How Royal Succession Works in the United Kingdom

The content of this article is aimed mainly at readers not living in the United Kingdom, but also to some living here. Succession rights seem to be something very puzzling if you haven't grown up with them. I have compiled some information here as to succession rights and some other puzzling facts pertaining to the Queen and her heirs.

Palimpsest: Ancient Recycling Method

Before paper was commonly used to write on, papyrus and parchment were the writing materials of choice. When texts fell out of favor or use, the base material was too precious to throw away. Instead, it was recycled. The recycling means that many texts that might have ended up in a landfill may still be accessible to us today. 

Iconic Design: Swiss Army Knife

The Swiss Army Knife was an invention of the 19th century, but it only gained a wider audience after World War II, when PX stores of the United States Army started selling it. They also gave it its name. Saying goes in Switzerland that you are not truly Swiss if you don’t have a Swiss Army Knife with you at all times. 

Secret War in Yemen

Many people claim to have unearthed secrets from the near past. Some of those secrets were never a secret; most are nothing more than conspiracy theories. It was therefore nice to find a book about a secret war that really was carefully kept under wraps. At the least, for various reasons, it escaped wider scrutiny so far. 

Nonexistent Switzerland

La Suisse n’existe pas (French for Switzerland doesn't exist) was once used as the title for the Swiss exhibit at a World Exhibition. It set the Swiss media aflame with outraged indignation; despite that, it was nothing but a statement of fact: There is no country going by the name of Switzerland.