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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...
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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...
Trying to Understand...
A Swan-song For Europe It didn't have to be this way.
2 weeks ago
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
African History...
A complete history of Mogadishu (ca. 1100-1892) Journal of African cities: chapter 16.
3 weeks ago
weird medieval guys
My favourite etymologies: clue A word for worms, string, romance, and advice
3 weeks ago
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...
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...
3 weeks ago
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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...
Hidden History
Project Mercury Project Mercury was America’s entry into the Space Race and was intended to put a human into space...
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4 weeks ago
Project Mercury was America’s entry into the Space Race and was intended to put a human into space before the Soviet Union did. The Soviet launch of the Sputnik satellite in October 1957 caused a near-panic in the United States and led to desperate calls to “catch up”. President...
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!)...
3 weeks ago
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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...
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...
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...
a week ago
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a week ago
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...
Open Culture
Historian Answers Burning Questions About The Renaissance Courtesy of Wired, historian Alexander Bevilacqua (Williams College) answers the internet’s burning...
3 weeks ago
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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?...
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....
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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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.
Open Culture
Andrei Tarkovsky’s Message to Young People: “Learn to Be Alone,” Enjoy Solitude I remember the first time I sat down and watched Andrei Tarkovsky’s lyrical, meandering sci-fi epic...
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4 weeks ago
I remember the first time I sat down and watched Andrei Tarkovsky’s lyrical, meandering sci-fi epic Stalker. It was a long time ago, before the advent of smartphones and tablets. I watched a beat-up VHS copy on a non-“smart” TV, and had no ability to pause every few minutes and...
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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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.
Open Culture
The Story Of Menstruation: Watch Walt Disney’s Sex Ed Film from 1946 From 1945 to 1951, Disney produced a series of educational films to be shown in American schools....
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From 1945 to 1951, Disney produced a series of educational films to be shown in American schools. How to bathe an infant. How not to catch a cold. Why you shouldn’t drive fast. Disney covered these subjects in its educational shorts, and then eventually got to the touchy subject...
Wrong Side of...
The Great Madman Theory of History vindicated Has Nigel Farage just ended his chance of victory?
3 weeks ago
Trying to Understand...
All About Aid. Well, probably more than you wanted to know, anyway.
3 weeks ago
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...
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...
Overcoming Bias
Respect The Social Wild While most foragers had great respect for nature, our farmer-era ancestors had less resepct.
4 weeks ago
Open Culture
Carl Jung’s Hand-Drawn, Rarely-Seen Manuscript The Red Book Despite his one-time friend and mentor Sigmund Freud’s enormous impact on Western...
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Despite his one-time friend and mentor Sigmund Freud’s enormous impact on Western self-understanding, I would argue it is Carl Jung who is still most with us in our communal practices: from his focus on introversion and extroversion to his view of syncretic, intuitive forms of...
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,...
Classical Wisdom
What’s the Role of Education? For the Individual... and for Society?
4 weeks ago
Global Inequality...
The break-down of the representative system and the road to dictatorship (on the example of Serbia)
2 weeks ago
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...
Flashbak
Harold Fisk Maps the History of the Mississippi River, 1944 In 1944, Harold Fisk was a geologist and cartographer working for the US Army Corps of Engineers...
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In 1944, Harold Fisk was a geologist and cartographer working for the US Army Corps of Engineers when he made these 15 maps to illustrate the government’s “Geological Investigation of the Alluvial Valley of the Lower Mississippi River”. Fisk’s ingenious maps shows a different...
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...
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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
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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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...
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...
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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...
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...
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...
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...
3 weeks ago
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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....
Overcoming Bias
Philosophical Angst As Culture Skepticism In her new book, my podcast co-host Agnes Callard does a great job of expressing classic...
3 weeks ago
Open Culture
How Stephen King Foretold the Rise of Trump in a 1979 Novel Nobody opens a Stephen King novel expecting to see a reflection of the real world. Then again, as...
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Nobody opens a Stephen King novel expecting to see a reflection of the real world. Then again, as those who get hooked on his books can attest, never is his work ever wholly detached from reality. Time and time again, he delivers lurid visions of the macabre, grotesque, and...
Classical Wisdom
Roman Britain: Origin or Decline? What can we learn from Transition?
3 weeks ago
Wrong Side of...
Farewell to Our Kith and Kin Why doesn't Britain doesn't stand up for Canada?
4 weeks ago
Open Culture
Where The Simpsons Began: Discover the Original Shorts That Appeared on The Tracey Ullman Show... When it first went on air in the late nineteen-eighties, Fox had to prove itself capable of playing...
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When it first went on air in the late nineteen-eighties, Fox had to prove itself capable of playing in a televisual league with the likes of NBC, CBS, and ABC. To that end, it began building its prime-time lineup with two original programs more thematically and aesthetically...
Flashbak
Mystery, God And The Wonder of Death: Cristoforo de Predis’ Illuminated Visions “He commanded and they were created.” – Psalm 33     Cristoforo de Predis (1440-1486) painted his...
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“He commanded and they were created.” – Psalm 33     Cristoforo de Predis (1440-1486) painted his visions of the final judgement in the late 15th Century. We see fish above the sea, the sun and moon dying, blood dripping from trees and winged demons dropping naked, fragile...
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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While anyone can buy stock in public firms, private equity firms are instead held by a more concentrated and exclusive set of owners.
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...
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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...
Classical Wisdom
What to Expect When You're Dead *New Event* April 2nd, 2025
4 weeks ago
Trying to Understand...
The Man Who Nearly Woke Up. Narrative found hidden in an HR Textbook.
a week ago
TheCollector
Hel: The Giantess Queen of the Norse Underworld Helheim The giant Hel was one of the children of the trickster giant Loki. Born half-living and half-dead,...
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The giant Hel was one of the children of the trickster giant Loki. Born half-living and half-dead, she was a terror to look upon and feared by the gods, so Odin banished her to the underworld, where she became its queen. Her power in Helheim was absolute; not even Odin could...
TheCollector
What Bible Translations Existed Before and During the Protestant Reformation? For various reasons, up until well after the Protestant Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church...
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For various reasons, up until well after the Protestant Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church generally resisted the translation of the Bible into vernacular, or common, languages. However, the Catholic Church was unable to stem the tide for various reasons, particularly in the...
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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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...
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...
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
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...
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...
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...
Bumping up against solid reality Pourquoi mourir pour Donetsk? Britain's young might well wonder
3 weeks ago
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
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...
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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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...
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...
Flashbak
The Drolatic Dreams of Pantagruel, 1565 “The great familiarity I had with the late François Rabelais (dear Reader), has moved and even...
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“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...
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
Understanding Beethoven in 5 Compositions Ludwig van Beethoven is labeled as an innovator and a rebel in the world of music. To paraphrase Bob...
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Ludwig van Beethoven is labeled as an innovator and a rebel in the world of music. To paraphrase Bob Marley’s song, No Woman No Cry, “No Beethoven, no modern music.” Despite his growing and eventual deafness, he composed some of the world’s most memorable music. His association...
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
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...
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...
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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a week ago
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...
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.
Open Culture
How the Nazis Waged War on Modern Art: Inside the “Degenerate Art” Exhibition of 1937 Before his fateful entry into politics, Adolf Hitler wanted to be an artist. Even to the most...
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4 weeks ago
Before his fateful entry into politics, Adolf Hitler wanted to be an artist. Even to the most neutral imaginable observer, the known examples of the estimated 2,000 to 3,000 paintings and other works of art he produced in his early adulthood would hardly evidence astonishing...
TheCollector
What Is the Epistle of Jude About? Though the Epistle of Jude addresses much of the same content that the other epistles do, how the...
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Though the Epistle of Jude addresses much of the same content that the other epistles do, how the author does it is different. He quotes from the Book of Enoch and refers to Sodom and Gomorrah, the epic tale of destruction in the Old Testament. His use of this source material is...
TheCollector
Where Was King Arthur’s Mount Badon? War between the Britons and the Anglo-Saxons started in c. 430 CE and continued for centuries. For...
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War between the Britons and the Anglo-Saxons started in c. 430 CE and continued for centuries. For some time, the Anglo-Saxons faced little difficulty in conquering new territory. However, a war leader, either named Ambrosius Aurelianus or King Arthur, helped the Britons fight...
TheCollector
Who Won the Battle of Hampton Roads? The Union blockaded the Confederate coast during the American Civil War as part of the Anaconda...
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The Union blockaded the Confederate coast during the American Civil War as part of the Anaconda Plan. To fight the overwhelming Union advantage in manpower and ships, the Confederacy adopted a new technology: the ironclad vessel. These low-profile ships were covered in metal...
Wrong Side of...
The Lives of the Othered Are some people worth less?
3 weeks ago
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...
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...
2 weeks ago
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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
How the Song of Roland Shaped the Way We (Still) Think of Charlemagne The Song of Roland, one of the earliest pieces of French literature, started as a verbally shared...
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The Song of Roland, one of the earliest pieces of French literature, started as a verbally shared poem that was eventually written down. Several manuscripts of it exist, but Digby 23 has had the most influence. Because The Song of Roland sings the praise of Charlemagne, it is...
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,...
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...
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...
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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...
Wrong Side of...
On French assimilation and British multiculturalism Reflections on 'Reflections on the Revolution in Europe', Part Four
2 weeks ago
Classical Wisdom
Julius Caesar Triumphs over Adversity
2 weeks ago
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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3 weeks ago
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...
Global Inequality...
Capitalism of finitude: pessimism and bellicosity Review of Arnaud Orain’s "Le Monde Confisqué"
a week ago
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.
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
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...
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...
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
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...
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...
Wrong Side of...
It's been a long, cold, lonely winter Wrong Side of History newsletter #60
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Wrong Side of...
Team Islam and Team France Reflections on ‘Reflections on the Revolution in Europe’, Part Five
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What Are the Top 5 World Heritage Sites in the Philippines? The Philippines is one of the most beautiful archipelagos in the world. Connecting 7640 islands, it...
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The Philippines is one of the most beautiful archipelagos in the world. Connecting 7640 islands, it is a canvas where nature has painted some of its most magnificent wonders. With a history spanning hundreds of years, the country attracts tourists from all over the world for its...
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...
Classical Wisdom
Ancients After Alexander The Hellenistic Age
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ALL HAIL CAESAR??? Should We Glorify Caesar? And Those Like Him?
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“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...
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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...
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De quoi parlons-nous quand nous parlons de négociations ? Another of my essays in French.
2 weeks ago
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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...
Classical Wisdom
Do We Need to Disagree? Cato VS Caesar
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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...
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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
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...
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'We live in an age where illness and deformity are commonplace' The Year of the Plague #5
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Classical Wisdom
Weekly Wisdom Quiz Caesar Special!
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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,...
Wrong Side of...
Disappointment of the diaspora Reflections on ‘Reflections on the Revolution in Europe’, Part Six
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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...
TheCollector
Roman-Era Hermes Statue Found in Ancient City of Aspendos Turkish archaeologists unearthed an ancient statue of Hermes, the winged messenger of the gods, in...
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Turkish archaeologists unearthed an ancient statue of Hermes, the winged messenger of the gods, in the Greco-Roman city of Aspendos. It was found alongside objects associated with other major deities in Greek mythology.   Turkish Archaeologists Uncover Fragmented Hermes Statue  ...
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...
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....
Wrong Side of...
The seed of Elon Khan Ultra-prolific men are not like the rest of us
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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...
Classical Wisdom
Weekly Wisdom Quiz Anger and Alexander
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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...
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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...
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...
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9
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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...
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...
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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...
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...
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...
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
Is Capitalism Reliant on Fossil Fuels? Energy-dense ‘fossil fuels’ – such as coal, oil, and natural gas – are derived from fossilized...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
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...
