Flo's History

  The Japanese Yokai must be some of the most diverse and widespread monsters in mythology. Some are feared demons, and others are benevolent spirits. From divine animals to living objects, they come in all shapes, powers, and moral alignment. Of course, such diversity means that some are more well-known than others, and today we will cover one of the most mysterious Yokai: the Umibozu. This water Yokai tends to be in the least known, directly reflecting the mysterious aura that the sea had in those times. However, one thing is certain, the Umibozu was the terror of all sailors in Japan due to its hostility. They appeared in the dread of the night during calm weather, bursting out of the water in a sudden storm. Depending on their size and the size of the targeted ship, they would either destroy their target in one slash or bit by bit. Sometimes, they would ask the sailors for a barrel to flood the deck and sink the ship. If they gave them a bottomless barrel, the Umibozu would be ...

  From all the wonders created by humans throughout our history, one of the most iconic must be the great walls. Quite a few were constructed all around the world, so more famous than most. Of course, the iconic two are the Hadrian's Wall – located in Northern England and built by the Roman Emperor Hadrian – and the legendary Great Wall of China. More modern one includes the Berlin Wall – the symbol of the Cold War between the US and the USSR – and the Belfast Peace Wall in Northern Ireland. However, another great wall in the Middle East was built sometime between the Great Wall of China and the Hadrian's Wall. Guarding the borders of the Sassanian Empire between the Caspian Sea and the Alborz mountains, its name is the Great Wall of Gorgan. Although its date of construction is a subject of debate, many sources pinpoint it to the 5th-6th century AD. This would suggest that the great Khosrow I, one of the greatest Shah who led the Sassanian Empire, built it. We don't know wh...

  When people talk about early ethnic groups from Europe – generally before the Roman Empire – the Celts are the first ones to come to mind. But indeed, some people lived long before the Celts. One of the most well-known clans was the Hallstatt Culture (bonus point for whoever knows how to pronounce it). They were metal-working people mainly dwelling in central Europe and were seen by many as the for-father of the "La Tene" culture, part of the greater Celt collective. Although they lived in the early Iron Age, from 800 BC to 450 BC, they mixed up with the Urnfield culture, which existed in the Late Bronze Age between 1300 BC and 800 BC. After all, we are talking about people who lived around 3000 years ago, so things are bound to be mixed up as we try to decipher history this far back. Another significant ethnic group that inhabited Europe before the rise of the celts was the Unetice. They lived between 2300 and 1680 BC in Eastern Europe – mainly in the region that is now th...