NO ONE EVER LEARNS FROM HISTORY:

Viking Age Triggered by Shortage of Wives? (Jennifer Viegas, 9/17/08, Discovery News)

During the Viking Age from the late eighth to the mid-eleventh centuries, Scandinavians tore across Europe attacking, robbing and terrorizing locals. According to a new study, the young warriors were driven to seek their fortunes to better their chances of finding wives.

The odd twist to the story, said researcher James Barrett, is that it was the selective killing of female newborns that led to a shortage of Scandinavian women in the first place, resulting later in intense competition over eligible women.

China facing major gender imbalance: Country will soon have millions more men than women of marriageable age (AP, 1/12/07)

China will have 30 million more men of marriageable age than women in less than 15 years as a gender imbalance resulting from the country’s tough one-child policy becomes more pronounced, state media reported Friday.

The tens of millions of men who will not be able to find a wife could also lead to social instability problems, the China Daily said in a front-page report.

While the Brothers are here only because the men of Jutland found the British Isles such easy pickings, one doubts that bands of marauding Chinese men will be tolerated.

Posted by Orrin Judd at September 17, 2008 10:13 AM