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...
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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...
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...
a week ago
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a week ago
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...
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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a week ago
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...
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 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...
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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...
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
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...
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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
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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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...
Classical Wisdom
Is Anger an Issue? A recording from Classical Wisdom's live video
a week ago
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...
4 days ago
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4 days ago
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...
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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3 weeks ago
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...
TheCollector
Are We Justified in Using Inductive Reasoning? Imagine being a scientist developing a new drug. You test it on over 1,000,000 patients of...
4 weeks ago
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4 weeks ago
Imagine being a scientist developing a new drug. You test it on over 1,000,000 patients of widespread backgrounds, and none experiences any side effects. You put it on the market and, once again, receive no notification of undesired outcomes. Imagine then prescribing it to one of...
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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3 weeks ago
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...
Classical Wisdom
Can We Harness Anger? Understanding Thumos
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Classical Wisdom
Alexander the Great: Ebook The spectacular biographies of Diodorus Siculus, Plutarch, and Arrian
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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...
Classical Wisdom
Athens' Most Important Woman Secret Mover of History
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Classical Wisdom
The Mysterious Death of Alexander The Great How Exactly did the Famed Conqueror Die?
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TheCollector
Is The Prince of Egypt (1998) an Accurate Portrayal of Ancient Egypt? The Prince of Egypt is a 1998 award-winning animated film based on the Book of Exodus in the Bible....
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4 weeks ago
The Prince of Egypt is a 1998 award-winning animated film based on the Book of Exodus in the Bible. Set in ancient Egypt, the main characters reference actual historical figures. In this article, we will examine how life in ancient Egypt is shown in the movie to find out how...
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...
6 days ago
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6 days ago
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
Simone Weil: Did George Herbert Convert the French Mystic? Despite living about 300 years before her, George Herbert drastically influenced the life of Simone...
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Despite living about 300 years before her, George Herbert drastically influenced the life of Simone Weil, a Jewish philosopher of the early to mid-20th century. Weil, accustomed to terrible migraines, was reading one of Herbert’s poems when she had an experience that changed her...
TheCollector
Who Won the Battle of Gaines’ Mill? With the Union and Confederate capital cities so close together, it seemed common sense for the...
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4 weeks ago
With the Union and Confederate capital cities so close together, it seemed common sense for the Union to use its manpower and industrial advantage to take the quickest route to end the war: seize the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia. The Peninsula Campaign of 1862 was an...
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...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
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,...
Flashbak
Man Ray’s Mathematics Objects (1934-36) The collection of 19th-century three-dimensional models of algebraic and differential equations at...
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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,...
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...
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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a week ago
” 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
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...
a week ago
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a week ago
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
The Stroop Effect: Can Your Brain Glitch? The Stroop effect is one of the most fascinating discoveries of experimental psychology that...
4 weeks ago
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4 weeks ago
The Stroop effect is one of the most fascinating discoveries of experimental psychology that uncovers how our brain processes information. Named after psychologist John Ridley Stroop, it reveals how cognitive interferences can make seemingly simple cognitive tasks surprisingly...
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...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
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...
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...
a week ago
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a week ago
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...
Wrong Side of...
Welcome to the hub What explains the strange ubiquity of this word?
a week ago
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...
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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...
Classical Wisdom
Rehabilitating Aspasia Separating Evidence from Comic Slander
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TheCollector
London in WWII: The Horror of the London Blitz “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields...
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4 weeks ago
“We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender,” famously declared British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to the House of Commons on June 4, 1940. At...
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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6 days ago
?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
11 Historical Places to Visit in Oxfordshire Home to some of England’s most known poets, scientists, and religious figures, the county of...
6 days ago
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6 days ago
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...
6 days ago
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6 days ago
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...
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...
5 days ago
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5 days ago
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”...
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...
a week ago
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a week ago
“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...
Classical Wisdom
Was Aristotle Right About Happiness? LIVE Substack Session: Wednesday @ 1pm
a week ago
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...
4 days ago
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4 days ago
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...
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...
6 days ago
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6 days ago
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
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...
4 days ago
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4 days ago
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...
African History...
Africans in ancient Greece and Cyprus Africans were already present on the European mainland by the time Herodotus —the so called father...
2 days ago
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2 days ago
Africans were already present on the European mainland by the time Herodotus —the so called father of history— wrote his monumental work, The Histories.
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...
a week ago
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a week ago
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...
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...
5 days ago
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5 days ago
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.
Overcoming Bias
Join We Meta-Adaptionists Standard decision theory says that all decisions combine two key factors: opinions on values, and...
a week ago
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a week ago
Standard decision theory says that all decisions combine two key factors: opinions on values, and beliefs about facts.
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...
6 days ago
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6 days ago
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...
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....
5 days ago
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5 days ago
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...
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...
6 days ago
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6 days ago
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...
Classical Wisdom
How to Be Happy, According to Aristotle A recording from Classical Wisdom and Evan Amato's live video
6 days ago
Wrong Side of...
The First Briton James I, the wise fool who dreamed of a Great Britain
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...
5 days ago
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5 days ago
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...
Classical Wisdom
The Bohemian Philosophy From Socrates to Mick Jagger
4 days ago
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...
3 days ago
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3 days ago
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...
History Today Feed
‘Vietdamned’ by Clive Webb review ‘Vietdamned’ by Clive Webb review JamesHoare Mon, 03/24/2025 - 09:17
a week 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
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...
5 days ago
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5 days ago
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...
TheCollector
Centuries-Old Buddhist Temple Destroyed by Wildfires Wildfires tearing through the southern regions of South Korea have killed at least 28 people and...
5 days ago
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5 days ago
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...
5 days ago
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5 days ago
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...
5 days ago
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5 days ago
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...
Flashbak
Sex In A Japanese Love Hotel “These venues have a very ‘talkative’ quality visually – they‘re expressive in design, reflecting...
4 days ago
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4 days ago
“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
American Civil War: Maps, Battlefields, and Generals The fighting of the American Civil War ultimately reached nearly every state in the Northern and...
a week ago
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a week ago
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
Snorri Sturluson: Our Most Important Source for Norse Myth? Most of the surviving information we have about Norse mythology and legendary Viking history was...
a week ago
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a week ago
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
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...
5 days ago
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5 days ago
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
Psychology of Color: Why Are We Attracted to Gold? Gold is among the most coveted colors in jewelry, fashion, decor, artifacts, and designs....
3 days ago
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3 days ago
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
Archaeologists Unearth First Roman Aqueduct in Slovakia Amidst excavations at a historic mansion in Bratislava, archaeologists discovered an ancient Roman...
a week ago
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a week ago
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
Lucrezia Borgia: Femme Fatale or Innocent Pawn? Five centuries ago, Italy was a dangerous and brutal place for the nobility and the general...
4 days ago
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4 days ago
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...
4 days ago
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4 days ago
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
4 Fashion Designers Who Celebrate Craftsmanship The unsettlingly rapid development of ultra-fast fashion altered our relationship with clothes and...
4 days ago
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4 days ago
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...
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...
4 days ago
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4 days ago
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
How Did the Minoan Octopus Vase Get Cracked? Valuable ancient artefacts provide a direct connection to human history by revealing details such as...
a week ago
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a week ago
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...
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...
a week ago
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a week ago
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
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...
a week ago
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a week ago
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...
Wrong Side of...
Tolerance and terror Reflections on ‘Reflections on the Revolution in Europe’, Part Seven
3 days ago
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...
3 days ago
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3 days ago
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,...
Flashbak
Vintage Architectural Stationery Vignettes The images below are from Columbia University’s collection of commercial stationery, featuring...
2 days ago
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2 days ago
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...
TheCollector
What Did Einstein Say About Capitalism? Albert Einstein’s brain, Roland Barthes once wrote, “is a mythical object.” His genius is...
6 days ago
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6 days ago
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...
TheCollector
Frick Collection Unveils $220 Million Renovation Situated alongside New York City’s Central Park, the famed Frick Collection is reopening to the...
4 days ago
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4 days ago
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...
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...
3 days ago
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3 days ago
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...
Classical Wisdom
Weekly Wisdom Quiz Aristotle and Happiness
2 days ago
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...
18 hours ago
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18 hours ago
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
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...
5 days ago
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5 days ago
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...
TheCollector
10 Must-See Monuments on the Acropolis Athens, the cradle of Western civilization, has stood as a beacon of culture, philosophy, and...
3 days ago
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3 days ago
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...
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
a week ago
History Today Feed
Bloody Mary and the Missing Heir Bloody Mary and the Missing Heir JamesHoare Thu, 03/20/2025 - 08:56
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History Today Feed
Britain’s Witnesses to Buchenwald Britain’s Witnesses to Buchenwald JamesHoare Thu, 03/20/2025 - 08:55
a week ago
TheCollector
What Are Five Major Historical Misconceptions? As we revise the study of our human history and find more archival materials and documents, our...
a week ago
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a week ago
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...
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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a week ago
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...
TheCollector
Key Issues in US Presidential Elections Throughout History What are the heavy, dramatic, hard-hitting issues that define US presidential elections? From...
a week ago
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a week ago
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...
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...
a week ago
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a week ago
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 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...
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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2 weeks ago
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...
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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a week ago
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...
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...
a week ago
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a week ago
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
5 Events That Characterized Cold War Détente Following the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the world stood on the brink of nuclear war, the two...
a week ago
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a week ago
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...
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...
a week ago
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a week ago
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
Gustave Caillebotte at the Getty: 100+ Artworks Now on Display French impressionist and realist painter Gustave Caillebotte (1848-1894) often painted with an...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
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...
TheCollector
9 Isms of Art You Should Know All major movements in the history of art are inherently interconnected. Even the most dated styles...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
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
Defenders of Early Christianity: Origen, Tertullian, and Justin Martyr Early Christianity faced numerous challenges, both from external persecution and internal doctrinal...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
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...
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...
yesterday
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yesterday
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 […]
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
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...
a week ago
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a week ago
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...
TheCollector
What Is an Artist According to Sigmund Freud? The famous psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud expressed a keen interest in art and artists throughout his...
a week ago
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a week ago
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...
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
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...
6 days ago
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6 days ago
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
“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...
a week ago
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a week ago
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...
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...
a week ago
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a week ago
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
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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a week ago
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
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...
a week ago
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a week ago
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
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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2 weeks ago
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
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...
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...
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
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...
a week ago
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a week ago
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....
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...
a week ago
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a week ago
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
10 Must-Visit Historic Towns in South Carolina South Carolina’s history is deeply intertwined with the founding of America, the Revolutionary War,...
a week ago
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a week ago
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...
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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a week ago
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
Who Was the Last Aboriginal Tasmanian? For many years, it was believed that the Aboriginal people of Tasmania had become extinct and that...
a week ago
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a week ago
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
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
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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2 weeks ago
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...
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
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
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
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...
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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2 weeks ago
They earned a fearsome reputation in the late 19th century when they inflicted the biggest defeat Britain had ever suffered at the hands of Natives. A young tribe that had grown quickly into a powerful kingdom, the Zulu became known for their martial prowess and unyielding...
TheCollector
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...
3 weeks ago
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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...
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
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...
a week ago
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a week ago
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
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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a week ago
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...
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...
a week ago
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a week ago
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...
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....
a week ago
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a week ago
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...
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...
a week ago
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a week ago
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...
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
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
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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2 weeks ago
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...
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
Who Is Mary in Islam? Mary’s status in Christianity as the most divinely-favored woman in history is without dispute....
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
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...
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...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
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,...
TheCollector
10 Must-See UNESCO Heritage Sites in India UNESCO World Heritage Sites are globally recognized landmarks celebrated for their cultural,...
4 days ago
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4 days ago
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...
