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History Today Feed
The Victorians, Creation, and the Dinosaur Problem The Victorians, Creation, and the Dinosaur Problem JamesHoare Mon, 05/19/2025 - 09:00
a week ago
TheCollector
Napoleon’s Rise, Fall, and Legacy in History Born on the island of Corsica in 1769, Napoleon Bonaparte came to prominence as a brilliant military...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Born on the island of Corsica in 1769, Napoleon Bonaparte came to prominence as a brilliant military commander during the French Revolution. After taking power in Paris in November 1799, Napoleon made himself emperor in 1804. He led a series of victorious campaigns to dominate...
TheCollector
8 Most Important Works of Socialist Realism Socialist Realism was the dominant cultural doctrine in the Soviet Union. Artists were expected to...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Socialist Realism was the dominant cultural doctrine in the Soviet Union. Artists were expected to create works that were realistic, inspiring, and easily understandable even by those who never encountered art before. Socialist Realist paintings celebrated labor and glorified...
TheCollector
The Jacobin Movement: Revolutionaries and Radicals The late 18th century in France was a tumultuous time, marked by the rise of revolutionary...
a week ago
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The late 18th century in France was a tumultuous time, marked by the rise of revolutionary ideologies. To end the grip of the absolute monarchy, people had to take the matter into their own hands. The result was the French Revolution. One of the most influential groups of the...
History Today Feed
Medieval Fogge: In Defence of the Middle Ages Medieval Fogge: In Defence of the Middle Ages JamesHoare Tue, 05/20/2025 - 09:14
a week ago
TheCollector
Who Caused the Trojan War? The Story of Helen, Paris, and the Gods According to the legendary epic poem by Homer, the Trojan War was one of the most destructive in...
a week ago
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a week ago
According to the legendary epic poem by Homer, the Trojan War was one of the most destructive in Greek history. It involved nearly every Greek state in a unified siege against the walled city of Troy, in Asia Minor, which would last for 10 years. But what started the war?...
TheCollector
Prohibition & Bootlegging: The 18th Amendment, Organized Crime, & More The Prohibition period lasted from January 1920 to December 1933. Its supporters wanted to end the...
a week ago
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a week ago
The Prohibition period lasted from January 1920 to December 1933. Its supporters wanted to end the consumption of alcohol, which brought suffering to many families. However, Prohibition was ultimately unsuccessful, and instead, allowed government corruption, widespread criminal...
TheCollector
What Do Lutherans Believe? The Lutheran Church originates directly from Martin Luther, the renowned reformer. Luther objected...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
The Lutheran Church originates directly from Martin Luther, the renowned reformer. Luther objected to the abuses, immorality, and worldliness of the Catholic Church but never intended to oppose or rebel against the authority of the Church. Rather, he wanted to reform the Church...
A Collection of...
Fireside Friday, May 9, 2025 (On Lighter Bows) Fireside this week! First off, it seems like last week’s post on the Hollywood myth of archery...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Fireside this week! First off, it seems like last week’s post on the Hollywood myth of archery volley fire really got out there, so if you are a new reader just joining us, welcome! If you are in to discussions of historical tactics with an eye towards correcting common myths in...
Global Inequality...
Nothing (meaningful) to say Mainstream economics’ inability to explain domestic inequality and competition between nations
a week ago
A Collection of...
Collections: Alexander Goes West (A Silly Counterfactual) This week we’re going to do something a bit silly, in part because I have to prepare for and travel...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
This week we’re going to do something a bit silly, in part because I have to prepare for and travel to an invited workshop/talk event later this week and so don’t have quite the time for a more normal ‘full’ post and in part because it is fun to be silly sometimes (and we might …...
Patterns in Humanity
The Assimilation Myth Across the world, ethnic socioeconomic disparities are here to stay
3 weeks ago
Trying to Understand...
What We Have. The new is dying, but the old cannot be reborn. What do we do?
2 weeks ago
Overcoming Bias
Details Avoid Bias Long ago I noted:
3 weeks ago
Flashbak
Summer in Nags Head, North Carolina, 1975 “I was working on my own, and I was wrestling with what the highest and best use of the photograph...
3 weeks ago
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“I was working on my own, and I was wrestling with what the highest and best use of the photograph in color could be. Eventually, I came up with a formulation for myself that went something like, “in the good or successful color photograph, the definition or the meaning of the...
Wrong Side of...
Reflections on the Turquoise Revolution in England Wrong Side of History Newsletter #62
3 weeks ago
CrimethInc.
The Occupation of the Sha'ban al-Dalou Building : A Report-Back from the University of Washington In this anonymously submitted report, participants in the occupation of the engineering building at...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
In this anonymously submitted report, participants in the occupation of the engineering building at the University of Washington explore their motivations and recount the events in detail. This courageous action comes as the Israeli military prepares to open a new chapter in its...
Trying to Understand...
Back To The Un-Table For more non-negotiations.
a week ago
History Today Feed
Martin Crusius’ Armchair Voyage Martin Crusius’ Armchair Voyage JamesHoare Wed, 05/14/2025 - 10:36
2 weeks ago
TheCollector
What Is the Story Behind Van Gogh’s “Café Terrace at Night”? One of the first works that come to mind when thinking about Van Gogh is his signature ink-blue sky...
3 weeks ago
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One of the first works that come to mind when thinking about Van Gogh is his signature ink-blue sky dotted with dazzling stars. Not content with painting a traditional night scene in austere dark paints, Van Gogh used color, movement, and contrast to bring life into his Café...
Dreams of Space -...
Make Your Own Space Station (1970) Today I have found some "space crafting" : ) projects for you. Make Your Own Space Station is a...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Today I have found some "space crafting" : ) projects for you. Make Your Own Space Station is a series of cards that show you how to built some cute little space toys. It seems to have been part of of series of crafting cards of projects you could make from household objects....
History Today Feed
Real Monks Cry: Masculinity in the Monastery Real Monks Cry: Masculinity in the Monastery JamesHoare Tue, 05/06/2025 - 08:55
3 weeks ago
Wrong Side of...
A nation’s rebirth after Nazism Germany’s integration miracle and other stories
3 weeks ago
TheCollector
5 Māori Leaders Who Shaped Aotearoa’s/New Zealand’s History The opposition between the Māori, the original inhabitants of Aotearoa/New Zealand, and the Pākehā,...
3 weeks ago
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The opposition between the Māori, the original inhabitants of Aotearoa/New Zealand, and the Pākehā, the European newcomers, has been central to New Zealand’s recent history. Some Māori chiefs were open to dialogue with the Europeans and even fought alongside them. However,...
History Today Feed
The Hidden Death in the Victorian Wallpaper The Hidden Death in the Victorian Wallpaper JamesHoare Wed, 05/07/2025 - 08:50
3 weeks ago
Classical Wisdom
The Rage of Achilles The Ultimate Hero?
3 weeks ago
Trying to Understand...
The Day After. And the day after that.
3 weeks ago
Flashbak
International Graffiti Times – 1884-1994 Dedicated to New York City street art, International Graffiti Times – IGTimes (aka: Subway Sun,...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Dedicated to New York City street art, International Graffiti Times – IGTimes (aka: Subway Sun, InterGalactic Times, GetHip International Times, Tight and IGT) announced itself with an image of the city’s Mayor Ed Koch covered in tags. After Koch, the arch enemy of “graffiti”,...
Classical Wisdom
Mother's Day Quiz Mothers of Myth and History
2 weeks ago
Overcoming Bias
Elite Confidence Rob Henderson has a great essay summarizing the expert vs elite distinction I discussed in 6 prior...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Rob Henderson has a great essay summarizing the expert vs elite distinction I discussed in 6 prior posts (1 2 3 4 5 6):
Res Obscura
Why were Belle Époque cities beautiful? It's not because they were "traditional" or "classical" — in fact it's just the opposite
a week ago
Res Obscura
AI makes the humanities more important, but also a lot weirder Historians are finally having their AI debate
3 weeks ago
Wrong Side of...
Friends and enemies of the liberal order Bombing democracy in order to save it
3 weeks ago
Hidden History
Florida’s Barker Gang Shootout In January 1935, gangster “Ma” Barker and her son Fred were killed by the FBI in a multi-hour...
3 weeks ago
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In January 1935, gangster “Ma” Barker and her son Fred were killed by the FBI in a multi-hour shootout in the little town of Ocklawaha FL. Arizona “Arrie” Clark was born in the rural town of Ash Grove MO in October 1873, where she played the fiddle and sang in the local church...
Flashbak
Found Studio Portraits of Children – 1970-71 We’re back to the late mid-Century in this album of found photographs from Steenbergen in the south...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
We’re back to the late mid-Century in this album of found photographs from Steenbergen in the south of The Netherlands. Last time going through this haul we focused on weddings. Now we look at studio portraits of children. The photos were taken by professional photographer Van...
TheCollector
Surprising Archeological Discoveries in the Heart of the Amazon Jungle In the heart of the dense Amazonian jungle, researchers are realizing that what was long believed to...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
In the heart of the dense Amazonian jungle, researchers are realizing that what was long believed to be an untouched wilderness is anything but. Recent archeological discoveries indicate that the rainforest’s native populations spent centuries modifying and transforming the...
History Today Feed
On the Spot: Vladislav Zubok On the Spot: Vladislav Zubok JamesHoare Mon, 05/12/2025 - 09:13
2 weeks ago
Flashbak
Miners Strike, Bob Dylan Acts and ‘Iran Kills Children’: Posters in 1980s London Back to the 1980s now, to look at some of the posters stuck on walls in London captured by Peter...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Back to the 1980s now, to look at some of the posters stuck on walls in London captured by Peter Marshall as he walked around the city. There are posters calling for Iran and the country’s leader Ayatollah Khomeini (1900-1989) to ‘stop killing children’. Another tells passersby...
Flashbak
Blackpool 1984–1989 “We stayed in boarding houses with similar families, made intense friendships and lived on the...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
“We stayed in boarding houses with similar families, made intense friendships and lived on the memories through the following winter!” – Barry Lewis on magic holidays in Blackpool, Lancashire     Since Victorian times Blackpool on Britain’s north west coast has been the country’s...
A Collection of...
Collections: The Logistics of Road War in the Wasteland This week, we’re doing another ‘silly’ topic, but this being me, it is a silly logistics topic,...
a week ago
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a week ago
This week, we’re doing another ‘silly’ topic, but this being me, it is a silly logistics topic, because – as the saying goes – amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics. So we’re going to be professionally silly this week and talk about the logistics of vehicle warfare...
Overcoming Bias
Surprisingly Blind You might expect us to understand our romantic couple breakups very well.
4 weeks ago
History Today Feed
Smuggling Under the Cover of Plague Smuggling Under the Cover of Plague JamesHoare Thu, 05/15/2025 - 08:59
2 weeks ago
Classical Wisdom
Learn Like an Ancient Egyptian Who did it better: Egypt or Greek?
3 weeks ago
Overcoming Bias
Sincerity Adds To Drift The 2008 book Ritual and Its Consequences: An Essay on the Limits of Sincerity is hard for me to...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
The 2008 book Ritual and Its Consequences: An Essay on the Limits of Sincerity is hard for me to understand, but I’ve been trying to figure it out, as the concepts it considers seem interesting and important:
History Today Feed
‘Liverpool and the Unmaking of Britain’ by Sam Wetherell review ‘Liverpool and the Unmaking of Britain’ by Sam Wetherell review JamesHoare Tue, 05/13/2025 - 07:58
2 weeks ago
African History...
Stone towns on the Highveld of South Africa: an archaeological history of the Sotho-Tswana capitals... The eastern plateau of South Africa, known as the Highveld, is dotted with the ruins of numerous...
3 weeks ago
TheCollector
8 Works by Michelangelo You Should Know Michelangelo Buonarotti was one of the key figures of the Italian Renaissance and art history....
2 weeks ago
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Michelangelo Buonarotti was one of the key figures of the Italian Renaissance and art history. Equally gifted as a painter and a sculptor, he reportedly learned to sculpt objects from clay before he learned to read and write. His most famous works included Pieta, David, and the...
Classical Wisdom
Weekly Wisdom Quiz Wrath of the Gods!
a week ago
TheCollector
Picasso’s 12 Most Famous Works: Iconic Pieces to Know Pablo Picasso had a long and prolific career that lasted more than seventy years. He manipulated...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Pablo Picasso had a long and prolific career that lasted more than seventy years. He manipulated mediums, forms, and genres, never seizing his experimentations and never settling in one style for too long. From traditional realistic painting, he moved to Post-Impressionism and...
TheCollector
What Happened to the Celts? The various Celtic peoples living across the European continent during the Iron Age experienced a...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
The various Celtic peoples living across the European continent during the Iron Age experienced a cultural peak around the same time as the expansion of the Roman Empire. But what happened to them after the fall of Rome? Did they die out, or were they conquered by other invading...
Flashbak
Tall Socks and Strangers: A Low-Level View of 1970s NYC “The whole county is my studio. I used to go work under a certain bridge if it was pouring, because...
a week ago
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a week ago
“The whole county is my studio. I used to go work under a certain bridge if it was pouring, because people used to hide there from the rain” – Mark Cohen     Mark Cohen shot from the hip, taking photographs with his camera hung low as his took a daily walk in New York … Continue...
