Join us in this next episode as we listen to the story of the Egyptian sky god Horus, learn about Rockstar Games, discover the habits of the Adelie penguin, travel above the Arctic circle to Tromso, Norway, and finish the episode discovering the history of an historic union!
Join us in this next episode as we listen to the story of the Egyptian sky god Horus, learn about Rockstar Games, discover the habits of the Adelie penguin, travel above the Arctic circle to Tromso, Norway, and finish the episode discovering the history of an historic union!
Welcome to Trivial Knowledge: A Little bit about a Whole Lot. My name is Stephanie and I’m excited to bring to you this next episode of Trivial Knowledge. I hope you enjoyed last week episode. For me, diving into the archeologic site of Bonampak was interesting and learning about its famous Mayan paintings. I also enjoyed learning a new hockey term that I may be able to use next season. Anyway, before we start, here’s s little bit of background for those who are listening for the first time: Each podcast episode brings you a weekly dose of knowledge from five different topics drawn from four broad categories and to add to the fun one topic will be acquired from a random Wikipedia page. With such an extensive range of topics there’s going to be something here for everyone! If you enjoy this episode please subscribe to my podcast on apple podcasts, or spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. Now let’s dive in to Episode 10: From Antarctica to the Arctic Circle
Several episodes ago I told the Greek mythology story centering around Niobe. Today, we are going to again traverse back in time but this time to ancient Egyptian mythology and to its sky god Horus. Horus, frequently represented by a picture of a falcon or of a man with a falcon head, was the son of Isis and Osiris. There are several myths surrounding Horus and he also has several different names to include Horus the Elder, Horus the Younger, Heru, and Har. His name translates as “the distant one” or “the one on high” and he was worshipped throughout Egypt until the Ptolemaic Kingdom rose. He was linked to the sun and moon with his left eye believed to be the moon and his right eye, the sun. He is mentioned in the Pyramid Texts, which are the oldest known Egyptian religious texts, where it says “In life pharaoh as Horus became pharaoh Osiris in death.” To understand this quote, we need to go back and learn about the mythology surrounding Horus’ origin story, which derives from the myth of his father, Osiris.
Osiris was the eldest son of Geb, the god of Earth, and Nut , the goddess of the sky. He had three siblings, to include his younger brother Set, or Seth, who was jealous of his older brother’s inheritance of the throne. In a fit of jealously, Set killed his elder brother, dismembering his body and spreading him across the land of Egypt. Osiris’s wife, Isis, a powerful goddess herself, enlisted the help of Nephthys , her sister and Set’s wife, and together they were able to find Osiris’ body. Using magic, Isis was able to partly revive Osiris, enough to become pregnant with his son, but then Osiris had to enter the underworld where he would become king of the dead. Isis then went into hiding to protect herself and her child from Set, living in papyrus marshes. While in hiding, she delivered her son, who she named Horus and raised him in hiding with help from the goddesses Selket and Neith. Eventually Horus grows up and challenges Set for the throne he stole from Horus’ father, Osiris. The challenge was taken to the Council of the gods and while the majority wanted to rule in favor of Horus, the sun god, Re, who led the Council, supported Set. Following this decision, numerous battles ranged between Horus and Set for over 80 years including battles of strength and wit, with Horus almost always the clear victor. During these battles the land of Egypt was suffering under the rule of Set. Finally, the council rules in favor of Horus with the sun god Re, offering Set a consolation prize which included giving him the desert regions of Egypt. After Set’s defeat, Horus became known as the Uniter of two lands and restored order to the area. He became thought of as the first divine king of Egypt, and all of the pharaoh’s that followed him were linked to Horus in life, and when a pharaoh died, he then became linked to Osiris in death.
Horus would go on to have four sons which were linked to the four cardinal points on the compass and also were thought to protect certain internal vital organs. For example, his son Duamutef, a jackal god, was linked to the east and believed to protect the stomach, while his son Qebehsenuef, a hawk god was linked to the west and believed to protect the intestines. Another symbol that grew from Horus’ story, was the Eye of Horus, also known as the Eye of the Mind, Third Eye and the Eye of the Truth or Insight. For those who would like to learn more about the Eye of Horus and its link to the six senses of humans as well as a possible connection to neuroanatomy, I have posted an article on my website on this topic. Horus has also appeared in popular culture, to include in Stargae SG-1 where he appears as a Goa’uld and in the 2016 film Gods of Egypt about Horus’ attempt to reclaim the throne from his uncle Set.