TheCollector
Ancient Tomb with Gladiator Epitaph Discovered in Italy Excavations at a necropolis in southern Italy’s Liternum Archaeological Park revealed two ornate...
2 days ago
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2 days ago
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...
History Today Feed
The Library of Ashurbanipal The Library of Ashurbanipal JamesHoare Tue, 03/18/2025 - 07:02
2 weeks ago
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...
a week ago
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a week ago
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
What Was the First Council of Constantinople? The First Council of Constantinople was the second of seven ecumenical councils of the early...
a week ago
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a week ago
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
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...
a week ago
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a week ago
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
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...
2 weeks ago
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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
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
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
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...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
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...
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...
2 days ago
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2 days ago
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...
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
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,...
yesterday
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yesterday
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...
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...
3 hours ago
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3 hours ago
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...
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...
a week ago
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a week ago
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...
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...
a week ago
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a week ago
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...
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....
a week ago
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a week ago
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
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...
a week ago
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a week ago
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...
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...
a week ago
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a week ago
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...
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...
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...
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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2 weeks ago
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...
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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2 weeks ago
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
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 Truth About the Electoral College & How Your Vote Matters When US citizens vote in presidential elections every four years, it’s the controversial Electoral...
4 days ago
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4 days ago
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...
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...
2 days ago
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2 days ago
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,...
Wrong Side of...
The return of the Europeans Reflections on ‘Reflections on the Revolution in Europe’, Part Eight
yesterday
Classical Wisdom
The 7 Sages of Ancient Greece From Dwarfs to Wise Men... What's Up With the Number 7?
22 hours ago
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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a week ago
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
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...
a week ago
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a week ago
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...
a week ago
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a week ago
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...
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...
a week ago
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a week ago
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...
TheCollector
7 Warrior Women (Onna-Bugeisha) of Feudal Japan Medieval Japanese culture, influenced by Confucian ideals, imposed strict gender roles. While...
a week ago
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a week ago
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,...
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...
2 weeks ago
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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...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
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
2
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...
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...
2 weeks ago
2
2 weeks ago
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...
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...
2 weeks ago
2
2 weeks ago
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
2
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
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....
2 weeks ago
2
2 weeks ago
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...
2 weeks ago
2
2 weeks ago
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....
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
2
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...
Trying to Understand...
A Week Off And A New Language See you again soon
a year ago
Res Obscura
Simulating History with ChatGPT The Case for LLMs as Hallucination Engines
a year ago
CrimethInc.
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3 months ago
126
3 months ago
It’s time to take stock of the year have just lived through and get oriented for the year ahead. Here, we review the events of 2024 and our own contributions to the fight for a better world. A year that began amid genocide in Palestine and war in Ukraine and Sudan is concluding...
Open Culture
Binge-Watch Classic Television Programs Free: The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Lone Ranger, Dragnet, That... Earlier this week, we featured the 99-year-old Dick Van Dyke’s performance in Coldplay’s new music...
3 months ago
108
3 months ago
Earlier this week, we featured the 99-year-old Dick Van Dyke’s performance in Coldplay’s new music video, full of visual references to the sitcom that made him a household name in the early nineteen-sixties. And a household name he remains these six decades later, though one does...
Trying to Understand...
The Rise of Extractive Politics It's about having small expectations.
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup Sacred Flames and Divine Philosophers
a year ago
Open Culture
The New York Times Presents the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century, Selected by 503 Novelists, Poets... For longtime readers of American book journalism, scrolling through the New York Times Book Review’s...
3 months ago
101
3 months ago
For longtime readers of American book journalism, scrolling through the New York Times Book Review’s just-published list of the 100 best books of the twenty-first century will summon dim memories of many a once-unignorable critical fuss. At one time or another over the past 25...
Wrong Side of...
Rats! The Year of the Plague #2
2 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Should We Follow Silly Laws? And what happens when we don’t?
a year ago
Open Culture
Francis Ford Coppola Picks His Favorite Criterion Movies & Gives Advice to Filmmakers Upon stepping into the hallowed Criterion Closet, stocked with hundreds of that cinephile video...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
Upon stepping into the hallowed Criterion Closet, stocked with hundreds of that cinephile video label’s finest releases, Francis Ford Coppola speaks of a director who “believed in a film he wanted to make, and used his entire fortune, because the financing system of the time...
Open Culture
Benedict Cumberbatch Reads Kurt Vonnegut’s Letter of Advice to People Living in the Year 2088 There was a time when a company like Volkswagen could commission various luminaries to write letters...
3 months ago
88
3 months ago
There was a time when a company like Volkswagen could commission various luminaries to write letters to the future, then publish them in Time magazine as part of an ad campaign. In fact, that time wasn’t so very long ago: it was the year 1988, to be precise, when no less an...
African History...
A history of the Rozvi kingdom (1680-1830) From Changamire's expulsion of the Portuguese to the ruined cities of Zimbabwe.
a year ago
Open Culture
Read J. R. R. Tolkien’s “Letter From Father Christmas” To His Young Children (1925) J.R.R. Tolkien is best known for the sweeping fantasy landscapes of Lord of The Rings and The...
3 months ago
87
3 months ago
J.R.R. Tolkien is best known for the sweeping fantasy landscapes of Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit. Apart from being a celebrated author, the Oxford University professor of Anglo-Saxon was also a devoted father who doted on his children. In 1920, a few short years after Tolkien...
Overcoming Bias
When They Hear Less Than You Say Something must be done.
a month ago
A Collection of...
Gap Week: December 27, 2024 (Year in Review) Hey folks! Year is coming to a close, so once again I’m going to offer a bit of an end-of-year...
3 months ago
86
3 months ago
Hey folks! Year is coming to a close, so once again I’m going to offer a bit of an end-of-year reflection on the state of the project, along with a brief ‘what’s on the stove’ coverage of what may be coming up. Also, here’s a cat picture: In terms of the project itself, 2024 was,...
Classical Wisdom
How To Eat: An Ancient Guide to Healthy Living Registration *NOW* Open
2 months ago
Overcoming Bias
Celebrity v CEO v Politician Why are celebrities, CEOs, and politicians three different types of people who don’t overlap much?
2 months ago
A Collection of...
Collections: How to Roman Republic 101, Addenda: The Socii This week, as an addendum to our series on Roman civic governance (I, II, IIIa, IIIb, IIIc, IV, V),...
a year ago
84
a year ago
This week, as an addendum to our series on Roman civic governance (I, II, IIIa, IIIb, IIIc, IV, V), we’re going to take a look at how Rome handles those parts of Italy it controls but which it does not inhabit. These are Rome’s ‘allies’ (socii), a euphemistic label for the...
Classical Wisdom
Can We Choose NOT to Be Harmed? How can we train Resilience?
a year ago
A Collection of...
Collections: On the Reign of Alexander III of Macedon, the Great? This week, in part as a follow-on to our series on the contest between Hellenistic armies and Roman...
10 months ago
82
10 months ago
This week, in part as a follow-on to our series on the contest between Hellenistic armies and Roman legions, I wanted to take the opportunity to talk about Alexander III, who you almost certainly know as Alexander the Great. But I want to discuss his reign with that title, ‘the...
Trying to Understand...
A Short Essay About A Long-Playing Record One I bought fifty years ago.
10 months ago
A Collection of...
Collections: On the Reign of Alexander III of Macedon, the Great? Part II This is the second and final part of our look at Alexander III of Macedon (Part I), who you almost...
10 months ago
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10 months ago
This is the second and final part of our look at Alexander III of Macedon (Part I), who you almost certainly know as Alexander the Great. Last week, we looked at the sources for Alexander’s life, the historiography (that is, the history-of-the-history) of his modern reception and...
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup Mothers of the Ancient World
10 months ago
Wrong Side of...
The Terrible Loneliness of Genius The Canon Club: Vincent van Gogh
2 months ago
Open Culture
Explore the Newly-Launched Public Domain Image Archive with 10,000+ Free Historical Images We’ve often featured the work of the Public Domain Review here on Open Culture, and also various...
2 months ago
80
2 months ago
We’ve often featured the work of the Public Domain Review here on Open Culture, and also various searchable copyright-free image databases that have arisen over the years. It makes sense that those two worlds would collide, and now they’ve done so in the form of the just-launched...
African History...
A history of the Majeerteen Sultanate: 1700-1927. Maritime trade and diplomacy in the northern Horn of Africa.
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
Things Are Falling Apart ... And the centre's not looking too good, either.
a year ago
weird medieval guys
Explore medieval life and death with these 5 brilliant interactive maps! Travels, murders, and......eels?!!
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Do You Listen Well? Lessons on Listening from Plutarch
a year ago
Res Obscura
LLM-based educational games will be a big deal For the first time, digital games can make qualitative assessments of learning. Here's what that...
10 months ago
78
10 months ago
For the first time, digital games can make qualitative assessments of learning. Here's what that might look like.
A Collection of...
Collections: Coinage and the Tyranny of Fantasy ‘Gold’ This week on the blog I want to take a brief detour into discussing historical coinage, particularly...
2 months ago
78
2 months ago
This week on the blog I want to take a brief detour into discussing historical coinage, particularly in the context of modern fantasy and roleplaying settings. In particular, the notions I want to tackle are first how did ancient currency systems work in terms of value (what...
Open Culture
99-Year-Old Dick Van Dyke Sings & Dances in a Touching New Coldplay Video, Directed by Spike Jonze There’s one thing right with our world, and it’s Dick Van Dyke. Appearing in a new Coldplay music...
3 months ago
78
3 months ago
There’s one thing right with our world, and it’s Dick Van Dyke. Appearing in a new Coldplay music video, Mr. Van Dyke dances barefoot and sings knowingly a little off-key—before reflecting on a century of life on this planet. What is love? Is he afraid of dying? What does luck...
Open Culture
How Leonardo da Vinci Painted The Last Supper: A Deep Dive Into a Masterpiece When Leonardo da Vinci was 42 years old, he hadn’t yet completed any major publicly viewable work....
3 months ago
77
3 months ago
When Leonardo da Vinci was 42 years old, he hadn’t yet completed any major publicly viewable work. Not that he’d been idle: in that same era, while working for the Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza, he “developed, organized, and directed productions for festival pageants, triumphal...
weird medieval guys
An 800 year prayer book that's decorated with puns Plus a little history of manuscript illustration
a year ago
Open Culture
What’s Entering the Public Domain in 2025: Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms, Faulkner’s The Sound and... Each Public Domain Day seems to bring us a richer crop of copyright-liberated books, plays, films,...
3 months ago
75
3 months ago
Each Public Domain Day seems to bring us a richer crop of copyright-liberated books, plays, films, musical compositions, sound recordings, works of art, and other pieces of intellectual property. This year happens to be an especially notable one for connoisseurs of Belgian...
Trying to Understand...
War Is Complicated. And not just the fighting bit.
a year ago
Open Culture
Compare the “It Ain’t Me Babe” Scene from A Complete Unknown to the Real Bob Dylan & Joan Baez... A Complete Unknown, the new movie about Bob Dylan’s rise in the folk-music scene of the early...
2 months ago
75
2 months ago
A Complete Unknown, the new movie about Bob Dylan’s rise in the folk-music scene of the early nineteen-sixties and subsequent electrified break with it, has been praised for not taking excessive liberties, at least by the standards of popular music biopics. Its conversion of a...
Trying to Understand...
Into the Waste Land Nothing connects.
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
The Mother Goddess of Rome And Her Controversial Religion
10 months ago
Flashbak
The Sun by Frans Masereel, A Story Without Words – 1919 “One discovers the light in darkness, that is what darkness is for; but everything in our lives...