TheCollector
What if the Aztecs Had Captured and Killed the Spanish Conquistadors? The place: Tenochtitlan, a metropolis built in the middle of a lake, with floating islands supported...
a week ago
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a week ago
The place: Tenochtitlan, a metropolis built in the middle of a lake, with floating islands supported by piles. The date: November 1519. Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés and his men must have been astonished. Tenochtitlan had more inhabitants than London or Paris and, in many...
Classical Wisdom
The Forgotten Pyramids of Africa Uncovering the Majesty of Ancient Nubia
3 weeks ago
TheCollector
How the Nopal Cactus Bridges Culture and Climate in Mexico Nopal cactus grows where others wouldn’t dare. Resilient, versatile, and adaptive, it is one of the...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Nopal cactus grows where others wouldn’t dare. Resilient, versatile, and adaptive, it is one of the most widely recognized endemic plants of the Americas. Yet the cactus’s symbolism is especially deep-seated in Mexico, where its importance to national identity is reflected in...
Classical Wisdom
Ancient Egypt Classical Wisdom Litterae
3 weeks ago
Classical Wisdom
The Fury Within Anger in Ancient Greek and Roman Mythology
2 weeks ago
Flashbak
An Interview with Andrew Loog Oldham “I didn’t think. I had no reference point. I had no fear. It was all really simple. Peter Jones of...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
“I didn’t think. I had no reference point. I had no fear. It was all really simple. Peter Jones of the Record Mirror told me to go and see them. I did. It was good for everybody… I was quite happy doing PR and I became happier managing the Rolling Stones.” – Andrew Loog Oldham …...
TheCollector
Agatha Christie: Queen of…Theater? Renowned as the “Queen of Crime” for her iconic detectives such as Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple,...
3 weeks ago
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Renowned as the “Queen of Crime” for her iconic detectives such as Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, many readers never learn that Christie was also an avid fan of theater and quite the playwright herself. Lovers of Christie’s work are missing a significant aspect of the author’s...
History Today Feed
Nasser, Suez, and the Muslim Brotherhood Nasser, Suez, and the Muslim Brotherhood JamesHoare Wed, 05/21/2025 - 09:14
a week ago
TheCollector
Why Do We Keep Finding Mayan Pyramids? Traditionally, excavations deep in the jungles of Mexico, Central, and South America are difficult...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Traditionally, excavations deep in the jungles of Mexico, Central, and South America are difficult at best and dangerous at worst. With rough terrain, violent storms, and the watchful eyes of local animals, archeologists often turn to modern equipment to cover as much ground as...
Classical Wisdom
The Greco-Roman-Indian Exchange Podcast with Professor Roberto Morales
2 weeks ago
TheCollector
The Anglo-Russian Conflict in the Napoleonic Wars: A “Smokeless War?” Britain and Russia were notably enemies during the Crimean War (1853-1856). However, the two...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Britain and Russia were notably enemies during the Crimean War (1853-1856). However, the two countries briefly clashed during the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815). Yet, Britain and Russia were allies for most of the coalition wars against revolutionary and Napoleonic France...
TheCollector
Beyond the Pyramids: The Modern History of Egypt Ancient Egypt looms large in popular culture, from Indiana Jones to The Prince of Egypt. The country...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Ancient Egypt looms large in popular culture, from Indiana Jones to The Prince of Egypt. The country is a treasure trove of pyramids, pharaohs, and nods to ancient cats. The country’s location at the nexus of its African home and of Asia and Europe has led to its fascinating...
TheCollector
Why Were Cornflakes Invented? The invention of cornflakes is a curious story, tangled in a history of religious fervor, radical...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
The invention of cornflakes is a curious story, tangled in a history of religious fervor, radical health reform, commercial success, and a decades-long feud between two brothers. Born in the kitchens of the Battle Creek Sanitarium, Michigan, cornflakes began life as part of a...
Classical Wisdom
Fiction for Heraclitus? Clean. White. Sheets.
a week ago
Flashbak
Ute Mahler Shows Us The Real East Germany “I wanted to see what was hiding behind the prescribed official false optimism. I was looking for...
2 weeks ago
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“I wanted to see what was hiding behind the prescribed official false optimism. I was looking for the truth in the inner realm of people’s lives.” – Ute Mahler, photographs of communist East Germany     Between 1972 and 1988, Ute Mahler repeatedly turned her camera on the people...
Classical Wisdom
Aristotle and Ethics Practical Philosophy
2 weeks ago
TheCollector
Who Were the Notorious Barbary Pirates? (History & Wars) Upon the mention of pirates, most people envision the swashbuckling brigands who terrorized the seas...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Upon the mention of pirates, most people envision the swashbuckling brigands who terrorized the seas of the Caribbean. However, the calmer waters of the Mediterranean would also suffer the scourge of piracy. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, pirates from the Barbary States of...
Classical Wisdom
The Myths of History Facts, Fiction, and Hollywood
a week ago
TheCollector
Why Is Whistler’s Mother So Popular? James McNeill Whistler’s most famous painting represents his mother Anna, dressed in modest dark...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
James McNeill Whistler’s most famous painting represents his mother Anna, dressed in modest dark attire and seated next to a gray wall. Over the years, the painting became iconic and even developed an entire mythology around it, quite far removed from the circumstances of its...
Classical Wisdom
Is Everything Becoming its Opposite? Heraclitus, Strife and the Need for Conflict
a week ago
Flashbak
Nights at The Fabulous Cabaret Fledermaus by the Wiener Werkstätte, 1907-1913 The Wiener Werkstätte (Vienna Workshop). saw the Cabaret Fledermaus as a place where the “boredom”...
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a week ago
The Wiener Werkstätte (Vienna Workshop). saw the Cabaret Fledermaus as a place where the “boredom” of contemporary life would be replaced by “ease, art and culture”. Opening on October 1907, on the corner of Kärntner Straße 33 and Johannesgasse 1 in Vienna, the club was housed in...
Trying to Understand...
What Are You Doing After The End? The Ego will not save us now.
4 days ago
History Today Feed
The Otsu Incident The Otsu Incident JamesHoare Tue, 05/06/2025 - 08:56
3 weeks ago
TheCollector
Second Servile War: The Soothsayer’s Slave Rebellion That Shook Rome Even though the revolt of the would-be slave-king Eunus ended in bloodshed and defeat for the slaves...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Even though the revolt of the would-be slave-king Eunus ended in bloodshed and defeat for the slaves of Sicily, the dreams and possibilities of breaking the shackles the Romans bound them in remained. Very little changed in terms of material conditions on Sicily between the end...
History Today Feed
The Hidden Diary of Samuel Pepys The Hidden Diary of Samuel Pepys JamesHoare Mon, 05/19/2025 - 08:44
a week ago
Wrong Side of...
The Bards of the Second Reformation 'John and Paul: A Love Story in Songs' by Ian Leslie
4 weeks ago
TheCollector
Gustave Courbet Masterpiece Undergoes Public Restoration Completed in 1850, A Burial at Ornans made Gustave Courbet an enemy of the French art establishment....
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Completed in 1850, A Burial at Ornans made Gustave Courbet an enemy of the French art establishment. Now, the life-sized masterwork is undergoing restoration work at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.   “This painting is a manifesto of the Realist movement,” said the museum in a...
TheCollector
Top 10 Museums of Cusco, Peru In the high Andes Mountains of Peru lies Cusco, the former capital of the Inca Empire. It’s a...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
In the high Andes Mountains of Peru lies Cusco, the former capital of the Inca Empire. It’s a popular destination for trekkers looking to visit monuments such as Machu Picchu. It’s also a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city preserves its cultural legacy in dozens of...
Flashbak
Raw Punk Streets UK 1979–1982 “It wasn’t just about the bands; I documented the whole scene, particularly the fans. The fans were...
a week ago
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a week ago
“It wasn’t just about the bands; I documented the whole scene, particularly the fans. The fans were often as intriguing a subject as the bands themselves. They would frequently end up fronting a band themselves a week or so later.” – Janette Beckman on British punks Janette...
A Collection of...
Collections: Why Archers Didn’t Volley Fire This week we’re looking at a specific visual motif common in TV and film: the arrow volley. You know...
4 weeks ago
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4 weeks ago
This week we’re looking at a specific visual motif common in TV and film: the arrow volley. You know the scene: the general readies his archers, he orders them to ‘draw!’ and then holds up his hand with that ‘wait for it’ gesture and then shouts ‘loose!’ (or worse yet, ‘fire!’)...
TheCollector
Are We Prediction Machines? Predictive Processing & Brain Science Traditional neuroscience has reached an impasse, a plateauing in understanding. Mainly relying on...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Traditional neuroscience has reached an impasse, a plateauing in understanding. Mainly relying on technological advancements to further its understanding of the brain’s neurology, it is now severely lacking in theory. Pure data gives little insight without theory, yet...
TheCollector
What Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Believe? The Jehovah’s Witnesses have only been on the theological scene for just over 150 years, and the...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
The Jehovah’s Witnesses have only been on the theological scene for just over 150 years, and the name has only been in use for less than 100 years. In that time, they have established themselves in many countries across the globe. In this relatively short period, the denomination...
TheCollector
Japan’s 1931 Invasion of Manchuria: Here’s What Happened On September 18, 1931, the explosion of the Japanese-owned railway track near the city of Mukden,...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
On September 18, 1931, the explosion of the Japanese-owned railway track near the city of Mukden, Manchuria in northeastern China, marked the beginning of a full-scale Japanese invasion of Manchuria. With minor resistance from the Chinese army, Japanese troops occupied the region...
TheCollector
Soviet Show Trials: A Grueling History of Repression In the USSR during Stalin’s regime, show trials were a tool of political repression. The trials were...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
In the USSR during Stalin’s regime, show trials were a tool of political repression. The trials were orchestrated events that coerced confessions out of innocent people. The end was to consolidate Stalin’s power by removing any potential rivals. The Great Purge of the 1930s was...
TheCollector
Marlene Dumas Sets Auction Record for a Living Woman Artist Among other wins for women artists on Wednesday night, the 21st-century Evening Sale at Christie’s...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Among other wins for women artists on Wednesday night, the 21st-century Evening Sale at Christie’s New York made art market history with the record-setting sale of Miss January by contemporary South African painter Marlene Dumas. Hammering in at $13.6 million with fees, the 1997...
TheCollector
What Is Lev Vygotsky’s Revolutionary Educational Philosophy? Lev Vygotsky has totally changed our understanding of how we learn and grow through his pioneering...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Lev Vygotsky has totally changed our understanding of how we learn and grow through his pioneering educational philosophy. The cognitive abilities of people are shaped by socializing, language, and culture. In looking into things like the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) in...
TheCollector
Women Surrealist Artists Set New Records at Auction Yesterday, the first evening of Christie’s May marquee week in New York began with the sale of 38...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Yesterday, the first evening of Christie’s May marquee week in New York began with the sale of 38 works from the collection of Barnes & Noble founder Leonard Riggio and his wife Louise. The Riggio collection is the most valuable single-owner collection to hit the auction block in...
TheCollector
The Battle of Magnesia (197 BCE): Rome vs. Seleucid Empire At the beginning of the 2nd century BCE, two major powers vied for the Mediterranean. In the west,...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
At the beginning of the 2nd century BCE, two major powers vied for the Mediterranean. In the west, the Romans had recently defeated the Carthaginians and, having crossed to Greece, the Macedonians. Concurrently, Antiochus III (223-187BCE), king of the Seleucid Empire, earned the...
TheCollector
What Were the Main Topics of Socialist Realism? 7 Key Themes Socialist Realism was the official artistic ideology proclaimed in the 1930s in the Soviet Union. It...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Socialist Realism was the official artistic ideology proclaimed in the 1930s in the Soviet Union. It rejected experimentations with non-objective painting and criticized intellectual art that was not understood by the masses. Socialist realism was supposed to celebrate honest...
TheCollector
7 Greek & Roman Characters in Modern Artworks Ancient myths and legends have fascinated artists and writers long after the civilizations that...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Ancient myths and legends have fascinated artists and writers long after the civilizations that produced them collapsed. For centuries, mythological painting was a traditional subject matter, but in the 19th and 20th centuries, painters revived it by using modern techniques and...
TheCollector
Impressionism Beyond Painting: Sculpture, Literature, Film and More Impressionism was the revolutionary art movement that shifted our relationship with painted images....
a week ago
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a week ago
Impressionism was the revolutionary art movement that shifted our relationship with painted images. However, we are mostly familiar with it through the lens of painting. The truth is that many artists, photographers, composers, and writers tried to apply the movement’s principles...
TheCollector
8 Facts About Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was a famous French artist and illustrator, celebrated for his images of...
a week ago
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a week ago
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was a famous French artist and illustrator, celebrated for his images of cafes and posters advertising performances of famous dancers. However, he was also a skilled painter, who had a profound interest in Japanese art, and an aspiring chef....
Classical Wisdom
The Maligning of Medusa Justice for the Gorgon
a week ago
History Today Feed
Medieval Queen by Grace of God Medieval Queen by Grace of God JamesHoare Fri, 05/23/2025 - 09:13
a week ago
Trying to Understand...
Another Of My Essays In French. "C’est quoi cette « guerre » dont vous parlez ?"
