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TheCollector
A Brief History of the Zulu People They earned a fearsome reputation in the late 19th century when they inflicted the biggest defeat...
5 months ago
28
5 months ago
They earned a fearsome reputation in the late 19th century when they inflicted the biggest defeat Britain had ever suffered at the hands of Natives. A young tribe that had grown quickly into a powerful kingdom, the Zulu became known for their martial prowess and unyielding...
TheCollector
Impressionism Beyond Painting: Sculpture, Literature, Film and More Impressionism was the revolutionary art movement that shifted our relationship with painted images....
3 months ago
34
3 months ago
Impressionism was the revolutionary art movement that shifted our relationship with painted images. However, we are mostly familiar with it through the lens of painting. The truth is that many artists, photographers, composers, and writers tried to apply the movement’s principles...
TheCollector
Washington DC Street Named ‘Alma Thomas Way’ After Artist Alma Thomas (1891-1978) was a longtime educator and a prolific abstract painter who spent most of...
3 months ago
15
3 months ago
Alma Thomas (1891-1978) was a longtime educator and a prolific abstract painter who spent most of her career in Washington, DC. Now, to honor her local legacy, the street on which she lived and worked for seven decades has been renamed Alma Thomas Way.   The Hometown Legacy of...
TheCollector
Why Is Goliath Killed Twice in the Bible? David’s slaying of Goliath is one of the Bible’s most well-known stories. But the story’s plot line...
2 months ago
17
2 months ago
David’s slaying of Goliath is one of the Bible’s most well-known stories. But the story’s plot line in the Hebrew Bible contains three confusing wrinkles. First, the reader is introduced to David twice in the narrative. Second, David meets Saul, the king of Israel, twice in the...
Hidden History
The 1968 Utah Sheep Kill In 1968, a malfunctioning nerve gas test at the Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah killed several...
7 months ago
72
7 months ago
In 1968, a malfunctioning nerve gas test at the Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah killed several thousand sheep and provoked an outcry. In March 1968, researchers at the Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah were scheduled to perform three experiments involving a lethal nerve gas known as...
Flashbak
On My Stoop In Brooklyn Over Four Decades: Anthony’s Story We’re hanging out on the stoop of Anthony Catalano’s home in Boro Park, Brooklyn, New York City....
2 months ago
25
2 months ago
We’re hanging out on the stoop of Anthony Catalano’s home in Boro Park, Brooklyn, New York City. These pictures are of the “two main stoops on my block throughout the five decades on my life in Broro Park, Brooklyn NYC,” says Anthony. We’ve featured Anthony’s superb pictures of...
TheCollector
A Guide to the Best Historic Sites in South Korea Though many visit South Korea for its K-Dramas and K-Pop, the peninsula and islands also feature...
4 months ago
49
4 months ago
Though many visit South Korea for its K-Dramas and K-Pop, the peninsula and islands also feature numerous cultural charms and historic sites as well. South Korea has an expansive history, and tales of monks, soldiers, indigenous peoples, and royalty linger in these locations....
TheCollector
Does Life Have Meaning? Acte Gratuit & Free Will Does life have meaning? Brought into the vast and guideless world with a brain bent on...
3 months ago
27
3 months ago
Does life have meaning? Brought into the vast and guideless world with a brain bent on understanding, we struggle with randomness and even despise it. Yet the meaninglessness appears repeatedly in art—a desperate attempt to understand, perhaps? In this whirlwind of...
TheCollector
7 of the Most Inhospitable Places on Earth If one thing can be said about the human species, it’s that we are incredibly resourceful. We can...
6 months ago
24
6 months ago
If one thing can be said about the human species, it’s that we are incredibly resourceful. We can survive and put down roots virtually anywhere we choose, from the icy wastes of the Arctic to the searing heat of the Sahara.   Yet some places on the planet are so inhospitable that...
TheCollector
The Battle of Lugdunum Was the Largest Battle in Roman History On New Year’s Eve 192 CE, the Roman Empire’s Golden Age, almost a century of political tranquility,...
a month ago
29
a month ago
On New Year’s Eve 192 CE, the Roman Empire’s Golden Age, almost a century of political tranquility, came to an abrupt and violent end. A protracted period of civil war followed as various men sought to fill the void left by the imperial dynasty that died with Commodus. This...