2 months ago
73
2 months ago
“One discovers the light in darkness, that is what darkness is for; but everything in our lives depends on how we bear the light,” – James Baldwin, Nothing Personal      The Sun (1919) by Frans Masereel (1889–1972) opens with an artist resting his head on his desk beneath an open...
Open Culture
Hunter S. Thompson Remembers Jimmy Carter’s Captivating Bob Dylan Speech (1974) 51 years ago, Hunter S. Thompson wrote Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72, which “is still...
3 months ago
73
3 months ago
51 years ago, Hunter S. Thompson wrote Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72, which “is still considered a kind of bible of political reporting,” noted Matt Taibbi in a 40th anniversary edition of the book. Fear and Loathing ’72 entered the canon of American political...
Trying to Understand...
Honesty: What's In It For Me? First, do lots of harm.
a year ago
Res Obscura
Centuries of Childhood The history of childhood is one of multiplicity — so why do we tell parents such simplistic stories...
9 months ago
72
9 months ago
The history of childhood is one of multiplicity — so why do we tell parents such simplistic stories about it?
weird medieval guys
The Medieval Monks Who Lived on Top of Giant Pillars A history of the monastic high life
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
China And Russia Walk Into A Room. And don't say a word about Europe.
10 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Are Protests the Best Way to Say Nay? Can Mobs Make the Change They Want to See?
10 months ago
African History...
Persian myths and realities on the Swahili coast: contextualizing the 'Shirazi' civilization. Why geneticists found what archeologists and historians had failed to locate.
a year ago
Patterns in Humanity
Immigration and crime: Denmark Are immigrants overrepresented in crime? If so, which immigrants? And why?
8 months ago
weird medieval guys
Why did medieval people invent so many collective nouns? A pride of lions, a paddling of ducks, and....a herd of harlots?
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
Useless in Gaza As always, if you don't know what you're doing.
a year ago
African History...
a brief note on Ethnicity and the State in Africa the evolution of the Tutsi/Hutu dichotomy in the precolonial Great Lakes.
10 months ago
African History...
The myth of Mansa Musa's enslaved entourage "Stories about his [Mansa Musa's] journey have numerous anecdotes which are not true and which the...
a year ago
70
a year ago
"Stories about his [Mansa Musa's] journey have numerous anecdotes which are not true and which the mind refuses to admit".
A Collection of...
Collections: Ancient Greek and Phoenician Colonization Davis senatum consuluit a.d. III Idus Octobris apud aedem Patreontis; de colonis Graecis et Punicis...
a year ago
70
a year ago
Davis senatum consuluit a.d. III Idus Octobris apud aedem Patreontis; de colonis Graecis et Punicis verba fecit… This week we’re taking a brief look, by ACOUP Senate request, at Greek and Phoenician colonization in the ancient Mediterranean. In particular, the focus requested was...
African History...
on the Nubian priests of Rome and the Moors of Spain When the 12th-century West African scholar Ibrahim al-Kanemi moved to the city of Seville in Spain...
3 months ago
69
3 months ago
When the 12th-century West African scholar Ibrahim al-Kanemi moved to the city of Seville in Spain and became one of the most celebrated Andalusian poets, he wasn't the first from his region to visit the Moorish kingdom.
Classical Wisdom
Do We Need Dress Codes? Are standards elevating or elitist?
a year ago
Res Obscura
Before psychedelic therapy for wartime trauma, there was narcosynthesis Notes on using AI to analyze three World War II-era films about drugs and PTSD
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
Too Much of Not A Lot Winning the day and losing the war.
a year ago
Flashbak
Liverpool Kids: Surviving Inner City Life In 1975 Paul Trevor’s photographs of Liverpool in 1975 formed part of The Survival Programme, which featured...
10 months ago
68
10 months ago
Paul Trevor’s photographs of Liverpool in 1975 formed part of The Survival Programme, which featured pictures, interviews, drafts and other materials made by member of the Exit Photography Group – Nicholas Battye, Chris Steele-Perkins and Paul Trevor. Created between 1974 and...
African History...
A history of the Buganda kingdom. government in central Africa.
a year ago
Res Obscura
Why did clothing become boring? An investigation into when, how, and why everyone started dressing the same — and what it was like...
3 months ago
68
3 months ago
An investigation into when, how, and why everyone started dressing the same — and what it was like when they didn't
African History...
a brief note on contacts between ancient African kingdoms and Rome. finding the lost city of Rhapta on the east African coast.
9 months ago
Trying to Understand...
Teach Your Children .... Not to be afraid of moral relativism.
a year ago
African History...
A complete history of Abomey: capital of Dahomey (ca. 1650-1894) Urbanism in the forest region.
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
We Are All Civilisational States It's just that some people don't realise it.
a year ago
African History...
The intellectual history of Ethiopia and Eritrea: Ge'ez manuscripts and scholars (ca. 200-1900CE) The unique manuscript collections of Ethiopia and Eritrea written in the Ge'ez script are arguably...
3 months ago
67
3 months ago
The unique manuscript collections of Ethiopia and Eritrea written in the Ge'ez script are arguably the best-known works of literature produced in pre-colonial Africa.
Trying to Understand...
Let's Hear It For The "Underlying Causes." Here's the answer. What was the question again?
a year ago
African History...
Guns and Spears: a military history of the Zulu kingdom. Popular history of Africa before the colonial era often divides the continent’s military systems...
a year ago
67
a year ago
Popular history of Africa before the colonial era often divides the continent’s military systems into two broad categories —the relatively modern armies along the Atlantic coast which used firearms, versus the 'traditional' armies in the interior that fought with arrows and...
Patterns in Humanity
Sweden's immigration taboo Immigration data kept behind closed doors
7 months ago
Dr Alun Withey
The Troublesome Gibbet of John Haines, the ‘Wounded Highwayman’ of Hounslow. For this post, I am going to wander into the world of crime in the late eighteenth century, and the...
a year ago
67
a year ago
For this post, I am going to wander into the world of crime in the late eighteenth century, and the grisly fate that befell many who committed the heinous crime of highway robbery. (Full disclosure: I’m not an historian of crime, gibbets or highwaymen…perhaps the case I’m about...
African History...
Life and works of Africa's most famous Woman scholar: Nana Asmau (1793-1864) On the contribution of Muslim women in African history.
11 months ago
A Collection of...
Gap Week: April 19, 2024 (Manor Lords First Impression) Hey folks, this week is a bit of a gap week as I am heading out to the annual meeting of the Society...
11 months ago
66
11 months ago
Hey folks, this week is a bit of a gap week as I am heading out to the annual meeting of the Society for Military History (and, indeed, by the time you read this, I will be there). Normally, I post the abstract of my conference talk for these sorts of things, but since I …...
A Collection of...
Collections: Nitpicking Gladiator II, Part II Last week, we started our nitpicking of Gladiator II (2024) by looking at the problems with the...
3 months ago
66
3 months ago
Last week, we started our nitpicking of Gladiator II (2024) by looking at the problems with the films chronology and its portrayal of the Roman army of the early third century, both in its equipment and in its battle tactics. This week, we’re going to move forward to the main...
A Collection of...
Collections: How to Roman Republic, Part V: The Courts This is the fifth part of our five part series (I, II, IIIa, IIIb, IIIc, IV) on the structure of the...
a year ago
66
a year ago
This is the fifth part of our five part series (I, II, IIIa, IIIb, IIIc, IV) on the structure of the Roman Republic during the third and second centuries BC, the ‘Middle Republic.’ Last time we looked at the odd but very important role played by the ROman Senate as the central...
African History...
The heroic age in Darfur: a history of the pre-colonial kingdom of Darfur ca. 1500-1916. The political marginalization of the Darfur region since the creation of colonial Sudan has resulted...
9 months ago
66
9 months ago
The political marginalization of the Darfur region since the creation of colonial Sudan has resulted in one of the continent's longest-standing conflicts, which threatens to destroy the country's social fabric and its historical heritage. Just as the plight of modern Darfur...
African History...
a brief note on the history of Music in Africa plus an overview of Ethiopian musical traditions
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
One Way Or Another .... We're going to get you.
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
The Threat of Back to Normal Global power has always been distributed.
over a year ago
Global Inequality...
The life of Maynard K. A review of Zach Carter’s “The Price of Peace”
9 months ago
Patterns in Humanity
The case for prisons The purpose of prisons, and the evidence of their efficacy
6 months ago
Dr Alun Withey
Cuts, Rashes & Chatter! The Pain of the 18th-century Shave! Unless there are particular reasons, for example a skin condition, or a faulty razor, shaving today...
over a year ago
65
over a year ago
Unless there are particular reasons, for example a skin condition, or a faulty razor, shaving today is usually a pretty mundane – if not a pleasant – experience. Indeed, the rise of traditional barbershops over the past few years, offering shaving as an experience, together with...
A Collection of...
Collections: On the Gracchi, Part I: Tiberius Gracchus This week, we’re going to talk a bit about the brothers Tiberius (trib. 133) and Gaius (trib. 123-2)...
2 months ago
65
2 months ago
This week, we’re going to talk a bit about the brothers Tiberius (trib. 133) and Gaius (trib. 123-2) Gracchus, the famous Roman reformers of the late second century. There’s actually a fair bit to say about both of them, so we’re going to split this treatment over two weeks,...
Res Obscura
Why I love etymologies Telephones popularized "hello," "lox" is 8,000 years old, and other reasons why the history of words...
11 months ago
65
11 months ago
Telephones popularized "hello," "lox" is 8,000 years old, and other reasons why the history of words matters
Flashbak
A Book of Dreams: 25 Vintage Visions To Awaken Your Mind We’re dreaming today with collector Robert E Jackson. Triggered by the undertow of memory and fed by...
10 months ago
65
10 months ago
We’re dreaming today with collector Robert E Jackson. Triggered by the undertow of memory and fed by desire, our dreams are visions of other lives, possible clues to the future. “The interpretation of dreams is the royal road to a knowledge of the unconscious activities of the...
Trying to Understand...
The Year's Midnight. Kindness can be a revolutionary act.
over a year ago
Dr Alun Withey
Finding Your Beard Style in the 19th Century In the previous post I noted the variety of facial hair styles that were worn by men in the...
over a year ago
65
over a year ago
In the previous post I noted the variety of facial hair styles that were worn by men in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, depending on factors including status, location and age. Rather than each age having one particular style of facial hair that was ubiquitous, the...
Classical Wisdom
12 Ancient Greek Terms that Should Totally Make a Comeback Eudaimonia, Arete, and much more...
a year ago
weird medieval guys
Why is medieval art so weird? Listen now (73 min) | In this inaugural episode of the Weird Medieval Guys podcast, Olivia and Aran...
a year ago
64
a year ago
Listen now (73 min) | In this inaugural episode of the Weird Medieval Guys podcast, Olivia and Aran discuss why medieval art is so intriguing to modern viewers and what makes so much of it so weird. Also discussed are Galaxy Quest, Mel Gibson's crimes against the Middle Ages, and...
Trying to Understand...
Let's Be Enemies Since it seems to be the fashion these days.
over a year ago
Flashbak
A Shagtastic Tour of Swinging Britain in 1967 Among British Pathé’s newsreel films made for UK cinemas up until 1970 vis this wonderful time of...
11 months ago
64
11 months ago
Among British Pathé’s newsreel films made for UK cinemas up until 1970 vis this wonderful time of Swinging Britain capsule from 1967. Shot on 35mm film and backed by the lilting holiday camp music, a narrator these videos are not a little kitsch. In Swinging Britain we take an...
African History...
A history of the Loango kingdom (ca.1500-1883) : Power, Ivory and Art in west-central Africa. Africa's past carved in ivory
a year ago
Open Culture
The Sinking of the Britannic: An Animated Introduction to the Titanic’s Forgotten Sister Ship We all know about the Titanic. Less often do we hear about the Britannic—the sister passenger liner...