3 weeks ago
Flashbak
Show Us Your Knickers: Vintage Snapshots Of People And Their Underwear Underwear. Comfy apple catchers, snaggy thongs or reassuring Y-fronts? In this gallery from Robert...
3 weeks ago
8
3 weeks ago
Underwear. Comfy apple catchers, snaggy thongs or reassuring Y-fronts? In this gallery from Robert E. Jackson’s photograph collection, we see some of the vast range of undies – those designed to be seen and other ‘unmentionables’ Victoria really should keep secret.    “Made you...
TheCollector
What Are the Differences Between the Different Bible Translations? There are more than 100 different bible translations available in English today, and scholars have...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
There are more than 100 different bible translations available in English today, and scholars have translated parts of the Bible into more than 3,000 languages. Many claims that the Bible has been corrupted reference different translations rather than differences in ancient...
TheCollector
What Is Latin America? Definition, History, & the Rise of “Abya Yala” Latin America is a geographical, geopolitical, and cultural concept defined by the common...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Latin America is a geographical, geopolitical, and cultural concept defined by the common characteristics of some of the countries located on the American continent. Most well-known is the use of Latin-derived languages such as Spanish, Portuguese, and French as their official...
TheCollector
Hispanic & Latino: Meaning, History, and Best Practices of the Terms In the Western Hemisphere, particularly in the United States, terms such as Hispanic and Latino have...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
In the Western Hemisphere, particularly in the United States, terms such as Hispanic and Latino have been used to identify and give more visibility to people whose linguistic or cultural roots fall within the Spanish-speaking linguistic, ethnic, or cultural context: Spain, Latin...
TheCollector
What Were Pre-Colonial Brazil’s Religions and Spiritual Practices? Brazil is widely known for its cultural and religious diversity. Home to a varied range of religions...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Brazil is widely known for its cultural and religious diversity. Home to a varied range of religions that often mix Indigenous, African, and Christian themes, religious diversity was also prevalent in this region prior to colonization. Often revolving around concepts like animism...
TheCollector
What Does the Old Testament Say About Slavery? Slavery is evil, period! So, does the Bible approve of such a vile practice? Does the Bible condone...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Slavery is evil, period! So, does the Bible approve of such a vile practice? Does the Bible condone kidnapping, human trafficking, forced labor, rape, and the mistreatment of servants, even to the point of taking the life of a slave? Some Southern slave owners in the US from the...
TheCollector
The First Crusade: Pope Urban II and the War for the Holy Land Pope Urban II (1088-1099) was a key figure in the process of initiating the First Crusade by calling...
a week ago
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a week ago
Pope Urban II (1088-1099) was a key figure in the process of initiating the First Crusade by calling upon the Christian world to gather together in the name of God and defend the Christian faith against the “non-believers” who had control over the Holy Land and the Holy City,...
TheCollector
A Guide to 5 Virtual Russian Museums for Art & History Lovers Vibrant, traditional, and modern, Russia’s two major cultural centers represent centuries of the...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Vibrant, traditional, and modern, Russia’s two major cultural centers represent centuries of the country’s rich and turbulent history. If you want to explore streets packed with museums and galleries, an online tour of Russia’s top five museums offers armchair travelers a perfect...
Flashbak
A Line Is The Main Protagonist : Paul Klee’s Black and White Lithographies The artist cannot do without his dialogue with nature, for he is a man, himself of nature, a piece...
a week ago
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a week ago
The artist cannot do without his dialogue with nature, for he is a man, himself of nature, a piece of nature and within the space of nature. – Paul  Klee, 1923   For German-Swiss artist Paul Klee (1879 -1940) the line is “a dot that went for a walk”. For him, drawing the line and...
TheCollector
Meet the Māori: History & Culture of Aotearoa’s People The ancestors of the Māori sailed to Aotearoa/ New Zealand, “the land of the long white cloud,” from...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
The ancestors of the Māori sailed to Aotearoa/ New Zealand, “the land of the long white cloud,” from Eastern Polynesia, between 1250 and 1300 CE. They had inhabited the North and South Islands of present-day New Zealand for at least three centuries before the coming of Dutch...
TheCollector
Who Was Friedrich Nietzsche’s “Übermensch”? As one of the most influential early 20th-century philosophers, Friedrich Nietzsche comes burdened...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
As one of the most influential early 20th-century philosophers, Friedrich Nietzsche comes burdened with a controversial legacy. His elitist and anti-democratic ideas were adopted, and distorted, by figures such as Adolf Hitler. Indeed, few thinkers in history have so utterly...
TheCollector
When Did Pablo Picasso Die? A Look at His Legacy Pablo Picasso died on April 8, 1973, in his French villa. He was almost 92 years old, a rich man, an...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Pablo Picasso died on April 8, 1973, in his French villa. He was almost 92 years old, a rich man, an internationally celebrated artist, a father, and a grandfather. Most of the research concerning Picasso focused on his earlier years when he was a bold and provocative young...
Classical Wisdom
Weekly Wisdom Quiz Cleopatra, Alexander, Socrates
3 weeks ago
TheCollector
What Did the Romans Think of the Celts? The term “Celtic” often serves as an umbrella term for the “barbarian” people of Europe living...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
The term “Celtic” often serves as an umbrella term for the “barbarian” people of Europe living outside the Greco-Roman cultural sphere. The Celts varied ethnically but have historically been grouped together based on similarities in language and customs. Much of what we now know...
TheCollector
5 Major Must-Read Works by Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson was an English author and lexicographer who lived between the years of 1709 and 1784....
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Samuel Johnson was an English author and lexicographer who lived between the years of 1709 and 1784. He is best remembered by literary historians for his famous Dictionary. This dictionary, formally known as A Dictionary of the English Language, was published in 1755 and...
TheCollector
Treaty of Wuchale: How a Bad Translation Caused a War At the beginning of 1890, Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia, one of the only two independent African...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
At the beginning of 1890, Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia, one of the only two independent African countries, contacted the leaders of the Western powers to announce his accession to the throne. To his shock, his correspondents informed the emperor that all his diplomatic...
TheCollector
Romance in Color: Exploring African American Love in Art Various expressions and forms of love have always been among the most popular artistic topics. Yet,...
a week ago
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a week ago
Various expressions and forms of love have always been among the most popular artistic topics. Yet, for a long time, the voices of Black artists were unheard. In white-dominated culture, Black bodies were excluded from the narratives of romantic or parental love. However, during...
TheCollector
Positivism: Is it Dead? While positivism was the most defining philosophy of science in the 20th century, it is now...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
While positivism was the most defining philosophy of science in the 20th century, it is now considered dead and has primarily been used as an oppositional term, a caricature, and a strawman easily dismissed and used for propping up ideas. Despite the derision of positivism,...
TheCollector
The Art of the Ancient Canaanites: Overview & Images The Canaanites occupied the Levant, sometimes known as Syria-Palestine, during the Bronze Age (c....
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
The Canaanites occupied the Levant, sometimes known as Syria-Palestine, during the Bronze Age (c. 3300-1200 BCE). They developed all the hallmarks of an advanced culture, including art, which is perhaps better categorized as “material culture” because it includes objects that...
Overcoming Bias
Abstraction Worsens Drift My Ph.D.
4 weeks ago
TheCollector
Frieze New York Starts Strong With $3 Million Jeff Koons Sale Frieze New York 2025 opened its doors to collectors, museum leaders, artists, and other VIP guests...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Frieze New York 2025 opened its doors to collectors, museum leaders, artists, and other VIP guests on Wednesday, May 7. The thirteenth edition of the famed contemporary art fair brings together 67 exhibitors from over 25 countries at The Shed in New York City’s Hudson Yards...
TheCollector
10 Must-See Historic Sites in Faro, Portugal In Faro, you will marvel at the Moorish and Medieval buildings that stand beside the stunning...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
In Faro, you will marvel at the Moorish and Medieval buildings that stand beside the stunning Baroque and Neoclassical monuments that define the city’s landscape. In this article, we will show you the city’s iconic must-visit landmarks.   1. Milreu Roman Ruins   Located nine...
TheCollector
Unit 731: Japan’s Infamous Bioweapons Research Unit Established in 1935, Unit 731 was officially known as the Epidemic Prevention and Water Purification...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Established in 1935, Unit 731 was officially known as the Epidemic Prevention and Water Purification Department of the Kwantung Army. Under the Imperial Japanese government, the unit worked to develop biological and chemical weapons and performed cruel and frequently fatal tests...
TheCollector
Science in Ancient Egypt: Mathematics, Astronomy, Engineering, and Medicine There is a common perception that science is a modern invention with roots in the ancient Greek...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
There is a common perception that science is a modern invention with roots in the ancient Greek world. While the Greeks pioneered the kind of theoretical thinking that characterizes modern science, before the Greeks, people used practical science. The ancient Egyptians developed...
TheCollector
Sacred Stones: The Enduring Legacy of Ancient Greek Temples Despite initial impressions, ancient Greek temples were not built to impress 21st-century tourists;...
a week ago
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a week ago
Despite initial impressions, ancient Greek temples were not built to impress 21st-century tourists; they were made to house gods. Although the statues are gone and the ceremonies have long since ended, these places still hold a quiet kind of power. It’s not just the scale of the...
TheCollector
Homer’s Odyssey Summary: A Rhapsody-by-Rhapsody Breakdown The Greek epic poem The Odyssey is attributed to Homer and is often described as the sequel to The...
a week ago
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a week ago
The Greek epic poem The Odyssey is attributed to Homer and is often described as the sequel to The Iliad. The Odyssey picks up after the fall of Troy and follows Odysseus (also Ulysses), the king of Ithaca, who fought on the side of the Greeks, as he journeys home. He is blown...
TheCollector
What Is Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology of Perception? When it comes to understanding the world around us, philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty offers a...
a week ago
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a week ago
When it comes to understanding the world around us, philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty offers a unique perspective rooted in phenomenology. His book Phenomenology of Perception challenges ideas that are normally taken for granted about our senses. While other philosophers who...
Flashbak
Photographs From Amundsen’s South Pole Expedition – 1910-1912 “There were five of us — Hanssen, Wisting, Hassel, Bjaaland, and myself. We had four sledges, with...
a week ago
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a week ago
“There were five of us — Hanssen, Wisting, Hassel, Bjaaland, and myself. We had four sledges, with thirteen dogs to each.” – Roald Amundsen (6 July 1872 – c. 18 June 1928), South Pole Expedition – 1910-1912     These photographs are found in the page of The South pole; an account...
TheCollector
What’s the Best Time of Year to Visit Peru? Trying to determine the right time to visit Peru is challenging. If you have glanced at a map, noted...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Trying to determine the right time to visit Peru is challenging. If you have glanced at a map, noted the proximity of the country to the Equator, and deduced the climate must be idyllic and glorious all year round, you’ll be surprised. Peru boasts an eclectic geography and...
TheCollector
17 Logical Fallacies Everyone Should Know Fallacies are so pervasive in human processes that this reality can make us pessimistic regarding...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Fallacies are so pervasive in human processes that this reality can make us pessimistic regarding our rationality. There are so many errors we make in logical reasoning. However, the fact that we recognize these should lead us back to optimism since we can be better at avoiding...
TheCollector
Duke of Wellington vs. Napoleon Bonaparte: Who Was the Better Man? Who was the more successful? Who was the more capable? Who accumulated the most victories? Who has...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Who was the more successful? Who was the more capable? Who accumulated the most victories? Who has the greatest legacy? Who is better loved by modern historians? Let us step back into 19th-century Europe and attempt to discover, out of the Duke of Wellington and Napoleon...
History Today Feed
The Black Chamber: Opening Europe’s Post The Black Chamber: Opening Europe’s Post JamesHoare Thu, 05/22/2025 - 08:20
a week ago
TheCollector
Before Newton: How the Islamic Golden Age Shaped the Physics We Know The rise of Islam across India, the Middle East, and Spain kindled intellectual achievements that...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
The rise of Islam across India, the Middle East, and Spain kindled intellectual achievements that are still relevant today. The Islamic Golden Age, lasting some five hundred years from the 8th to 14th centuries, saw important discoveries – especially in physics.   What Was the...
Global Inequality...
A view of the world After the Global Financial Crisis, the World Bank got more much involved in South-East Asian...
4 weeks ago
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4 weeks ago
After the Global Financial Crisis, the World Bank got more much involved in South-East Asian countries than before.
TheCollector
10 Must-See Historic Sites in North Carolina Originally part of the Carolina Colony granted by King Charles II in 1663, North Carolina became a...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Originally part of the Carolina Colony granted by King Charles II in 1663, North Carolina became a separate province in 1712 and one of the original thirteen colonies. In 1776, it made history by being the first colony to officially call for independence through the Halifax...
TheCollector
What is the Poorest Country in Africa? From an economic perspective, Africa is the poorest continent. Almost half of all people living in...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
From an economic perspective, Africa is the poorest continent. Almost half of all people living in Sub-Saharan Africa live below the poverty line. The causes for this dynamic are legion. A large portion of them can be attributed to foreign intervention in the form of colonialism...