For those who love to play video games, you may recognize the company that we are about to discuss, Rockstar Games. Most known for its popular video game Grand Theft Auto, Rockstar Games is also the creator of several other popular video game franchises including the Red Dead series and the Max Payne series. Rockstar Games was first established in 1998 by brothers Sam and Dan Houser, as well as Terry Donovan and Jamie King.
In March 1998. Take Two bought the English company BMG Interactive for 9 million dollars and also acquired its intellectual property to include Grand Theft Auto with the sale. The Housers, Donovan and King, who at the time were working for BMG, joined Take Two, relocating to the company’s headquarters in New York City. Several months later, in December 1998, Rockstar Games was formed with the formal announcement on January 22, 1999 with its mission to create mature video games.
The company has seen tremendous success, with Sam and Dan Houser even being named in Time Magazines 100 most influential people in 2009. One of their most popular games Grand Theft Auto V earned 1 billion dollars in its first three days of sales, one of the most successful video games of all time. How did they get to be so successful? In a 2010 article published in the Guardian, Dan Houser states that “when we started the core idea was that we will make games that we want to play. Games that had progressive gameplay on the one hand and cinematic production values and good music on the other.” Their success has not been without controversy though. Rockstar became the target of US legislation against video game violence, which was based on the violence in Grand Theft Auto, though these games were made for adults and not children. A docudrama was even produced by the BBC, called The Gamechangers, portraying the legal feud between Sam Houser, played by Daniel Radcliffe, and controversial attorney Jack Thompson, played by Bill Paxton though Rockstar had no involvement in this movie and filed a lawsuit against the BBC at the time. Today Rockstar has locations in the US, Canada, Great Britain and India and continues to produce popular games. Recently, Rockstar’s server even crashed when GTA V became free to download from the Epic Games Store in May 2020. What are the basis for their popular games, including GTA V? In Dan Houser’s own worlds from a New York Times Article published in November 2012 by Chris Sullentorp entitled “Americana at its most felonious,’ he states It’s a world brought to life, in which you are able to exist and explore and have the benefits of some kind of narrative pull-through, a world that exists and doesn’t exist at the same time.”
Today we are going to learn about a cute little animal that lives in Antarctica, called the Adelie [Ah-deli]Penguin. The penguins were first discovered in 1840 by French explorer Jules Dumont d’Urville [dur-ville] who named the land he discovered after his wife Adéle. The name was then attributed to the penguins, hence the name Adélie Penguin. They are the smallest Antarctica penguin species, measuring 27.5 inches in height and weighing 8-12 pounds or 3-6 kilograms. While small, they are feisty for their size and will fight off predators including seals and will also use their flippers against human explorers. Apsley Cherry-Garrad, a survivor on the ill-fated British Antarctic Expedition of 1910, says of the penguins in his book, The Worse Journey in the World “Whatever an Adélie penguin does has individuality, and he lays bare his whole life for all to see. He cannot fly away. And because he is quaint in all that he does, but still more because he is fighting against bigger odds than any other bird, and fighting always with the most gallant pluck.” A BBC Earth documentary called Spy in the Snow from 2018, even shows an Adélie penguin chasing a Southern giant petrel that was threatening emperor penguin chicks.
Adélie penguins are colored as a tuxedo with black feathers on their back and head and a white chest but their most distinguishing feature is the white ring around their eyes. In the winter, the penguins live on packed ice off Antarctica until late September when they start returning to their breeding colonies. The male penguins arrive first, building nests made out of small stones and pebbles that they can push or carry with their beaks, trying to build the biggest and best nest. If they are having trouble finding pebbles for their nests they have no qualms about stealing from a neighbor either. Once the females arrive several days later, courtship begins with two eggs being laid by late November/December. Both males and females take turn incubating the eggs and gathering food and once the eggs hatch, approximately 35 days later, they also take turns raising the young. At approximately 3 weeks old, the baby penguins are old enough to be left alone and both parents travel to the sea to find enough food for their growing children. The young penguins gather in groups called crèches which are helpful for protection and staying warm. When their parents return, they are able to recognize their children by their call. By the time they are 9 weeks old, the penguins have lost their downy feathers replacing them with adult waterproof feathers and they are finally able to take to the sea. They will not return to their breeding colony again until they are of breeding age, at 3-5 years old.
