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Hidden History
The Assassination of Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr Civil rights icon Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr was shot and killed on April 4, 1968, on a motel...
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Civil rights icon Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr was shot and killed on April 4, 1968, on a motel balcony in Memphis. One of the earliest successes of the civil rights movement was a boycott in Montgomery, Alabama.  In 1955, after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her...
Classical Wisdom
How Extra Virgin Olive Oil Got its Name The Ancient History in Your Kitchen
4 hours ago
Flashbak
The Life of Flowers In Vintage Found Photographs Flowers speak a language we understand. They tell us of time and its passing. They speak of life and...
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Flowers speak a language we understand. They tell us of time and its passing. They speak of life and death, enduring, waiting and survival. They speak of hope and renewal. “To be a flower,” Emily Dickinson wrote in Bloom, a poem, “is profound Responsibility”. We’re thinking of...
Open Culture
The Only Illustrated Manuscript of Homer’s Iliad from Antiquity Despite its status as one of the most widely known and studied epic poems of all time, Homer’s Iliad...
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Despite its status as one of the most widely known and studied epic poems of all time, Homer’s Iliad has proven surprisingly resistant to adaptation. However much inspiration it has provided to modern-day novelists working in a variety of different traditions, it’s translated...
History Today Feed
Wool Aliens of the British Empire Wool Aliens of the British Empire JamesHoare Tue, 04/01/2025 - 09:07
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Open Culture
The Great Gatsby: A Free Audio Book April 10th will mark the 100th anniversary of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic American novel, The...
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April 10th will mark the 100th anniversary of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic American novel, The Great Gatsby. As A.O. Scott notes in a recent tribute, when first published, The Great Gatsby got off to a slow start. Initially, “Reviewers shrugged. Sales were sluggish. The novel...
The Scholar's Stage
The Eight Tribes of Trump and China LAST OCTOBER I published a short breakdown of four geopolitical ‘schools’ that might shape China...
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LAST OCTOBER I published a short breakdown of four geopolitical ‘schools’ that might shape China strategy under Trump. That piece was a pre-election preview of a much larger report I was writing for the Foreign Policy Research Institute. I published the preview as security: Trump...
TheCollector
“To Be Is to Be Perceived”: The Concept of Berkeley’s Idealism Ever thought about whether the world is there only because you think it is? That’s what George...
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Ever thought about whether the world is there only because you think it is? That’s what George Berkeley meant with his philosophy of idealism. The 18th-century philosopher came up with a pretty wild idea: “To be is to be perceived.” According to him, we don’t find objects, and...
TheCollector
New Study Challenges Origin Story of Sutton Hoo Helmet Where did the Sutton Hoo helmet come from? Archaeologists have long agreed that the iconic...
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Where did the Sutton Hoo helmet come from? Archaeologists have long agreed that the iconic Anglo-Saxon artifact was likely made in Sweden. But new research—along with a “strikingly” similar archaeological discovery in Denmark—is casting some doubt on the long-held assumption.  ...
Classical Wisdom
The 7 Sages of Ancient Greece From Dwarfs to Wise Men... What's Up With the Number 7?
22 hours ago
Flashbak
‘Goldfish Are Wankers’: London Graffiti, 1984-1994 In 1994, the graffiti on the wall that ran along the Riverside Path in London’s Thamesmead told...
yesterday
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yesterday
In 1994, the graffiti on the wall that ran along the Riverside Path in London’s Thamesmead told everyone that “GOLDFISH ARE WANKERS”.  We’ve seen “LESBIAN TURDS“, learned that “Cats like plain Crisps” and that you can “FREE KUWAIT WITH TIGER TOKENS“, but this is the first...
TheCollector
What Was Isaiah Berlin’s Political Philosophy? Isaiah Berlin had a major influence on 20th-century political philosophy that continues to be felt...
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Isaiah Berlin had a major influence on 20th-century political philosophy that continues to be felt today through his essay “Two Concepts of Liberty.” In this work, Berlin examines the tension between individual freedom and collective governance. Negative liberty is about being...
TheCollector
Yoko Ono’s Tate Modern Retrospective Heads to US After a sell-out stint at London’s Tate Modern, a major Yoko Ono retrospective is hopping across the...
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After a sell-out stint at London’s Tate Modern, a major Yoko Ono retrospective is hopping across the pond. The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago announced it will be the only American institution to host Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind. The exhibition will open on October 18, 2025,...
Wrong Side of...
The return of the Europeans Reflections on ‘Reflections on the Revolution in Europe’, Part Eight
yesterday
TheCollector
An Overview of the Qin and Han Chinese Dynasties In 221 BCE, King Ying Zheng of Qin conquered the rival warring states and established the Qin empire...
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In 221 BCE, King Ying Zheng of Qin conquered the rival warring states and established the Qin empire as Qin Shi Huangdi (The First August Emperor of Qin). The Qin emperor centralized state administration, built an extensive road network, and built the first Great Wall.   While...
TheCollector
Does the Hebrew Bible Predict the Virgin Birth of Christ? The Gospels of Matthew and Luke both assert that Mary conceived Jesus as a virgin. But while Luke...
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The Gospels of Matthew and Luke both assert that Mary conceived Jesus as a virgin. But while Luke tells the story without referencing any specific passages from Jewish scripture, Matthew quotes several biblical texts and speaks of them as being “fulfilled” in the events...
Open Culture
Did the Tower of Babel Actually Exist?: A Look at the Archaeological Evidence For all the means of communication and exchange we’ve established between the cultures of the world,...
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For all the means of communication and exchange we’ve established between the cultures of the world, no matter how distant they may be from one another, we still have no truly universal single human language. The reason could date back to antiquity, when we first attempted a...
History Today Feed
‘Buddhism’ by Donald S. Lopez Jr. review ‘Buddhism’ by Donald S. Lopez Jr. review JamesHoare Mon, 03/31/2025 - 08:57
yesterday
Hundred Rabbits
Summary of changes for March 2025 Hey everyone! This is the list of all the changes we've done to our projects during the month of...
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Hey everyone! This is the list of all the changes we've done to our projects during the month of March. Summary Of Changes In the above illustration, little Ninj is going through a first-aid kit, looking through our supplies to see what needs to be topped off and what is...
TheCollector
How Did The Spanish Civil War Affect Surrealism? In 1936, the eruption of the Spanish Civil War forced thousands of Spaniards to flee their country,...
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In 1936, the eruption of the Spanish Civil War forced thousands of Spaniards to flee their country, unsure if they ever could come back. Back home, the troops of Francisco Franco murdered tens of thousands and imposed conservative oppressive laws. Surrealist artists, usually...
Open Culture
A Rare Smile Captured in a 19th Century Photograph Just look at this photo. Just look at this young girl’s smile. We know her name: O‑o-dee. And we...
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Just look at this photo. Just look at this young girl’s smile. We know her name: O‑o-dee. And we know that she was a member of the Kiowa tribe in the Oklahoma Territory. And we know that the photo was taken in 1894. But that smile is like a time machine. O‑o-dee might just as […]
TheCollector
Ancient Tomb with Gladiator Epitaph Discovered in Italy Excavations at a necropolis in southern Italy’s Liternum Archaeological Park revealed two ornate...
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Excavations at a necropolis in southern Italy’s Liternum Archaeological Park revealed two ornate tombs—one of which belonged to a gladiator, according to an etched marble epitaph.   “This necropolis, thanks to its excellently preserved wall structures and tombs, adds an important...
TheCollector
What Was the Women’s Land Army? During WWI and WWII, the Women’s Land Army contributed greatly to food production in Britain. These...
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During WWI and WWII, the Women’s Land Army contributed greatly to food production in Britain. These women worked tirelessly on farms across the United Kingdom in an effort to support struggling farmers who had lost their mostly male workforce to the armed forces. They completed a...
TheCollector
What Is the Second Epistle of John About? Tradition held that the Johannine Epistles (1, 2, and 3 John) were the work of John, the beloved...
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Tradition held that the Johannine Epistles (1, 2, and 3 John) were the work of John, the beloved apostle. These works discuss similar themes to those of the Gospel of John and, at times, allude to what the Gospel of John proclaimed. The Second Epistle of John addresses Docetism,...
Classical Wisdom
Weekly Wisdom Quiz Aristotle and Happiness
2 days ago
Flashbak
Vintage Architectural Stationery Vignettes The images below are from Columbia University’s collection of commercial stationery, featuring...
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The images below are from Columbia University’s collection of commercial stationery, featuring architectural illustrations and gorgeous typography for factories, warehouses, mines, offices, stores, banks and hotels. Industries in this album of architectural stationery vignettes...
African History...
Africans in ancient Greece and Cyprus Africans were already present on the European mainland by the time Herodotus —the so called father...
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Africans were already present on the European mainland by the time Herodotus —the so called father of history— wrote his monumental work, The Histories.
TheCollector
When War Became Sport: The History of the Mesoamerican Ballgame Sports are an integral part of modern society. Going far beyond entertainment, sports and sports...
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Sports are an integral part of modern society. Going far beyond entertainment, sports and sports teams, ranging from high school and local teams to national teams at the Olympics, are closely tied to group identity and feelings of belonging. It should come as no surprise, then,...
TheCollector
What Was the Influence of the Silk Road on the Spread of Religions? The Silk Road was a network of land and sea-based trade routes that connected parts of the African,...
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The Silk Road was a network of land and sea-based trade routes that connected parts of the African, Asian, and European continents. The network enabled trade-items such as fabrics, spices, jewels, and in some instances, cultures and religions to spread across the region. The...
TheCollector
10 Must-Visit Museums in Florida With a past shaped by Spanish explorers, pirates, and visionaries, Florida is home to some of the...
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With a past shaped by Spanish explorers, pirates, and visionaries, Florida is home to some of the most fascinating historic sites in the United States. Visitors flock here to walk through centuries-old forts in St. Augustine, explore Gilded Age estates in Miami, and experience...
TheCollector
The Battle of Red Cliffs: The Epic Clash That Defined The Three Kingdoms At the turn of the 3rd century CE, China descended into civil war as the court of the Han Dynasty...
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At the turn of the 3rd century CE, China descended into civil war as the court of the Han Dynasty was torn apart by factionalism. As central authority melted away, ambitious warlords competed for power in the name of a puppet emperor. By the time the last Han Emperor was forced...
TheCollector
Facts and Myths About Harriet Tubman There are few Americans today who do not know the name Harriet Tubman. Famous for her work on the...
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There are few Americans today who do not know the name Harriet Tubman. Famous for her work on the Underground Railroad, Tubman is a beloved historical figure of the Civil War era. Yet common knowledge about her and her work is plagued by half-truths and exaggerations. As...
TheCollector
The Devil Wears Galliano: A Look at Fashion’s Enfant Terrible The creative genius of John Galliano rose four decades ago but managed to remain relevant and...
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The creative genius of John Galliano rose four decades ago but managed to remain relevant and exciting. He is known for being scandalous and provocative, both in his work and, sometimes, in his life. Despite all controversies and scandals, Galliano seems to have redeemed his...
TheCollector
Joséphine Bonaparte: Empress of the French Napoleon’s impact on the world cannot be understated. He upset the entire balance of power in the...
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Napoleon’s impact on the world cannot be understated. He upset the entire balance of power in the world and conquered most of Europe in armed conflicts that would see the deaths of hundreds of thousands of soldiers.   Behind the man who led armies into battle was his wife,...
Wrong Side of...
Tolerance and terror Reflections on ‘Reflections on the Revolution in Europe’, Part Seven
3 days ago
TheCollector
Psychology of Color: Why Are We Attracted to Gold? Gold is among the most coveted colors in jewelry, fashion, decor, artifacts, and designs....
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Gold is among the most coveted colors in jewelry, fashion, decor, artifacts, and designs. Historically, it has been cherished across all cultures and generations. What is the secret behind our timeless love of gold? Does it merely represent luxury and status for us, or does its...
TheCollector
10 Must-See Monuments on the Acropolis Athens, the cradle of Western civilization, has stood as a beacon of culture, philosophy, and...
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Athens, the cradle of Western civilization, has stood as a beacon of culture, philosophy, and democracy for over 3,000 years. Once the heart of ancient Greece, this city flourished during the 5th century BCE, producing legendary figures like Socrates, Plato, and Pericles. Its...
TheCollector
Discover the Cubist World of Fernand Léger Fernand Léger was one of the French Cubists who revolutionized painting in the early 20th century....
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Fernand Léger was one of the French Cubists who revolutionized painting in the early 20th century. However, Léger’s artistic input is often unjustly dismissed by art writers and some historians. Instead of moving further towards abstraction, Léger took a step back and developed a...
