Used to date pottery and burnt flint (anything that hasn't been alive, but that has been exposed to heat or sunlight). See 'Some Notes on Archaeology'.
Thermoluminescence
Fact of the Day
Thirteenth-century chancellor of Oxford, Thomas de Cantilupe, banned students from carrying arms. At one point he had 20 confiscated bows and swords.
Quote of the Day
"We are not makers of history. We are made by history.
"
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
On This Day
43 BCE The assassination of Cicero, requested by Marc Antony. When his head was delivered to Anthony, his wife, Fulvia, spat on it and jabbed hairpins into his tongue.
1732 The Theatre Royal, now known as the Covent Garden Opera House, opened with a performance of the Beggar's Opera.
1787 Delaware became the first state of the modern United States.
1817 Rear-Admiral William Bligh died. He had been captain of HMS Bounty during the mutiny.
1941 The Japanese launched a surprise attack on the American naval base a Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, killing 2,403.
1982 Charles Brooks Jr became the first person to be executed by lethal injection, with a huge dose of 'truth serum'