Flashbak
Miyako Festivals Of Kyoto, Japan – Illustrations From A 1920s Album of Silk Paintings These illustrations of Miyako Festivals are from an album of silk paintings created in the 1920s...
a year ago
18
a year ago
These illustrations of Miyako Festivals are from an album of silk paintings created in the 1920s showing all different festivals held in Kyoto, Japan. Miyako (‘capital’) is an archaic name for Kyoto, which was the capital of Japan from 794 AD to 1868 AD. The pictures playson...
Classical Wisdom
What to do with Columbus? Should We Learn “Outdated” History?
10 months ago
Open Culture
Why Are the Names of British Towns & Cities So Hard to Pronounce?: A Humorous But Informative Primer When they make their first transoceanic voyage, more than a few Americans choose to go to England,...
6 months ago
35
6 months ago
When they make their first transoceanic voyage, more than a few Americans choose to go to England, on the assumption that, whatever culture shock they might experience, at least none of the difficulties will be linguistic. Only when it’s too late do they discover the true meaning...
TheCollector
Why Is the Gospel of Mark so Short? Of the four gospels in the Biblical canon, the Gospel of Mark is the shortest by a significant...
4 months ago
34
4 months ago
Of the four gospels in the Biblical canon, the Gospel of Mark is the shortest by a significant margin. The writer of John had a different approach to compiling and describing the message he wished to convey, so a difference in length would be understandable. With Matthew and...
TheCollector
Battle of Andrassos: Byzantine Empire vs. Sayf al-Dawla’s Jihad During the 10th century CE Sayf al-Dawla, Sword of the Dynasty, ruler of the Emirate of Aleppo...
2 months ago
18
2 months ago
During the 10th century CE Sayf al-Dawla, Sword of the Dynasty, ruler of the Emirate of Aleppo became the most prominent antagonist of the Byzantine Empire. Taking up the call of jihad, he launched devastating raids year after year across the Taurus mountains into the lands of...
Classical Wisdom
King Croesus Fate, Fortunes, and the Fall of an Empire
3 months ago
TheCollector
What Is the Smallest Country in Africa? The African continent is a big place. It is the second-largest continent and contains 54 countries,...
2 months ago
29
2 months ago
The African continent is a big place. It is the second-largest continent and contains 54 countries, including the island nations that dot the coastline. While some countries, like Algeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya, and Sudan, are huge, there are many others...
TheCollector
Interview With Adriano Marinazzo: Michelangelo Masterpieces in the US TheCollector recently had the pleasure of speaking with curator Adriano Marinazzo about...
6 months ago
27
6 months ago
TheCollector recently had the pleasure of speaking with curator Adriano Marinazzo about Michelangelo: The Genesis of the Sistine, an exciting new exhibition held at the Muscarelle Museum of Art at William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. On view from March 6 to May 28, 2025, the...
African History...
Africans in ancient Greece and Cyprus Africans were already present on the European mainland by the time Herodotus —the so called father...
5 months ago
43
5 months ago
Africans were already present on the European mainland by the time Herodotus —the so called father of history— wrote his monumental work, The Histories.
Dreams of Space -...
My Weekly Reader April 30, 1962 Here is your My Weekly Reader for April 30, 1962. This is stuffed full of cool articles so let's get...
2 months ago
32
2 months ago
Here is your My Weekly Reader for April 30, 1962. This is stuffed full of cool articles so let's get started! Do you understand the mysteries of the Moho? Does the Moho exist? People want to know!
TheCollector
Don Quixote: Was the First Modern Novel Born in Captivity? First published in 1605, Don Quixote is considered by many to be the first modern novel. Because of...
6 months ago
22
6 months ago
First published in 1605, Don Quixote is considered by many to be the first modern novel. Because of this, it is still widely read and beloved over 400 years later. However, the daunting nature and outdated language of the massive text preclude many from having more than a passing...
Flashbak
Photos of New York City Stores in 1997 New Yorker Meredith Jacobson Marciano has amassed archive of 35mm film shots, Polaroids and early...
a year ago
34
a year ago
New Yorker Meredith Jacobson Marciano has amassed archive of 35mm film shots, Polaroids and early digital photographs in NYC from the mid to late 1970s through the early aughts, “when the city still seemed kind of old”. Much like with Peter Marshall’s pictures of London, Meredith...
