Antikythera mechanism planetary positions astronomical clocks

Ancient Greeks built a machine that calculated positions in the sky

The Antikythera mechanism, built around 150–100 BCE, used gears to calculate astronomical cycles and positions. Machines of similar known complexity do not appear again in surviving evidence until mechanical astronomical clocks in medieval Europe more than a thousand years later.

Judaism adapted when its central Temple was destroyed

When Roman forces destroyed Jerusalem's Second Temple in 70 CE, the sacrificial worship practiced there could no longer continue. Jewish communities increasingly organized religious life around prayer, study, law and communal institutions. Rabbinic traditions developed ways to preserve and reinterpret religious practice without the Temple, helping Judaism endure across widely dispersed communities.

Review found no evidence of change to straight marriage

A review found no evidence that legalizing same-sex marriage changed marriages between different-sex couples. Same-sex couples did marry once they could, though at lower rates than different-sex couples.

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Antikythera mechanism planetary positions astronomical clocks

Ancient Greeks built a machine that calculated positions in the sky

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