Welcome to Owlcation

In the Civil War Robert E. Lee was a defender of slavery, while Ulysses S. Grant did all he could to destroy it. But it was Lee who thought slavery was morally wrong, while Grant seemed not to care one way or the other.

This article examines the deadly Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake. It provides an analysis of the snake's behavioral traits, characteristics, and overall venom toxicity.

Browning's Meeting At Night is a short, compact mysterious love poem, a sensual mini-drama full of rhyme and rhythm reflecting the waves of the sea and the relationship between lovers. Contrasts are strong, imagery highly visual, the movement within sensual - autobiographical or dream fiction?

Have some people taken the King James Version of "rightly dividing the word of truth" too far?

This article examines the ten most powerful super-weapons devised by Nazi Germany during the Second World War. It analyzes each weapon according to their design, capabilities, and combat effectiveness on the battlefield.

The Taal Volcano of the Philippines is unusual in that it is a recently-developed volcano situated inside a much older supervolcano that is no longer active. This set-up is not unique in the natural world, for similar arrangements can be found at Crater Lake in the US and Lake Taupo in New Zealand.

Review and summary of Orlando Figes' book, "A People's Tragedy: A History of the Russian Revolution."

Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, never once acknowledged Jefferson Davis as the president of the Confederate States. Here’s why.

This article looks at the short story "Good Country People" by Flannery O'Connor. It has a summary and looks at theme and irony among other things.

Wreaking havoc, tempting monks into bad behaviour, and other general mischief, the Abbey Lubber is one fairy that won't be tamed with bread and honey!

A German-Jewish immigrant to New York built a criminal empire based on the buying and selling of stolen goods.

A physician and a poet, William Carlos Williams, modernist, lived and worked in Rutherford, New Jersey most of his life. His poems deal with the everyday things in life, based on the local, becoming universal. Wheelbarrows, plums, people traits, starlings and flowers - No ideas but in things.

African civets have some unusual features and interesting behavior. Unfortunately, they are kept in captivity on civet farms so that their musk can be collected.

Goat's rue contains a chemical called galegine. Studying galegine enabled scientists to create the medication known as metformin. Metformin has multiple mechanisms of action in the body.

The resins that some trees secrete when they're wounded can be useful for humans. Some are used as perfumes or medicines. Others have preserved ancient life forms.

The mucus that covers fish has several functions, including protection from multiple dangers and serving as food for young fish. The substance may also be useful for us.