TheCollector
What Is Max Weber’s Theory of Rationalization? Max Weber’s theory of rationalization describes the transformation of pre-modern societies – steeped...
3 months ago
40
3 months ago
Max Weber’s theory of rationalization describes the transformation of pre-modern societies – steeped in traditional, mystical, and religious authority – into modern, bureaucratically organized nation-states. At the heart of his thesis is the idea that increasing rationalization...
African History...
The Meroitic script and the documents of ancient Kush (ca. 300BC-450CE) The Meroitic writing system of the kingdom of Kush is one of the best-known, yet most enigmatic...
8 months ago
Wrong Side of...
'We live in an age where illness and deformity are commonplace' The Year of the Plague #5
5 months ago
TheCollector
What Made Basil II One of Byzantium’s Greatest Emperors? Basil II ruled the Byzantine Empire for almost half a century between 976 and 1025 CE. As a military...
3 weeks ago
9
3 weeks ago
Basil II ruled the Byzantine Empire for almost half a century between 976 and 1025 CE. As a military leader, he broke the power of the First Bulgarian Empire and expanded his frontiers to Georgia, Armenia, and Mesopotamia. As a political reformer, he centralized power and...
Flashbak
Illustrated People: Artist Burns Old Photos Onto Human Skin “You know, I am fed up with how photography is often shown in a frame, and so we should invent new...
2 weeks ago
14
2 weeks ago
“You know, I am fed up with how photography is often shown in a frame, and so we should invent new ways to show it, and performance is one way of doing that” – French artist Thomas Mailaender, creator of Illustrated People, 2015     Thomas Mailaender needed a favour. Having...
Classical Wisdom
Art of the Etruscans Romans before the Romans
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Aristotle's Poetics The Science of Art
a year ago
Overcoming Bias
Adaptive Status Markers As polls and asking LLMs didn’t give me much insight into which status markers are more adaptive,...
4 months ago
33
4 months ago
As polls and asking LLMs didn’t give me much insight into which status markers are more adaptive, let me try to think the issue through myself.
Trying to Understand...
Ukraine: A Guide For The Perplexed Part One, anyway. More next week.
a year ago
Hundred Rabbits
Summary of changes for April 2025 Hey everyone! This is the list of all the changes we've done to our projects during the month of...
4 months ago
25
4 months ago
Hey everyone! This is the list of all the changes we've done to our projects during the month of April. 100r.co, updated water, ditch bag, woodstove installation, and added new photos and information on first-aid kit. Rabbit Waves, updated Triangular Bandages with animated gifs,...
African History...
The empire of Kong (ca. 1710-1915): a cultural legacy of medieval Mali. At the close of the 18th century, the West African hosts of the Scottish traveler Mungo Park...
a year ago
95
a year ago
At the close of the 18th century, the West African hosts of the Scottish traveler Mungo Park informed him of a range of mountains situated in "a large and powerful kingdom called Kong".
Global Inequality...
To be young, perchance to dream A review of Miloš Vojinović's “The political ideas of the Young Bosnia”
8 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup The End of the World?
over a year ago
A Collection of...
Collections: Life, Work, Death and the Peasant, Part II: Starting at the End This is the second part of our series (I) discussing the basic contours of life – birth, marriage,...
a month ago
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a month ago
This is the second part of our series (I) discussing the basic contours of life – birth, marriage, labor, subsistence, death – of pre-modern peasants and their families. As we’ve discussed, pre-modern peasant farmers make up the vast majority of human beings in in the past. Last...
Patterns in Humanity
2024 in writing A brief recap of my 2024 posts
8 months ago
Dreams of Space -...
Tip & Top and The Moon Rocket (1964) A charming pop-up book about a trip to the moon. Like other pop-up books it is hard to share how...
6 days ago
12
6 days ago
A charming pop-up book about a trip to the moon. Like other pop-up books it is hard to share how wonderful it is to see the rocket rise up or how the surface of the Moon is 3-d.  It is a reprint and was was originally Czechoslovakian but I don't know much more about the original...