3 months ago
64
3 months ago
We all know about the Titanic. Less often do we hear about the Britannic—the sister passenger liner that the British turned into a hospital ship during World War I. Launched in 1914, two years after the Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean, the Britannic featured a number of...
Trying to Understand...
Understanding What's Happening in France. The kinetic phase may come next.
over a year ago
African History...
The pyramids of ancient Nubia and Meroe: death on the Nile and the mortuary architecture of Kush a complete history of an African monument
over a year ago
Open Culture
Watch The Insects’ Christmas from 1913: A Stop Motion Film Starring a Cast of Dead Bugs Kind Reader, Will you do us the honor of accepting our holiday invitation? Carve five minutes from...
3 months ago
64
3 months ago
Kind Reader, Will you do us the honor of accepting our holiday invitation? Carve five minutes from your holiday schedule to spend time celebrating The Insects’ Christmas, above. In addition to offering brief respite from the chaos of consumerism and modern expectations, this...
African History...
a brief note on themes in African art. Cartography, Culture and History in the artwork of the Bamum kingdom.
8 months ago
Global Inequality...
2x2 geopolitics Wars and ideology simplified
9 months ago
A Collection of...
Collections: On Bread and Circuses Coming off of some of the discussion of Gladiator II (I, II), this week I want to discuss the place...
3 months ago
64
3 months ago
Coming off of some of the discussion of Gladiator II (I, II), this week I want to discuss the place of ‘bread and circuses’ in the narrative of Roman decadence and decline. This is one of those phrases which long ago entered the standard lexicon, but which gets used and...
African History...
The Swazi kingdom and its neighbours in the 19th century: from the rise of Zulu to the British an island in the maelstrom
over a year ago
A Collection of...
Fireside Friday, July 12, 2024 Fireside this week! I had hoped to have the start of the Imperator Teaching Paradox series ready for...
8 months ago
64
8 months ago
Fireside this week! I had hoped to have the start of the Imperator Teaching Paradox series ready for this week, but it has been a bit stubborn and I do not want to derail my book writing/revising schedule in order to push it out before it is ready. So that will almost certainly...
Trying to Understand...
Games Nations Play. But they forget the people and the Street.
10 months ago
Trying to Understand...
Another Of My Essays In French And some odds and ends.
8 months ago
Trying to Understand...
Ukraine In NATO Would Be A Disaster ... But not necessarily for the reasons you think.
a year ago
Flashbak
The Months: Gardens of Art by Eugène Grasset In 1894, Eugène Grasset (25 May 1845 – 23 October 1917) received a commission from the French...
3 months ago
63
3 months ago
In 1894, Eugène Grasset (25 May 1845 – 23 October 1917) received a commission from the French department store La Belle Jardinière to create 12 original works of art to be used as a calendar. Grasset’s woodcuts show women in fashionable costumes of the period each bearing a sign...
Classical Wisdom
Tolkien and the Classics Plato, Cicero... Bilbo?
a year ago
CrimethInc.
News from the Front: The Reflections of a Russian Anarchist in Rojava : On the Collapse of Assad,... The toppling of the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria was many years overdue. Yet the tragedies in...
3 months ago
63
3 months ago
The toppling of the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria was many years overdue. Yet the tragedies in Syria are not over. Israel has bombed hundreds of locations around the country and seized a considerable amount of land in the southwest, while Turkish proxy forces are threatening...
African History...
The radical philosophy of the Hatata: a 17th century treatise by the Ethiopian thinker Zara Yacob the historical context of the Hatata in African philosophy.
11 months ago
African History...
Kingdoms at the forest's edge: a history of Mangbetu (ca. 1750-1895) The northern region of central Africa between the modern countries of D.R.Congo and South Sudan has...
10 months ago
63
10 months ago
The northern region of central Africa between the modern countries of D.R.Congo and South Sudan has a long and complex history shaped by its internal cultural developments and its unique ecology between the savannah and the forest. Among the most remarkable states that emerged in...
Trying to Understand...
The Third World War Has Been Cancelled. It was all too difficult, finally.
9 months ago
A Collection of...
Collections: How to Raise a Tribal Army in Pre-Roman Europe, Part I: Aristocrats, Retainers and... For the next few posts, I want to take a look at how some ‘tribal’ peoples raised armies, in...
9 months ago
63
9 months ago
For the next few posts, I want to take a look at how some ‘tribal’ peoples raised armies, in contrast to the way that ancient (or later) states raised armies. As moderns, we are so familiar with the way that states function that the far older systems of non-state organization and...
Classical Wisdom
Does FREE WILL Exist? And if not, what are the consequences?
3 months ago
Open Culture
How A Charlie Brown Christmas, and Its Beloved Soundtrack Album, Almost Never Happened A Charlie Brown Christmas uses a cast of amateur child voice actors, deals with the theme of...
3 months ago
63
3 months ago
A Charlie Brown Christmas uses a cast of amateur child voice actors, deals with the theme of seasonal depression, and culminates in the recitation of a Bible verse, all to a jazz score. It was not, safe to say, the special that CBS had expected, to say nothing of its sponsor, the...
Dr Alun Withey
Should I Stay or Should I go?: Encouraging travel in the early modern period. Travel today is often portrayed as a healthy activity, good for body, mind…and what’s left of the...
9 months ago
63
9 months ago
Travel today is often portrayed as a healthy activity, good for body, mind…and what’s left of the spirit!  A good holiday is generally viewed as a tonic, and holiday company advertisements extol the virtues of ‘getting away’, encountering new places, people and cultures and (if...
Global Inequality...
The end and the beginning of history Three ways of thinking about Lea Ypi’s Free
8 months ago
African History...
A history of the south-western Saharan towns of Tichitt, Walata, Wadan and Chinguetti (800-1912) Trade and civilization on west-africa's desert frontier
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
The Tragedy of Ajax Greece's Second Greatest Soldier?
10 months ago
Trying to Understand...
Service to what nation? Why people should stop talking about conscription.
8 months ago
weird medieval guys
Medieval Muslims loved their cats so much Cat shelters, cat shoes, cat jewellery, and more from the Islamic Middle Ages
a year ago
Res Obscura
The leading AI models are now very good historians Three case studies with GPT-4o, o1, and Claude Sonnet 3.5, and what they mean
2 months ago
African History...
The forgotten ruins of Botswana: stone towns at the desert's edge. At its height in the 17th century, the stone towns of the ‘zimbabwe culture’ encompassed an area the...
10 months ago
62
10 months ago
At its height in the 17th century, the stone towns of the ‘zimbabwe culture’ encompassed an area the size of France. The hundreds of ruins spread across three countries in south-eastern Africa are among the continent’s best-preserved historical monuments and have been the subject...
Res Obscura
How well can AI imitate a 17th century doctor? Arcadio Huang is ill in 1710s Paris. Can GPT-4 and Gemini find a cure?
a year ago
A Collection of...
Collections: Phalanx’s Twilight, Legion’s Triumph, Part Ib: Subjects of the Successors This is the second part of the first part of our four part look at the context between the...
a year ago
62
a year ago
This is the second part of the first part of our four part look at the context between the Hellenistic army and its Macedonian phalanx and the Romans with their legions. Last week, we looked at the weapons, organization and fighting style of the Macedonian phalanx, the infantry...
African History...
Roads and wheeled transport in African history. Why the kingdoms of Kush and Dahomey used wheels while Asante did not.
a year ago
Open Culture
How Medieval Islamic Engineering Brought Water to the Alhambra Between 711 and 1492, much of the Iberian Peninsula, including modern-day Spain, was under Muslim...
3 months ago
62
3 months ago
Between 711 and 1492, much of the Iberian Peninsula, including modern-day Spain, was under Muslim rule. Not that it was easy to hold on to the place for that length of time: after the fall of Toledo in 1085, Al-Andalus, as the territory was called, continued to lose cities over...
Classical Wisdom
Essential Classics Memorial Sales Ends
10 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Who’s in the Tomb? A Macedonian Mystery: The Tombs of Aigai
11 months ago
Open Culture
How Keith Jarrett Played on a Broken Piano & Turned a Potentially Disastrous Concert Into the... Nearly fifty years ago, the celebrated young pianist Keith Jarrett arrived in the West German city...
3 months ago
61
3 months ago
Nearly fifty years ago, the celebrated young pianist Keith Jarrett arrived in the West German city of Köln (better known in English as Cologne). Having just come off a 500-mile-long road trip from Switzerland, where he’d played a concert the previous day, he was left with barely...
Open Culture
Famous Architects Dress as Their Famous New York City Buildings (1931) On January 13, 1931, the Society of Beaux-Arts Architects held a ball at the Hotel Astor in New York...
2 months ago
61
2 months ago
On January 13, 1931, the Society of Beaux-Arts Architects held a ball at the Hotel Astor in New York City. According to an advertisement for the event, anyone who paid $15 per ticket (big money during the Depression) could see a “hilarious modern art exhibition” and things...
Classical Wisdom
The Two Trojan Wars Secret Origins
a year ago
African History...
A history of the Damagaram sultanate of Zinder: ca. 1730-1899. Politics, Guns, and Trade in the pre-colonial Sahel
a year ago
Dr Alun Withey
News Just In: Dr W Joins TikTok – @dralun7 Yes, it’s true – I’ve finally joined the 21st century and decided to try something new. I am still...
3 months ago
61
3 months ago
Yes, it’s true – I’ve finally joined the 21st century and decided to try something new. I am still only setting things up, so please be patient with the extremely cheesy and clunky vids as I try to work out what I’m doing! I’ve only got a couple of videos up at the moment too, …...
African History...
The complete history of Kano (999-1903) journal of African cities chapter 9
a year ago
Dr Alun Withey
Creams, Clothes and Cases: The material culture of pre-modern travel. I am currently on study leave, getting on with research for my new project on the history of travel...
a year ago
61
a year ago
I am currently on study leave, getting on with research for my new project on the history of travel preparations. One thing that I’m particularly interested in is the material culture of travel, and what sorts of things were available for travellers as they got ready for their...
Hidden History
The French Space Cat Felicette France joined the Space Race in the 1950s, and one of her missions was a test flight involving the...
2 months ago
61
2 months ago
France joined the Space Race in the 1950s, and one of her missions was a test flight involving the first (and so far only) cat to enter space. It did not end well for the cat. In the aftermath of the Second World War, France, under the leadership of General Charles De Gaulle, was...
Classical Wisdom
Should We Own Stuff? The Wealth and Gold of Ancient Georgia
a year ago
Res Obscura
When technology follows art From optics to machine learning, artists have played an important, if underrated, role in the...
a year ago
61
a year ago
From optics to machine learning, artists have played an important, if underrated, role in the history of technology
Trying to Understand...
If We Had More Than a Hammer ... We might not be in this mess.
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
Their Enemies The Russians But what about the rest of us?
over a year ago
Flashbak
New York City’s NIGHT Magazine – 1978-79 Launched in September 1978, Anton Perich’s self-financed NIGHT magazine showcased New York City’s...
8 months ago
60
8 months ago
Launched in September 1978, Anton Perich’s self-financed NIGHT magazine showcased New York City’s mix of fashion, art, and music at clubs like Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager’s Studio 54 and Howard Stein and Peppo Vanini’s Xenon, where nightlife and performance met. Distribution...
Flashbak
Evelyn Richter’s Street Photography Reveals the Reality of Life in East Germany For photographer Evelyn Richter (1930–2021) East Germany was not computers being towed by the...
7 months ago
60
7 months ago
For photographer Evelyn Richter (1930–2021) East Germany was not computers being towed by the bikini-clad proletariat, Western holidaymakers, badly disguised secret police and being on the wrong side of the Berlin Wall. A self-described “documentarian and historian”, Richter...