TheCollector
Lucrezia Borgia: Femme Fatale or Innocent Pawn? Five centuries ago, Italy was a dangerous and brutal place for the nobility and the general...
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Five centuries ago, Italy was a dangerous and brutal place for the nobility and the general populace. Political machinations resulted in swift changes, with assassinations and war commonplace.   Born into this dynamic was Lucrezia Borgia, one of the most complex and intriguing...
TheCollector
New Exhibition Focuses on Van Gogh’s Roulin Family Portraits When Vincent van Gogh moved in next door to Postman Joseph Roulin, he not only discovered a new...
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When Vincent van Gogh moved in next door to Postman Joseph Roulin, he not only discovered a new friendship. In each member of the Roulin family, the artist also found a new muse. Now, over a century later, the iconic Post-Impressionist portraits that resulted from this neighborly...
TheCollector
Frick Collection Unveils $220 Million Renovation Situated alongside New York City’s Central Park, the famed Frick Collection is reopening to the...
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Situated alongside New York City’s Central Park, the famed Frick Collection is reopening to the public after its first-ever comprehensive upgrade. With an expanded suite of exhibition and programmatic spaces, the new Frick’s inaugural events season will include a two-week music...
A Collection of...
Gap Week: March 28, 2025 Hey folks! The conclusion of our look at the Siege of Eregion in Rings of Power will have to wait a...
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Hey folks! The conclusion of our look at the Siege of Eregion in Rings of Power will have to wait a week because I am off to a conference this week, the annual meeting of the Society for Military History, this year in Mobile, Alabama! I’m set to talk about how Roman military...
Flashbak
Sex In A Japanese Love Hotel “These venues have a very ‘talkative’ quality visually – they‘re expressive in design, reflecting...
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“These venues have a very ‘talkative’ quality visually – they‘re expressive in design, reflecting aspects of local culture, values, and even fantasies” – François Prost, Love Hotels     There are about 37,000 Love Hotels in Japan. Sex on the clock in a rented room is big business...
TheCollector
4 Fashion Designers Who Celebrate Craftsmanship The unsettlingly rapid development of ultra-fast fashion altered our relationship with clothes and...
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The unsettlingly rapid development of ultra-fast fashion altered our relationship with clothes and the cost of their creation. With thousands of items of clothing available at just one click, fashion historians, anthropologists, and environmental activists are concerned about the...
Classical Wisdom
The Bohemian Philosophy From Socrates to Mick Jagger
4 days ago
TheCollector
An Overview of the Xia, Shang, & Zhou Chinese Dynasties According to Chinese tradition, Chinese civilization is 5,000 years old, though the ancient China of...
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According to Chinese tradition, Chinese civilization is 5,000 years old, though the ancient China of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties was far smaller than modern China and largely confined to the Yellow River basin. Over time, its peoples expanded further afield and...
TheCollector
What Was the Diamond Necklace Affair? Of the many scandals associated with the notorious French Queen Marie Antoniette in the buildup to...
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Of the many scandals associated with the notorious French Queen Marie Antoniette in the buildup to her catastrophic downfall, the Diamond Necklace Affair was one of the more insidious and toxic, embroiling the queen in a sordid tale of theft, deception and corruption. We take a...
Open Culture
This Is What a Nuclear Strike Would Feel Like: The New York Times Creates a Precise Simulation Though certain generations may have grown up trained to take cover under their classroom desks in...
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Though certain generations may have grown up trained to take cover under their classroom desks in the case of a nuclear showdown between the United States and the Soviet Union, few of us today can believe that we’d stand much chance if we found ourselves anywhere near a detonated...
TheCollector
10 Must-See UNESCO Heritage Sites in India UNESCO World Heritage Sites are globally recognized landmarks celebrated for their cultural,...
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UNESCO World Heritage Sites are globally recognized landmarks celebrated for their cultural, historical, artistic, or environmental significance. From ancient cities and architectural wonders to biodiversity hotspots, these sites are legally protected to preserve their legacy for...
Open Culture
Superman vs. the KKK: Hear the 1946 Superman Radio Show That Weakened the Klan Years ago, back in 2016, we featured a 1950 Superman poster that urged students to defend the...
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Years ago, back in 2016, we featured a 1950 Superman poster that urged students to defend the American way and fight discrimination everywhere. Today, we present another chapter from Superman’s little-known history as a Civil Rights defender. The year is 1946. World War II has...
TheCollector
The Truth About the Electoral College & How Your Vote Matters When US citizens vote in presidential elections every four years, it’s the controversial Electoral...
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When US citizens vote in presidential elections every four years, it’s the controversial Electoral College that determines the winner, not the popular vote. This unique and somewhat convoluted system devised by the Founding Fathers impacts everything from where candidates...
Overcoming Bias
Turn The Ship Or Leave on Lifeboats To those who see just how much better is a civilized life, one of the most terrifying things one can...
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To those who see just how much better is a civilized life, one of the most terrifying things one can learn from history is that pretty much all past civilizations fell.
TheCollector
Grace Kelly: Her Life, Death, & Royal Legacy Grace Kelly is a ubiquitous name in history. She was the symbol of a sort-of American fairytale as a...
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Grace Kelly is a ubiquitous name in history. She was the symbol of a sort-of American fairytale as a famous actress in her own right who met and fell in love with the Prince of Monaco. Grace Kelly’s life and death are still the subject of modern intrigue, as she is one of the […]
TheCollector
Centuries-Old Buddhist Temple Destroyed by Wildfires Wildfires tearing through the southern regions of South Korea have killed at least 28 people and...
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Wildfires tearing through the southern regions of South Korea have killed at least 28 people and destroyed or threatened hundreds of historical sites. As of Thursday, the wildfires have burned at least 88,980 acres of land, according to the South Korean government’s disaster...
TheCollector
The Shocking Truth About Salvador Dali The king of Surrealism, the revolutionary filmmaker, and one of the greatest businessmen of his...
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The king of Surrealism, the revolutionary filmmaker, and one of the greatest businessmen of his era—these titles all righteously belong to Salvador Dali. But there are also other characteristics: domestic abuser, violent narcissist, fascist, and a terrible friend. These bold...
TheCollector
9 Historic Gems in Peru: From Inca Ruins to Colonial Cities Peru’s history dates back over 5,000 years, making it an intoxicating and addictive destination for...
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Peru’s history dates back over 5,000 years, making it an intoxicating and addictive destination for history enthusiasts. While Machu Picchu and the ancient Inca Empire may claim most of the attention, there is much more of Peru’s history to discover. As the birthplace of ancient...
TheCollector
Who Were Ancient Israel’s Boy Kings? After Solomon’s death, the ancient Kingdom of Israel split into two realms. The northern half was...
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After Solomon’s death, the ancient Kingdom of Israel split into two realms. The northern half was called Israel and the southern Judah. At different times in the period that followed, known as the Divided Kingdom, three boys under thirteen-years-old—Joash, Manasseh, and...
Wrong Side of...
The First Briton James I, the wise fool who dreamed of a Great Britain
5 days ago
History Today Feed
Did Charles I Have to Die? Did Charles I Have to Die? JamesHoare Thu, 03/27/2025 - 09:06
5 days ago
Open Culture
The Best Photographer You’ve Never Heard Of: An Introduction to Tseng Kwong Chi Once, the United States was known for sending forth the world’s most complained-about international...
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Once, the United States was known for sending forth the world’s most complained-about international tourists; today, that dubious distinction arguably belongs to China. But it wasn’t so long ago that the Chinese tourist was a practically unheard-of phenomenon, especially in the...
TheCollector
10 Must-Visit Historic Towns in North Carolina North Carolina has played a major role in American history, from being the first colony to call for...
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North Carolina has played a major role in American history, from being the first colony to call for independence with the Halifax Resolves in 1776 to its significance in the Revolutionary War and Civil War. Its early settlements shaped politics, trade, and industry, leaving...
Open Culture
Man Ray’s Surrealist Cinema: Watch Four Pioneering Films From the 1920s Man Ray was one of the leading artists of the avant-garde of 1920s and 1930s Paris. A key figure in...
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Man Ray was one of the leading artists of the avant-garde of 1920s and 1930s Paris. A key figure in the Dada and Surrealist movements, his works spanned various media, including film. He was a leading exponent of the Cinéma Pur, or “Pure Cinema,” which rejected such “bourgeois”...
TheCollector
Voter Turnout and Political Ideologies in the US: An Overview Today, we frequently hear that we are in unprecedented times when it comes to politics and voting....
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Today, we frequently hear that we are in unprecedented times when it comes to politics and voting. But is that actually the case? Are there historical parallels and precedents to today’s political landscape? Over time, voter turnout and political ideologies have evolved in the...
CrimethInc.
The Anti-Deportation Collective : Fighting the Machinery of Deportation in France in the 1990s In the following account, the author recounts scenes from the movement against deportations in Paris...
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In the following account, the author recounts scenes from the movement against deportations in Paris in the late 1990s. As Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and their lackeys scapegoat the undocumented and kidnap immigrants who oppose genocide even when they hold green cards, it is a good...
TheCollector
How World War I Reshaped Fernand Léger’s Art The first truly global military conflict, World War I, scarred and reshaped entire generations of...
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The first truly global military conflict, World War I, scarred and reshaped entire generations of men and women. For many, it seemed that art in its usual sense could no longer exist after such destruction. For a promising young Cubist called Fernand Léger, combat was a traumatic...
Classical Wisdom
How to Be Happy, According to Aristotle A recording from Classical Wisdom and Evan Amato's live video
6 days ago
TheCollector
11 Historical Places to Visit in Oxfordshire Home to some of England’s most known poets, scientists, and religious figures, the county of...
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Home to some of England’s most known poets, scientists, and religious figures, the county of Oxfordshire can trace its roots back 5,000 years to Neolithic times. Discover C. S. Lewis’s house, Oxford’s Castle and Prison, abbey ruins, an ancient Iron Age Hillfort, and a wealth of...
TheCollector
Who Was Edward Said & His Groundbreaking Orientalism? Edward Said grew up in Palestine before moving to the United States. His lived experience and his...
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Edward Said grew up in Palestine before moving to the United States. His lived experience and his study of Western perceptions of the Middle East were the basis for Orientalism, which contends that Western superiority complexes are concealed behind depictions of the East that...
TheCollector
What Did Einstein Say About Capitalism? Albert Einstein’s brain, Roland Barthes once wrote, “is a mythical object.” His genius is...
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Albert Einstein’s brain, Roland Barthes once wrote, “is a mythical object.” His genius is immortalized in the public imagination through a single, elegant equation: E = mc². His theories of relativity, his wild grey hair, and his outstretched tongue define his image. However, far...
Trying to Understand...
Playing with Politics Everything is permitted but nothing is possible.
6 days ago
Flashbak
15 Signs of the Last Judgement and End of Days: 1450 – 1470 The Livre de la vigne nostre Seigneur is an anonymous illustrated treatise on the Antichrist, Last...
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The Livre de la vigne nostre Seigneur is an anonymous illustrated treatise on the Antichrist, Last Judgement, Hell, Heaven, Christ and Antichrist. It features 15 illustrations that mark the End of Days. What makes the series particularly interesting is its lack of human figures...
History Today Feed
Have We Forgotten How to Listen to Lectures? Have We Forgotten How to Listen to Lectures? JamesHoare Wed, 03/26/2025 - 09:04
6 days ago
Open Culture
When Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Pastor, Theorized How Stupidity Enabled the Rise of the Nazis... Two days after Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, the Lutheran pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer...
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Two days after Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, the Lutheran pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer took to the airwaves. Before his radio broadcast was cut off, he warned his countrymen that their führer could well be a verführer, or misleader. Bonhoeffer’s anti-Nazism lasted...
Open Culture
Spike Jonze Creates a New Short Film (aka Commercial) for Apple ?si=UQ0XdCH-cVGe26AC With his iconic Super Bowl ad in 1984, Ridley Scott began a tradition of...
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?si=UQ0XdCH-cVGe26AC With his iconic Super Bowl ad in 1984, Ridley Scott began a tradition of accomplished filmmakers creating advertisements for Apple. In the years since, we’ve seen David Fincher shoot an ad promoting the iPhone 3GS, Michel Gondry direct a spot showcasing the...
TheCollector
What Is the Book of James About? The Book of James is a short but powerful epistle with similarities to Proverbs. The author writes...
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The Book of James is a short but powerful epistle with similarities to Proverbs. The author writes to an audience of Jewish descent to instruct them on a range of issues and to encourage them to stand firm in times of trial. His view on difficult times was that they provide...
TheCollector
A Journey Through Dante’s Inferno: A Brief Guide Over the centuries, Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy has often been declared the pinnacle of the...
