Simone Butler's Blog

In the 1800s, across the harsh, windswept plains of Texas, the carcasses of millions of buffalo lay scattered — victims of mass slaughter that had brought the native peoples’ sacred animal to the brink of extinction.…

 When Chinese businessman Jack Ma was a boy, he rode 17 miles on his bicycle each day for nine years to work as a tour guide for foreigners. The goal – to practice his English – eventually paid off.…

When was the last time you used a pay phone? For younger folks, the answer may be never. In many places, these analog throwbacks no longer exist. Or, they’ve been creatively repurposed into fish-filled aquariums, as in Japan.…

Auto, a six-year-old boy from Thailand who was dying of cancer, was granted his last wish not long ago — to see Moo Deng, the young pygmy hippo who’s become an Internet darling.…

In 1904, stenographer Elizabeth Magie was granted a patent for her creation, The Landlord’s Game. A big hit with her friends in Maryland, Magie’s circular board game featured properties for sale and a ‘Go to Jail’ space, much like its later, more famous iteration – Monopoly.…

You’ve probably never heard of him, but James Lafayette is a man worth remembering. Born into slavery in 1748 (records are sketchy, but he was likely a Sagittarian), James served bravely in the Revolutionary War under the Marquis de Lafayette, whose name he later took.…

In September 1954, after receiving a terminal diagnosis, 63-year-old Annie Wilkins decided that a big change was in order. After living on the family farm in Maine her entire life, and with all her relatives gone, she decided to hit the road.…

I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm.”…

For two weeks, author Gregg Braden had acclimated his body to altitudes of over 16,500 feet above sea level. Along with 20 other seekers, he had crossed an icy river in hand-hewn wooden barges and hiked up the steep, jagged peaks of the Himalayas to a remote monastery, with one burning question in mind.…

Scorpio Full Moon 2025: Answered Prayers

For two weeks, author Gregg Braden had acclimated his body to altitudes of over 16,500 feet above sea level. Along with 20 other seekers, he had crossed an icy river in hand-hewn wooden barges and hiked up the steep, jagged peaks of the Himalayas to a remote monastery with one burning question in mind.…