Trying to Understand...
Peter Pan goes to Ukraine Some people never grow up.
over a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup Origins of Stoicism
8 months ago
Global Inequality...
To be young, perchance to dream A review of Miloš Vojinović's “The political ideas of the Young Bosnia”
3 months ago
A Collection of...
Fireside Friday, June 28, 2024 Fireside this week! My hope in terms of the upcoming schedule is to have my usual July 4th post next...
9 months ago
60
9 months ago
Fireside this week! My hope in terms of the upcoming schedule is to have my usual July 4th post next week (we’re discussing political philosophy in an election year, so I am sure everyone will be very chill; regardless let me repeat you will be civil) and then after that to dive...
A Collection of...
Collections: How to Raise a Tribal Army in Pre-Roman Europe, Part III: Going To War With the Army... This is the third and final part of our three-part (I, II, III) look at how some ‘tribal’ or more...
9 months ago
60
9 months ago
This is the third and final part of our three-part (I, II, III) look at how some ‘tribal’ or more correctly, non-state agrarian peoples – particularly the Celtiberians, Gauls and also many Germanic-language speaking peoples on the Rhine and Danube- raised armies to fight the...
Flashbak
American Noir: Mugshots And Crimes From A Small Pennsylvanian Town (1930s – 1950s) Small Town Noir is a study of life and crime in New Castle, western Pennsylvania. The site compiles...
10 months ago
60
10 months ago
Small Town Noir is a study of life and crime in New Castle, western Pennsylvania. The site compiles the mugshots of criminals who lived in the town in the 1930, 40s and 50s, with notes on their offences. The mugshots were pulled from the rubbish when the town’s police department...
Classical Wisdom
Why Did Rome Fall? & Which Lesson Should We Take Away?
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Plato On Knowledge What is True?
11 months ago
African History...
A history of Women's political power and matriliny in the kingdom of Kongo. In the 19th century, anthropologists were fascinated by the concept of matrilineal descent in which...
a year ago
60
a year ago
In the 19th century, anthropologists were fascinated by the concept of matrilineal descent in which kinship is traced through the female line. Matriliny was often confounded with matriarchy as a supposedly earlier stage of social evolution than patriarchy. Matriliny thus became a...
A Collection of...
Fireside Friday, May 31, 2024 (Academic Departments) Fireside this week! I am spinning up to write a Teaching Paradox series on Imperator later this...
10 months ago
59
10 months ago
Fireside this week! I am spinning up to write a Teaching Paradox series on Imperator later this week, but not quite ready to get started yet. I’m also thinking, perhaps before that, of doing a short post or set of posts on the organization of non-state ‘tribal’ societies in...
Flashbak
Arnaldo Putzu and His Fabulous Hand-Painted Covers for Look-In Magazine And Movie Posters You might not know the name Arnaldo Putzu (1927 – 2012) but chances are that if you grew up in the...
8 months ago
59
8 months ago
You might not know the name Arnaldo Putzu (1927 – 2012) but chances are that if you grew up in the 1960s and 1970s you’ve seen his work on movie posters and magazine covers. Born in Rome, Putzu studied at the Rome Academy and discovered a love of portrait painting. After...
Res Obscura
Simulating History with Multimodal AI: an Update Generative AI offers a new, more engaging (and, hopefully, more empathetic) way of teaching history....
a year ago
59
a year ago
Generative AI offers a new, more engaging (and, hopefully, more empathetic) way of teaching history. But how to use it?
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup Plato Vs Aristotle
10 months ago
Open Culture
An Illustrator Creates a Kindle for Charles Dickens, Placing 40 Miniature Classics within a Large... For a design class project, Rachel Walsh, a student at Cardiff School of Art and Design, set out to...
3 months ago
59
3 months ago
For a design class project, Rachel Walsh, a student at Cardiff School of Art and Design, set out to explain the concept of a Kindle to Charles Dickens. Recognizing that Dickens, a 19th-century author, wouldn’t understand modern terms like ebooks, downloads or the internet, she...
Flashbak
‘Look at Me’: Scot Sothern’s powerful photographs of life on LA’s streets In amongst the crowds drifting along Hollywood Boulevard there’s an old guy sitting on an orange...
10 months ago
59
10 months ago
In amongst the crowds drifting along Hollywood Boulevard there’s an old guy sitting on an orange bucket. He’s wearing dirty jeans and a grey hoodie. The guy’s in his seventies. Weather-worn. Grizzled beard. Walking stick. Back trouble caused by “old spinal injuries and bad...
Flashbak
High-Class Erotic Illustrations by Édouard-Henri Avril (NSFW) In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, pornography was the preserve of the well to...
8 months ago
59
8 months ago
In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, pornography was the preserve of the well to do. Smut was published in  shot-run books of a couple of hundred copies. These books were full of stories and poems, but the highlights were the explicit erotic illustrations drawn...
Classical Wisdom
Why Read Modern Books? Now Available: Night Drew Her Sable Cloak
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup The Best of the Best
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
So They Want Negotiations, Now. Have they any idea what they are talking about?
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
They Say They Want Rearmament .... We-ell, you know ....
over a year ago
Classical Wisdom
The Mysterious Phaistos Disk And the Palace where it was found...
a year ago
Res Obscura
Historical maps probably helped cause World War I On cartography as historical argument
a year ago
Open Culture
Bob Dylan Reads “ ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” On His Holiday Radio Show (2006) Allow me to name just a few of the people I want to hear hosting and curating radio shows—former Sex...
3 months ago
59
3 months ago
Allow me to name just a few of the people I want to hear hosting and curating radio shows—former Sex Pistols’ singer John Lydon, former Clash frontman Joe Strummer, former Woody Guthrie impersonator Bob Dylan.… Luckily for me, this ain’t just fantasy baseball; at various times,...
Trying to Understand...
Little People With Agency. No, not that Agency.
6 months ago
Trying to Understand...
How About a Victory for the Left Occasionally? Here are a few modest ideas.
over a year ago
Open Culture
The Engineering of the Strandbeest: How the Magnificent Mechanical Creatures Have Technologically... Life evolves, but machines are invented: this dichotomy hardly conflicts with what most of us have...
3 months ago
59
3 months ago
Life evolves, but machines are invented: this dichotomy hardly conflicts with what most of us have learned about biology and technology. But certain specimens roaming around in the world can blur that line — and in the curious case of the Strandbeesten, they really are roaming...
Global Inequality...
Trump and the Rise of Asia My interview with "Atlantico"
3 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Religion in the Olympics The Olympics: Do they Unite or Divide Us?
8 months ago
A Collection of...
Collections: Phalanx’s Twilight, Legion’s Triumph, Part IVb: Antiochus III This is the second part of the fourth part of our four(ish) part (Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa, IIIb, IVa)...
12 months ago
58
12 months ago
This is the second part of the fourth part of our four(ish) part (Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa, IIIb, IVa) look at the context between the Roman military system based on the manipular legion and the Hellenistic military system structured around the Macedonian sarisa phalanx in the...
Flashbak
Vanity Fair’s Bifurcated Girls: The Article That Introduced America To Girlie Magazines, 1903 Bifurcated Girls is a salacious illustrated story that first appeared in the June 1903 issue of...
10 months ago
58
10 months ago
Bifurcated Girls is a salacious illustrated story that first appeared in the June 1903 issue of Vanity Fair magazine. That’s not the glossy publication we know today, rather the a short-lived pulp magazine published by the Commonwealth Publishing Company of New York City...
African History...
a brief note on African travel literature in history a Swahili document on south-central Africa.
10 months ago
Flashbak
Edmund Dulac’s American Weekly Covers – 1924-1951 Edmund Dulac is remembered today as one of the founding fathers of the Golden Age of Illustration,...
9 months ago
58
9 months ago
Edmund Dulac is remembered today as one of the founding fathers of the Golden Age of Illustration, roughly from 1875-1925, writes Albert Seligman. His luxurious Gift Books of the early 20th century were covered in vellum and issued in signed limited editions with tipped-in color...
African History...
a brief note on Africa in 16th century global history. the international relations and manuscripts of Kongo
a year ago
Open Culture
Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” Performed by a Choir of 4,000 Singers Throughout the years, we’ve featured performances of Choir!Choir!Choir!–a large amateur choir from...
2 months ago
58
2 months ago
Throughout the years, we’ve featured performances of Choir!Choir!Choir!–a large amateur choir from Toronto that meets weekly and sings their hearts out. You’ve seen them sing Prince’s “When Doves Cry,” Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun” (to honor Chris Cornell), and Patti Smith’s...
Trying to Understand...
Don't Give Peace Too Many Chances. Nothing is more dangerous than a flawed peace treaty.
over a year ago
Trying to Understand...
Will it Bend or Will it Break? The international system, that is.
over a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Do We Need Passports? Or Borders? Watch now (23 sec) | Crossing with Radiohead
a year ago
Open Culture
Watch the Surrealist Glass Harmonica, the Only Animated Film Ever Banned by Soviet Censors (1968) The Soviet Union’s repressive state censorship went to absurd lengths to control what its citizens...
3 months ago
58
3 months ago
The Soviet Union’s repressive state censorship went to absurd lengths to control what its citizens read, viewed, and listened to, such as the almost comical removal of purged former comrades from photographs during Stalin’s reign. When it came to aesthetics, Stalinism mostly...
Global Inequality...
Marx Truncated A review of Shlomo Avineri’s “Karl Marx”
9 months ago
Flashbak
Photos of Iggy Pop And The Stooges Playing NYC Club Ungano’s in 1970 In August 1970, American photographer Bud Lee (1940-2016) took photographs of Iggy Pop and the...
10 months ago
58
10 months ago
In August 1970, American photographer Bud Lee (1940-2016) took photographs of Iggy Pop and the Stooges performing at brothers Nick and Arnie Ungano’s basement club on New York’s West 70th Street between Amsterdam and West End Avenues. The ban were celebrating the release of their...
Trying to Understand...
Round Two? There Is No Round Two. Game pretty much over in Ukraine.
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
The Evils Of Professionalism In politics, anyway.
9 months ago
Trying to Understand...
Reality Would Like A Word. Paging Tom and Daisy Buchanan
a year ago
A Collection of...
Collections: How to Raise a Tribal Army in Pre-Roman Europe, Part II: Government Without States This is the second part of our (planned) three part (I) look at how some ‘tribal’ or more correctly,...
9 months ago
57
9 months ago
This is the second part of our (planned) three part (I) look at how some ‘tribal’ or more correctly, non-state agrarian peoples raised armies to fight the Romans (and others) in the third through first centuries BC. Last time, we looked at the subsistence basis of these societies...
A Collection of...
Collections: How to Roman Republic 101, Addenda: The Provinces This is the second and (in theory) last addendum to our series on Roman civic governance (I, II,...
a year ago
57
a year ago
This is the second and (in theory) last addendum to our series on Roman civic governance (I, II, IIIa, IIIb, IIIc, IV, V, A1). Having discussed how Rome handles those parts of Italy it controls but which were not part of the Roman Republic itself, we now look at how the Romans...
Trying to Understand...
People, States and Borders. And other dubious ideas.
7 months ago
Trying to Understand...
Can't Do, Won't Do! But striking poses is fun and easy.
a year ago
A Collection of...
Gap Week (January 24, 2025) Hey, folks. As much as I hate doing it, I have to pull a ‘gap week’ this week, as the second part of...
2 months ago
57
2 months ago
Hey, folks. As much as I hate doing it, I have to pull a ‘gap week’ this week, as the second part of the Gracchi series (on the younger brother, Gaius Gracchus) isn’t done yet and I have some academic travel that I need to prepare for which is going to demand most of my …...