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Over the centuries, Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy has often been declared the pinnacle of the medieval literary mind. Other critics, looking ahead, have called it a brilliant artistic harbinger of the coming European Renaissance. The renowned Anglo-American poet T.S. Eliot...
Classical Wisdom
Was Aristotle Right About Happiness? LIVE Substack Session: Wednesday @ 1pm
a week ago
TheCollector
“Unprecedented” Hoard of Iron Age Artifacts Found in England A lucky metal detectorist and a team of archaeologists unearthed one of the “largest and most...
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A lucky metal detectorist and a team of archaeologists unearthed one of the “largest and most important” troves of Iron Age artifacts ever found in the United Kingdom. Dating back 2,000 years, the Melsonby Hoard was excavated in a field near Melsonby, North Yorkshire.   Metal...
Flashbak
Ibiza Undressed – Uninhibited Clubbing in the 1980s (NSFW) “Happiness isn’t forever. We were happy and we didn’t know it.” – Alex Maspon on Ibiza in the 1980s...
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“Happiness isn’t forever. We were happy and we didn’t know it.” – Alex Maspon on Ibiza in the 1980s     In these straightened times of polarised debate, herd mentality, religious fundamentalism and social conformity we need Oriol Maspons’ pictures of 1980s Ibiza. The Spanish...
Hidden History
Sailing Ship “Star of India” The Star of India is an iron-hulled merchant sailing ship built in England in 1863. On display at...
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The Star of India is an iron-hulled merchant sailing ship built in England in 1863. On display at the Maritime Museum of San Diego, she is billed as “the world’s oldest active sailing ship”. In 1863, the Gibson, McDonald & Arnold shipbuilding company, on the Isle of Man, began...
TheCollector
Anne Frank Heroically Lives on Through Her Diaries Despite her all-too-brief life, Annelies “Anne” Frank is the stuff of legend, lore, and countless...
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Despite her all-too-brief life, Annelies “Anne” Frank is the stuff of legend, lore, and countless heart-felt tributes. She is the unspeakably tragic face of the Jewish Holocaust. Her family’s temporary refuge in their Amsterdam “secret annex” is among the most revered global...
TheCollector
What Is the Trinity in Christianity? The term “the Trinity” does not appear anywhere in the Bible. The concept of the Trinity is also not...
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The term “the Trinity” does not appear anywhere in the Bible. The concept of the Trinity is also not explicitly taught in the Bible. To this day, some Christians reject this doctrine which is part of the fundamental beliefs of most Christian churches today. So, what is the...
TheCollector
What Are Five Major Historical Misconceptions? As we revise the study of our human history and find more archival materials and documents, our...
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As we revise the study of our human history and find more archival materials and documents, our understanding of how things really happened has often changed. Sometimes rumors started from the smallest of scraps of evidence, or common gossip at the time. Here are some of the...
Open Culture
When The Twilight Zone Imagined Fascism in America in a 1963 Episode Starring Dennis Hopper Watch through The Twilight Zone, and you’ll find yourself spotting no end of familiar faces: Julie...
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Watch through The Twilight Zone, and you’ll find yourself spotting no end of familiar faces: Julie Newmar, Burt Reynolds, Robert Redford, Elizabeth Montgomery, William Shatner, even Buster Keaton. The 1963 episode “He’s Alive” is at least doubly notable in that respect, featuring...
Open Culture
NASA Visualizes the Ocean Currents in Motion: A Mesmerizing View of Earth’s Underwater Highways The mesmerizing video above lets you visualize the ocean currents around the world. Using data from...
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The mesmerizing video above lets you visualize the ocean currents around the world. Using data from spacecraft, buoys, and other measurements, the visualization shows the ocean in motion, with the currents creating Van Gogh-like swirls around the globe. According to NASA, “the...
TheCollector
American Civil War: Maps, Battlefields, and Generals The fighting of the American Civil War ultimately reached nearly every state in the Northern and...
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The fighting of the American Civil War ultimately reached nearly every state in the Northern and Southern territories, with key battles fought in places like Pennsylvania, Virginia, and South Carolina. While Generals Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant led their respective armies,...
TheCollector
5 Events That Characterized Cold War Détente Following the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the world stood on the brink of nuclear war, the two...
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Following the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the world stood on the brink of nuclear war, the two ideologically opposed superpowers—the United States and the Soviet Union—looked for diplomatic solutions to ease the tension. Historians refer to this period with the French term...
Overcoming Bias
Join We Meta-Adaptionists Standard decision theory says that all decisions combine two key factors: opinions on values, and...
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Standard decision theory says that all decisions combine two key factors: opinions on values, and beliefs about facts.
TheCollector
Archaeologists Unearth First Roman Aqueduct in Slovakia Amidst excavations at a historic mansion in Bratislava, archaeologists discovered an ancient Roman...
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Amidst excavations at a historic mansion in Bratislava, archaeologists discovered an ancient Roman aqueduct system hidden beneath the dirt. It is the first of its kind to be discovered in Slovakia.   Ancient Aqueduct Found at 19th-Century Mansion   While working to research and...
TheCollector
What Is an Artist According to Sigmund Freud? The famous psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud expressed a keen interest in art and artists throughout his...
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The famous psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud expressed a keen interest in art and artists throughout his entire career. Although his own views on art were quite conservative, he nonetheless managed to inspire and direct generations of radical modernists, including the Surrealists. In...
Classical Wisdom
Rehabilitating Aspasia Separating Evidence from Comic Slander
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TheCollector
Who Are Jannes and Jambres in the Bible? When Paul mentioned Jannes and Jambres in 2 Timothy 3:8, his audience likely knew who these men...
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When Paul mentioned Jannes and Jambres in 2 Timothy 3:8, his audience likely knew who these men were, but readers today often do not. According to Jewish tradition, they were the magicians who opposed Moses when he called on Pharaoh to release the Israelites from slavery. On...
Wrong Side of...
Welcome to the hub What explains the strange ubiquity of this word?
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TheCollector
How Did the Minoan Octopus Vase Get Cracked? Valuable ancient artefacts provide a direct connection to human history by revealing details such as...
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Valuable ancient artefacts provide a direct connection to human history by revealing details such as the old ways of life and the tools used at that time. They also provide valuable evolutionary insights that reveal how certain groups of people evolved from bygone eras. This is...
History Today Feed
‘Vietdamned’ by Clive Webb review ‘Vietdamned’ by Clive Webb review JamesHoare Mon, 03/24/2025 - 09:17
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Open Culture
How Dave Brubeck’s Time Out Changed Jazz Music video essay maestro Polyphonic is back. What I dig about his videos is that he takes on some...
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Music video essay maestro Polyphonic is back. What I dig about his videos is that he takes on some of the true warhorses of modern popular music and manages to find something new to say. Or at least he presents familiar stories in a new and modern way to an audience who may be...
Flashbak
Blade Runner – Starring Divine and Grace Jones, 1982 ” All he’d wanted were the same answers the rest of us want. Where did I come from? Where am I...
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” All he’d wanted were the same answers the rest of us want. Where did I come from? Where am I going? How long have I got? All I could do was sit there and watch him die.” – Deckard, Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner,1982     In another world, Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1982) was …...
Open Culture
Every Hidden Detail of New York’s Classic Skyscrapers: The Chrysler, Empire State & Woolworth... Currently, the tallest buildings in New York City are One World Trade Center, Central Park Tower,...
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Currently, the tallest buildings in New York City are One World Trade Center, Central Park Tower, and 111 West 57th Street. All of them were completed in the twenty-twenties, and all of them have attracted comment, sometimes admiring, sometimes bewildered. But none of them, fair...
TheCollector
Snorri Sturluson: Our Most Important Source for Norse Myth? Most of the surviving information we have about Norse mythology and legendary Viking history was...
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Most of the surviving information we have about Norse mythology and legendary Viking history was written by Snorri Sturluson, a Christian historian and politician living in Iceland in the 13th century. Consequently, much of what we know about Norse mythology and Viking religion...
TheCollector
9 Facts About the History of Sushi: A Beloved Japanese Dish Extending far beyond Japan, sushi is consumed by many different communities around the world. Its...
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Extending far beyond Japan, sushi is consumed by many different communities around the world. Its popularity in the West has helped to cement Japan’s global cultural influence, as Japanese cuisine gained a reputation for having healthy, fresh, and flavor-packed delicacies....
African History...
The Knights of ancient Nubia: horsemen and charioteers from the kingdom of Kush (ca. 1600BC-400CE) Among the groups of foreigners present in the Assyrian capital of Nimrud in 732 BC, was a community...
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Among the groups of foreigners present in the Assyrian capital of Nimrud in 732 BC, was a community of horse experts from the kingdom of Kush led by an official who supplied horses to the armies of Tiglath-Pileser III.
TheCollector
Key Issues in US Presidential Elections Throughout History What are the heavy, dramatic, hard-hitting issues that define US presidential elections? From...
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What are the heavy, dramatic, hard-hitting issues that define US presidential elections? From states’ representation in the electoral college to taxation to national defense, what motivates voters to go to the polls? Sometimes, both major party nominees are almost in complete...
Classical Wisdom
Weekly Wisdom Quiz Anger and Alexander
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TheCollector
What Is the Third Epistle of John About? The Third Epistle of John (3 John) is the shortest book in the New Testament, with a word count of...
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The Third Epistle of John (3 John) is the shortest book in the New Testament, with a word count of 219 words in the original Greek, though it has more verses than 2 John. It is also the only New Testament book that does not mention the word, Jesus or Christ, though it alludes […]
TheCollector
The Seminole Wars: What Were the Causes and Outcomes? The Seminole Wars were a series of conflicts sparked by American expansion, Seminole resistance, and...
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The Seminole Wars were a series of conflicts sparked by American expansion, Seminole resistance, and Spain’s need to focus on other troubled areas. They first erupted in 1816, as Americans attempted to push native Seminole people out of Florida. Three wars broke out over the next...
TheCollector
10 Must-Visit Beautiful Basilicas Around the World For over a thousand years, basilicas have been stages for history. Charlemagne knelt in St. Peter’s...
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For over a thousand years, basilicas have been stages for history. Charlemagne knelt in St. Peter’s Basilica to be crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 800 AD. In 1436, the citizens of Florence gathered beneath Brunelleschi’s revolutionary dome as Santa Maria del Fiore was consecrated....
TheCollector
7 Works Inspired by Sigmund Freud’s Uncanny Sigmund Freud’s essay on the uncanny described the long-familiar phenomenon of something deeply...
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Sigmund Freud’s essay on the uncanny described the long-familiar phenomenon of something deeply unsettling that could be hiding in seemingly familiar objects and situations. More than a century since its publication, it continues to inspire some artists to create disquieting and...
TheCollector
4 Aboriginal Leaders of the Tasmanian Black War The Black War (1824-1832), the establishment of the Black Line in 1830, and the forced removal of...
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The Black War (1824-1832), the establishment of the Black Line in 1830, and the forced removal of Aboriginal people to Flinders Island and Oyster Cove almost eradicated Aboriginal culture in what is now Tasmania, the island that, during the Colonial Period, was known as Van...
TheCollector
Was Lilith Adam’s First Wife? Learn About This Biblical Myth The Lilith myth holds that Eve was not Adam’s first wife. His first wife, Lilith, had some issues...
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The Lilith myth holds that Eve was not Adam’s first wife. His first wife, Lilith, had some issues with Adam’s patriarchal tendencies and refused to be dominated by him. The contention between them resulted in Lilith leaving Eden and settling in a remote, desert environment that...
Overcoming Bias
What Do I Want? It is relatively easy to identify a list of things that we want, in the sense of preferring a life...
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It is relatively easy to identify a list of things that we want, in the sense of preferring a life with more of them to less of them.
Flashbak
More Glorious Colour Photographs of London in 1972 It’s been a while since we shared pictures of someone’s trip to London in 1972. Here are more from...
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It’s been a while since we shared pictures of someone’s trip to London in 1972. Here are more from the series. All we know about these great photos is that they were more than likely taken by an American tourist. They are from the collection of Glen F, who notes: I’ve found that...
TheCollector
Philosopher & Poet? A New Translation of Simone Weil’s La Porte Living during the early to mid-20th century, Simone Weil, a French philosopher, activist, and...
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Living during the early to mid-20th century, Simone Weil, a French philosopher, activist, and writer, was a religious mystic. Her work is at once intellectual and personal, striking the mind and soul. Almost exclusively a non-fiction writer, her anthology does include one poem....
TheCollector
What Was the First Council of Constantinople? The First Council of Constantinople was the second of seven ecumenical councils of the early...
