by B.L. Unkel | Jul 29, 2023 | Writing
Today we take books for granted, regardless in what form or genre they come. But that wasn’t always the case. The Book Industry China printed the first book on paper in 868 AD. Several hundred years later, Joahannes Gutenberg, a German goldsmith, developed the...
by B.L. Unkel | Jul 22, 2023 | History
I scream. You scream. We all scream for ice cream. The Beginning No one knows exactly when or who created ice cream. We know that more than 2,300 years ago, Alexander the Great enjoyed honey and nectar-flavored snow and ice. And almost 400 years after that, the...
by B.L. Unkel | Jul 15, 2023 | Baking
As I’ve mentioned in previous DYKs, almost everything—animals, occupations, food, etc.—can have a national day. Some even get their own month. Thanks to President Ronald Reagan, ice cream has both. In 1984, he designated July as National Ice Cream Month and the third...
by B.L. Unkel | Jul 8, 2023 | History
Researching Did You Know In 1859, This Texas College Had The Most Powerful Telescope In The South?, I learned Larissa College was one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in Texas. (The Texas legislature approved its charter on February 2, 1856.) It made me...
by B.L. Unkel | Jul 1, 2023 | Travel
Recently, several of my critique partners and I gathered in Tyler, TX, for a mini-writing retreat. On the way home, we stopped at a historic site/rest stop on the north side of Jacksonville. If you haven’t yet visited it, make plans to do so next time you’re in the...