History Today Feed
Canada and the US: Sleeping with the Elephant Canada and the US: Sleeping with the Elephant JamesHoare Thu, 05/22/2025 - 09:11
a week ago
TheCollector
Military Structures and More Found at Egypt’s “Fortress of the East” Situated in the Sinai Desert, the Tell Abu Saifi archaeological site is known as ancient Egypt’s...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Situated in the Sinai Desert, the Tell Abu Saifi archaeological site is known as ancient Egypt’s “Fortress of the East” for its extensive military infrastructure. New excavations at the site are further illuminating the area’s strategic importance during the Ptolemaic and Roman...
TheCollector
Jamaican Activist: Who Was Marcus Garvey? To some, Marcus Garvey was a visionary – prophet of Pan-Africanism, pioneer of black pride, freedom...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
To some, Marcus Garvey was a visionary – prophet of Pan-Africanism, pioneer of black pride, freedom fighter. His influence sparked black power movements from the Nation of Islam to Rastafari and inspired anti-colonial thinkers around the world. To others, his authoritarian style,...
TheCollector
An Art Enthusiast’s Guide to Lima, Peru Lima is one of South America’s largest cities, with a population of over 11 million. This coastal...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Lima is one of South America’s largest cities, with a population of over 11 million. This coastal metropolis has dozens of museums, galleries, murals, and studios that rival anywhere else in the world. From street art to fine art, murals to colorful ancient textiles, Lima has...
TheCollector
9 Russian & Soviet Artists Who Influenced Ballet A ballet performance is a high art form that can awe audiences. However, audiences only see the...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
A ballet performance is a high art form that can awe audiences. However, audiences only see the result, not the blood, sweat, and tears it takes to become a dancer at a premier ballet company like the Bolshoi Ballet. In the Soviet Union, dancers at the top of their game had...
TheCollector
British Museum and Asprey Studio Unveil Dürer-Inspired Sculpture An iconic Renaissance image has inspired a cutting-edge contemporary sculpture. The British Museum...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
An iconic Renaissance image has inspired a cutting-edge contemporary sculpture. The British Museum in London partnered with Asprey Studio’s Kent-based workshop to design hand-sculpted sterling silver rhinoceroses—each with its own digital component—inspired by Albrecht Dürer’s...
TheCollector
8 Facts About Berthe Morisot, the Great Woman Impressionist Berthe Morisot was an outstanding Impressionist, admired by her male colleagues such as Degas and...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Berthe Morisot was an outstanding Impressionist, admired by her male colleagues such as Degas and Renoir. As a woman of her time, she was severely limited in spaces and situations she could depict but managed to get the best of what was available to her. She was particularly...
TheCollector
Comparing Austen & Ibsen: Women & Finance in 19th-Century Literature Jane Austen’s novels read as the ultimate in romantic fiction, where heroines fallen on hard times...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Jane Austen’s novels read as the ultimate in romantic fiction, where heroines fallen on hard times are saved by decent and powerful men. But reading against our sentimental instincts reveals a darker tale, with women excluded from property ownership and inheritance, leaving them...
TheCollector
Isa Genzken: 12 Facts About the Famous Conceptual Artist Isa Genzken is a German conceptual artist who transformed the concept of mixed media art through her...
a week ago
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a week ago
Isa Genzken is a German conceptual artist who transformed the concept of mixed media art through her radical use of materials. She uses cheap, mass-produced materials, scraps of paper, fragments of glass, and other objects to challenge the notion of sculpture and disassemble the...
TheCollector
10 Highlights of Fondation Louis Vuitton Collection Fondation Louis Vuitton is a privately owned cultural institution that opened its doors to the...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Fondation Louis Vuitton is a privately owned cultural institution that opened its doors to the public in 2014. It houses vast collections of modern and contemporary art belonging to the luxury goods conglomerate LVMH and its founder, Bernard Arnault. The Fondation Louis Vuitton...
TheCollector
Art Basel Expands with New Qatar Fair The Middle East’s first major art fair is set to launch next February. Art Basel, which already...
a week ago
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a week ago
The Middle East’s first major art fair is set to launch next February. Art Basel, which already operates four major fairs around the world, announced the addition of Art Basel Qatar to its roster this week. The new fair follows a major multinational partnership. It also responds...
TheCollector
Rodin’s “The Gates of Hell”: Bringing Dante’s Inferno to Life The famous French sculptor Auguste Rodin spent most of his life working on the monumental structure...
a week ago
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a week ago
The famous French sculptor Auguste Rodin spent most of his life working on the monumental structure The Gates of Hell. Initially planned as an entrance door to the Decorative Arts Museum, it eventually gained a life of its own, inspiring Rodin’s most famous free-standing...
TheCollector
Parthenon Was Illuminated in Ancient Greece, Study Shows Contrary to Enlightenment-era belief, ancient Greece’s Parthenon was actually “dark and dim” on the...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Contrary to Enlightenment-era belief, ancient Greece’s Parthenon was actually “dark and dim” on the inside. A new study confirmed that the Athenian temple’s interior was never exposed to the open sky, nor constantly filled with natural light, as it appears in many familiar...
TheCollector
What Is Atonement in Christianity? (7 Theories) In just under two millennia, Christianity has grown from a fledgling religion to the biggest in the...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
In just under two millennia, Christianity has grown from a fledgling religion to the biggest in the world, with around 2.3 billion adherents. With so many Christians and such a long time during which Christian theology has developed and refined, it is surprising that there is no...
TheCollector
Did the Black Death Happen During Queen Elizabeth’s Reign? The Black Death, also known as the Bubonic Plague, ravaged Europe between 1346 and 1352, decimating...
a week ago
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a week ago
The Black Death, also known as the Bubonic Plague, ravaged Europe between 1346 and 1352, decimating almost half of the continent’s population. This pestilence, which we now know was carried by fleas, spread like wildfire across Europe in the mid-14th century. However, there were...
TheCollector
The History of Georgia: Between Europe and Asia The country of Georgia is located in the southern Caucasus where Europe meets Asia. The region has...
a week ago
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a week ago
The country of Georgia is located in the southern Caucasus where Europe meets Asia. The region has often found itself at the crossroads of empires. After unification in the 11th century CE, the kingdom of Georgia experienced a Golden Age in the 12th century. Mongol invasion and...
History Today Feed
‘The World of the Cold War: 1945-1991’ by Vladislav Zubok review ‘The World of the Cold War: 1945-1991’ by Vladislav Zubok review JamesHoare Mon, 05/26/2025 - 10:41
6 days ago
TheCollector
The 8 Artistic Periods of Pablo Picasso: Step by Step Guide Pablo Picasso had a long and incredibly prolific career. Experts believe he created more than...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Pablo Picasso had a long and incredibly prolific career. Experts believe he created more than 100,000 pieces of artistic work. During his lifetime, he incessantly studied art of various cultures and periods, reviving and repurposing it for his avant-garde works. Based on...
TheCollector
Absolute Monarchy and the Divine Right of Kings: History & Definition In the early modern period, it was not rare for the ruler to claim the divine right to rule and to...
a week ago
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a week ago
In the early modern period, it was not rare for the ruler to claim the divine right to rule and to proclaim himself above the earthly laws. Absolute monarchy was one of the common political systems and had a lot of sympathizers not only among the rulers and kings but also among...
TheCollector
The Twelve Labors of Heracles: List of Tasks, Meaning, and Facts The story of the twelve labors tells the tale of Heracles’s journey from a sinful pariah to the...
a week ago
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a week ago
The story of the twelve labors tells the tale of Heracles’s journey from a sinful pariah to the ancient world’s most revered hero. To atone for a crime he committed while under the curse of his stepmother Hera, Heracles undertook twelve seemingly impossible tasks from his cousin...
TheCollector
What’s the Best Time of Year to Visit Argentina? Argentina is a land of incredible diversity. From the rugged peaks of the Andes in the south to the...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Argentina is a land of incredible diversity. From the rugged peaks of the Andes in the south to the high Puna desert in the north and sprawling pampas in the west, the eighth-largest country on earth leaves nothing to be desired. When planning a trip to Argentina, a little...
History Today Feed
‘Hitler’s Deserters’ by Douglas Carl Peifer review ‘Hitler’s Deserters’ by Douglas Carl Peifer review JamesHoare Mon, 05/19/2025 - 09:01
a week ago
Dreams of Space -...
Journey to the Sun (1961) The second promotional comic I wanted to share is Journey to the Sun. It is also from Boys’ and...
4 weeks ago
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4 weeks ago
The second promotional comic I wanted to share is Journey to the Sun. It is also from Boys’ and Girls’ March of Comics and the only other one I've found that is about space flight.  It was handed to customers of stores that sold Little Yankee Shoes.   Journey to the Sun is a...
Classical Wisdom
Xenophon Hemingway of the Ancient World?
4 weeks ago
TheCollector
Can Science Change How Humanity Views Itself? Our understanding of who we are, our place in the world, and the very nature of our being is an...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Our understanding of who we are, our place in the world, and the very nature of our being is an intricate tapestry woven from the threads of knowledge, culture, and personal experience. Yet, throughout history, perhaps the most transformative influence on this ever-evolving...
TheCollector
The Incredible Story of the Great Siege of Gibraltar and the American Revolution Bunker Hill, Saratoga, Lexington, and Yorktown are all famous battles that serve as examples of the...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Bunker Hill, Saratoga, Lexington, and Yorktown are all famous battles that serve as examples of the conflict of the American War of Independence. North America was, of course, the main theater of the war, and specifically, the northeast of the United States is home to virtually...
TheCollector
When Was the Trojan War? Finding Legendary Troy in History The Trojan War, famously recounted by 8th century BCE poet Homer in the Iliad, has been a subject of...
a week ago
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a week ago
The Trojan War, famously recounted by 8th century BCE poet Homer in the Iliad, has been a subject of awe and debate among scholars, ancient and modern, for over 2,000 years. While the views of modern scholars differ on whether or not the war happened, they generally agree that...
TheCollector
The Heartbreaking Story Behind Rodin’s “Kiss” Auguste Rodin’s Kiss is one of the most famous sculptures in art history and a well-known masterwork...
a week ago
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a week ago
Auguste Rodin’s Kiss is one of the most famous sculptures in art history and a well-known masterwork of the sculptor. Initially planned as a part of a larger project, it gained a life of its own, appearing in bronze, terracotta, marble, and plaster. Numerous copies of The Kiss...
TheCollector
What Is Rodin’s “The Thinker” Thinking About? Auguste Rodin’s The Thinker is one of the most famous sculptures in the history of art. Endlessly...
a week ago
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a week ago
Auguste Rodin’s The Thinker is one of the most famous sculptures in the history of art. Endlessly reproduced and reinterpreted, it became the universal symbol of human creativity and intellectualism. The Thinker, modeled after both classical sculpture and a real body of Rodin’s...
Classical Wisdom
Weekly Wisdom Quiz Myths and History
a week ago
Patterns in Humanity
Cohort fertility projections Addressing the lag in cohort fertility data
5 days ago
TheCollector
Everything You Need to Know About Hieronymus Bosch: Life, Art, Legacy For most who hear the name “Hieronymus Bosch,” their thoughts go to The Garden of Earthly Delights...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
For most who hear the name “Hieronymus Bosch,” their thoughts go to The Garden of Earthly Delights or the fantastical figures birthed from the artist’s imagination. When considering the number of works cataloged in museums around the world, it stands to reason that viewers often...
TheCollector
The 13 Original Colonies: History, Map, and Facts Achieving independence as the United States of America was a lengthy and unlikely struggle for the...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Achieving independence as the United States of America was a lengthy and unlikely struggle for the 13 original colonies. Over the centuries, the territory of the 13 colonies was contested by several European powers before the British established control of the Atlantic coast of...
TheCollector
Is the Sign of Jonah a Contradiction in the Bible? The Gospel of Matthew refers to the sign of Jonah on two occasions and the Gospel of Luke, once...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
The Gospel of Matthew refers to the sign of Jonah on two occasions and the Gospel of Luke, once (Matthew 12:39-41; Matthew 16:4; Luke 11:29-30). Matthew 12:39-41 specifies a detail that the other two do not. In the minds of many, this detail results in a contradiction in the...
TheCollector
The House of Bourbon: From Absolutism to the French Revolution Few kings of France faced a more daunting prospect than Henri Bourbon in 1589. France was decades...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Few kings of France faced a more daunting prospect than Henri Bourbon in 1589. France was decades into the Wars of Religion, a conflict between Catholic and Protestant factions that had torn the country apart and drained the Crown of much power and prestige. His predecessor Henri...
TheCollector
What Is Sin in Christianity? What is sin in Christianity? Sin was the reason for the separation between man and God. The only way...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
What is sin in Christianity? Sin was the reason for the separation between man and God. The only way to restore the relationship was for the Son of God to become a man and die, paying the penalty for the sins of humanity. Therefore, sin is serious! Most Christians can easily...
TheCollector
Rare Roman Goddess Statue Found Near Hadrian’s Wall Ongoing excavations at Vindolanda, an ancient Roman fort just south of Hadrian’s Wall, recently...
a week ago
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a week ago
Ongoing excavations at Vindolanda, an ancient Roman fort just south of Hadrian’s Wall, recently revealed a rare find. A relief sculpture depicting Victoria, the Roman goddess of victory, was unearthed by a married couple who are longtime volunteers at the northern England...
TheCollector
Exploring Tudor Fashion Through Art History: A Detailed Overview Sumptuary laws limited many of the clothing items that the lower and middle classes could wear....