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The First Council of Constantinople was the second of seven ecumenical councils of the early Christian Church. Convened in 381 CE, it dealt with issues regarding Divine and Human natures of Jesus Christ. In 325 CE, the Council of Nicaea produced the Nicene Creed, and primarily...
TheCollector
10 Must-See Historic Sites in Connecticut Connecticut, aka the “Constitution State,” has a seriously rich history. From being a key player in...
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Connecticut, aka the “Constitution State,” has a seriously rich history. From being a key player in the American Revolution to giving birth to the first written constitution in the world, this state is packed with game-changing moments. It’s also where the Fundamental Orders of...
TheCollector
Genghis Khan: Feared Conqueror or Successful Innovator? The rise of the Mongol Empire under Temujin, or Genghis Khan, was a seminal moment in world history....
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The rise of the Mongol Empire under Temujin, or Genghis Khan, was a seminal moment in world history. The conquests of the 13th century helped to spark a cascade of events that created the modern world, in large part due to the terror inspired by the Mongol leader. Genghis Khan...
Dreams of Space -...
The Spaceman at Home and at School (1958) The Spaceman at Home and at School was a pamphlet for elementary school teacher. It gave them ideas...
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The Spaceman at Home and at School was a pamphlet for elementary school teacher. It gave them ideas about how to teach about space flight in the classroom with vivid examples. It was not about the history of spaceflight but rather how to build on the "Space Race" excitement...
TheCollector
Who Were the Windsor Beauties? 10 Portraits by Sir Peter Lely Who were the “Windsor Beauties”? Who commissioned and painted each of the portraits? Why were the...
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Who were the “Windsor Beauties”? Who commissioned and painted each of the portraits? Why were the sitters selected, and why have each of the women been depicted in such a similar fashion?   In this article, we will learn a little more about this most famous series by Sir Peter...
A Collection of...
Collections: The Siege of Eregion, Part IV: What Siege Equipment? This is the fourth part of our [five? -ish? I, II, III] part series on the Siege of Eregion in...
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This is the fourth part of our [five? -ish? I, II, III] part series on the Siege of Eregion in Amazon’s Rings of Power. Last week, we took the opportunity presented by Adar’s absurd plan to dam a river using catapults to collapse a mountain to discuss the capabilities and...
TheCollector
The Curious Case of the Roman God Janus: Origins, Epithets, History Ancient Rome unfairly has a reputation for having stolen or copied their mythology and religious...
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Ancient Rome unfairly has a reputation for having stolen or copied their mythology and religious traditions from the Greeks and given them Latin names to claim as their own. This is easily disproved by looking at Roman traditions in a broad sense but more specifically, it is...
TheCollector
Marina Abramović Unveils Interactive Digital Art Project Starting this summer, Marina Abramović will release a series of NFT drops as part of a new project...
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Starting this summer, Marina Abramović will release a series of NFT drops as part of a new project called Marina Abramović Element (MAE). According to a recent press release, the project was born from the artist’s interest in connecting the inherent immateriality of performance...
Classical Wisdom
Athens' Most Important Woman Secret Mover of History
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TheCollector
6 Stunning Similarities Between Ancient Rome and the United States Some of the similarities between ancient Rome at its height and the United States are obvious — from...
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Some of the similarities between ancient Rome at its height and the United States are obvious — from the sheer size of both countries to their forms of government, and the rise of their major historical figures. However, some are surprisingly subtle and require a closer look to...
TheCollector
What Was the Role of Prophets in Ancient Israelite Politics? Prophets were by no means unique to ancient Israel. Indeed, non-Israelite prophets are mentioned in...
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Prophets were by no means unique to ancient Israel. Indeed, non-Israelite prophets are mentioned in the Bible itself. But the Bible provides the most extensive trove of stories about prophets available from the ancient Mediterranean world. Unlike kings and priests, whose lineage...
CrimethInc.
Survival : A Story about Anarchists Enduring Mass Raids A work of speculative fiction. In November 1919, United States President Woodrow Wilson launched...
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A work of speculative fiction. In November 1919, United States President Woodrow Wilson launched mass raids against the entire anarchist movement in the United States. Police simultaneously arrested thousands of anarchists in many different parts of the country, shutting down...
Wrong Side of...
It's been a long, cold, lonely winter Wrong Side of History newsletter #60
a week ago
History Today Feed
James VI and I: Spinning the English Succession James VI and I: Spinning the English Succession JamesHoare Fri, 03/21/2025 - 08:24
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TheCollector
An Art Lover’s Guide to West Texas On a road trip from El Paso to Marfa in the history-rich state of Texas, travelers can discover how...
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On a road trip from El Paso to Marfa in the history-rich state of Texas, travelers can discover how central artistic expression is to the lifestyle of locals. From the fine dining at Cochineal Restaurant in Marfa, where each dish is a piece of artwork, to the many art galleries...
Open Culture
The Most Iconic Electronic Music Sample of Every Year (1990–2024) Hear a second or two of Vernon Burch’s “Get Up,” and you’re back in 1990; of “Balance and Rehearsal”...
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Hear a second or two of Vernon Burch’s “Get Up,” and you’re back in 1990; of “Balance and Rehearsal” from the JBL sound-test album Session, and you’re back in 1999; of Eddie Johns’ “More Spell on You,” and you’re back in 2001. What, you don’t know any of those songs? Perhaps...
TheCollector
Catherine Parr: The Wife King Henry Loved Most? Catherine Parr is now best remembered for being the sixth and final wife of King Henry VIII....
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Catherine Parr is now best remembered for being the sixth and final wife of King Henry VIII. “Divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded — survived.” Catherine was the fortunate wife who survived him, narrowly escaping divorce or execution. But did she really get away lightly...
TheCollector
70-Year-Old Mystery of Stolen Van Dyck Sketch Solved In 1951, an original oil sketch by Anthony van Dyck disappeared from an English country estate—only...
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In 1951, an original oil sketch by Anthony van Dyck disappeared from an English country estate—only to mysteriously reappear across the pond a few years later. Now, just over seven decades later, an art history professor has finally cracked the case.   The Origin of the Stolen...
TheCollector
Christian Themes and Ideas in the Work of J.R.R. Tolkien J.R.R. Tolkien was a scholar of Anglo-Saxon language and literature. Germanic hero legends and Nose...
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J.R.R. Tolkien was a scholar of Anglo-Saxon language and literature. Germanic hero legends and Nose sagas played a significant part in the construction of his Middle Earth legendarium. However, at its heart are specifically Christian ideas and themes. His One God created a...
Global Inequality...
Capitalism of finitude: pessimism and bellicosity Review of Arnaud Orain’s "Le Monde Confisqué"
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Flashbak
Glasgow 1978 – An Erotic Odyssey On The Way To The Job Centre Architect James Miller designed an entertainment complex in Glasgow’s Renfield Street for Miss...
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Architect James Miller designed an entertainment complex in Glasgow’s Renfield Street for Miss Catherine Cranston (1849–1934), better known as the owner of famous tea rooms, in 1916. Cranston’s Cinema De Luxe occupied the third floor of the six storey building. The cinema was...
TheCollector
Who (or What) Was Ma’at in Ancient Egypt? Ma’at was a fundamental concept in ancient Egyptian society. It can be understood as “the rightness...
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Ma’at was a fundamental concept in ancient Egyptian society. It can be understood as “the rightness of things” and was a mixture of order, harmony, and justice. As with many important concepts in the Egyptian world, Ma’at was considered to be a divine force fundamental within...
TheCollector
Exploring Anselm Kiefer’s Playground: La Ribaute, Barjac, France Anselm Kiefer acquired La Ribaute—an old silk factory in Barjac, France—in 1992. The almost 100-acre...
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Anselm Kiefer acquired La Ribaute—an old silk factory in Barjac, France—in 1992. The almost 100-acre estate comprises buildings, outdoor art installations, subterranean chambers, tunnels, and a five-level concrete amphitheater. The artist lived at the site until 2007, when he...
TheCollector
What Were the Lyles Station Radiation Experiments? There is a painful history embedded in the southern part of Indiana, where the horrific Lyles...
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There is a painful history embedded in the southern part of Indiana, where the horrific Lyles radiation experiments took place. A handful of students from the Lyles Consolidated School were picked out at random and subjected to unusually high levels of radiation, under the...
Flashbak
US Atlas for the Blind, 1837 The 1837 Atlas of the United States Printed for the Use of the Blind was made to help blind children...
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The 1837 Atlas of the United States Printed for the Use of the Blind was made to help blind children visualise geography. Supplied to children at the New England Institute for the Education of the Blind in Boston this extraordinary atlas features heavy paper embossed with...
Open Culture
Why There Isn’t a Bridge from Italy to Sicily – And Why the 2,000-Year-Old Dream of Building the... We’ve all heard of the great American road trip. If you’ve ever dreamt of taking a great Italian...
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We’ve all heard of the great American road trip. If you’ve ever dreamt of taking a great Italian road trip, you’ve surely come across this inevitable hitch in the plan: you can’t drive to Sicily. You can, of course, put your car on a ferry; you can even take a train that gets put...
History Today Feed
Bloody Mary and the Missing Heir Bloody Mary and the Missing Heir JamesHoare Thu, 03/20/2025 - 08:56
a week ago
History Today Feed
Britain’s Witnesses to Buchenwald Britain’s Witnesses to Buchenwald JamesHoare Thu, 03/20/2025 - 08:55
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TheCollector
10 Must-Visit Historic Towns in South Carolina South Carolina’s history is deeply intertwined with the founding of America, the Revolutionary War,...
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South Carolina’s history is deeply intertwined with the founding of America, the Revolutionary War, and the Civil War. It was the first state to secede from the Union in 1860, setting the stage for the nation’s most defining conflict. Battles such as those in Camden and Cowpens...
Open Culture
Watch Dziga Vertov’s A Man with a Movie Camera: The 8th Best Film Ever Made Of all the cinematic trailblazers to emerge during the early years of the Soviet Union – Sergei...
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Of all the cinematic trailblazers to emerge during the early years of the Soviet Union – Sergei Eisenstein, Vsevolod Pudovkin, Lev Kuleshov – Dziga Vertov (né Denis Arkadievitch Kaufman, 1896–1954) was the most radical. Whereas Eisenstein – as seen in that film school standard...
TheCollector
Heracles Obtains the Girdle of Hippolyta: The Hero’s Ninth Labor King Eurystheus’s daughter, Princess Admete, ordered Heracles to obtain the Girdle of Hippolyta for...
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King Eurystheus’s daughter, Princess Admete, ordered Heracles to obtain the Girdle of Hippolyta for his ninth labor. Queen Hippolyta, the daughter of Ares, was the ruler of the Amazons, a legendary all-female warrior society considered some of the greatest fighters in the known...
TheCollector
Why Were Germany’s Blitzkrieg Tactics So Effective in WWII? In 1940, French historian Marc Bloch witnessed the swift invasion of France by the Wehrmacht. He...
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In 1940, French historian Marc Bloch witnessed the swift invasion of France by the Wehrmacht. He noted the Germans’ “embarrassing skill in appearing where they ought not to have appeared.” In 1939, the German army had similarly overcome Polish forces. During World War II, the...
Classical Wisdom
The Mysterious Death of Alexander The Great How Exactly did the Famed Conqueror Die?
a week ago
Classical Wisdom
Alexander the Great: Ebook The spectacular biographies of Diodorus Siculus, Plutarch, and Arrian
a week ago
TheCollector
Anubis: The Secrets of the Egyptian God of the Underworld Like most Egyptian deities, Anubis was a complex god with varied associations and whose importance...
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Like most Egyptian deities, Anubis was a complex god with varied associations and whose importance and domains evolved and changed from early dynastic to Greco-Roman times. Anubis was the original Egyptian god of the dead and one of the oldest known deities, but later...
Trying to Understand...
The Man Who Nearly Woke Up. Narrative found hidden in an HR Textbook.
a week ago
TheCollector
Who Are the Patriarchs in the Bible? The patriarchs in the Bible were the fathers of the nation of Israel: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob....
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The patriarchs in the Bible were the fathers of the nation of Israel: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Through these three men, the chosen people of God would grow into a mighty nation. God also promised that they would be a blessing to the world. They were not perfect men by any...
Wrong Side of...
Disappointment of the diaspora Reflections on ‘Reflections on the Revolution in Europe’, Part Six
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TheCollector
How Did Carl Jung Influence Creative Art Therapy? Painting, writing, and dancing are not only mediums of art, but also channels through which our...
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Painting, writing, and dancing are not only mediums of art, but also channels through which our innermost self can speak. By the beginning of the 19th century, Carl Jung discovered that creative expression can uncover the unconscious activities of the mind. Based on his personal...
