Harry's Blog

How do you power a chain of Arctic lighthouses hundreds of miles away from the nearest human habitation? The answer during the cold war was nuclear energy. Here's a fascinating look at one of the abandoned cold war nuclear lighthouses.

I read an interesting story over at The Times today regarding Roman Gladiatorial battles. A study of the bones of 60+ gladiators suggests that combat wasn't as brutal as we might imagine, with contests adhering to rules strictly controlled by a referee. The research also suggests that mortally wounded gladiators were put out of their misery by a hammer blow to the head.

Although most gladiators wore helmets, ten of those tested had died of a hammer-like injury to the side of the head. It is likely that these injuries were inflicted after the fight — possibly by a backstage executioner who administered the coup de grâce. This individual would have had the grim task of killing those gladiators who were already mortally wounded, using a hammer.

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