Today I would think it's the lithium we have the same problem with. The amount of energy used to create the batteries for the supposedly green electric cars is atrocious. And a similar lack of humane treatment of workers in the mines.
Also I'd be terrible at Pitz. I was never good at soccer or quidditch.
I actually first heard about pitz when I visited Chichen Itza with my Mexican-American friend from Denmark (her parents were diplomats here). At the time, she said the winners of the game would be sacrificed, which was considered an honor. Having read up on this later, it does appear that there were occasional sacrificial games, but it didn't seem to have anything to do with who won. Instead, sometimes people who were already sentenced to be sacrificed would be equipped with sports gear and got to play the game first. I can imagine you weren't playing your best with the inevitable doom awaiting at the end.
Not to mention: the game was played for thousands of years, in diverse geographical regions with wide-ranging cultures. I'm sure the rules varied just as much as any ball sport's rules have varied over the last century or so.
Yeah for sure. I was only focused on the Mayan ball game I personally encountered. So far, I can't find any mention of winners getting sacrificed. But hey, stranger things have happened!
The nastiest place in the rubber producing trade back then was the Congo. King Leopold II of Belgium treated it like his personal backyard and exploited the indigenous Africans mercilessly to get that valuable rubber...
Ford, in addition to being a genius at marketing and manufacturing, hated Jews with an uncommon passion. Hitler had a picture of him on his wall and gave him credit for some of his worst ideas. Ford is said to have repented later in life, but the damage was done. They are great cars, though, and I have two.
I foresee the lithium barons replicating the antics of the rubber barons. The antics of both local and international lithium barons in Zimbabwe are nasty, and Nigeria is becoming a hotspot for their business, as well as India. Lithium is supposed to aid the transition to electric cars in order to transit from the use of fossil fuels. I fear that the transition might lead to more human rights abuses and other atrocities in nations such as India, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and others, as the demand for lithium escalates.
Had no idea this was shared across Mayan and Zapotec and I guess ... Aztec? The court I saw was said to also used for trial type court hearings as well as the game
I think this game was incredibly popular all throughout central America (and maybe even into parts of South America) for centuries, and just maybe even millennia.
I remember reading about how Mayans converted their dead into rubber balls, while researching the top historical finds of 2022. Grisly stuff, yet utterly fascinating.
Today I would think it's the lithium we have the same problem with. The amount of energy used to create the batteries for the supposedly green electric cars is atrocious. And a similar lack of humane treatment of workers in the mines.
Also I'd be terrible at Pitz. I was never good at soccer or quidditch.
Same! I guess I can hit things with my elbows or knees, but I would have pretty close to zero skill at this game.
And yeah, lithium is an excellent example from today.
I actually first heard about pitz when I visited Chichen Itza with my Mexican-American friend from Denmark (her parents were diplomats here). At the time, she said the winners of the game would be sacrificed, which was considered an honor. Having read up on this later, it does appear that there were occasional sacrificial games, but it didn't seem to have anything to do with who won. Instead, sometimes people who were already sentenced to be sacrificed would be equipped with sports gear and got to play the game first. I can imagine you weren't playing your best with the inevitable doom awaiting at the end.
Not to mention: the game was played for thousands of years, in diverse geographical regions with wide-ranging cultures. I'm sure the rules varied just as much as any ball sport's rules have varied over the last century or so.
Yeah for sure. I was only focused on the Mayan ball game I personally encountered. So far, I can't find any mention of winners getting sacrificed. But hey, stranger things have happened!
The nastiest place in the rubber producing trade back then was the Congo. King Leopold II of Belgium treated it like his personal backyard and exploited the indigenous Africans mercilessly to get that valuable rubber...
Yes, this was extreme and disgusting. I think this could easily be a much, much longer piece. I very much forced myself to limit my scope today.
Ford, in addition to being a genius at marketing and manufacturing, hated Jews with an uncommon passion. Hitler had a picture of him on his wall and gave him credit for some of his worst ideas. Ford is said to have repented later in life, but the damage was done. They are great cars, though, and I have two.
Absolutely true, and Hitler (sort of) created the Volkswagen bug!
I foresee the lithium barons replicating the antics of the rubber barons. The antics of both local and international lithium barons in Zimbabwe are nasty, and Nigeria is becoming a hotspot for their business, as well as India. Lithium is supposed to aid the transition to electric cars in order to transit from the use of fossil fuels. I fear that the transition might lead to more human rights abuses and other atrocities in nations such as India, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and others, as the demand for lithium escalates.
Unfortunately, I think you're right. There's going to be a terrible amount of exploitation; we need to all keep our eyes open and ears to the ground.
Had no idea this was shared across Mayan and Zapotec and I guess ... Aztec? The court I saw was said to also used for trial type court hearings as well as the game
I think this game was incredibly popular all throughout central America (and maybe even into parts of South America) for centuries, and just maybe even millennia.
I remember reading about how Mayans converted their dead into rubber balls, while researching the top historical finds of 2022. Grisly stuff, yet utterly fascinating.
Yep, sounds about Mayan!
Three things enable industrial civilization to emerge. A good screw, an indestructible set of balls and rubber too.
Countersunk screws etc enable the assembly of precision engineered components.
A good set of ball-bearings enabled the wheels to turn.
And rubber prevented the disintegration of the machines from vibrations etc especially in the case of cars and trucks f