History Today Feed
‘The Celts: A Modern History’ by Ian Stewart review ‘The Celts: A Modern History’ by Ian Stewart review JamesHoare Wed, 03/19/2025 - 09:02
a week ago
History Today Feed
Brahmins: The Origins of India’s Priestly Caste Brahmins: The Origins of India’s Priestly Caste JamesHoare Wed, 03/19/2025 - 09:01
a week ago
Open Culture
An Introduction to The Garden of Earthly Delights & Hieronymus Bosch’s Wildly Creative Vision Hieronymus Bosch’s masterpiece of grotesquerie, The Garden of Earthly Delights, contains a young...
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Hieronymus Bosch’s masterpiece of grotesquerie, The Garden of Earthly Delights, contains a young God, Adam and Eve, oversized fruits and musical instruments, owls, tortured sinners, something called a “tree man” whose body contains an entire tavern, a defecating avian devil...
Flashbak
Free Cannabis on Speakers Corner, September 2000 “I believe I have the birthright to cultivate and use the cannabis plant for all its uses. I have...
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“I believe I have the birthright to cultivate and use the cannabis plant for all its uses. I have used all the substances listed, with the possible exception of the MDMA (ecstasy), in a shamanic way.” – Mr Free Cannabis, Taunton Crown Court  September 2000   On 28, September,...
Open Culture
NYU Professor Answers Your Burning Questions About Authoritarianism From WIRED comes this: NYU professor and “authoritarianism scholar Ruth Ben-Ghiat joins WIRED to...
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From WIRED comes this: NYU professor and “authoritarianism scholar Ruth Ben-Ghiat joins WIRED to answer the internet’s burning questions about dictators and fascism. Why do people support dictators? How do dictators come to power? What’s the difference between a dictatorship, an...
TheCollector
Who Was the Last Aboriginal Tasmanian? For many years, it was believed that the Aboriginal people of Tasmania had become extinct and that...
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For many years, it was believed that the Aboriginal people of Tasmania had become extinct and that their culture, languages, and customs were lost due to the devastating impact of British colonialism. There have been ongoing debates about who was “the last Aboriginal Tasmanian,”...
TheCollector
7 Warrior Women (Onna-Bugeisha) of Feudal Japan Medieval Japanese culture, influenced by Confucian ideals, imposed strict gender roles. While...
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Medieval Japanese culture, influenced by Confucian ideals, imposed strict gender roles. While Japanese women had more power than their European counterparts, they were still expected to be homemakers, subservient to men. Although soldiering was a predominately male profession,...
Classical Wisdom
Is Anger an Issue? A recording from Classical Wisdom's live video
a week ago
TheCollector
5 Must-Read Essays by James Baldwin Born in Harlem, NY, in 1924, James Baldwin had a calling from a young age to be a writer and...
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2 weeks ago
Born in Harlem, NY, in 1924, James Baldwin had a calling from a young age to be a writer and activist during the Civil Rights Movement. At age 24, he moved to France so he could write more freely and be liberated from racism and homophobia. He later returned to the United States...
TheCollector
Lost Klimt Portrait of African Prince Resurfaces at Art Fair Gustav Klimt, one of the most famous and beloved Austrian modernists, painted a lesser-known...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Gustav Klimt, one of the most famous and beloved Austrian modernists, painted a lesser-known portrait of an Osu prince. After disappearing for decades, the reattributed work is now drawing crowds at a Dutch art fair.   Klimt Portrait Reemerges at TEFAF Maastricht   A Gustav Klimt...
Hidden History
World War One Trench Songs Today, we remember the First World War as a long drawn-out stalemate that resulted in four years of...
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Today, we remember the First World War as a long drawn-out stalemate that resulted in four years of blood but no gains by anybody—and a peace treaty that did nothing but cause another World War twenty years later. But less often remembered is the fact that the war was one of the...
TheCollector
Hallstatt Culture: What Do We Know About the Earliest Celtic Culture? The Hallstatt culture was the first culture of peoples that can truly be considered “Celtic.” This...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
The Hallstatt culture was the first culture of peoples that can truly be considered “Celtic.” This period was preceded by the Central European Urnfield and Tumulus cultures of the late and middle European Bronze Age. Neither are commonly accepted as “Celtic” cultures, but rather,...
TheCollector
Is Multitasking Even Possible? Exploring Our Neurological Limitations We’ve all tried juggling more than one task at a time. From working on several projects...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
We’ve all tried juggling more than one task at a time. From working on several projects simultaneously to driving while listening to music, multitasking has become an integral part of our daily lives. Instinctively, we assume that performing two or more activities concurrently...
Open Culture
Watch Alfred Hitchcock’s Groundbreaking, Six-Minute Trailer for Psycho (1960) The early trailer for Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho above describes the film as “the picture you MUST...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
The early trailer for Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho above describes the film as “the picture you MUST see from the beginning… or not at all!” That’s good advice, given how early in the film its first big twist arrives. But it was also a policy: “Every theatre manager, everywhere, has...
History Today Feed
‘The Soldier’s Reward’ and ‘Matchmaking and the Marriage Market...’ review ‘The Soldier’s Reward’ and ‘Matchmaking and the Marriage Market...’ review JamesHoare Tue,...
2 weeks ago
History Today Feed
The Library of Ashurbanipal The Library of Ashurbanipal JamesHoare Tue, 03/18/2025 - 07:02
2 weeks ago
TheCollector
Gustave Caillebotte at the Getty: 100+ Artworks Now on Display French impressionist and realist painter Gustave Caillebotte (1848-1894) often painted with an...
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French impressionist and realist painter Gustave Caillebotte (1848-1894) often painted with an emphasis on men and the masculine. In a collaboration between the J. Paul Getty Museum, Musée d’Orsay, Paris, and Art Institute of Chicago, a curated selection of Caillebotte’s...
Open Culture
A 6‑Hour Time-Stretched Version of Brian Eno’s Music For Airports: Meditate, Relax, Study Writing in his 1995 diary about his seminal ambient album Music for Airports, Eno remembered his...
2 weeks ago
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Writing in his 1995 diary about his seminal ambient album Music for Airports, Eno remembered his initial thoughts going into it: “I want to make a kind of music that prepares you for dying–that doesn’t get all bright and cheerful and pretend you’re not a little apprehensive, but...
TheCollector
9 Isms of Art You Should Know All major movements in the history of art are inherently interconnected. Even the most dated styles...
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All major movements in the history of art are inherently interconnected. Even the most dated styles of art rarely die off without a trace and often make surprising comebacks. The 19th and 20th centuries in the West were filled with ideas, inventions, and styles, resulting in an...
TheCollector
The Philosophy of Intuition: What 6 Philosophers Think About It Intuition is an interesting thing. It has been thought about and valued for thousands of years...
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Intuition is an interesting thing. It has been thought about and valued for thousands of years because it can feel like a lightbulb moment that helps us know what to do or think. The philosophy of intuition wants to understand more: How important is this gut feeling when we make...
TheCollector
3,700-Year-Old Tomb of Unknown Pharaoh Found in Egypt Excavations at an ancient Egyptian necropolis in Abydos recently revealed the royal tomb of an...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Excavations at an ancient Egyptian necropolis in Abydos recently revealed the royal tomb of an unknown pharaoh. The discovery may offer new insights into the enigmatic Abydos Dynasty—the existence of which has long been debated.   Royal Tomb Belongs to the Second Intermediate...
Global Inequality...
The break-down of the representative system and the road to dictatorship (on the example of Serbia)
2 weeks ago
Classical Wisdom
Can We Harness Anger? Understanding Thumos
2 weeks ago
TheCollector
What Is the Theory of the Four Humors? Developed by ancient Greek thinkers in the 5th century BCE, the theory of the four humors continued...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Developed by ancient Greek thinkers in the 5th century BCE, the theory of the four humors continued to develop during the Medieval Period. This theory explains precisely how the body works, including how illness, pain, and even personality, form inside a person.   Only falling...
Wrong Side of...
Team Islam and Team France Reflections on ‘Reflections on the Revolution in Europe’, Part Five
2 weeks ago
Flashbak
A Day Out in London on the 14th November 1987 On 14 November 1987, Peter Hancox, was on a trip to London. “The photos I took on that day include...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
On 14 November 1987, Peter Hancox, was on a trip to London. “The photos I took on that day include some of the exhibits at Madame Tussaud’s and show how famous people 38 years ago are maybe a little forgotten now or have been ‘melted down’,” says Peter. He’s not wrong. It’s fun...
TheCollector
Philip of the Twelve Disciples: Bio, Death, Legacy The New Testament mentions four people with the name Philip. Two were sons of King Herod the Great,...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
The New Testament mentions four people with the name Philip. Two were sons of King Herod the Great, and one Philip features in Acts. Scholars generally refer to the latter as Philip the Evangelist or Philip the Deacon. The subject of this article is Philip the Apostle, one of the...
TheCollector
How Does Marc Augé Define Supermodernity? In an age where much of our time is spent in front of screens or within supermarkets, retail chains,...
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2 weeks ago
In an age where much of our time is spent in front of screens or within supermarkets, retail chains, airports, and hotels chain, we increasingly inhabit what Marc Augé (1992) calls “non-places.” These functional and transient environments disrupt traditional experiences of...
Open Culture
A Tour of Ancient Rome’s Best Graffiti: “We Have Urinated in Our Beds … There Was No Chamber Pot” &... Apart from the likes of bravo and pizza, graffiti must be one of the first Italian words that...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Apart from the likes of bravo and pizza, graffiti must be one of the first Italian words that English-speakers learn in everyday life. As for why the English word comes directly from the Italian, perhaps it has something to do with the history of writing on the walls — a history...
History Today Feed
On the Spot: Annabel Teh Gallop On the Spot: Annabel Teh Gallop JamesHoare Mon, 03/17/2025 - 08:24
2 weeks ago
Open Culture
A Boy and His Atom: Watch The World’s Smallest Stop-Motion Film What you’re watching above isn’t your ordinary film. No, this film — A Boy and His Atom – holds the...
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2 weeks ago
What you’re watching above isn’t your ordinary film. No, this film — A Boy and His Atom – holds the Guinness World Record for being the World’s Smallest Stop-Motion Film. It’s literally a movie made with atoms, created by IBM nanophysicists who have “used a scanning tunneling...
TheCollector
The First Liberian Civil War: A Devastating Conflict Following the devastation of the Second World War, Liberia became one of the world’s fastest-growing...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Following the devastation of the Second World War, Liberia became one of the world’s fastest-growing economies and a leading example of Africa’s development. However, an ambitious army officer overthrew the country’s leadership in a coup. Transforming the nation into an...
TheCollector
Tang Taizong: The Warrior Emperor Who United China The Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE) is generally regarded as a golden age in imperial Chinese history. The...
2 weeks ago
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The Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE) is generally regarded as a golden age in imperial Chinese history. The dynasty’s greatness owes much to its second emperor, Taizong, who helped his father, Gaozu, consolidate the new dynasty and led new conquests to the north and west. A brilliant...
African History...
Chronicles of Africa's most powerful Women sovereigns: Amanirenas, Njinga and Eleni. Less than six years following their victory over the armies of Queen Cleopatra in Egypt in 31 BC,...
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Less than six years following their victory over the armies of Queen Cleopatra in Egypt in 31 BC, the Romans marched their forces south to conquer the kingdom of Kush, which was also ruled by a Queen, known to her subjects as Amanirenas and to the Romans as the ‘Candace’.
TheCollector
James (Son of Zebedee) of the Twelve Disciples: Bio, Death, Legacy James was a colorful character among the Twelve Disciples. He had a temperamental character and, at...
2 weeks ago
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James was a colorful character among the Twelve Disciples. He had a temperamental character and, at times, overreacted in ways that make the reader wonder why Jesus would call such a person to be his disciple. He was a lot like Peter in terms of impulsivity but had a much more...
Classical Wisdom
Weekly Wisdom Quiz Caesar Special!
2 weeks ago
Trying to Understand...
De quoi parlons-nous quand nous parlons de négociations ? Another of my essays in French.
2 weeks ago
TheCollector
3 Key Moments in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar The Tragedy of Julius Caesar was first performed in 1599 and it continues to be reinterpreted by...
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The Tragedy of Julius Caesar was first performed in 1599 and it continues to be reinterpreted by theater directors up to this day. Touching on themes like tyranny, power, and betrayal, this play also shows us that the word is much more powerful than the sword. During a key moment...
TheCollector
How Did James VI and I React to the Scottish Reformation? We know King James I of England primarily through his name being attached to the King James Version...