TheCollector
What Are Sigmund Freud’s Most Famous Quotes? Austrian neurologist and psychologist Sigmund Freud is a pioneer of modern psychology, famously...
yesterday
2
yesterday
Austrian neurologist and psychologist Sigmund Freud is a pioneer of modern psychology, famously known as the father of psychoanalysis. Despite his fame, most of the quotes circulating online under his name are misattributions. In this article, we examine Freud’s most famous...
Flashbak
Raw Punk Streets UK 1979–1982 “It wasn’t just about the bands; I documented the whole scene, particularly the fans. The fans were...
3 months ago
31
3 months ago
“It wasn’t just about the bands; I documented the whole scene, particularly the fans. The fans were often as intriguing a subject as the bands themselves. They would frequently end up fronting a band themselves a week or so later.” – Janette Beckman on British punks Janette...
Trying to Understand...
Books To Help Us Understand The World? Well, a few, anyway. And a bit.
a year ago
History Today Feed
‘Queen James’ by Gareth Russell review ‘Queen James’ by Gareth Russell review JamesHoare Mon, 04/07/2025 - 09:00
5 months ago
African History...
Kingdoms at the forest's edge: a history of Mangbetu (ca. 1750-1895) The northern region of central Africa between the modern countries of D.R.Congo and South Sudan has...
a year ago
92
a year ago
The northern region of central Africa between the modern countries of D.R.Congo and South Sudan has a long and complex history shaped by its internal cultural developments and its unique ecology between the savannah and the forest. Among the most remarkable states that emerged in...
TheCollector
The Story of the Union General Who Trained an Army He Refused to Use George McClellan was one of the most controversial generals of the American Civil War. Known for...
a month ago
19
a month ago
George McClellan was one of the most controversial generals of the American Civil War. Known for organizing the Army of the Potomac, McClellan earned praise from superiors for his ability to instill discipline within his men. However, his cautious approach on the battlefield led...
Open Culture
The Night When Miles Davis Opened for the Grateful Dead (1970) What’s that, you ask? Did Miles Davis open for the Grateful Dead at the Fillmore West? In what world...
7 months ago
61
7 months ago
What’s that, you ask? Did Miles Davis open for the Grateful Dead at the Fillmore West? In what world could such a thing happen? In the world of the late sixties/early seventies, when jazz fused with acid rock, acid rock with country, and pop culture took a long strange trip. The...
TheCollector
How Was King Louis XIV Involved in the “Affair of the Poisons?” Magic, poison, executions and King Louis XIV came together to create what is now known as the...
4 months ago
21
4 months ago
Magic, poison, executions and King Louis XIV came together to create what is now known as the ‘Affair of the Poisons’. How did one woman’s crime lead to a hunt to root out corruption at the heart of the royal court, and what role did the king come to play?   Who Was King […]
TheCollector
What the Bubonic Plague Can Still Teach Us About Civilization Collapse From 1347 to 1353, the Bubonic Plague, more commonly referred to as the Black Death, wracked the...
a month ago
17
a month ago
From 1347 to 1353, the Bubonic Plague, more commonly referred to as the Black Death, wracked the continent of Europe. It was a time of misery and suffering as almost half of Europe’s population succumbed to the disease, sending shockwaves throughout the continent and forcing...
Flashbak
New York City In Kodachrome – Color Photos Found In A Trashcan From the 1950s and 1960s One day, Jan Wein found some photographs.”For those of you who may not know the back story,”  he...
a year ago
74
a year ago
One day, Jan Wein found some photographs.”For those of you who may not know the back story,”  he tells us, “I lived in Manhattan in the 1980s when Ed Koch was mayor, before decamping to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where I remain to this day.At that time you could find many...
History Today Feed
The Church of England’s Great Ejection The Church of England’s Great Ejection JamesHoare Wed, 08/20/2025 - 08:13
2 weeks ago
TheCollector
What Role Did the Métis Play in the Depletion of Bison Herds? In the 19th century, the Métis hunted bison for food and economic purposes. The Métis emerged as a...
3 months ago
13
3 months ago
In the 19th century, the Métis hunted bison for food and economic purposes. The Métis emerged as a distinct group, with their own culture, language, and political leaders between the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, through the intermarriage of...