Social Studies

Ancient glimpses, Valentine's in Japan and office irritants

A daily miscellany of information by Michael Kesterton

Gordon Campbell

Gordon Campbell

Husband, father, grandfather, farmer, tenor. Born Feb. 28, 1933, in Harwich Township, Ont. Died Nov. 2, 2009, in Chatham, Ont., of heart failure, aged 76.

Facts & Arguments Essay

Valentine’s Day in Africa

In the most unexpected place, I was beginning to find home

Facts & Arguments Essay

My dirty little bathroom secret

There’s a legion of other toilet nappers out there, giddily bonding over forehead imprints and leg numbness

Facts & Arguments Essay

The secret to a happy marriage

Mystery dates add spice to our conversations as well as an element of surprise to our life together

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Facts & Arguments Podcasts

Facts & Arguments Podcast
The weather forecast links me to my distant children

Tracking what the skies are doing where my kids live is sometimes easier than keeping track of them

My father’s almost-Olympic experience

He was supposed to play on the hockey team that won gold in the 1948 games. But a faulty medical exam kept him at home

My grandfather’s criminal past

Family legend was that he had been tossed into jail for drunkenness. He actually served three years for arson

It’s time I get with the metric system

I know that above 30 C it's hot and below 0 C it's cold, but I haven't a clue about the temperatures in between

I’ve laced up my hockey skates again

Nothing is more humbling than returning to the ice after more than a decade as a spectator