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Sumptuary laws limited many of the clothing items that the lower and middle classes could wear. Politics often played an important role in how people dressed—from dressing to conform to social class expectations to making political statements about one’s government role or...
TheCollector
The 8 Best National Parks in South America South America is blessed with some of the most exquisite natural wonders on earth. While historical...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
South America is blessed with some of the most exquisite natural wonders on earth. While historical sites like Machu Picchu in Peru get all the attention, it is the continent’s nature reserves that should steal the show. The continent’s hundreds of national parks encompass...
TheCollector
8 Unmissable Heritage Sites in Beijing Nearly any person you speak to has heard of Beijing’s most famous site — the Great Wall of China....
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Nearly any person you speak to has heard of Beijing’s most famous site — the Great Wall of China. However, Beijing is an intriguing city for many other reasons. Ancient temples stand side-by-side with uber-modern skyscrapers. Some residents live in traditional courtyard homes,...
TheCollector
Gunboat Diplomacy: How Military Power Reshaped Global Politics The use of military force to secure political and diplomatic objectives has been commonplace...
a week ago
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a week ago
The use of military force to secure political and diplomatic objectives has been commonplace throughout history, but gunboat diplomacy is used to refer to how European countries and the United States used threats of naval force to bully weaker countries into granting them...
Flashbak
The Wrong Side and The Right Side (of History) – Albert Camus On Being ‘Human and Simple’ “I do not want to choose between the right and wrong sides of the world, and I do not like a choice...
a week ago
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a week ago
“I do not want to choose between the right and wrong sides of the world, and I do not like a choice to be made. People don’t want one to be lucid and ironic. They say: ‘It shows you’re not nice.’ I can’t see how this follows.” – Albert Camus, The Wrong and the Right … Continue...
TheCollector
Why Is the Bolshoi Ballet So Famous? A Brief History For almost 250 years, the Bolshoi Ballet has remained synonymous with the art of dance. As one of...
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For almost 250 years, the Bolshoi Ballet has remained synonymous with the art of dance. As one of the most celebrated companies, the Bolshoi Ballet has roots in eighteenth-century imperial Russia. Beloved by Romanov tsars and Soviet leaders, the Bolshoi Ballet has a reputation...
TheCollector
What Is Tantra and What Can It Teach Us About Religion and Desire? The goal of Buddhism is to reach enlightenment, in which one is supremely at peace with the nature...
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The goal of Buddhism is to reach enlightenment, in which one is supremely at peace with the nature of reality — the highest form of pleasure. It is often posited that the fickleness of human desire hinders such a pursuit. Tantra, however, gives us a novel interpretation of such...
TheCollector
7 Historic Sites in Chiang Mai (Thailand’s “Rose of the North”) Chiang Mai, the second largest province in Thailand and the epicenter of education in Northern...
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Chiang Mai, the second largest province in Thailand and the epicenter of education in Northern Thailand, is a mashup of captivating cultural experiences, mouthwatering food, and stunning architecture. As the capital of the Lanna Kingdom until 1558, Chiang Mai intermixes its...
TheCollector
Roosevelt’s Big Stick: How America Flexed Its Muscle on the World Stage Theodore Roosevelt embraced a belief throughout his entire adult life that America was destined to...
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Theodore Roosevelt embraced a belief throughout his entire adult life that America was destined to be a major player in world affairs. Roosevelt was fond of saying that America should “speak softly, but carry a big stick.” Roosevelt’s Big Stick Policy not only defined his...
TheCollector
Belief Bias: How Old Beliefs Shape and Determine Your Reasoning? Hidden in every attempt at gaining knowledge is an array of old beliefs ensconced at the corner of...
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Hidden in every attempt at gaining knowledge is an array of old beliefs ensconced at the corner of your mind, ready to ambush your reasoning at any moment and jump to a conclusion when you least expect it. Belief bias refers to these moments when the old haunts the new, molding...
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Execution of the Thief-Taker General Execution of the Thief-Taker General JamesHoare Wed, 05/21/2025 - 09:15
a week ago
TheCollector
African Americans in Art: A Legacy of Creativity and Resistance For a long period of American history, art created by African Americans was considered irrelevant...
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For a long period of American history, art created by African Americans was considered irrelevant and unworthy of appreciation. Still, even in the conditions of slavery, segregation, and oppression, African American creatives managed to build and preserve artistic tradition. Some...
TheCollector
5 Bizarre Claims by Famous Dictators That Defy All Logic The history of famous dictators is filled with bizarre claims and personal myths. From Idi Amin and...
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The history of famous dictators is filled with bizarre claims and personal myths. From Idi Amin and Kim Jong Il to Vladimir Putin, Yahya Jammeh, and Papa Doc Duvalier, famous dictators have used the power of propaganda to solidify their power and authority. Some have portrayed...
TheCollector
What Is Provenance & Why Is It Important for Someone Buying Art? Provenance can be summarized as the documented history of an artwork’s ownership. In auction...
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Provenance can be summarized as the documented history of an artwork’s ownership. In auction catalogs and even online auction lot descriptions, there’s always a brief description of an artwork’s prior ownership. This usually comes with various documents proving the past sales and...
TheCollector
Can You Live Forever? A Philosophical Approach to Immortality For thousands of years, people have been fascinated by the idea of living forever and what that...
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For thousands of years, people have been fascinated by the idea of living forever and what that means for our place in the world. Is it possible to leave behind the inevitability of death? This has been debated by many philosophers, who have come up with a range of ideas that are...
TheCollector
9 Facts About Sam Gilliam, the Great Abstract Artist Sam Gilliam was a famous American abstract painter known for his suspended canvases, soaked in...
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Sam Gilliam was a famous American abstract painter known for his suspended canvases, soaked in acrylic paint. As a young artist, Gilliam was inspired to experiment with the Abstract Expressionist scene that dominated the art market. However, in his works he went much further,...
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Toxic Clowns, Grandpa’s Underwear and Matchbox Cars: Found Kodachrome Photos from the 1970s These found Kodachrome photograph from the 1970s are the second instalment from collector Thomas...
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These found Kodachrome photograph from the 1970s are the second instalment from collector Thomas Hawk. His 1960s Kodachrome pictures were a treat, and now we move on a decade. We’ve started with the above picture of a circus clown. The effect of the lurid colours, that little...
TheCollector
Before the White House: Who Really Was America’s First President? As commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, George...
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As commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, George Washington performed many of the functions of a chief executive and head of state. After presiding over the convention that framed the US Constitution of 1787, Washington was elected the...
TheCollector
7 Works by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec You Should Know Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was a famous artist and poster painter, who became known for his images of...
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Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was a famous artist and poster painter, who became known for his images of popular performers and dancers of his time. He came from a privileged background but was excluded from the higher classes due to his disability. Toulouse-Lautrec found his home...
TheCollector
The Artistic Inspiration Behind 10 Iconic Paintings Inspiration is a powerful force that ignites creativity. It is essential for artists striving to...
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Inspiration is a powerful force that ignites creativity. It is essential for artists striving to create masterpieces. Every work of art originates from a unique spark influenced by various sources, such as significant historical events, personal experiences, mythology,...
TheCollector
Artemis and Her Sacred Animals: The Goddess’s Mythological Pets Artemis didn’t just have an affinity for animals—she was the huntress who held dominion when it came...
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Artemis didn’t just have an affinity for animals—she was the huntress who held dominion when it came to wildlife, including both prey animals and predators. Goddess of the hunt, queen of the wilderness, and the administrator of all things untamed, she made no apologies to those...
TheCollector
What Remains of Roman York? A Visitor’s Guide York was originally a small Celtic settlement before the arrival of the Roman Empire, but it soon...
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York was originally a small Celtic settlement before the arrival of the Roman Empire, but it soon became one of the most important cities on the island. It was first a fort but quickly flourished into a vibrant regional capital. The city of York nowadays, with its narrow...
TheCollector
What Are the Seven Deadly Sins? The seven deadly sins are pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust. During early...
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The seven deadly sins are pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust. During early Christianity, some Church Fathers identified them as deadly because they damage the believer’s relationship with God and usually lead to other sins. The idea of seven deadly sins has its...
TheCollector
An Overview of the Three Kingdoms, Jin, Northern & Southern Chinese Dynasties The final years of the Han Dynasty witnessed the emergence of powerful warlords who consolidated...
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The final years of the Han Dynasty witnessed the emergence of powerful warlords who consolidated into three major powers at the formal dissolution of the Han Dynasty in 220 CE: Cao Wei in the north, Eastern Wu in the southeast, and Shu Han in the southwest. Shortly after...
TheCollector
Commodore Matthew Perry: The Man Who Forced Japan to Open Its Doors For 220 years, Japan was isolated from the outside world due to years of internal conflict and fear...
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For 220 years, Japan was isolated from the outside world due to years of internal conflict and fear of colonization by European powers. When Commodore Matthew Perry sailed into Edo Bay in 1853, he changed the course of history in the Pacific. The opening of Japan would have...
TheCollector
Theodore Roosevelt & the Great White Fleet: A Show of American Naval Power From 1907 to 1909, President Theodore Roosevelt sent a fleet including 16 capital ships around the...
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From 1907 to 1909, President Theodore Roosevelt sent a fleet including 16 capital ships around the world as a demonstration of American power. This so-called Great White Fleet voyage helped solidify the United States’ reputation as a prominent naval power at the beginning of the...
TheCollector
What Is Max Weber’s Theory of Rationalization? Max Weber’s theory of rationalization describes the transformation of pre-modern societies – steeped...
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Max Weber’s theory of rationalization describes the transformation of pre-modern societies – steeped in traditional, mystical, and religious authority – into modern, bureaucratically organized nation-states. At the heart of his thesis is the idea that increasing rationalization...
TheCollector
What Is the History of Mexican Pyramids? Mexican pyramids are a key feature of ancient Mesoamerican architecture. While they share some...
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Mexican pyramids are a key feature of ancient Mesoamerican architecture. While they share some similarities with Egyptian pyramids, these structures have flat tops, often with temples built on them, and stairways that rise along their sides. The stairways resemble ancient...
TheCollector
Installing Pinochet: How the US Laid the Groundwork for Chile’s 1973 Coup On September 11, 1973, Chile entered a new era. On this day, Augusto Pinochet took power and began a...
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On September 11, 1973, Chile entered a new era. On this day, Augusto Pinochet took power and began a reign that would be characterized by brutal anti-communist sentiment and consolidation of right-wing principles. One of many instances of illegal interference in foreign...
TheCollector
Lost Artemisia Gentileschi Painting Restored After Beirut Explosion When a series of deadly blasts devastated Beirut in 2020, a previously unknown painting by the most...
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When a series of deadly blasts devastated Beirut in 2020, a previously unknown painting by the most celebrated woman artist of the Italian Baroque era emerged from the wreckage. The painting has since been reattributed to Artemisia Gentileschi and fully restored to its original...
TheCollector
What Is Niels Bohr’s Principle of Complementarity? Niels Bohr was not only a principal architect of the science of quantum mechanics but also a...
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Niels Bohr was not only a principal architect of the science of quantum mechanics but also a profound philosophical thinker. While classical physics – exemplified by Newtonian mechanics and Einstein’s relativity – rests on the assumption of a deterministic, observer-independent...
TheCollector
10 Surprising Facts About Fashion Rebel Rei Kawakubo Rei Kawakubo is the founder of the Comme des Garçons brand and one of the most famous designers of...
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Rei Kawakubo is the founder of the Comme des Garçons brand and one of the most famous designers of her generation. Kawakubo was one of the first designers to experiment with deconstruction and to question the traditional relationship between body and garment. Read on to learn 10...
TheCollector
Battle of Saipan in WWII: The Other D-Day When American military planners began searching for islands they could use to attack Japan from,...
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When American military planners began searching for islands they could use to attack Japan from, they identified the Marianas island chain as a perfect location. One of these, the island of Saipan, was very well-defended and also contained a Japanese civilian population. The...
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Politicising Abortion in the United States Politicising Abortion in the United States JamesHoare Tue, 05/27/2025 - 09:01
5 days ago
History Today Feed
‘The Sun Rising’ by Anna Whitelock review ‘The Sun Rising’ by Anna Whitelock review JamesHoare Wed, 05/28/2025 - 09:21
4 days ago
TheCollector
Roman Road and Rare Artifacts Unearthed in Switzerland Excavations at the Roman settlement of Augusta Raurica in northern Switzerland revealed evidence of...
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Excavations at the Roman settlement of Augusta Raurica in northern Switzerland revealed evidence of a roadway, burial sites, and unusual artifacts—all dating back nearly 2,000 years.   What Is Augusta Raurica?   Augusta Raurica is the oldest known Roman colony along the Rhine...
TheCollector
8 Historic Sites on Mackinac Island Worth Exploring Michigan’s early development was shaped by its access to the Great Lakes and its importance in the...
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Michigan’s early development was shaped by its access to the Great Lakes and its importance in the fur trade, military defense, and westward expansion. Before statehood in 1837, it was part of the Northwest Territory and saw control shift between French, British, and American...
TheCollector
9 Historical Sites to Visit in Thailand From the mountains of the north to the beautiful beaches of the south, Thailand is packed with...