The penguins mainly survive on tiny aquatic creatures such as krill but also eat fish and jelly fish. Like all penguins, they are excellent swimmers, and while they prefer to stick to the shallower waters they can dive as far down as 180 meters, holding their breath for up to 6 minutes. While they can swim 2.5-5 miles per hours with burst of speed up to 9.3 miles per hour in the water, on land they are a little slower, waddling at 1.5 miles per hour, though they will travel miles on land to reach their colony. They are one of 5 penguin species that live in Antarctica, the others being the Emperor penguin, Gentoo penguin, chinstrap penguin and macaroni penguin, with only the Emperor and Adelie penguin living and breeding on Antarctica. Today the species is listed as species of least concern on the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species with an estimated 2.5 million breeding pairs of these penguins. Recently a large previously undiscovered breeding colony was found on a rocky archipelago in Antarctica named Danger Island with a full survey being done of the colony in 2015. While they are currently not in danger, these penguins are very susceptible to changes in their environment and scientists are seeing a decrease in numbers in certain areas of Antarctica where they breed and this is being monitored closely by scientists. I will leave you with one last quote on these penguins by Apsley Cherry-Garrad: “They are extraordinarily like children, these little people of the Antarctic world, either like children or like old men, full of their own importance.”
Several years ago, I had the amazing opportunity to visit a small city in northern Norway, that sat above the Arctic circle, and I am looking forward to a time when I can visit again. But for today, we’re going to delve into its history and current attractions. Tromso , Norway is located mainly on Tromsoya Island which is connected to the mainland by a tunnel and a bridge. Populated since the ice ages, its also been home to both Norse and Sami coastal settlements. It received its official city charter in 1794 by King Christian VII and in the mid 19thcentury became a major center for Arctic hunting and then for Arctic exploration in the early 20th century. Famous explorers, including Roald Amundsen, Umberto Nobile and Fridtjof Nansen,started their Artic expeditions from Tromso often hiring locals to accompany them for their knowledge on local conditions. In 1940, it was briefly the seat of the Norwegian government following the invasion of Germany, and while Germany would capture Norway, Tromso managed to escape the war without damage. Today Tromso has become a popular tourist destination point to see the Northern Lights and it also offers many other cultural and educational experiences for visitors including the northernmost university, botanical garden and planetarium.
Being located so far north, Tromso experiences what is called the midnight sun in the summer, from mid-May to late-July, meaning it is always daylight. In winter the polar night lasts from late November to mid-January though twilight still occurs allowing for some bluish light for a couple of hours throughout winter. For those who visit Tromso there is plenty to explore, from Northern Lights, to museums and festivals.
The Polar Museum was built in 1978, 50 years after the death of the famous explorer Roald Amundsen, who was the first explorer to reach the South Pole as well as to navigate the Northwest Passage. He died on his last expedition to rescue his former expedition partner, Nobile [No-bol-lei] after his plane crashed. The museum houses exhibits on polar pioneers including a permanent exhibition on Roald Amundsen. Along with the Polar Museum, the northernmost aquarium also lies in Tromso. Called Polaria, the building itself represents ice floes slammed into land by the rough Arctic seas. The most popular exhibits include the bearded seals as well as the Arctic Walkway. The Artic Alpine Botanical Garden is located at Tromso University, which was opened in 1972, and is a center for Arctic research. The garden has plants from all continents including Africa, which survive in the subarctic climate. It’s alpine garden houses mountain plants that were gathered from around the world and live among the large boulders, gravel and rocks used to create an Alpine landscape. The Rhododendron valley is also a popular place to visit in the garden with several different types of rhododendron’s to view. The garden is free of charge and houses 25 collections. The Arctic Cathedral, designed by Jan Inge Hovig, is a popular tourist destination as well. Located across the water, on the mainland, tt was consecrated in 1965 and is made of 11 rectangular aluminum frames with a glass façade. It’s architectural design is unique among the buildings and can easily be spotted from Tromso’s city center.
