"What we all dread most," said the priest in a low voice, "is a maze with no centre."

The Cossacks of the Zaporozhian Host... had defeated Ottoman Turkish forces in battle. However, Mehmed demanded that the Cossacks submit to Turkish rule. The Cossacks, led by Ivan Sirko, replied in an uncharacteristic manner: they wrote a letter, replete with insults and profanities. The painting exhibits the Cossacks' pleasure at striving to come up with ever more base vulgarities.

unfortunately, the physical letter of insults did not survive for posterity, but the phrase "crick in our dick" did make it into the history books.

so there's that.

‘General Grant invented this kind of battle at Petersburg in sixtyfive.’

‘No, he didn’t—he just invented mass butchery. This kind of battle was invented by Lewis Carroll and Jules Verne and whoever wrote Undine, and country deacons bowling and marraines in Marseilles and girls seduced in the back lanes of Wurtemburg and Westphalia. Why, this was a love battle—there was a century of middle-class love spent here. This was the last love battle.’

via Dan Carlin's excellent "Hardcore History" series on the first World War.

A remarkable aspect of your mental life is that you are rarely stumped.

Linda is 31 years old, single, outspoken, and very bright. She majored in philosophy. As a student, she was deeply concerned with issues of discrimination and social justice, and also participated in anti-nuclear demonstrations.

Which is more probable?

1. Linda is a bank teller.
2. Linda is a bank teller and is active in the feminist movement.

this is not a trick question, but i have noticed that the simple act of asking prompts people to circle about the question suspiciously (i mean, why else would someone ask such an innocuous question?). so before continuing on, it might be useful to ask yourself the why of your answer.

When information is cheap, attention becomes expensive.