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From the mountains of the north to the beautiful beaches of the south, Thailand is packed with stunning places to experience. If you’re a history lover, you’ll find no shortage of palaces, ruins, and ancient cities along the way. Plus, most of these sites are easily accessible...
TheCollector
A Complete List of US Presidents in Order The President of the United States is widely considered to be the most powerful person in the world....
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The President of the United States is widely considered to be the most powerful person in the world. Since the ratification of the Constitution of the United States and the election of George Washington in 1789, 45 men have served as US President, including two who were elected...
TheCollector
Lucas Horenbout: The Highest Paid Artist at the Court of Henry VIII Lucas Horenbout, also known as Lucas Hornebolt, was a Flemish painter who worked in England as the...
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Lucas Horenbout, also known as Lucas Hornebolt, was a Flemish painter who worked in England as the king’s painter. He was taught to illuminate manuscripts and paint miniatures by his father, alongside his sister, who also became an artist at the English court. Lucas Horenbout...
TheCollector
6 Great Political Compromises That Shaped America The American nation under the US Constitution began with a compromise that, among other things,...
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The American nation under the US Constitution began with a compromise that, among other things, quelled the founding fathers’ anxieties over slavery and racial equality before the law. As the United States grew in size and influence, the very same issue would bring future leaders...
TheCollector
Sports in the Ancient World Before the Greeks Today, when one thinks of the origin of sports and athletic competitions, the ancient Greeks often...
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Today, when one thinks of the origin of sports and athletic competitions, the ancient Greeks often come to mind. Although many popular modern sports were inherited from the Greeks and Romans, the Greeks and Romans were influenced by earlier cultures. An examination of textual,...
TheCollector
What Does the Bible Say about Human Sacrifice? Several passages from the Torah and the prophetic books in the Hebrew Bible strongly condemn human...
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Several passages from the Torah and the prophetic books in the Hebrew Bible strongly condemn human sacrifice. There is no debate about the Bible’s stance on the practice. However, the very fact that the Bible condemns it suggests that the temptation to sacrifice humans was real...
TheCollector
9 Must-Visit Historic Towns in Louisiana Louisiana’s history is layered with colonization, rebellion, resilience, and culture. From the...
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Louisiana’s history is layered with colonization, rebellion, resilience, and culture. From the founding of Natchitoches in 1714 to the state’s pivotal roles in the Louisiana Purchase, the Civil War, and Reconstruction, its legacy runs deep. Key sites like Fort St. Jean Baptiste,...
TheCollector
Neo-Expressionism: How Emotion Reshaped Contemporary Art Neo-Expressionism as an art movement emerged in the 1970s as a reaction against the dominant trend...
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Neo-Expressionism as an art movement emerged in the 1970s as a reaction against the dominant trend of sterile Minimalist aesthetics. Artists embraced ugliness and imperfections and aimed to “unlearn” the basic artistic principles on which the rest of art history was based....
TheCollector
Optical Illusion Art: The Science and Creativity Behind the Mind-Bending Visuals As one of the abstract styles developing in the 1960s, Optical illusion (or Op) Art features games...
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As one of the abstract styles developing in the 1960s, Optical illusion (or Op) Art features games of lines and geometric shapes in both black and white—like in the case of Bridget Riley, Jesús Rafael Soto—or exploiting vivid colors—as in the case of Victor Vasarely and Julian...
TheCollector
A History of Rome in 11 Monuments Rome is a city shrouded in myth yet full of potent physical reminders of many historical triumphs...
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Rome is a city shrouded in myth yet full of potent physical reminders of many historical triumphs and tragedies. Walking the city’s streets today, it is easy to miss a trove of artistic and architectural gems from multiple historical eras tucked away down tiny alleys.   The...
TheCollector
What Is Papal Supremacy? (Definition, History, Opposition) According to the Roman Catholic tradition of apostolic succession, Peter was the first pope...
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According to the Roman Catholic tradition of apostolic succession, Peter was the first pope appointed by Christ. The line of leadership, according to this view, has been unbroken and continuous from Peter to the current Pope Leo XIV. Catholic tradition also holds that Christ...
TheCollector
Alexander the Great’s Philosophical Encounters: Aristotle to Diogenes Alexander the Great is known for building one of history’s largest empires, stretching from his...
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Alexander the Great is known for building one of history’s largest empires, stretching from his hometown of Macedonia all the way to northwestern regions of India. In his short life Alexander encountered some of the era’s greatest thinkers. Tutored by Aristotle, meeting the...
TheCollector
Complete List of Roman Emperors: From Augustus to the Fall of Rome The start of imperial Rome is officially dated to 27 BCE, when Gaius Octavius Caesar was awarded the...
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The start of imperial Rome is officially dated to 27 BCE, when Gaius Octavius Caesar was awarded the name Augustus, signaling his position as emperor. Following his precedent, Rome would be ruled by men with the title Augustus until Germanic tribes deposed the last emperor in...
TheCollector
10 Masters of Art Nouveau: From Furniture to Architecture & Beyond Art Nouveau developed between the 1880s and World War I in Western Europe and the USA. It was...
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Art Nouveau developed between the 1880s and World War I in Western Europe and the USA. It was inspired by nature and characterized by sinuous lines. It was a movement that developed across the visual arts that aimed to break away from traditional art. It was closely linked to the...
TheCollector
Hellenistic Sculpture Workshop Unearthed on Greek Island Archaeologists discovered that a Hellenistic-era sculpture workshop was built atop an older...
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Archaeologists discovered that a Hellenistic-era sculpture workshop was built atop an older residential complex on the Greek island of Paros. The latest excavations at the Floga archaeological site have revealed unfinished sculptures and sculpture fragments made of Parian marble,...
TheCollector
Operation Torch: The Liberation of French North Africa After the Fall of France and the establishment of the Vichy regime in 1940, Allied leaders looked to...
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After the Fall of France and the establishment of the Vichy regime in 1940, Allied leaders looked to target French colonial possessions in North Africa. The 1942 invasion, codenamed Operation Torch, was the first major joint offensive by American and British forces in WWII. The...
TheCollector
The Nag Hammadi Library & the Recovery of the Lost Gnostic Tradition Discovered in 1945 near the town of Nag Hammadi in Egypt, the Nag Hammadi Library is a collection of...
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Discovered in 1945 near the town of Nag Hammadi in Egypt, the Nag Hammadi Library is a collection of ancient texts that has profoundly influenced our understanding of early Christianity and Gnostic beliefs. This remarkable find, consisting of 13 codices and over 50 texts, sheds...
TheCollector
7 Pharaohs From 18th Dynasty Egypt: Rulers of New Kingdom Egypt’s 18th dynasty rose to the start of the New Kingdom (c. 1550–1077 BCE) and was the zenith of...
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Egypt’s 18th dynasty rose to the start of the New Kingdom (c. 1550–1077 BCE) and was the zenith of Egyptian international power. Many of ancient Egypt’s most notable characters appear during this period, such as Hatshepsut, the female pharaoh, Thutmose III, the empire builder,...
TheCollector
Celtic Cosmology: Creation Myths, Pantheon, and the Mysterious Otherworld The term “Celtic” is a nebulous one and refers to a broad, heterogeneous group of people spread...
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The term “Celtic” is a nebulous one and refers to a broad, heterogeneous group of people spread across time and space. Nevertheless, similarities in religious beliefs and practices are some of the elements that unite the disparate group known as the Celts. This article attempts...
TheCollector
10 Must-Visit Historic Towns in Vermont Vermont’s history runs deep, from becoming the first state to abolish slavery in 1777 to playing a...
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Vermont’s history runs deep, from becoming the first state to abolish slavery in 1777 to playing a vital role in the Revolutionary War through the Battle of Bennington. The Green Mountain State’s legacy is etched into its architecture, village greens, and industrial landmarks....
TheCollector
Lost Magna Carta Discovered in Harvard Law Library A document that Harvard University purchased for less than $30 might actually be worth millions....
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A document that Harvard University purchased for less than $30 might actually be worth millions. According to new research, the document is not a replica, as was previously believed. Rather, it has now been authenticated as an original Magna Carta issued by King Edward I in 1300....
Flashbak
Koloman Moser’s Beautiful Surface Designs For Die Quelle, 1901 Die Quelle (The Source) is a three-volume series of Secession-style graphic design books created in...
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Die Quelle (The Source) is a three-volume series of Secession-style graphic design books created in Vienna by Martin Gerlach’s publishing house. It features surface designs by Carl Otto Czeschka (22 October 1878 – 30 July 1960), Max Benirschke (1880–1961) and Koloman Moser (30...
TheCollector
10 Historic Sites to Explore in Lagos, Portugal Lagos is one of the oldest cities in the Algarve, where the Carthaginians, the Romans, and the Moors...
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Lagos is one of the oldest cities in the Algarve, where the Carthaginians, the Romans, and the Moors all settled. Due to its location, Lagos had a significant role during the Portuguese maritime expansion.   However, the city lost its influence following the massive 1755...
TheCollector
John Smith: Champion of Jamestown or Tall-Tale Weaver? There is no denying that Captain John Smith led an extraordinary life. From humble beginnings on a...
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There is no denying that Captain John Smith led an extraordinary life. From humble beginnings on a farm to life as a soldier and later a founding member of Jamestown’s Virginia Colony, Smith’s existence was rife with adventure and accomplishments. Contemporary accounts, then...
TheCollector
What Is “The Word” in the Bible? In Greek, the “Word” is logos. In the Bible, logos is much more than just a single distinct...
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In Greek, the “Word” is logos. In the Bible, logos is much more than just a single distinct meaningful element of speech or writing. It encapsulates much broader concepts and has much deeper meaning and implications. In a sense, logos is what the Bible is all about. It connects...
TheCollector
Chasquis: The Famed Inca Couriers Who Could Run 1,250 Miles in a Week From the seat of government in Cusco, the Inca managed a vast territory stretching over 770,000...
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From the seat of government in Cusco, the Inca managed a vast territory stretching over 770,000 square miles. Controlling this expanse of territory and the 12 million inhabitants within demanded consistent communication, yet South America boasted no horses for rapid transit and a...
TheCollector
Why Was Cluny Abbey Once the Heart of Western Christendom? From its foundation in the 10th century to the decline of its influence in the early 12th, a program...
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From its foundation in the 10th century to the decline of its influence in the early 12th, a program of reform and a renewal of monastic life unfolded at Cluny Abbey that would change Latin Christendom forever.   Cluny Abbey’s Independent Origins    In the heart of Burgundy in...
TheCollector
These 7 United States Presidents Served in WWII During one of the most turbulent periods in global history, seven future United States presidents...
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During one of the most turbulent periods in global history, seven future United States presidents answered the call to serve in World War II. From commanding world-defining operations to behind-the-scenes support, these leaders personally witnessed the harrowing realities of war....
TheCollector
How Did the Columbian Exchange Change the World? After Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas in 1492, two sides of the world had contact for...
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After Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas in 1492, two sides of the world had contact for arguably the first time: Africa and Eurasia to the west (the “Old World”) and the Americas to the east (the “New World”). The arrival of the Spanish, and later the Portuguese,...
TheCollector
Understanding Picasso’s Cubism: An In-Depth Guide In the early twentieth century, Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque revolutionized modern painting by...
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In the early twentieth century, Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque revolutionized modern painting by inventing the art movement of Cubism. Cubism relied on intellect rather than on emotions and dissected physical spaces and objects into collections of overlapping flat planes....
TheCollector
Why Was Sicily Known as the Crossroads of the Mediterranean? Intersection. Junction. Link. These words aptly describe Sicily’s crossroad role in the...
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Intersection. Junction. Link. These words aptly describe Sicily’s crossroad role in the Mediterranean Sea. Given Sicily’s location, empires, cultures, and trade routes crisscrossed this strategically located island.   Why Was Sicily a Strategic Hub in the Mediterranean?  ...
TheCollector
La Dolce Vita: The Enduring Influence of Italy’s Most Iconic Lifestyle One of the most famous and influential films of postwar Italian cinema is La Dolce Vita (1960) by...
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One of the most famous and influential films of postwar Italian cinema is La Dolce Vita (1960) by the director Federico Fellini (1920–1993). Despite the contrasting interpretations, the expression “dolce vita” continues to evoke the cultural icon of “made in Italy” originated...
TheCollector
Understanding Franz Liszt in 5 Compositions Franz Liszt (1811-1886) was many things: an innovator, an excellent composer, a performer, a...
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Franz Liszt (1811-1886) was many things: an innovator, an excellent composer, a performer, a teacher, and a philanthropist. He was also a pivotal figure in the Romantic Era, shaping the trajectory of the age, and his influence extended beyond his own lifetime. His innovative...
TheCollector
An In-Depth Guide to Medieval York: History & Major Monuments York is one of England’s most famous medieval cities, with its cobbled streets and wobbly buildings....
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York is one of England’s most famous medieval cities, with its cobbled streets and wobbly buildings. Originally a small Celtic settlement before the Romans left their 400-year-long mark, by the Anglo-Saxon Period, York was a thriving medieval city. Today, visitors to the city can...
TheCollector
Edward I: England’s Greatest Warrior King? Throughout English history, there have seldom been many kings with the same warrior prowess as King...