Classical Wisdom
Socrates' Wayward Student ...and the Philosophy of Pleasure
a year ago
African History...
The desert town of Southern Africa: A history of Khauxanas 1780-1906 A view of pre-colonial Namibia from the khoisan town of ||Khauxa!nas.
over a year ago
Global Inequality...
“To the Finland Station” Trump as a tool of history
2 months ago
A Collection of...
Fireside Friday, January 10, 2025 Hey folks, Fireside this week! I’m currently working on a post “On the Gracchi” taking a somewhat...
2 months ago
57
2 months ago
Hey folks, Fireside this week! I’m currently working on a post “On the Gracchi” taking a somewhat darker look at everyone’s favorite Roman reformers (though hardly the same black takedowns Alexander and Cleopatra got) , which will hopefully be ready for next week. Before we dive...
Flashbak
Armand Henrion: The Artist Who Always Painted Himself As A Clown Armand Henrion (1875 – 1958) was a Belgian-born artist. He contributed to the Expressionist...
9 months ago
57
9 months ago
Armand Henrion (1875 – 1958) was a Belgian-born artist. He contributed to the Expressionist movement, worked in France and became a French citizen. And he liked to paint self-portraits – hundreds of them – in which he is dressed as a clown (more Pierrot than Bozo).     Pierrot...
Trying to Understand...
And Now for Something Completely Different. Am I me? Are You you? ?
over a year ago
Trying to Understand...
The Modern World Is Boring. Where are the heroes and the adventures now?
9 months ago
Trying to Understand...
Books To Help Us Understand The World? Well, a few, anyway. And a bit.
a year ago
A Collection of...
Collections: The Philosophy of Liberty – On Liberalism It is once again the week of July 4th and so, as is customary here, I am going to use this week’s...
8 months ago
57
8 months ago
It is once again the week of July 4th and so, as is customary here, I am going to use this week’s post to talk about the United States or more correctly this week about the political philosophy the United States was founded on: liberalism. Now an immediate clarification is...
Trying to Understand...
Everything is (Somewhat) Connected. But some things are more connected than others.
over a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup Plutarch and Pleasure
a year ago
A Collection of...
Gap Week: December 29, 2023 (Year In Review) Hey folks! I had planned to do a Fireside for this week with a sort of ‘year-in-review’ musing, but...
a year ago
56
a year ago
Hey folks! I had planned to do a Fireside for this week with a sort of ‘year-in-review’ musing, but between the holidays and the whole pedant household coming down with a nasty cold, I’m a bit short of the time and energy to put together a full fireside with...
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup Constantine and the Queen of Carthage
a year ago
African History...
The pre-Islamic civilizations of west Africa While West Africa has been part of the Muslim world since the late Middle Ages, as famously...
2 months ago
56
2 months ago
While West Africa has been part of the Muslim world since the late Middle Ages, as famously demonstrated by the golden pilgrimage of Mali's Mansa Musa in 1324, Islam had only arrived in the region at the close of the 1st millennium.
Trying to Understand...
It's War, Josep, But Not As We Know It Trying to understand what Ukraine is all about.
over a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup The Story of Thebes
a year ago
African History...
a brief note on the intellectual contributions of African scholars in the diaspora the biography of a West African mathematician in Cairo.
11 months ago
Flashbak
Waiting For A Miracle: Kiev in 1998 In 1998, Juri Nesterov was in Kiev, the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It was a city of...
10 months ago
56
10 months ago
In 1998, Juri Nesterov was in Kiev, the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It was a city of hope. In 1991, After 57 years as the capital of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union, the city became the capital of independent Ukraine. In the picture...
Classical Wisdom
Emotions: Better Out or In? Can Catharsis Help... or Harm?
10 months ago
African History...
The Dahlak islands and the African dynasty of Yemen a complete history of a cosmopolitan archipelago in the red sea (4th-19th century)
over a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Jews in the Roman Bathhouse Is it time to rethink the relationship between Judaism and Greco-Roman society?
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup Blindspots and Biographies
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Artemisia of Caria Commander, Queen, and Eva Green
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Art of the Etruscans Romans before the Romans
11 months ago
Trying to Understand...
You And Whose Army? NATO would do well to stay out of Ukraine.
over a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Sparta and… Scotland? Laconic wit through the centuries
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
The Year of Failing To Understand. Not your usual end-of-year review.
3 months ago
Trying to Understand...
A Fistful of Clockwork Oranges What's it going to be, then?
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Events Listing Ancient Women, Marcus Aurelius, Economics and Resilience...
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Empedocles The Philosopher God?
a year ago
African History...
A complete history of Jenne: 250BC-1893AD Journal of African cities chapter 6
over a year ago
Open Culture
The Junky’s Christmas: William S. Burrough’s Dark Claymation Christmas Film Produced by Francis Ford... Back in 1993, the Beat writer William S. Burroughs wrote and narrated a 21-minute claymation...
3 months ago
55
3 months ago
Back in 1993, the Beat writer William S. Burroughs wrote and narrated a 21-minute claymation Christmas film oddly produced by Francis Ford Coppola. And, as you can well imagine, it’s not your normal happy Christmas flick. Nope, this film – The Junky’s Christmas – is all about...
Dr Alun Withey
Barbers and (the lack of!) Polite Advertising Over the past few years, I have spent much time looking at ‘polite’ advertising in the 18th century....
over a year ago
55
over a year ago
Over the past few years, I have spent much time looking at ‘polite’ advertising in the 18th century. During this period, a whole range of retailers advertised their goods and services to appeal to ladies and gentlemen of taste. Without discussing anything so base as price or...
Dr Alun Withey
Medicine on the Move: Early Modern Travel and Remedies As my new project on the history of travel, health risk and preparation begins to get underway, one...
a year ago
55
a year ago
As my new project on the history of travel, health risk and preparation begins to get underway, one of the things that I am thinking about is the place of travel within early modern medical remedy culture. What kinds of conditions could befall travellers? What did early modern...
Trying to Understand...
Macron is Safe for the Moment But the future worries me.
a year ago
Global Inequality...
Devant la guerre On E. H. Carr's "The twenty years' crisis 1919-39"
3 months ago
African History...
A history of the west African diaspora in Arabia and Jerusalem before 1900 The legacy of west African travel to Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem.
a year ago
Open Culture
A Simple, Down-to-Earth Christmas Card from the Great Depression (1933) The Smithsonian sets the scene for this Christmas card sent in 1933, a few years into the Great...
3 months ago
55
3 months ago
The Smithsonian sets the scene for this Christmas card sent in 1933, a few years into the Great Depression. They write: Despite the glum economic situation, the Pinero family used a brown paper bag to fashion an inexpensive holiday greeting card. They penned a clever rhyme and...
African History...
A social history of the Lamu city-state (1370-1885) Journal of African cities chapter 5
over a year ago
African History...
Join me on Notes "On the Zanzibari envoy to 11th century china and the recent Swahili-Persian DNA study"
a year ago
Wrong Side of...
Will the last young professional to leave Britain turn off the lights? 'Get out as early as you can, And don’t have any kids yourself’
3 months ago
Patterns in Humanity
Age and infertility Facts and misconceptions about maternal age-related infertility
3 months ago
African History...
The complete history of Gondar: Africa's city of castles (1636-1900) Journal of African cities chapter 8
a year ago
Dr Alun Withey
Packing the Essentials!: Preparing to Travel in the 18th Century. Now that Covid restrictions have finally been lifted, and summer is at least theoretically here –...
over a year ago
54
over a year ago
Now that Covid restrictions have finally been lifted, and summer is at least theoretically here – it’s raining outside as I write! – many people are returning to travel and undertaking the holidays that have had to be postponed over the past couple of years. The pandemic aside,...
Classical Wisdom
Dido: Queen of Carthage Doomed Lover of Ancient Myth
a year ago
African History...
The kingdom of Ndongo and the Portuguese: Queen Njinga and the dynasty of women sovereigns... The effects of early colonial warfare in central Africa
over a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Origins of Latin Literature ...and the Master of Roman Comedy
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
I Hate My Job And I Want To Cry. Tried chopping wood and carrying water?
a year ago
Dr Alun Withey
The Health Risks of Travel in Early-Modern Britain As I start to make some progress on my new research project on travel, health and risk I am turning...
over a year ago
54
over a year ago
As I start to make some progress on my new research project on travel, health and risk I am turning my attention to the sorts of things that early modern travellers were fearful of. As a bit of a nervous traveller myself, it’s quite comforting to know that there is actually a...
Trying to Understand...
NATO's Phantom Armies. And the ghost of Carl von Clausewitz.
10 months ago
Open Culture
Arthur C. Clarke Predicts the Rise of Artificial Intelligence & Questions What Will Happen to... We now live in the midst of an artificial-intelligence boom, but it’s hardly the first of its kind....
3 months ago
54
3 months ago
We now live in the midst of an artificial-intelligence boom, but it’s hardly the first of its kind. In fact, the field has been subject to a boom-and-bust cycle since at least the early nineteen-fifties. Eventually, those busts — which occurred when realizable AI technology...
African History...
A General History of Iron Technology in Africa ca. 2000BC-1900AD. The smelting and working of iron is arguably the best known among the pre-colonial technologies of...
7 months ago
54
7 months ago
The smelting and working of iron is arguably the best known among the pre-colonial technologies of Africa, and the continent is home to some of the world's oldest sites of ironworking.
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup Lost and Found
a year ago
African History...
A complete history of Zeila (Zayla): ca. 800-1885 CE. Journal of African cities: chapter 14
6 months ago
Patterns in Humanity
Global crime How do crime rates vary around the world? And how reliable is the data?
4 months ago
African History...
How Africans wrote their own history: Debates and dialogues between four west African historians in... Facts, myths and royal propaganda.
a year ago
Dr Alun Withey
To Tip or Not To Tip: A Victorian Traveller’s Perspective Like it or not, tipping is a big part of hospitality and the service industry. Debates about how...
2 months ago
53
2 months ago
Like it or not, tipping is a big part of hospitality and the service industry. Debates about how much/whether to tip rumble on, but they are not new. Even in the 18th and 19th centuries, travellers were complaining about the amount of unwanted or unexpected extras they had to pay...
African History...
a brief note on new discoveries in African archeology and the stone ruins of Cameroon. Among the first ancient Egyptian accounts on its southern neighbors is an old kingdom inscription...
8 months ago
53
8 months ago
Among the first ancient Egyptian accounts on its southern neighbors is an old kingdom inscription that describes a trading expedition to an unspecified region called the land of Punt. Egyptologists had long debated about the location of this mysterious territory before recent...
Patterns in Humanity
2024 in writing A brief recap of my 2024 posts
2 months ago
A Collection of...
Collections: Nitpicking Gladiator II, Part I This week, I want to talk a bit about the recent release of Gladiator II. Now I’ve written a review...
3 months ago
53
3 months ago
This week, I want to talk a bit about the recent release of Gladiator II. Now I’ve written a review of the film for Foreign Policy, which you can find here (behind the paywall). I also discussed it with Jason Herbert and Sarah Bond over at Historians at the Movies, which is a...
African History...
A complete history of the Sudano-Sahelian architecture of west Africa: from antiquity to the 20th... The westernmost region of Africa which forms the watershed of the great rivers of the Senegal, the...
2 months ago
52
2 months ago
The westernmost region of Africa which forms the watershed of the great rivers of the Senegal, the Volta and the Niger, is home to one of the world's oldest surviving building traditions, called the ‘Sudano-Sahelian’ architecture.
Trying to Understand...
The West is Weak Where it Matters ... ...and some of the consequences are not obvious.
over a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Healthy Skepticism for Better Debates Philosophical Tools for the Holidays
4 months ago
Res Obscura
Why Early Modern Books Are So Beautiful Three theories
a year ago
African History...
a brief note on the long history of African diplomacy. historical links between west africa and the Maghreb.