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2 weeks ago
We know King James I of England primarily through his name being attached to the King James Version of the Holy Bible, which was printed in 1611. Before he was James I of England, he was James VI of Scotland, enthroned there in 1567. He was a Protestant King, but also believed in...
TheCollector
10 Must-Visit Historic Towns in Michigan Michigan, known as the Great Lakes State, has played a vital role in American history. From its days...
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Michigan, known as the Great Lakes State, has played a vital role in American history. From its days as a fur trading hub in the 17th century to its rise as the center of the automotive industry, the state has seen dramatic transformations. The War of 1812 brought significant...
TheCollector
Henry VII: The Forgotten Tudor Founder The Tudors (1485-1603) were one of the most successful, and arguably the most colorful, dynasties to...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
The Tudors (1485-1603) were one of the most successful, and arguably the most colorful, dynasties to rule England, Wales, and Ireland before the union with Scotland that later produced the UK. The exploits of Henry VIII, Mary, and Elizabeth I still fascinate historians and the...
CrimethInc.
“They Can’t Beat All of Us” : A Reportback from the Florida Abolitionist Gathering The banner at the Civic Media Center welcoming participants to the 2025 Florida Abolitionist...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
The banner at the Civic Media Center welcoming participants to the 2025 Florida Abolitionist Gathering. From February 28 to March 2, hundreds of abolitionists and anarchists from across the country converged in Gainesville for the first Florida Abolitionist Gathering...
TheCollector
What Is the Gospel of Matthew All About? The Gospel of Matthew had a Jewish audience in mind and, therefore, assumed that the readers knew...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
The Gospel of Matthew had a Jewish audience in mind and, therefore, assumed that the readers knew Jewish customs and culture. It omits explanations of the significance of Jewish elements in its narrative. Though Matthew is based on the Gospel of Mark, it details many events,...
TheCollector
Apotheosis: How the Romans Made Men Into Gods While the “frivolous East” may have been happy to venerate men as though they were gods, the serious...
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While the “frivolous East” may have been happy to venerate men as though they were gods, the serious men of the Roman Republic would never have condoned such an outrage. Nevertheless, the apotheosis and deification of deceased Roman emperors became an essential element of Roman...
Wrong Side of...
On French assimilation and British multiculturalism Reflections on 'Reflections on the Revolution in Europe', Part Four
2 weeks ago
TheCollector
The Liberation of Rome in WWII: Here’s What Happened In September 1943, the Western Allies—the US, Britain, and Canada—invaded fascist Italy, which was...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
In September 1943, the Western Allies—the US, Britain, and Canada—invaded fascist Italy, which was allied with Nazi Germany by longtime dictator Benito Mussolini. Although the Allies had made secret plans that would lead to the bloodless surrender of the weakest Axis power, the...
TheCollector
How Important Was Elizabeth Gaskell in the Development of Victorian Literature? Elizabeth Gaskell had an eventful upbringing. The youngest of eight children, she and her older...
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Elizabeth Gaskell had an eventful upbringing. The youngest of eight children, she and her older brother were the only children to survive their infancy. Her mother died not long after her birth and so Elizabeth was sent to be raised by her aunt, Hannah Lamb, in Knutsford,...
TheCollector
10 Ancient Maya Ruins You Can Visit The Maya civilization, one of the most sophisticated pre-Columbian cultures, flourished across...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
The Maya civilization, one of the most sophisticated pre-Columbian cultures, flourished across present-day Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador for thousands of years. Emerging around 2000 BCE, the Maya developed advanced writing, mathematics, astronomy, and...
TheCollector
How Did St. Patrick Become the Patron Saint of Ireland? Comparatively speaking, the fifth century CE is not an era from which there is much information...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Comparatively speaking, the fifth century CE is not an era from which there is much information outside the failing Roman Empire. In the British Isles, it is a mysterious time that conjures images of Celts, druids, barbarian invaders, King Arthur, Pictish warriors, and the...
Overcoming Bias
What Things Really Feel? We humans have brains that guide our behavior, inserting complex “signal-processing” between input...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
We humans have brains that guide our behavior, inserting complex “signal-processing” between input from our eyes, ears, etc., and output to control our hands, mouth, etc.
TheCollector
Defenders of Early Christianity: Origen, Tertullian, and Justin Martyr Early Christianity faced numerous challenges, both from external persecution and internal doctrinal...
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Early Christianity faced numerous challenges, both from external persecution and internal doctrinal disputes. Among the most prominent defenders of the faith were Origen, Tertullian, and Justin Martyr. These early Christian apologists made significant contributions to the...
TheCollector
Missing Torso of Buddha Statue Found at Angkor Wat Complex Archaeologists just solved a century-old mystery at Cambodia’s Angkor Temple Complex. They unearthed...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Archaeologists just solved a century-old mystery at Cambodia’s Angkor Temple Complex. They unearthed the long-lost torso of a Buddha statue from the Khmer Empire, the medieval Hindu-Buddhist civilization that once exerted influence over much of mainland Southeast Asia. The same...
A Collection of...
Collections: The Siege of Eregion, Part III: What Catapults? This is the third part of our [I, II, I don’t know, a few more?] part series looking at Rings of...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
This is the third part of our [I, II, I don’t know, a few more?] part series looking at Rings of Power‘s Siege of Eregion from a military history perspective. Last week, we discussed the remarkably bad siege preparation of both sides: Adar’s complete lack of a fortified siege...
Flashbak
The Drolatic Dreams of Pantagruel, 1565 “The great familiarity I had with the late François Rabelais (dear Reader), has moved and even...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
“The great familiarity I had with the late François Rabelais (dear Reader), has moved and even compelled me to bring to light the last of his work, the drolatic dreams of the very excellent and wonderful Patagruel, a man very famous for his heroic deeds on which the more than...
TheCollector
9 Facts About St. Patrick’s Day You Never Knew Though St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, people all over the globe celebrate his feast...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Though St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, people all over the globe celebrate his feast day, March 17, every year. Generally, in the United States, this celebration follows a standard order: don something green, go to a parade, eat corned beef and cabbage, and drink a...
Classical Wisdom
Julius Caesar Triumphs over Adversity
2 weeks ago
TheCollector
Avalon: The Mysterious Island of Arthurian Legend One of the most famous locations in the Arthurian legends is the Isle of Avalon. This was the...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
One of the most famous locations in the Arthurian legends is the Isle of Avalon. This was the mysterious island to which King Arthur was said to have been taken after he was severely wounded at the Battle of Camlann. It is shrouded in mystery, especially because it is a place...
TheCollector
How Many Israelite Kings Were Assassinated? According to the Bible, ancient Israel was, in whole or part, ruled by kings for less than five...
2 weeks ago
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According to the Bible, ancient Israel was, in whole or part, ruled by kings for less than five hundred years. David is Israel’s most celebrated monarch. But the golden age of unity and peace in which he and his son Solomon ruled in Israel is framed between periods of violent...
Open Culture
The Ancient Greeks Who Converted to Buddhism It would hardly be notable to make the acquaintance of a Greek Buddhist today. Despite having...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
It would hardly be notable to make the acquaintance of a Greek Buddhist today. Despite having originated in Asia, that religion — or philosophy, or way of life, or whatever you prefer to call it — now has adherents all over the world. Modern-day Buddhists need not make an arduous...
TheCollector
5 National Historic Sites to Visit in Eastern Canada Canada can be referred to as a “middle-aged” country compared to some of its global counterparts....
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Canada can be referred to as a “middle-aged” country compared to some of its global counterparts. Founded in 1867, the nation is 158 years old at present and yet, there is no shortage of interesting landmarks and designated sites for history enthusiasts to visit. There are 1004...
TheCollector
Sir Lancelot: King Arthur’s Greatest Knight and Betrayer In the Arthurian legends, King Arthur is portrayed as having a large group of loyal knights. Perhaps...
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In the Arthurian legends, King Arthur is portrayed as having a large group of loyal knights. Perhaps the most famous of all these knights today is Lancelot. He is generally portrayed in the legends as the greatest of Arthur’s knights, on almost equal standing with Arthur himself....
Open Culture
Puppets of Fyodor Dostoevsky, Charles Dickens & Edgar Allan Poe Star in 1957 Frank Capra Educational... Produced between 1956 and 1964 by AT&T, the Bell Telephone Science Hour TV specials anticipate the...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Produced between 1956 and 1964 by AT&T, the Bell Telephone Science Hour TV specials anticipate the literary zaniness of The Muppet Show and the scientific enthusiasm of Cosmos. The “ship of the imagination” in Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s Cosmos reboot may in fact owe something to the...
CrimethInc.
Cop City Is Everywhere : Learning from the Movement to Defend the Forest The movement to stop Cop City and defend Weelaunee Forest was one of the most important social...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
The movement to stop Cop City and defend Weelaunee Forest was one of the most important social struggles of the Biden era. Its trajectory tells us a lot about the challenges we confront today under Donald Trump. In the final chapter of our chronology, we trace the movement’s...
TheCollector
The Lady of the Lake: King Arthur’s Enigmatic Ally The Lady of the Lake is a character from the Arthurian legends most famous for her involvement in...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
The Lady of the Lake is a character from the Arthurian legends most famous for her involvement in King Arthur receiving his sword, Excalibur. As per the famous story, Merlin took Arthur to a special lake, where a hand brandishing a sword emerged. This sword was Excalibur. The...
TheCollector
Delacroix Painting Discovered in Living Room Heads to Auction A 19th-century oil study of seven languorous lions once hung in a family’s living room. Now, after...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
A 19th-century oil study of seven languorous lions once hung in a family’s living room. Now, after being newly attributed to the French Romantic icon Eugène Delacroix, the painting is heading to auction with a six-figure pre-sale estimate.   “The Owners Weren’t Sure it was a...
TheCollector
What Were Wizard Merlin’s Historical Origins? Merlin is one of the most famous figures from the Arthurian legends. He is the infamous wizard who...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Merlin is one of the most famous figures from the Arthurian legends. He is the infamous wizard who served and guided King Arthur throughout his reign. In some versions of the tale, he was entrusted with raising Arthur as a youth. In reality, the development of this legendary...
TheCollector
Excalibur: The Legendary Sword of King Arthur In the Arthurian legends, King Arthur famously has a special sword named Excalibur. This is one of...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
In the Arthurian legends, King Arthur famously has a special sword named Excalibur. This is one of the constant aspects of the legend, seen in almost every version of the legend over the centuries. Nevertheless, the details about this mighty weapon changed as the Arthurian...
TheCollector
Existentialism in Norway: Who Was Peter Wessel Zapffe? Man’s tragic search for meaning is a timeless theme that permeates some of the most famous...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Man’s tragic search for meaning is a timeless theme that permeates some of the most famous philosophical works in history. While Kierkegaard, Sartre, and Nietzche were internationally acclaimed for their contributions to existentialism, a linguistic barrier veiled an equally...
Flashbak
Man Ray’s Mathematics Objects (1934-36) The collection of 19th-century three-dimensional models of algebraic and differential equations at...
2 weeks ago
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The collection of 19th-century three-dimensional models of algebraic and differential equations at the Institut Henri Poincaré in Paris made a great impression on Surrealist artists.     When German artist Max Ernst (2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) saw a series of 19th Century wood,...
Open Culture
Watch the Only Time Charlie Chaplin & Buster Keaton Performed Together On-Screen (1952) Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton were the two biggest comedy stars of the silent era, but as it...
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Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton were the two biggest comedy stars of the silent era, but as it happened, they never shared the screen until well into the reign of sound. In fact, their collaboration didn’t come about until 1952, the same year that Singin’ in the Rain dramatized...
TheCollector
The Dolomites: The Mountains That Rose From the Sea Italy’s pale and towering Dolomite Mountains are an offshoot of the more extensive Alps, and are...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Italy’s pale and towering Dolomite Mountains are an offshoot of the more extensive Alps, and are famous for their snowy colored exterior, bounty of fossils, and rich history. These mountains used to be under the sea, and after rising up, were the backdrop to several World War I...
Wrong Side of...
'We live in an age where illness and deformity are commonplace' The Year of the Plague #5
2 weeks ago
TheCollector
What Is the Second Epistle of Peter About? The Second Epistle of Peter (2 Peter) is a timeless epistle that speaks to the contemporary believer...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
The Second Epistle of Peter (2 Peter) is a timeless epistle that speaks to the contemporary believer as much as it did to the intended audience in the 1st century CE. The guidance on spiritual growth, false teaching, and the focus on the return of Christ resonates with Christians...
