Author: John Richards

“Why?” my ten-year-old daughter asked. “And why Ivy? Isn’t that poisonous?” “Good question!” I said, “It is perplexing isn’t it!” So I explained that, historically, when Europeans perceived that the days were finally beginning to get longer again, they wanted to celebrate, to hold a midwinter feast and drink wassail (a beverage made from fermented roasted apples). In those early days of Roman rule...

Religion poisons everything, I wrote only this morning, quoting Christopher Hitchen’s famous subtitle to his best-selling book, God is not Great. In that article, I pointed out that heinous, religiously inspired, atrocities occur every day and sure enough, I didn’t have to wait long; this afternoon, one such event has happened. ‘Suicide bomber kills 7 at church in Pakistan’ shouts the CNN headline...

It’s the 15th December, the anniversary of the death of the late, great, Christopher Hitchens. Unbelievably, it’s already six years since Hitch left us in 2011. He is so missed and remembered around the world that people are calling today, ‘Hitchmas’. Every day, some heinous, religiously-inspired, news item reminds us of his best-selling book’s subtitle: Religion Poisons Everything. It must have b...

There is a very good biological reason to prefer having sex with a virgin. It is this: minimal risk of infection by a sexually transmitted disease. The opposite to virginity, promiscuity, is great for spreading pathogens via bodily fluids. Historically, the clients of prostitutes could be observed falling ill with the same symptoms, so this undeniable correspondence is likely to have given rise to...