TLTP 014 - Apocalypse Then

Let me take you on a journey through time, many Tuesdays ago... This month on The Last Tuesday Project we take a closer look at the so-called Dark Ages (more accurately known as the Early Middle Ages). Alex asks Hayley and Shaun to look into something which, on the surface, seems a little ludicrous - did a comet have anything to do with those "Dark" times? In true clickbait style, what we find out may surprise you... We also investigate the origin of the term "Dark Ages", and what exactly constitutes a Dirty Snowball? Arthur myth gives clue to disaster of sixth century (The Guardian) https://www.theguardian.com/science/2000/sep/09/uknews Astronomers Unravel A Mystery Of The Dark Ages: Undergraduates' Work Blames Comet For 6th-century 'Nuclear Winter' (Science Daily) https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/02/040204000254.htm Why Halley's Comet May Be Linked to Famine 1,500 Years Ago (Space.com) https://www.space.com/24005-halleys-comet-linked-to-ancient-famine.html Halley's Comet and the 6th century AD (Society for Interdisciplinary Studies) http://www.sis-group.org.uk/news/halleys-comet-and-6th-century-ad.htm 5 Ridiculous Myths You Probably Believe About the Dark Ages (Cracked.com) http://www.cracked.com/article_20615_5-ridiculous-myths-you-probably-believe-about-dark-ages.html Jim Al Khalili - Science And Islam (BBC) http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00gksx4 Comets (Astronomy For Kids) http://www.kidsastronomy.com/comets.htm Our next TWOsday episode, Episode 14a, will be released on 12th September. Do you like what we do and want to show your support? Well, you can now give us a helping hand via Patreon! Just go to https://www.patreon.com/LastTuesdayProject. If every listener gave us a dollar a month, we will be able to furnish Tuesday Tower with all sorts of hipster paraphernalia, as well as get Shaun a Hipstermatic 3000 beard trimmer for his birthday. Please donate - he's in dire need of a trim. This month's icon uses an an image from the book Die Erde. Eine allgemeine Erd- und Länderkunde, etc by Franz Heiderich, taken from The British Library's Flickr archive. Hayley's Comet Theme is Aspiranto by Kai Engel, from the Free Music Archive. Want to get in touch? We're on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Or, you can email us at [email protected]. With huge thanks, as usual, to Strong4Life for the use of his music.