Open Culture
When Salvador Dalí Created a Chilling Anti-Venereal Disease Poster During World War II As a New York City subway rider, I am constantly exposed to public health posters. More often than...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
As a New York City subway rider, I am constantly exposed to public health posters. More often than not these feature a photo of a wholesome-looking teen whose sober expression is meant to convey hindsight regret at having taken up drugs, dropped out of school, or forgone condoms....
TheCollector
What Is the Book of Revelation All About? The Book of Revelation is one of the most awe-inspiring books in the New Testament, with scenes of...
2 weeks ago
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The Book of Revelation is one of the most awe-inspiring books in the New Testament, with scenes of cosmic conflict and destruction. Yet, it is called the Revelation of Jesus Christ. As its opening verses indicate, the book is highly symbolic, which lends itself to different...
Classical Wisdom
Do We Need to Disagree? Cato VS Caesar
2 weeks ago
TheCollector
A Brief History of the Zulu People They earned a fearsome reputation in the late 19th century when they inflicted the biggest defeat...
2 weeks ago
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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
Who Are the Main Aboriginal Clans From Eastern Australia? Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people believe they have lived on the Australian continent and...
2 weeks ago
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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people believe they have lived on the Australian continent and managed its lands and waters since the beginning of time. They are not a single group, but rather they comprise hundreds of clans, each encompassing several sub-groups. Geographic...
TheCollector
When Were Camels Used in the Old West? Sometimes difficult circumstances occasionally require some out-of-the-box thinking. Such was the...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Sometimes difficult circumstances occasionally require some out-of-the-box thinking. Such was the history of camels in the Old West. The vast, arid desert conditions in America’s Southwest challenged most 19th-century explorers and settlers. So, in the 1850s, the American...
Open Culture
Bob Dylan Explains Why Music Has Been Getting Worse One often hears that there’s no money to be made in music anymore. But then, there was no money to...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
One often hears that there’s no money to be made in music anymore. But then, there was no money to be made in music when Bob Dylan started his career either—at least according to Bob Dylan. “If you could just support yourself, you were doin’ good,” he says in an interview clip...
Trying to Understand...
A Swan-song For Europe It didn't have to be this way.
2 weeks ago
Open Culture
How the Moving Image Has Become the Medium of Record: Part 2 This piece picks up where Part 1 of Peter Kaufman’s article left off yesterday… The epistemological...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
This piece picks up where Part 1 of Peter Kaufman’s article left off yesterday… The epistemological nightmare we seem to be in, bombarded over our screens and speakers with so many moving-image messages per day, false and true, is at least in part due to the paralysis that we –...
TheCollector
Unearthing the Mysteries of Inca Architecture: A Fascinating Overview A visit to the former Inca Empire reveals epic feats of construction and engineering that have...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
A visit to the former Inca Empire reveals epic feats of construction and engineering that have withstood the test of time, all made without iron tools or draft animals. Over the course of several hundred years, building on practices inherited from previous cultures, the Inca...
TheCollector
Early Hellenistic Mosaics Unearthed in Ancient City of Teos Archaeologists uncovered a pair of mosaics that once decorated the city council building of Teos, an...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Archaeologists uncovered a pair of mosaics that once decorated the city council building of Teos, an ancient Greek city whose ruins now rest on the western coast of Türkiye.   Teos: From Ancient Greece to Modern-Day Türkiye   Teos was an ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia,...
TheCollector
The Problem of Evil: What’s the Christian Perspective? The earliest statement of the problem of evil predates Christianity by about 350 years. The...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
The earliest statement of the problem of evil predates Christianity by about 350 years. The philosopher Epicurus stated what scholars refer to as the Epicurean paradox:   “Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then...
TheCollector
8 Key Facts For Understanding the Ottoman Empire The Ottomans are one of the most interesting, yet misunderstood, dynasties in history. How did the...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
The Ottomans are one of the most interesting, yet misunderstood, dynasties in history. How did the Empire come about? Did Sultans really have to kill their brothers when they came to power? Was this group even ethnically Turkish? Find out the fascinating, yet often gruesome,...
Hidden History
The First Appalachian Trail Thru-Hiker The first backpacker to thru-hike the entire 2100-mile Appalachian Trail in one trip was a troubled...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
The first backpacker to thru-hike the entire 2100-mile Appalachian Trail in one trip was a troubled WW2 veteran who did it as a kind of therapy. For most of human history, people got around from one place to another by walking. Although Rome pioneered an extensive network of...
TheCollector
The Role of Swing States in US Presidential Elections Although the term “swing state” was not used in early American history, the seeds of modern...
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3 weeks ago
Although the term “swing state” was not used in early American history, the seeds of modern electoral competition, where even the smallest of states could decide the outcome of a national election, were soon sown across the national timeline. It would not be long before states...
CrimethInc.
Then They Came for the Palestinians : How to Respond to the Kidnapping of Mahmoud Khalil On March 8, Department of Homeland Security agents kidnapped Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian organizer...
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3 weeks ago
On March 8, Department of Homeland Security agents kidnapped Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian organizer and graduate student at Columbia University who had permanent residency in the United States. Donald Trump’s State Department arbitrarily revoked his residency. They are holding...
TheCollector
Who Is Mary in Islam? Mary’s status in Christianity as the most divinely-favored woman in history is without dispute....
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Mary’s status in Christianity as the most divinely-favored woman in history is without dispute. While Protestants afford her a lower status than do Catholic and Orthodox Christians, she is still honored by Christians of all stripes as the mother and sole biological parent of...
Open Culture
When Charlie Chaplin First Spoke Onscreen: How His Famous Great Dictator Speech Came About Charlie Chaplin came up in vaudeville, but it was silent film that made him the most famous man in...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Charlie Chaplin came up in vaudeville, but it was silent film that made him the most famous man in the world. His mastery of that form primed him to feel a degree of skepticism about sound when it came along: in 1931, he called the silent picture “a universal means of...
Wrong Side of...
The seed of Elon Khan Ultra-prolific men are not like the rest of us
3 weeks ago
Flashbak
Strangely Familiar: Peter Mitchell Paints The Everyday In Colour Film “I had always believed a photograph could be as powerful as a painting.” – Peter Mitchell     Peter...
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“I had always believed a photograph could be as powerful as a painting.” – Peter Mitchell     Peter Mitchell allows us to imagine the stories between his  colour photographer of 1970s and 80s England, particularly the northern city of Leeds he calls home. A self-described “man of...
TheCollector
The Roman Consuls: The Foundation of Political Power in Ancient Rome After the kings were expelled from Rome and before the Julio-Claudians established the first...
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After the kings were expelled from Rome and before the Julio-Claudians established the first imperial dynasty, the consuls were the most powerful men in Rome. This political position was designed to fill the power vacuum left by the Roman kings but in a more egalitarian manner,...
Open Culture
How the Moving Image Has Become the Medium of Record: Part 1 Image via Wikimedia Commons How did we get to the point where we’ve come to believe so many lies...
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3 weeks ago
Image via Wikimedia Commons How did we get to the point where we’ve come to believe so many lies that 77 million Americans voted into the White House a criminal reality TV star from NBC, one groomed by a reality TV producer from CBS, who then appointed his Cabinet from Fox and X...
TheCollector
All the Governments in Exile in WWII (and Where They Went) The term “government in exile” describes political parties that claim themselves as the legitimate...
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The term “government in exile” describes political parties that claim themselves as the legitimate government of an independent, sovereign state but cannot carry out their duties due to instability, conflict, or foreign occupation. The local government is compelled to move to a...
Overcoming Bias
Romantic Decay As Cultural Drift For the last year or so I’ve focused on the idea that our world’s dominant monoculture is slowly...
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3 weeks ago
For the last year or so I’ve focused on the idea that our world’s dominant monoculture is slowly going maladaptive, due to cultural drift.
Classical Wisdom
ALL HAIL CAESAR??? Should We Glorify Caesar? And Those Like Him?
3 weeks ago
Flashbak
Why The BBC Wanted To Keep George Orwell Off The Radio “I am quite seriously worried about the situation and about the wisdom of our keeping Orwell...
3 weeks ago
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“I am quite seriously worried about the situation and about the wisdom of our keeping Orwell personally on the air.” – the BBC controller outlines his reasons for keeping George Orwell off the air     In his his lifetime, George Orwell (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was thought...
Open Culture
Watch “The Birth of the Robot,” Len Lye’s Surreal 1935 Stop-Motion Animation Robots seem to have been much on the public mind back in the nineteen-thirties. Matt Novak at...
3 weeks ago
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Robots seem to have been much on the public mind back in the nineteen-thirties. Matt Novak at Paleofuture gives the example of a moment in 1932 when “the world was awash in newspaper stories about a robot that had done the unthinkable: a mechanical man had shot its inventor.”...
Open Culture
Why “The Girl from Ipanema“ ‘ Is a Richer & Weirder Song Than You Realized Say what you want about YouTube’s negative effects (endless soy faces, influencers, its devious and...
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3 weeks ago
Say what you want about YouTube’s negative effects (endless soy faces, influencers, its devious and fascist-leaning algorithms) but it has offered to creators a space in which to indulge. And that’s one of the reasons I’ve been a fan of Adam Neely’s work. A jazz musician and a...
TheCollector
Venus Cloacina: Meet the Roman Sewer Goddess Over the course of their history, the Romans built a complex and dense network of sewers in the city...
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Over the course of their history, the Romans built a complex and dense network of sewers in the city of Rome. However, only one of them was held in the highest regard. It was the oldest sewer in the city, and it was called Cloaca Maxima (“The Greatest Sewer”). In the beginning,...
TheCollector
William Gladstone: Britain’s Record-Breaking Prime Minister The Victorian era featured many political giants. Robert Peel, Benjamin Disraeli, and Lord Salisbury...
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The Victorian era featured many political giants. Robert Peel, Benjamin Disraeli, and Lord Salisbury are some obvious examples. Yet the man who spent the most time as prime minister was none other than William Gladstone.   Gladstone was Great Britain’s prime minister for twelve...
African History...
A complete history of Mogadishu (ca. 1100-1892) Journal of African cities: chapter 16.
3 weeks ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekly Wisdom Quiz Beginnings, Endings, and Education
3 weeks ago
TheCollector
The Expulsion of Polish Jews From Nazi Germany: Polenaktion Explained In the early hours of October 28, 1938, Berlin resident Mendel Max Karp was still sleeping when...
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3 weeks ago
In the early hours of October 28, 1938, Berlin resident Mendel Max Karp was still sleeping when police officers burst into his apartment to order him to leave the territory of the German Reich. He was then arrested and deported to the German-Polish border on a special train. Mr....
TheCollector
Preacher & Religious Author: Who Was John Bunyan? Among the written works which came out of the Protestant Reformation, probably the most surprising...
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Among the written works which came out of the Protestant Reformation, probably the most surprising is the widely popular work The Pilgrim’s Progress, a work of fiction from an untrained preacher called John Bunyan. His book was not any sort of treatise of theology; instead, it...
Wrong Side of...
The Great Madman Theory of History vindicated Has Nigel Farage just ended his chance of victory?
3 weeks ago
TheCollector
10 Must-See Ancient Monuments Around the World Ancient times refer to the period spanning from the early development of human civilizations to the...
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Ancient times refer to the period spanning from the early development of human civilizations to the end of classical antiquity, roughly 3000 BCE to 500 CE. This era saw the rise of powerful empires, complex societies, and remarkable advancements in art, architecture, and...
TheCollector
What Is the First Epistle of Peter About? There is no doubt that the audience the First Epistle of Peter (1 Peter) had in mind was suffering...
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There is no doubt that the audience the First Epistle of Peter (1 Peter) had in mind was suffering persecution. Whether it was from Nero before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE or during the reign of Domitian a decade or so afterward, the readers can find wisdom and...
weird medieval guys
My favourite etymologies: clue A word for worms, string, romance, and advice
3 weeks ago
TheCollector
Who Were the Aboriginal Leaders of the Frontier Wars? 4 Key Figures Most of what we know about the people involved in the Australian Frontier Wars, and the massacres...
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Most of what we know about the people involved in the Australian Frontier Wars, and the massacres that unfolded, comes from the journals of those who were involved in them; that is, European settlers, pastoralists, and government officials. They also come (especially with regard...
TheCollector
What Is the Book of Hebrews About? Some refer to the Book of Hebrews as the “better book.” It compares the Old Testament ceremonial...
3 weeks ago
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Some refer to the Book of Hebrews as the “better book.” It compares the Old Testament ceremonial system and its fulfillment, highlighting how the fulfillment is, in every instance, better than the type that pointed to the antitype. It is arguably the best link between Old...
Flashbak
Honoré Daumier, Portraits des Célébrités du Juste-Milieu At the Musée d’Orsay, Paris, you can see these sculptured portraits of celebrities by French artist...
