A British professor was so concerned by his student’s apparent lack of historical knowledge that he made them take a test to see what theyknew. For three years Derek Matthews’ first year economics students had to answer five simple questions, the answers to which he believed every eighteen year old Britain should know. On average they only got one right, and those who had studied history at the previous level knew only 2. Now, I’ve not included this story to berate the British student, but because the report I saw actually gave you the five questions (and the answers) so you can have a go. However, I’m not convinced by the questions. I love history, but I really don’t see why an eighteen year old needs to know the name of a nineteenth century Prime Minister, or where the Boer War was fought. What do you think?

I saw an entertaining blog this week about a modern argument over ancient conqueror Alexander the Great. On the one side you have the ‘Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia’ (henceforth FYROM). They’re claiming that Alexander was a Slav, a European people from their region, and have named an airport after their new national symbol. On the other hand you have a collection of 300 signatories, all classical scholars, who have written to US President Obama hoping to get some sort of official denial of Alexander’s Slavness. Blogger Mary Beard, herself a Professor of Classics, takes issue with both sides in the argument, pointing out that Alexander almost certainly wasn’t from the modern region of FYROM, but neither do the signatories make a coherent case.

I really enjoyed this article from the Smithsonian's 'Air and Space' magazine about the fears of German zeppelins which afflicted Britain in the years up to World War 1. If you want broader reason for reading (i.e. not just a historical angle), I wonder how this reflects on modern UFO sightings?

Britain’s Independent newspaper published a playful article on King Henry VIII this week, taking a look at the English Reformation via the question: “What would have happened if Henry VIII had obtained his divorce?” This is a reference to Henry’s attempt to get an annulment of his first marriage and his decision to split with the Catholic Church when the Pope refused. The article concludes that England would probably have remained Catholic - although the modern era would have seen a very loosely observed Catholicism - and the Church of England would never have existed.