Along with the museums and churches, Tromso also hosts several festivals to include an International Film Festival in January, a Latin American Festival in February, and an electronic music festival in autumn. Sami week in Tromso takes place in February and celebrates the Sami people of Arctic Europe who live in the northern most parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Russian Kola Peninsula. Cultural events including concerts, talks, Sami language courses and art exhibitions take place. Contests including the Norwegian Lasso Throwing Championship, a sport practiced by the Sami Sports Association, are also held during the week, where competitors cast lasso’s around reindeer antler targets. The Sami Arctic Winter Market is held as well with booths being set up along Tromso’s main street selling food, handicrafts and art. Of course, one of the biggest draws to Tromso, is the ability to see the Northern lights with several tour groups available to take tourists via dog sleds, snow mobiles, vans or boats in search of the Aurora borealis. There is even the ability to visit the Tromso Ice Domes, located in the mountains, approximately 75 minutes away from Tromso. Once you have had your fill of visiting the museums and seeing the Northern lights, you may want to relax at Mack’s brewpub Olhallen, the oldest pub in Tromso. An iconic Tromso spot, you can taste the best of Mack’s brewery beers, a brewery founded in 1877 by German Ludwig Markus Mack. The first beers were created between 1878-1888 and the company began producing sodas as well in 1895. It’s polar and arctic beer were the first beers on the North pole and the South pole in 1981 and 1990 respectively. If you have ever wondered where to go to see the Northern lights or wonder what its like to live above the Arctic circle, spend your time reading up on Tromso, Norway and maybe one day, even travel there.
Today’s random topic takes us back in history where we are going to learn about a Union called The Knights of Labor, founded in 1869 by Uriah Stevens. It grew out of the Garmet Cutters Association of Philadelphia which shut-down around the same time of The Knights of Labor’s foundation. Originally the Union was established as a secret organization with oaths and rituals and used its full name of The Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor. The organization attracted workers from Ohio and Pennsylvania, and its popularity increased, especially among coal miners. In 1879, Stevens resigned and was replaced by Terence V. Powderly with the organization growing drastically under his leadership. Powderly eliminated the secrecy and rituals of the organization and also shortened its name to the Knights of Labor due to the objections of the Irish Catholic over the use of Noble and Holy Order. Powderly also did not believe in using strikes to obtain his goals, though the Knights would hold strikes despite this.
The Knights of Labor was a progressive union for its time and fought for 8 hour work days, equal pay for equal work and the end of child and convict labor. Unlike many unions of it its time it welcomed people of all skill levels and also welcomed women and immigrants. The organization did deny entry to lawyers, gamblers, speculators and sellers of alcoholic beverages and they also supported the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 so they were not all inclusive. Its membership peaked in 1886, following the successful Wabash Railroad strike of 1885, rising to over 700,000 members throughout the world, though most based in the United States. You can see its distribution on maps posted on a website hosted by the University of Washington, which I will have a link to on my website. At this time it was the dominant labor organization but then due to several controversial events its membership rapidly declined. Powderly quotes on the rapid increase in membership of his organization in his autobiography saying “In 1885 we had about 80,000 members in good standing, in one year that number jumped up to 700,000 of which at least four hundred thousand came in from curiosity and cause more damage than good.” The most detrimental event to the Knights of Labor was the Haymarket Square Riot which occurred on May 4th, 1886 during a rally for an 8 hour work day. It occurred in Chicago’s Haymarket square and among the crowd were several people who wanted to use a violent overthrow to obtain their goals. A dynamite bomb was thrown at the rally killing 7 Chicago policeman and 4 citizens and at that point the Knights of Labor became associated with violence, leading to a sharp decrease in membership and eventually its downfall. Many members would switch allegiance to The American Federation of Labor, established in the late 1880s, and consisted of craft unions, organized by trade and focused on higher wages, shorter hours and improved work conditions. Powderly resigned from his leadership position in 1893 and the Knights of Labor fizzled out not to long later.
And that concludes this episode of Trivial Knowledge: A little bit about a whole lot. Thank you so much for joining me. I hope you were able to take away some interesting facts that were new to you and that you can share with friends and family or at your local trivia night! If you would like to learn more about topics that you enjoyed today you can access links to more in-depth articles on my show note blog posts on my website , www.trivialknowledgepodcast.com where you can also find a sneak peak about next week’s episode. If you have questions or would like to leave comments about today’s episode, please e-mail me at trivialknowledge5@gmail.com or contact me via social media links on my website. I look forward to our new adventures next week when we learn the science of spiral galaxies and much much more! I will end this episode with a quote from Samuel Johnson “Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information on it.” Join me next week to learn a little bit more about a whole lot!