Immediately after September 11, 2001, Americans found themselves again facing a Sputnik moment. They realized that they were caught flat-footed, unprepared to confront Al Qaeda terrorists.

For, having found out by a careful series of observations, the parts of Mars' orbit where the planet entered upon its various seasons, he [William Herschel] noted that, soon after mid-winter of the northern hemisphere, the northern white spot attained its greatest dimensions, while the southern was reduced to a tiny oval of light; whereas half a Martial year later, the southern spot was at its largest, and the northern a mere speck when compared with its winter appearance.

We weren't planning to live-tweet the birth, but we felt in that moment that we needed the power of prayer.

The king before he would take his voyage , sent the Erle of Huntyngdon to serche and scowie the Seas , least any Frenchmen lyeng in wayte for him might attrap him sodeinly