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Why are rubies red and emeralds green? Their colors come from the same metal in their atomic structure

The colors of rubies and emeralds are so striking that they define shades of red and green – ruby red and emerald green. But have you ever wondered how they get those colors?

The Conversation

Activists are warning of a return to the Jim Crow era in America. But who or what was Jim Crow?

Since becoming president, Donald Trump has issued a record number of executive orders. Several aim to dismantle federally funded initiatives based on the idea that “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) are goals worth achieving.

The Conversation

Unwritten rules: why claims of a missing ‘fourth article’ of the Treaty don’t stack up

I sign this Treaty with my hand, but with the mana of my ancestors.

The Conversation

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12 pivotal moments in the history of robotics, from Isaac Asimov to self-driving cars

From Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics to bipedal machines you can buy today, here are 12 important milestones in the development of robots.

LiveScience

Supersonic jets are making a comeback – but despite the hype, don’t expect to book yet

Late last week, American company Boom Supersonic flew faster than the speed of sound with its XB-1 supersonic demonstrator aircraft. It’s now the first piloted non-military aircraft to break the sound barrier since the Concorde was retired from service in 2003.

The Conversation

Bauhaus and The Brutalist: the revolutionary immigrant architects whose stories inspired the film

László Toth, a Hungarian Jewish architect and Holocaust survivor, emigrates to the United States after World War II in search of a new life. After a rough start, a wealthy businessman recognises his talent and offers him a job that will change his life.

The Conversation

Women have finally achieved parity on VCE English reading lists, but there are fewer classics

What makes something worthy of study and inclusion on a school’s text list? Is it right to remove or add a literary work based on the attributes of the person who wrote it?

The Conversation

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80 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, amid rising antisemitism, the memory of the Holocaust remains contentious

On January 27 2025, political dignitaries and Holocaust survivors will gather in Oswiecim (Auschwitz) in Poland. They will attend the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camps by the Red Army.

The Conversation

Few Australians know the second verse of our national anthem – or how out of date it is

There are two verses to Advance Australia Fair, but do you know the second? Probably not.

The Conversation

Meet phosphine, a gas commonly used for industrial fumigation that can damage your lungs, heart and liver

In 1980, two children and 29 crew members aboard a grain freighter became ill. They had been exposed to phosphine – a chemical used in fumigation to kill pests in and on grain – for four days. In the end, one child died.

The Conversation

Guide to the classics: Aristotle’s Poetics is a bible for screenwriters – but it’s often misread

Aristotle’s Poetics has arguably influenced modern culture more than any other ancient text. The Greek philosopher’s 4th century BCE treatise on what constitutes the best form of poetry is our earliest surviving piece of standalone literary criticism. It has had a profound influence on storytelling ever since.

The Conversation

Trump’s meme coin is nothing new: it takes a page out of the ancient world’s playbook

Nowadays, we probably never stop to think about why money was invented. If you are a cynical person, you won’t be surprised to learn the prime motivation was to make a profit for rulers.

The Conversation

Aboriginal message sticks are a fascinating insight into a complex system of written communication

When we think of writing systems we likely think of an Alphabetic writing system, where each symbol (letter) in the alphabet represents a basic sound unit, such as a consonant or a vowel.

The Conversation

Fruit and veg, exercise, frequent bloodletting and more tips on staying healthy from medieval travellers

Travellers have always faced health hazards when far from home. Medieval people were no exception. Pilgrims, crusaders and others were warned by preachers such as 13th century Jacques de Vitry of “dangers on land, dangers at sea, the dangers of thieves, the dangers of predators, the dangers of battles”.

The Conversation

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In Our Evenings, Alan Hollinghurst takes an elegiac look at class, sexuality and race in post-Brexit Britain

Late in Alan Hollinghurst’s new novel Our Evenings, the narrator David Win, gracefully ageing doyen of the British stage, experiences one of those moments when the world is revealed to be other than he thought it was.

The Conversation

These 16 nuns were guillotined in the French Revolution. Now the Pope has declared them saints

The Martyrs of Compiègne, a group of 16 Discalced Carmelite nuns executed during the Reign of Terror in the French Revolution, were canonised by Pope Francis on December 18.

The Conversation

From tuxedos to tattoos, Eleanor Medhurst’s Unsuitable traces a hidden history of lesbian fashion

Blues singer Gladys Bentley was a dazzling star of the Harlem Renaissance, a period in the 1920s and ’30s when African American culture flourished in New York City. Bentley’s risqué performances intrigued audiences. So did the entertainer’s relationships with women.

The Conversation

Summer holidays haven’t changed much since ancient Greece and Rome (except maybe the sand wrestling)

Imagine a summer holiday at a seaside resort, with days spent sunbathing, reading books, exploring nature and chatting with friends.

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The Conversation

What were the Greeks and Romans like? Their letters suggest they weren’t so different from us

When we read about the Greco-Roman world, we often hear the stories of famous and wealthy men and women. But the letters of ordinary people, preserved on papyri in Egypt, show us what they were thinking and doing. Human nature, their contents suggest, hasn’t changed much.

The Conversation

Guide to the classics: written more than 2000 years ago, Cicero’s On Old Age debunks stereotypes that persist today

As the New Year festivities fade, each January reminds us of the passage of time. There is a tendency to look back with regret at roads not taken, and perhaps even despair at what the future holds.

The Conversation

Nobleman, soldier, revolutionary, humanist – who was Tadeusz Kościuszko, the man behind the mountain?

Anthony Sharwood’s Kościuszko: The Incredible Life of the Man Behind the Mountain is far more than a biography of an extraordinary historical figure. It is a trip through time, continents and cultural landscapes. It blends the life of Tadeusz Kościuszko (1746–1817) – a nobleman, military engineer, revolutionary and humanist –…

The Conversation

New Year’s Eve celebrates St. Silvester – the 4th-century pope whose legend shaped ideas of church and state

On Dec. 31, while many people are preparing for their New Years Eve parties, some Roman Catholic Christians will also mark the feast day for St. Silvester.

The Conversation

Friday essay: A man out of time – E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India at 100 and the legacies of colonialism

I was aware of David Lean’s cinematic adaptation of A Passage to India (1984) before I encountered E.M. Forster’s original novel, which celebrated its centenary in 2024. While the film was being shot on location, I had a vague sense of the ambition as well as the arrogance of those…

The Conversation

Where does Santa live? It’s a trickier question to answer than you may think

Sending a letter to Santa can be difficult as no one can agree on where exactly Santa lives. Several countries are competing to claim Santa as one of their citizens.

The Conversation

Greed, Erich von Stroheim’s intense, monumental silent film, turns 100. Its legacy lives on

First released in New York on December 4 1924, Erich von Stroheim’s intense, monumental Greed remains more famous for what didn’t end up on screen than what did.

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