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At the Musée d’Orsay, Paris, you can see these sculptured portraits of celebrities by French artist Honoré Daumier (February 26, 1808 – February 10 or 11, 1879). Created between 1832 and 1835, Les Célébrités du Juste-Milieu (The Celebrities of the Golden Mean) terracotta look...
TheCollector
Sejanus: The Praetorian Prefect With Imperial Ambitions Tiberius Caesar had the unenviable task of succeeding his stepfather Augustus. He would always be a...
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Tiberius Caesar had the unenviable task of succeeding his stepfather Augustus. He would always be a pale shadow of the charismatic founder of the Roman Empire. Tiberius’s time in power was also scarred by the influence of Sejanus, the prefect of the emperor’s Praetorian Guard....
TheCollector
Is Capitalism Reliant on Fossil Fuels? Energy-dense ‘fossil fuels’ – such as coal, oil, and natural gas – are derived from fossilized...
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Energy-dense ‘fossil fuels’ – such as coal, oil, and natural gas – are derived from fossilized organic matter. However, their combustion releases large amounts of carbon dioxide, fuelling global warming on an industrial scale. Indeed, since the Industrial Revolution, the...
TheCollector
10 Ancient Greek Islands to Visit Greece, one of the world’s oldest civilizations, traces its history back to at least 7000 BCE, when...
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Greece, one of the world’s oldest civilizations, traces its history back to at least 7000 BCE, when Neolithic settlements emerged across the region. By 3000 BCE, the Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean civilizations flourished, setting the stage for Greece’s cultural and intellectual...
TheCollector
Who Were the 5 Most Important Lutheran Reformers? Any student of the Protestant Reformation will be intimately familiar with the likes of Luther and...
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Any student of the Protestant Reformation will be intimately familiar with the likes of Luther and Melanchthon, both of whom spearheaded the reforms in the western church in the first half of the 16th century. However, their legacy only endured because of those who followed their...
Dreams of Space -...
Rockets and Space Coloring Book (1960) Some nice space pictures (to color) for you today.  Coloring books may be one of the ultimate forms...
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3 weeks ago
Some nice space pictures (to color) for you today.  Coloring books may be one of the ultimate forms of ephemera. There were meant to be used, admired? and then thrown away. Yet many children owned them and there were at least 40 issued between 1950 and 1970 on space themes. If...
TheCollector
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk: How Russia Left World War I In both World Wars, people assume the Allied Powers had a crushing advantage and would have...
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In both World Wars, people assume the Allied Powers had a crushing advantage and would have inevitably won the conflicts. World War I, however, was almost a victory for Germany. Far from the American focus on the Atlantic Ocean, Germany had also been fighting Russia, which was an...
TheCollector
Archaeologists Find World’s Oldest Known Bone Tools in Africa Early hominids were systematically producing bone tools at least one million years sooner than...
3 weeks ago
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Early hominids were systematically producing bone tools at least one million years sooner than archaeologists previously believed, according to a new study published in Nature. Researchers from the CSIC-Spanish National Research Council unearthed an ancient bone toolkit in...
Flashbak
René Magritte’s Art Deco Posters and Music Covers Belgian painter René Magritte (21 November 1898 – 15 August 1967) is best known for his Surrealist...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Belgian painter René Magritte (21 November 1898 – 15 August 1967) is best known for his Surrealist art. But before he relocated from Brussels to Paris in 1927 and began hanging out with André Breton (19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) and other Surrealists, Magritte worked as...
TheCollector
Still-Life: 8 Facts About the Most Underrated Genre Still-life painting is one of the oldest genres in history, yet it is often dismissed as too simple...
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Still-life painting is one of the oldest genres in history, yet it is often dismissed as too simple and not serious enough to be considered “high” art. Still, this genre has a long history spanning from antiquity. Still-life painting has evolved with human society, adapting to...
Classical Wisdom
Ancients After Alexander The Hellenistic Age
3 weeks ago
TheCollector
4 Must-Read Works by Søren Kierkegaard, Father of Existentialism Søren Kierkegaard is largely considered to be the father of existentialism. He wrote extensively...
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Søren Kierkegaard is largely considered to be the father of existentialism. He wrote extensively about subjects such as the human condition, despair, anxiety about existence, and how to achieve an authentic and actualized Self. Kierkegaard never shied away from the messy parts of...
TheCollector
What Are the Origins of the Folk Horror Genre? Originating in British cinema during the 1960s and 1970s, classic works of folk horror such as The...
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Originating in British cinema during the 1960s and 1970s, classic works of folk horror such as The Wicker Man (1973), have created their own set of features usually used as shorthand by folk horror creators in many mediums. Featuring isolated, rural communities grappling with the...
Open Culture
A Tour of the Final Home Designed By Frank Lloyd Wright: The Circular Sun House Some remember the nineteen-nineties in America as the second coming of the nineteen-fifties....
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Some remember the nineteen-nineties in America as the second coming of the nineteen-fifties. Whatever holes one can poke in that historical framing, it does feel strangely plausible inside Frank Lloyd Wright’s Circular Sun House. Though not actually built until 1967, it was...
Open Culture
Watch the Sci-Fi Short Film “I’m Not a Robot”: Winner of a 2025 Academy Award Victoria Warmerdam, the writer and director of the short film, “I’m Not a Robot,” summarizes the...
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Victoria Warmerdam, the writer and director of the short film, “I’m Not a Robot,” summarizes the plot of her 22-minute film as follows: The film “tells the story of Lara, a music producer who spirals into an existential crisis after repeatedly failing a CAPTCHA test—leading her...
TheCollector
8 Locations in Greece Related to the Odyssey Homer’s The Odyssey has been a cornerstone of Western literature for millennia, chronicling the epic...
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Homer’s The Odyssey has been a cornerstone of Western literature for millennia, chronicling the epic journey of King Odysseus as he strives to return home after the Trojan War. This timeless narrative has inspired countless adaptations, with the latest being Christopher Nolan’s...
Open Culture
Get 40% Off 3 Months of Coursera Plus & Access Unlimited Courses – Offer Ends March 9 Now through March 9, 2025, Coursera is offering 40% off a three-month subscription to Coursera Plus....
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Now through March 9, 2025, Coursera is offering 40% off a three-month subscription to Coursera Plus. This plan provides access to 7,000+ courses for one all-inclusive price, including programs from 350 universities (e.g., Duke and the University of Michigan) and companies like...
Wrong Side of...
The Lives of the Othered Are some people worth less?
3 weeks ago
TheCollector
Baroque Music: Contrast and Drama The Baroque Era’s genesis lay in Italy, established during the Council of Trent between 1545 and...
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The Baroque Era’s genesis lay in Italy, established during the Council of Trent between 1545 and 1653. The Council’s mission was simple: How could they inspire people to follow the Catholic faith and come back to the Church’s fold? Where the Protestants opted for simplicity, the...
A Collection of...
Collections: What Do Historians Do? For this week, I want to take a step back (we’ll be back to our series on Rings of Power next week!)...
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For this week, I want to take a step back (we’ll be back to our series on Rings of Power next week!) and talk about the craft of history: we’ve talked about “How Your History Gets Made” from the perspective of the different people who do it – research historians, public...
TheCollector
Was the Spanish Inquisition Really That Harsh? (Truths & Myths) When most people think of the Spanish Inquisition, they picture horrific scenes of torture and...
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When most people think of the Spanish Inquisition, they picture horrific scenes of torture and cruelty, thousands of people burning at the stake, and a tyrannical religious regime with too much power. What led to these misconceptions and propaganda surrounding the Inquisition,...
TheCollector
Trove of Ancient Gold Jewelry Found in Egypt’s Karnak Temple Ongoing excavations at Egypt’s Karnak Temple Complex revealed a cache of ancient gold artifacts....
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Ongoing excavations at Egypt’s Karnak Temple Complex revealed a cache of ancient gold artifacts. Stashed for centuries inside a ceramic vessel, the collection of jewelry, amulets, and statuettes remains remarkably well-preserved.   Karnak Temple Jewelry Dates Back to Egypt’s 26th...
TheCollector
Who Are the Main Aboriginal Clans from West & Central Australia? Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland form the macro-region known as Eastern Australia, along...
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Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland form the macro-region known as Eastern Australia, along with the Tasmanian Island, Jervis Bay Territory, and the Australian Capital Territory. The remaining mainland states of South Australia, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory...
TheCollector
Bayeux Tapestry Fragment Rediscovered in Germany A missing piece of the Bayeux Tapestry, one of the world’s most famous medieval artworks, was...
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3 weeks ago
A missing piece of the Bayeux Tapestry, one of the world’s most famous medieval artworks, was recently rediscovered in Germany. The epic embroidery, which depicts events leading up to William the Conqueror’s victory over King Harold II, dates back to the 11th century.   Fragment...
Flashbak
23 Before And After Vintage Snapshots “Never put off till tomorrow what may be done day after tomorrow just as well.” — Mark Twain    ...
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“Never put off till tomorrow what may be done day after tomorrow just as well.” — Mark Twain     Take a moment to look at the photo above. We don’t know Maureen. She’s the subject of a pair of ‘BEFORE’ and AFTER’ polaroids from Robert E Jackson’s astounding archive of snapshots....
TheCollector
History of Christian Missionaries: From Apostles to Modern Day Christians believe Jesus Christ came to Earth with a divine message. After the Ascension, the...
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Christians believe Jesus Christ came to Earth with a divine message. After the Ascension, the followers of Jesus took the baton from him and picked up the task of spreading that same message. These messengers were called missionaries. This post will investigate Christian...
TheCollector
Who Was Jan Hus? The Priest Who Defied the Pope Before Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the church in Wittenburg, Germany, before...
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Before Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the church in Wittenburg, Germany, before Gutenberg’s printing press, and even before the Protestant Reformation, opposition to the theology and hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church was rare. One of the more prominent...
Open Culture
The Classic 1972 Concert Film Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii Gets Restored & Will Soon Hit IMAX... Today, when we watch genre-defining concert films like Monterey Pop, Woodstock, Gimme Shelter, or...
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Today, when we watch genre-defining concert films like Monterey Pop, Woodstock, Gimme Shelter, or Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, we look upon the audience with nearly as much interest as we do the performers. But Pink Floyd never did things in quite the same way as...
Open Culture
Historian Answers Burning Questions About The Renaissance Courtesy of Wired, historian Alexander Bevilacqua (Williams College) answers the internet’s burning...
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3 weeks ago
Courtesy of Wired, historian Alexander Bevilacqua (Williams College) answers the internet’s burning questions about the cultural rebirth that came to be known as The Renaissance. In 30+ minutes, Bevilacqua covers an array of questions, including: When did The Renaissance begin?...
TheCollector
10 Charming Historic Towns in Scotland The Kingdom of Scotland was founded in 843 AD when Kenneth MacAlpin unified the Picts and Scots,...
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The Kingdom of Scotland was founded in 843 AD when Kenneth MacAlpin unified the Picts and Scots, though its story stretches back much further—to the ancient standing stones of Orkney, the Roman frontier of the Antonine Wall, and the shadowy reigns of the early Celtic kings....
TheCollector
Augustine vs Baudrillard: Are Words Signs of Reality or Hyperreality? To say that the famous pessimist Augustine wrote prolifically because of his hope in the power of...
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To say that the famous pessimist Augustine wrote prolifically because of his hope in the power of the word is not to speak rashly. Words, Augustine thought, illuminate the ontology of human existence. Contrastingly, the French postmodern philosopher and cultural theorist, Jean...
TheCollector
Himmler, Hitler, & Occultism: The Nazi Search for the Arcane The Nazi regime’s fascination with the occult has long captivated and horrified people in equal...
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The Nazi regime’s fascination with the occult has long captivated and horrified people in equal measure. The idea that one of history’s most brutal regimes actively pursued mystical artifacts and esoteric beliefs seems almost unfathomable. Yet, as this exploration reveals,...
Overcoming Bias
Futarchy As Meta Governance While anyone can buy stock in public firms, private equity firms are instead held by a more...
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3 weeks ago
While anyone can buy stock in public firms, private equity firms are instead held by a more concentrated and exclusive set of owners.
Res Obscura
AI legibility, physical archives, and the future of research A followup to "The leading AI models are now good historians"
3 weeks ago
TheCollector
What Is the Story of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle? The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is one of the most important artifacts of English history. As a text, it...
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The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is one of the most important artifacts of English history. As a text, it is a remarkable record of events that helps shine a light onto the so-called “Dark Ages.” However, the Chronicle is more than just a record. In many ways, it is more than a mere...
Classical Wisdom
Roman Britain: Origin or Decline? What can we learn from Transition?
3 weeks ago