8 months ago
Classical Wisdom
[Video] Roundtable Discussion with Mary Naples Watch now (60 min) | Cult of the Capture Bride: How Ancient Women Took Power
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
The Sense Of An Ending. But right back where we started from.
7 months ago
Trying to Understand...
The Past Is Another Country. A book review from the future.
8 months ago
Trying to Understand...
Don't Confuse Me With Facts. They know what they think.
a year ago
Dr Alun Withey
How Much?! Barbers & the Price of Shaving. One of the central themes of my new book is how the practice of shaving has changed over time and,...
over a year ago
52
over a year ago
One of the central themes of my new book is how the practice of shaving has changed over time and, more importantly, who has been responsible for it. From the second half of the eighteenth century, individual men began to take more responsibility for shaving themselves, helped on...
Trying to Understand...
The Machine Stops. And fiddling won't fix it.
6 months ago
Dr Alun Withey
Are Beards Over? A Historical Perspective. Recently I spoke with the Guardian journalist Tim Dowling for an excellent article he was writing...
over a year ago
52
over a year ago
Recently I spoke with the Guardian journalist Tim Dowling for an excellent article he was writing (published last week) about whether beards are finally ‘over’, and I thought it would be interesting to reflect on some of this. Since re-emerging around 2014, gaining popularity...
Dr Alun Withey
Beard Fashions and Class Over the past few centuries, fashions in facial hair have changed substantially. In the mid...
over a year ago
52
over a year ago
Over the past few centuries, fashions in facial hair have changed substantially. In the mid seventeenth century many men wore the ‘Van Dyke’ style of a small, pointy beard and moustaches. By the end of the 1600s, beards were in decline, leaving many men with just moustaches. The...
Trying to Understand...
A Short Service Announcement. From this week, and on an experimental basis, I’m enabling paid subscriptions for those who may be...
a year ago
52
a year ago
From this week, and on an experimental basis, I’m enabling paid subscriptions for those who may be interested. The essays themselves will continue to be entirely free, and I don’t have plans to produce subscriber-only material. I’ve also set up a Buy Me a Coffee cup.
Hidden History
The Story of the Cow The history of the domestic cattle goes back at least 10,000 years. There are well over 1000...
3 months ago
52
3 months ago
The history of the domestic cattle goes back at least 10,000 years. There are well over 1000 distinct breeds of Cattle in the world today, and somewhere between 1 and 1.5 billion individual animals, making them, by some counts, the fourth most numerous mammal in existence behind...
African History...
A muslim kingdom in the Ethiopian highlands: the history of Ifat and Adal ca. 1285-1520. During the late Middle Ages, the northern Horn of Africa was home to some of the continent's most...
9 months ago
51
9 months ago
During the late Middle Ages, the northern Horn of Africa was home to some of the continent's most powerful dynasties, whose history significantly shaped the region's social landscape. The history of one of these dynasties, often referred to as the Solomonids, has been...
Flashbak
Eugene Von Bruenchenhein And His Wife Marie: A Love Story Eugene Von Bruenchenhein (1910–1983) was an American self-taught artist from Milwaukee, Wisconsin....
3 months ago
51
3 months ago
Eugene Von Bruenchenhein (1910–1983) was an American self-taught artist from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He left a vast archive of poetry, apocalyptic paintings, paintbrushes made with his wife’s hair, drawings, notebooks, audio tapes and hundreds of sculptures made from chicken bones,...
A Collection of...
Collections: Teaching Paradox, Imperator, Part I: Divisa in Partes Tres This is the first part of a three-part (if I can keep it) series, examining the historical...
8 months ago
51
8 months ago
This is the first part of a three-part (if I can keep it) series, examining the historical assumptions of Imperator: Rome, a historical grand strategy game by Paradox Interactive, set during the rise and collapse of the Roman Republic from 304-27 BC and covering the broader...
Open Culture
Laurie Anderson’s Mind-Blowing Performance of C. P. Cavafy’s Poems “Waiting for the Barbarians” &... In the video above, Laurie Anderson describes C. P. Cavafy’s poem “Waiting for the Barbarians” as...
2 months ago
51
2 months ago
In the video above, Laurie Anderson describes C. P. Cavafy’s poem “Waiting for the Barbarians” as being “set in ancient Rome.” That’s a reasonable interpretation, given that it contains an emperor, senators, and orators, though Cavafy himself said that none of them are...
Classical Wisdom
Aristotle on Luck Do You Feel Lucky?
a year ago
African History...
The empire of Kong (ca. 1710-1915): a cultural legacy of medieval Mali. At the close of the 18th century, the West African hosts of the Scottish traveler Mungo Park...
8 months ago
51
8 months ago
At the close of the 18th century, the West African hosts of the Scottish traveler Mungo Park informed him of a range of mountains situated in "a large and powerful kingdom called Kong".
Flashbak
The Boston Years: On The Streets 1972-75 In 1972, Philip Flip Collier was in Boston. Philip, who has previously shared his terrific...
7 months ago
51
7 months ago
In 1972, Philip Flip Collier was in Boston. Philip, who has previously shared his terrific photographs of 1970s NYC, enrolled at the city’s New England School of Photography where he studied for the next two years with the hope of becoming a commercial photographer, but I could...
Wrong Side of...
The Indian-American century On the Anglo-Indo-sphere
3 months ago
Overcoming Bias
Feels Gone Wrong The films A Complete Unknown, on Bob Dylan, and In Restless Dreams, on Paul Simon, make vivid to me...
2 months ago
51
2 months ago
The films A Complete Unknown, on Bob Dylan, and In Restless Dreams, on Paul Simon, make vivid to me the huge emotional appeal of becoming a musician like them.
Classical Wisdom
The First Biographers ...and the Surprising Legacy of Ancient Literature
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Have We Become Anti-Human? Is this a problem? And Can/Should it be Helped?
a year ago
Hidden History
The Great Horse Flu Epidemic of 1872 An epidemic of “Horse Flu” in 1872 virtually shut down the US economy and paralyzed the entire...
3 months ago
50
3 months ago
An epidemic of “Horse Flu” in 1872 virtually shut down the US economy and paralyzed the entire country. By the 1870s, the once-rural agrarian United States was beginning to emerge as an industrial power. The Civil War had spurred the rapid development of industry such as iron...
Classical Wisdom
Five Reasons Why Socrates Was A Terrible Husband Should you meet your heroes?
10 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Marcus Aurelius VS Diogenes Comparing the Stoics and the Cynics...
a year ago
A Collection of...
Fireside Friday, August 16, 2024 Fireside this week! I find I have my thoughts more or less together for the last part of the...
7 months ago
50
7 months ago
Fireside this week! I find I have my thoughts more or less together for the last part of the Imperator series, but I have not yet gotten them into a satisfying order – a common hazard of writing – so they will have to wait for next week. It’s not yet clear to me if … Continue...
Trying to Understand...
Ukraine and the end of "Europe." Nation-states were the problem: supranationality was not the answer.
over a year ago
Open Culture
John Coltrane Draws a Picture Illustrating the Mathematics of Music Physicist and saxophonist Stephon Alexander has argued in his many public lectures and his book The...
3 months ago
50
3 months ago
Physicist and saxophonist Stephon Alexander has argued in his many public lectures and his book The Jazz of Physics that Albert Einstein and John Coltrane had quite a lot in common. Alexander in particular draws our attention to the so-called “Coltrane circle,” which resembles...
weird medieval guys
The coolest medieval woman you've never heard of Christine de Pizan on Circe, Medusa, and other virtuous ladies
a year ago
Res Obscura
How well can GPT-4 simulate an acid trip in 1963? An experiment with historical simulation
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Dionysus The God of Wine!
6 months ago
Hidden History
Antarctic Snow Cruiser In 1939, the United States began work on a colossal motor vehicle to be used for exploration and...
3 months ago
49
3 months ago
In 1939, the United States began work on a colossal motor vehicle to be used for exploration and field work in Antarctica. By 1939 Antarctica remained as one of the last unexplored regions on the planet. Norwegian adventurer Roald Amundsen had been the first human to reach the...
A Collection of...
Collections: Teaching Paradox, Imperator, Part IIa: Pops and Chains This is the first half of the second part of our three part look at Paradox Interactive’s...
8 months ago
49
8 months ago
This is the first half of the second part of our three part look at Paradox Interactive’s Hellenistic-era grand strategy game Imperator: Rome. I had hoped to do this part in a single post, but my book writing schedule intervened and so it became necessary to split it up. Last...
Trying to Understand...
When Ukraine Is Over ... How will they turn out the lights?
2 months ago
Patterns in Humanity
Immigration and crime: Sweden Worrying crime trends in the land of Pippi Longstocking
7 months ago
Trying to Understand...
No End Of A Lesson. If we can only learn it.
6 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup Last Chance!
a year ago
A Collection of...
Continues the Hiatus, 2024 Friends, Readers, Countrymen, lend me your eyes! As sadly expected, the hiatus is going to continue...
5 months ago
48
5 months ago
Friends, Readers, Countrymen, lend me your eyes! As sadly expected, the hiatus is going to continue through October. I am making good progress on my writing, but still need to keep focusing. I am currently, I believe, on track for us to go back to normally scheduled posts in...
Trying to Understand...
No Cheers for Authoritarianism Remind me what it was, exactly ....
over a year ago
Flashbak
Take Your Best Shot: Vintage Fairground Shooting Gallery Photos During their first participation in Paris-Photo in 2006, Lumiere des Roses shared a series of...
3 months ago
48
3 months ago
During their first participation in Paris-Photo in 2006, Lumiere des Roses shared a series of fairground photos of men with guns at the shooting gallery. These snapshots were taken mostly in the 1920s and 1930s. Many looks remarkably fresh.   When I was just a baby my mama told...
Global Inequality...
Would Lenin have approved of the IMF? An indispensable organization
4 months ago
Hundred Rabbits
Summary of changes for December 2024 Hey everyone! This is the list of all the changes we've done to our projects during the month of...
3 months ago
48
3 months ago
Hey everyone! This is the list of all the changes we've done to our projects during the month of December. Summary Of Changes 100r.co, updated the documentation for our various projects. Left, added support for unicode input(Mastodon). Rabbit Waves, added a page on Air to Ground...
African History...
Empire building and Government in the Yorubaland: a history of Oyo (1600-1836) Why Africa's internal political processes explain African history better than external actors.
over a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Should We Try to Control Nature? Thoughts from the edge of a hurricane
7 months ago
Flashbak
Harold Lloyd’s Amazing Christmas Tree For American actor Harold Lloyd (April 20, 1893 – March 8, 1971) Christmas was the time to...
3 months ago
47
3 months ago
For American actor Harold Lloyd (April 20, 1893 – March 8, 1971) Christmas was the time to illuminate his home in Beverly Hills, California, with a magnificent tree. His granddaughter Suzanne says preparation began around Thanksgiving (the fourth Thursday in November), when her...
Classical Wisdom
[Ebook] The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius The Meditations (or Things to One’s Self) of Marcus Aurelius...
a year ago
47
a year ago
The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius The Meditations (or Things to One’s Self) of Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD) gives you a prescribed way in which you can actually reduce genuine suffering in your life because Rome’s great “philosopher king” lays out a very compelling, very...
African History...
Africa and Europe during the age of mutual exploration: a Swahili traveler's description of 19th... The late modern period that began in the early 19th century was the height of mutual exploration on...
6 months ago
Classical Wisdom
St. Nicholas The Saint behind Santa
3 months ago
Trying to Understand...
Externalising Our Hatreds. It's Ukraine and Gaza. Again.
a year ago