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Throughout English history, there have seldom been many kings with the same warrior prowess as King Edward I. Born as the eldest son of King Henry III and his wife Eleanor of Provence in 1239, Edward would go on to rule as king of England from 1272 until his death in 1307. Edward...
TheCollector
Who Was Óscar Romero? Latin America’s Most Famous Martyr Bishop of San Salvador, El Salvador’s capital, in 1980, Óscar Romero was shot to death by a member...
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Bishop of San Salvador, El Salvador’s capital, in 1980, Óscar Romero was shot to death by a member of the government’s notorious death squads while delivering mass. In the years since, he was declared a martyr and then canonized by Pope Francis in 2018, becoming Central America’s...
TheCollector
What Are the Hidden Meanings of Dreams? (According to Carl Jung) The secrets of who you are and the key to your healing are encrypted in the rich symbols of your...
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The secrets of who you are and the key to your healing are encrypted in the rich symbols of your dream life. Conjoining the two most powerful methods of Jungian psychology, dream interpretation and active imagination, you can learn to decipher the letters your unconscious sends...
TheCollector
A Complete Timeline of Ancient Greece: From Mycenaean to Roman Greece For over two thousand years, successive societies forged the civilization of ancient Greece. From...
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For over two thousand years, successive societies forged the civilization of ancient Greece. From the early societies of the Bronze Age to its conquest by and cultural fusion with Rome, ancient Greece has had a significant impact on shaping the modern world. Understand the flow...
TheCollector
What is Protestantism? Beliefs and Key Ideas of a Major Christian Branch The three major branches of Christianity are Roman Catholicism (approx. 50%), Protestantism (approx....
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The three major branches of Christianity are Roman Catholicism (approx. 50%), Protestantism (approx. 37%), and Eastern Orthodoxy (approx. 12%). Although Protestantism has a foothold across the globe, it seems strongest in North America, Northern Europe, and sub-Saharan Africa,...
TheCollector
The Mitanni Kingdom: Rise & Fall of a Bronze Age Superpower Located in northern Mesopotamia, the enigmatic Mitanni Kingdom influenced the course of ancient Near...
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2 weeks ago
Located in northern Mesopotamia, the enigmatic Mitanni Kingdom influenced the course of ancient Near Eastern history during the Late Bronze Age (c. 1550-1200 BCE). The majority of the Mitanni population was of the Hurrian ethnic group, while the elites were mainly Indo-European,...
TheCollector
10 Must-See Historic Sites in Maine Maine’s history is a rich blend of Indigenous heritage, colonial conflict, maritime industry, and...
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Maine’s history is a rich blend of Indigenous heritage, colonial conflict, maritime industry, and cultural resilience. Once part of Massachusetts, Maine played a pivotal role in early American warfare, from French and Indian battles to Revolutionary outposts like Fort Western and...
TheCollector
Why H.G. Wells’ “The Time Machine” Is a Timely Warning to the World In his first published work of fiction, the British writer and futurist Herbert George Wells...
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In his first published work of fiction, the British writer and futurist Herbert George Wells (1866-1946) shot to literary fame, marking the beginning of a career that would rival his celebrated French predecessor, author Jules Verne. Their popular works would practically corner...
History Today Feed
Why Did Rome Fall? Why Did Rome Fall? JamesHoare Thu, 05/29/2025 - 09:06
3 days ago
TheCollector
What Was Saint Augustine’s Narrative of the Two Cities? Saint Augustine’s final and most monumental work was his City of God. It spans over one thousand...
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Saint Augustine’s final and most monumental work was his City of God. It spans over one thousand pages across twenty books. He spent thirteen years writing this from age fifty-nine to seventy-two. While it is considered by some to be the first formalized “philosophy of history,”...
TheCollector
Can Your Expectations Shape Reality? Reality encompasses an infinite spectrum of possibilities. There are no limits to what we can...
4 weeks ago
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Reality encompasses an infinite spectrum of possibilities. There are no limits to what we can experience. Yet we restrict reality to what we believe should and should not happen. These beliefs constitute our conscious and unconscious expectations of the past, present, and future....
TheCollector
10 Presidential Landmarks in the US Worth Visiting From grand estates to humble farmhouses, presidential landmarks offer a tangible link to the people...
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From grand estates to humble farmhouses, presidential landmarks offer a tangible link to the people who’ve shaped American history from the highest office. These homes, libraries, parks, and sites reflect personal stories, pivotal decisions, and defining moments, from handwritten...
TheCollector
How Did the Aztec and Maya Perceive Time? For Mesoamerican civilizations, time held a special value as it was considered a divine energy and a...
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a week ago
For Mesoamerican civilizations, time held a special value as it was considered a divine energy and a sacred cycle, a gift from the gods. It served as the central axis of their worldview, guiding daily life, rituals, personal destinies, and the future of society. Calendars were...
TheCollector
King Charles I: England’s Worst Monarch? Everyone knows that King Charles I was the least successful of England’s many Kings and Queens. The...
5 days ago
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5 days ago
Everyone knows that King Charles I was the least successful of England’s many Kings and Queens. The idea is traditional, well-argued, and practically undisputed. The view that Charles’s rule was a complete failure, from start to finish, is shared by many notable modern...
TheCollector
What Do Christian Baptists Believe? Contrary to popular belief, Baptists did not come from the 16th-century Anabaptist Movement. Rather,...
4 weeks ago
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4 weeks ago
Contrary to popular belief, Baptists did not come from the 16th-century Anabaptist Movement. Rather, they grew from Puritanism in the Netherlands and England. As their name suggests, a key aspect of their faith is that baptism takes the form of immersion and only those capable of...
TheCollector
What Major Discoveries Did Isaac Newton Make? The celebrated English scientist Sir Isaac Newton was born on January 4, 1643, in a small village in...
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The celebrated English scientist Sir Isaac Newton was born on January 4, 1643, in a small village in England named Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth. Newton later on became one of the most celebrated English scientists. He was also one of the key figures in the Scientific Revolution....
TheCollector
Ruins of the Maya: What Ancient Cities Reveal About a Lost Civilization Across southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras, ancient Maya cities lie scattered like...
3 weeks ago
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Across southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras, ancient Maya cities lie scattered like puzzle pieces waiting to be discovered and explored. Rather than polished museum exhibits, these cities are living, breathing remnants of an extraordinary civilization that built...
TheCollector
10 Historic Sites in the US Inspired by Roman Architecture Some of the most iconic historic sites in the United States were built not just to function, but to...
2 weeks ago
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Some of the most iconic historic sites in the United States were built not just to function, but to inspire. From the US Capitol to the Boston Public Library, these structures reflect a nation forging its identity through monumental design. Many of them, especially those built...
TheCollector
Dancing the Pain Away: What Is Dance Movement Therapy? You may have heard that the body keeps the score, but did you know it also keeps the secret of...
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You may have heard that the body keeps the score, but did you know it also keeps the secret of healing? Dance movement therapy (DMT) is a holistic therapeutic approach that honors the interconnectedness of body, mind, and spirit. Using the body as its instrument, DMT redeems the...
TheCollector
Nature, Love, and Death: Emily Dickinson’s Timeless Themes Though socially reclusive and known for her introspection and focus on deep spiritual themes, Emily...
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Though socially reclusive and known for her introspection and focus on deep spiritual themes, Emily Dickinson is one of the most well-loved and highly regarded poets of our time. Her bold voice and unique writing style were largely discovered after her death and left with us a...
Classical Wisdom
Get Ready to Get Cynical Ancient Philosophy As a Way of Living: Cynicism
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TheCollector
Trove of 100 Napoleon Artifacts Heads to Auction A vast and varied collection of artifacts—all related to the life and legacy of Napoleon...
6 days ago
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6 days ago
A vast and varied collection of artifacts—all related to the life and legacy of Napoleon Bonaparte—is heading to the auction block at Sotheby’s Paris next month. According to Marine de Cenival, head of sales at Sotheby’s Paris, “Few collections have succeeded so well in capturing...
TheCollector
The Spanish Armada: Could the “Enterprise of England” Have Succeeded? Over the course of a little more than 20 years, Philip went from pursuing Elizabeth’s hand in...
6 days ago
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Over the course of a little more than 20 years, Philip went from pursuing Elizabeth’s hand in marriage to plotting her downfall. The ultimate manifestation of this plan was the Spanish Armada, whose mission was to link up with Spanish troops in the Netherlands and ferry them...
Classical Wisdom
Who Were the Mycenaeans? Classical Wisdom Litterae: Mycenaean
4 days ago
TheCollector
Beyond the Diagnosis: 3 Theories of Autism & What They Get Wrong How far back do you think autism research goes? There have almost undoubtedly been autistic people...
4 weeks ago
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How far back do you think autism research goes? There have almost undoubtedly been autistic people as long as there have been people, but surprisingly, it was not until the 1940s that autism was discussed as its own psychiatric entity. Since then, many theories have tried to...
TheCollector
What Is the Origin of the Calendar? A calendar is an important tool for organizing daily life, scheduling events, and observing public...
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A calendar is an important tool for organizing daily life, scheduling events, and observing public ceremonies. Today, it is an invaluable instrument when it comes to record-keeping and marking historical events. The term calendar originates from the Latin word calendarium,...
TheCollector
The 25th Amendment: Presidential Succession and Removal In November 1963, US President John F. Kennedy was tragically assassinated by a sniper. His death...
3 weeks ago
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In November 1963, US President John F. Kennedy was tragically assassinated by a sniper. His death renewed questions about presidential succession and removal for incapacitation. What if both the president and vice president were killed at the same time? What if a president was...
TheCollector
What Did Karl Marx Say About Climate Change? Karl Marx didn’t say anything specific about climate change yet in many ways predicted it. Living...
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Karl Marx didn’t say anything specific about climate change yet in many ways predicted it. Living through the rise of the Industrial Revolution, he witnessed the emerging ecological consequences of rapid industrialization. In this context, he believed that the exploitation of...
TheCollector
Where Does Inspiration Come From? Prophets revered it as their channel to God, artists praised it as the source of their genius, and...
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Prophets revered it as their channel to God, artists praised it as the source of their genius, and people from all walks of life sought to invite its gleaming impulse to color their lives. We have all intimated moments of inspiration that left us gasping, albeit unable to grasp...
TheCollector
Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Art: A Creative Evolution Cut Short American Neo-Expressionist Jean-Michel Basquiat never studied art professionally but managed to...
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American Neo-Expressionist Jean-Michel Basquiat never studied art professionally but managed to become one of the most famous and influential artists of his age. He began his short career as a homeless street artist and, just a decade later, opened a series of one-man shows...
A Collection of...
Fireside Friday, May 30, 2025 (On Professional Military Education) Hey all, we’re doing a Fireside this week! For this week’s musing, I thought it might be worthwhile...
2 days ago
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2 days ago
Hey all, we’re doing a Fireside this week! For this week’s musing, I thought it might be worthwhile – this being a frequent space for military history – to offer a brief outline of professional military education (PME) in the United States, which is to say the various stages by...
TheCollector
What Is the History of Urban Green Spaces in Cities? Throughout the history of Western towns and cities, urban green spaces have always served purposes...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Throughout the history of Western towns and cities, urban green spaces have always served purposes linked to beauty, relaxation, status, and culture. The captivating Renaissance gardens which emerged in the 15th century are examples of gardens designed for cultural representation...
TheCollector
What Is “Lebensraum” and Why Did Hitler Promote It? The German geographer Friedrich Ratzel first introduced the term Lebensraum in his 1897 book...
2 weeks ago
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The German geographer Friedrich Ratzel first introduced the term Lebensraum in his 1897 book Politische Geographie (Political Geography). According to Ratzel, a nation-state should become self-sufficient by acquiring resources and territories in order to maintain independence and...
TheCollector
Nochlin’s “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?”: A Summary When art dealer Richard Feigen asked Linda Nochlin in 1970, “Why are there no great women artists?”...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
When art dealer Richard Feigen asked Linda Nochlin in 1970, “Why are there no great women artists?” he inspired her groundbreaking essay with a similar title published in ARTnews in January 1971. Were women not capable of artistic greatness? Were there, in fact, great women...
TheCollector
5 Incredible Historic Day Trips From Barcelona The thriving heart of coastal Catalonia, Barcelona, is a history buff’s paradise in its own right....
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
The thriving heart of coastal Catalonia, Barcelona, is a history buff’s paradise in its own right. Venture just beyond the city limits, however, and you’ll be greeted with a kaleidoscope of sociopolitical, cultural, and art history waiting to be unpacked. These five Catalan...
TheCollector
From Tablets to Papyrus: When Was Paper Invented? Paper’s invention was a revolutionary breakthrough. Following the invention of paper in 105 CE,...
2 weeks ago
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Paper’s invention was a revolutionary breakthrough. Following the invention of paper in 105 CE, forms of communication, learning, and record-keeping were drastically simplified. We track its rich history from ancient civilizations to the present day.   What Materials Did People...
TheCollector
Circe in The Odyssey: The Enchantress Who Defied a Hero Circe in The Odyssey is one of Greek mythology’s most infamous enchantresses, a woman who blurs the...
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a week ago
Circe in The Odyssey is one of Greek mythology’s most infamous enchantresses, a woman who blurs the line between gods, their minor counterparts, and the intimidation factor of mortal wielders of witchcraft. The daughter of Helios, god of the sun, and the ocean nymph Perse, she...
