Rambles in the Rustbelt is a series of audio explorations celebrating heritage architecture around the great lakes region. In this episode, Benjamin A. Vazquez leads us on a tour of Stratford, Ontario. Join us for this walk and explore the area. MORE

In the first half of the twentieth century, Stratford was home to Canada’s largest furniture industry. It employed about a quarter of the city’s workforce, the second largest industry after the railway which employed about a half. During the 1920s almost one-sixth of all the furniture made in Canada was made at Stratford.
The success of the furniture trade can be explained by Stratford’s location as a hub on the railway systems of the CNR which carried the products far and wide in six directions. The most important was the main line northeast to Toronto and Montreal, and southwest to Chicago, although the line to Buffalo was also important. Consequently, Stratford furniture was sold all over North America. MORE

Alexander III of Macedon (Greek:July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon and a member of the Argead dynasty. He was born in Pella in 356 BC and succeeded his father Philip II to the throne at the age of 20. He spent most of his ruling years on an unprecedented military campaign through Asia and northeast Africa, and by the age of thirty, he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from Greece to northwestern India. He was undefeated in battle and is widely considered one of history's most successful military commanders. MORE

It is unclear when Neanderthals split from modern humans, with DNA studies ranging from 182 kya to before 800 kya and the time of divergence from the ancestral Homo heidelbergensis is also vague. The oldest potential Neanderthal bones are dated to 430 kya, but the classification is uncertain. They are known from numerous fossils, especially following 130 kya. The type specimen, Neanderthal 1, was found in 1856 in the German Neander Valley. After much debate over its validity, Neanderthals were depicted as being primitive, stupid, and brutish, for much of the early 20th century. Though their image in the scientific community has markedly changed since, the unevolved caveman archetype remains prevalent in popular culture. MORE