncomfortably in my seatfor a few minutes, and then I unbuckled myself and starting moving around my littleprison. Inevitably, as a normal seven-year-old, I soon found myself…
Moskva, Moskva, Moskva… The 900-year-old city sitting astride the Moskva River, with its torturous and at times glorious history, is now the most populated city in Europe. The capital of the largest country in the world, it is the cultural,…
We crossed into Egypt at the Taba Border Crossing around midnight. I was exhausted, dirty, and bone weary after two utterly crazy days in Jordan, but I trudged up to passport control with resigned indifference. If it were up to…
Bigger is not always better. Robert Wadlow, the tallest man ever on record, would surely tell you that. He was born on Feb. 22nd, 1918 to Addie and Harold Wadlow of Alton, Illinois at a normal weight of eight pounds,…
From the time he was seven, everyone knew that Jonah was going to be a lawyer. He could argue his way out of culpability for any backyard tussle, and he could easily persuade even the most hardened babysitter that he…