TheCollector
Three Ancient Egyptian Tombs Unearthed in Luxor Three more tombs have been discovered at an ancient Egyptian burial complex in Luxor. The excavation...
5 days ago
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5 days ago
Three more tombs have been discovered at an ancient Egyptian burial complex in Luxor. The excavation site, located near the famed Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings, has revealed hieroglyphs and artifacts that point to three senior statesmen from the New Kingdom period.  ...
TheCollector
The History of Faro, Portugal: A Guide for Visitors Explore Faro Old Town “Vila Adentro” to unravel the remains of the Phoenician, Roman, and Moorish...
4 days ago
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4 days ago
Explore Faro Old Town “Vila Adentro” to unravel the remains of the Phoenician, Roman, and Moorish occupations. The stunning historical landmarks, narrow cobbled streets, and impressive plazas will make you travel back in time. As you wander around the city, you will be impressed...
TheCollector
What Happened to Mary, the Mother of Jesus? Lauded in the world’s two largest religions as the mother of God’s Chosen One—for Muslims a great...
4 days ago
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Lauded in the world’s two largest religions as the mother of God’s Chosen One—for Muslims a great prophet and for Christians God incarnate— Mary of Nazareth is almost without contest the most famous woman who ever lived. Yet, very little was recorded and preserved about her life...
Dreams of Space -...
My Weekly Reader September 11, 1961 September 11, 1961 So I came across another "stash" of old Weekly Readers that I am going to share...
2 days ago
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2 days ago
September 11, 1961 So I came across another "stash" of old Weekly Readers that I am going to share for the next few weeks. I have written before how these tiny newspaper appeared in our classrooms every week during the school year (and the summer too). I really love how our...
TheCollector
When Was the Bible Written? The Traditional Christian View Disclaimer: This article presents the traditional Christian view on the authorship and timeline of...
4 weeks ago
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Disclaimer: This article presents the traditional Christian view on the authorship and timeline of the Bible. It is important to recognize that historians typically disagree with many of the dates and authorship claims used by the Christian tradition presented below.   The Bible...
TheCollector
15 Essential Art Terms You Should Know Navigating the art world can be tricky. Over centuries of existence, art theory and criticism have...
5 days ago
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5 days ago
Navigating the art world can be tricky. Over centuries of existence, art theory and criticism have amassed thousands of specific terms related to artworks, their makers, and the characteristics of both. Do you know what provenance, perspective, or proportion mean when we are...
TheCollector
Is There a Historical Basis for King Arthur’s European Campaign? In the legends of King Arthur, the leader of the Britons is most famous for fighting against the...
4 days ago
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4 days ago
In the legends of King Arthur, the leader of the Britons is most famous for fighting against the Saxons during their conquest of Britain. Most scholars acknowledge that this may have a factual basis. However, at least as early as the 12th century, King Arthur is also presented as...
TheCollector
Digging Through Detroit’s Past: A History Lover’s Top 10 As big cities go, Detroit is unlike anywhere else in the United States. From its contributions to...
4 weeks ago
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As big cities go, Detroit is unlike anywhere else in the United States. From its contributions to music and art to its rapid industrialization and deindustrialization, the city continues to evolve and inspire. Below are the top 10 places to experience Detroit’s historical legacy....
TheCollector
Cinco de Mayo: An American Celebration with a Mexican Twist? The celebration of Cinco de Mayo is unique: a civic holiday from one country that emigrated and...
4 weeks ago
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4 weeks ago
The celebration of Cinco de Mayo is unique: a civic holiday from one country that emigrated and found a home—and a more enthusiastic crowd—in another nation. It’s not an official holiday in the United States, but it almost feels like one. How is it possible that Cinco de Mayo, a...
TheCollector
Aztec Ruins and the Afterlife of an Empire The Aztec Empire may have ended centuries ago, but its presence is far from gone. It lingers in...
2 weeks ago
3
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The Aztec Empire may have ended centuries ago, but its presence is far from gone. It lingers in temple ruins, place names, and bits of language and folklore. Walk through Mexico City nowadays, and you’ll find stones carved by hands that are long gone, pressed into the foundations...
TheCollector
What Is the Spotlight Effect? Have you ever walked into a room full of people and felt like you’ve just walked upstage? The...
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Have you ever walked into a room full of people and felt like you’ve just walked upstage? The spotlight effect can feel as if you’re delivering a solo performance. While you may not be paying attention to your audience, you’re almost certain they’re watching you, ready to cheer...
TheCollector
Tyr: The Original Norse God of War (Overshadowed by Odin) Tyr was an important Germanic and Norse god of war, similar to the god Mars worshiped by the ancient...
a week ago
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a week ago
Tyr was an important Germanic and Norse god of war, similar to the god Mars worshiped by the ancient Romans. But we know very little about Tyr from the Viking Age as he was largely overshadowed by Odin, the principal Norse god of war and chief of the Aesir gods.   The evidence...
TheCollector
4 Minor Greek Cities That Changed the World Ancient Greece was never a centralized and united country. It was a network of dispersed...
6 days ago
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6 days ago
Ancient Greece was never a centralized and united country. It was a network of dispersed city-states, called polis or poleis in the plural, organized into kingdoms and federations. The most famous of these cities, Athens and Sparta, were merely the biggest players in a complex...
TheCollector
How Did the Gnostics View Jesus Christ? Jesus Christ is one of the most important religious figures in history. During his life, he was a...
4 days ago
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4 days ago
Jesus Christ is one of the most important religious figures in history. During his life, he was a revolutionary, sage, teacher, and purported miracle worker. In death, he has been revered and studied through a myriad of different lenses. Many religions incorporate Jesus and his...
TheCollector
Red Gold: How Cochineal Dye Built Mexican Cities A dye extracted from crushed bugs might sound archaic, but it is surprisingly ubiquitous....
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
A dye extracted from crushed bugs might sound archaic, but it is surprisingly ubiquitous. Cochineal—parasitic insects that live on nopal (prickly pear) cacti across Latin America—are the key ingredients in a vivid red pigment known as carmine, which colors foods, beverages,...
Flashbak
Living Color: Strange Square Snapshots “This is less of a themed group and more just a grouping of odd and unusual color photos,” says...
4 days ago
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4 days ago
“This is less of a themed group and more just a grouping of odd and unusual color photos,” says photograph collector Robert E. Jackson of this, his latest album of snapshots for flashbak. “I call it: Living Color: Strange Square Snapshots. We’ll being with his gent form the 1960s...
TheCollector
Why Taiwan Is a Hidden Gem for Art Lovers Taiwan’s art scene is often overshadowed by the Asian hubs of Singapore and Hong Kong in Asia....
5 days ago
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5 days ago
Taiwan’s art scene is often overshadowed by the Asian hubs of Singapore and Hong Kong in Asia. Despite this, it has much to offer. With an art history grounded in indigenous practice and traditional Chinese art forms, the art that emerges from it is unique and a powerful...
Flashbak
The Artists’ & Writers’ Cookbook, 1961 First published in 1961, The Artists’ & Writers’ Cookbook shares 220 recipes by 55 painters, 61...
3 days ago
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3 days ago
First published in 1961, The Artists’ & Writers’ Cookbook shares 220 recipes by 55 painters, 61 novelists, 15 sculptors and 19 poets. Dedicated to the art of imperfection in the kithc”, it’s a fun book in which wit and wine feature heavily.   American novelist William Styron...
TheCollector
The Barbary Wars: Piracy, Slavery, and Retribution Achieving independence from Great Britain was a triumphant moment for the United States of America....
2 weeks ago
2
2 weeks ago
Achieving independence from Great Britain was a triumphant moment for the United States of America. Consequently, independence resulted in American shipping losing protection from the mighty Royal Navy. As a result, merchant ships were soon set upon by marauding pirates from the...
TheCollector
Quantum Physicist: Who Was Niels Bohr? Quantum physics began in 1900 when the German physicist Max Planck determined the scale of quantum...
2 weeks ago
2
2 weeks ago
Quantum physics began in 1900 when the German physicist Max Planck determined the scale of quantum phenomena. In 1905, Albert Einstein extended this idea by proposing that light itself is made up of discrete packets of energy, or “quanta.” Building on these ideas, in the first...
TheCollector
Sintra, Portugal: 6 Must-See Sites & History Although its history dates back to the Neolithic, the Roman Empire, and Moorish rule, it was...
5 days ago
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5 days ago
Although its history dates back to the Neolithic, the Roman Empire, and Moorish rule, it was Portuguese Royalty who made it famous. Sintra’s romantic palaces and mystical aura have served as an inspiration to poets and artists throughout the years. In Sintra, you can wander the...
Classical Wisdom
Understanding Ancient Egypt with Kara Cooney A recording from Classical Wisdom's live video
3 days ago
TheCollector
Neanderthals May Have Made Art, New Research Suggests Centering on one “peculiar pebble,” a new research paper offers evidence that Neanderthals were...
3 days ago
2
3 days ago
Centering on one “peculiar pebble,” a new research paper offers evidence that Neanderthals were actually capable of creating art. Excavated from a rock shelter in Segovia, the pebble challenges the assumption that art did not emerge until later, after more modern humans evolved....
Trying to Understand...
A Week Off And A New Language See you again soon
a year ago
CrimethInc.
2024: Out of the Frying Pan, into the Fire : The Year in Review It’s time to take stock of the year have just lived through and get oriented for the year ahead....
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137
5 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...
Res Obscura
Simulating History with ChatGPT The Case for LLMs as Hallucination Engines
a year ago
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...
5 months ago
131
5 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...
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...
5 months ago
118
5 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...
Trying to Understand...
The Rise of Extractive Politics It's about having small expectations.
over a year ago
Wrong Side of...
Rats! The Year of the Plague #2
4 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup Sacred Flames and Divine Philosophers
over 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...
4 months ago
104
4 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...
African History...
A history of the Majeerteen Sultanate: 1700-1927. Maritime trade and diplomacy in the northern Horn of Africa.
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...
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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...
weird medieval guys
An 800 year prayer book that's decorated with puns Plus a little history of manuscript illustration
a year 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...
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100
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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
Should We Follow Silly Laws? And what happens when we don’t?
over a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Homer Vs Hesiod Poets of War and Peace
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Overcoming Bias
Celebrity v CEO v Politician Why are celebrities, CEOs, and politicians three different types of people who don’t overlap much?
4 months ago
Classical Wisdom
How To Eat: An Ancient Guide to Healthy Living Registration *NOW* Open
4 months ago
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...
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96
5 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.
over a year ago
Overcoming Bias
When They Hear Less Than You Say Something must be done.
3 months 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...
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95
5 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...
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),...
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95
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...
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...
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94
a year 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...
Trying to Understand...
A Short Essay About A Long-Playing Record One I bought fifty years ago.
a year ago
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...
4 months ago
93
4 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...
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...
a year ago
93
a year 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...
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup Mothers of the Ancient World
a year ago
Wrong Side of...
The Terrible Loneliness of Genius The Canon Club: Vincent van Gogh
4 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Can We Choose NOT to Be Harmed? How can we train Resilience?
over a year ago
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....
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90
5 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...
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...
4 months ago
89
4 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...
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...
5 months ago
89
5 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...
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...
4 months ago
89
4 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...
5 months ago
89
5 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...
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...
a year ago
weird medieval guys
Explore medieval life and death with these 5 brilliant interactive maps! Travels, murders, and......eels?!!
over a year ago
weird medieval guys
The Medieval Monks Who Lived on Top of Giant Pillars A history of the monastic high life
a year ago
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...
11 months ago
86
11 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...
Classical Wisdom
Do You Listen Well? Lessons on Listening from Plutarch
over a year ago
Trying to Understand...
Things Are Falling Apart ... And the centre's not looking too good, either.
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,...
5 months ago
84
5 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...
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...
a year ago
84
a year 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...
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)...
4 months ago
84
4 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
Centuries of Childhood The history of childhood is one of multiplicity — so why do we tell parents such simplistic stories...
11 months ago
83
11 months ago
The history of childhood is one of multiplicity — so why do we tell parents such simplistic stories about it?
Trying to Understand...
War Is Complicated. And not just the fighting bit.
over a year ago
Trying to Understand...
Honesty: What's In It For Me? First, do lots of harm.
over a year ago
Patterns in Humanity
Immigration and crime: Denmark Are immigrants overrepresented in crime? If so, which immigrants? And why?
10 months ago
Trying to Understand...
Into the Waste Land Nothing connects.
over a year ago
Classical Wisdom
The Mother Goddess of Rome And Her Controversial Religion
a year ago
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
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.
over a year 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...
12 months ago
80
12 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...
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
80
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...
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
80
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...
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
79
a year ago
"Stories about his [Mansa Musa's] journey have numerous anecdotes which are not true and which the mind refuses to admit".
African History...
A history of the Buganda kingdom. government in central Africa.
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
79
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...
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...
5 months ago
79
5 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...
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...
5 months ago
79
5 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...
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...
4 months ago
79
4 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 …...
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
79
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...
5 months ago
78
5 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.
Trying to Understand...
China And Russia Walk Into A Room. And don't say a word about Europe.
a year ago
African History...
a brief note on themes in African art. Cartography, Culture and History in the artwork of the Bamum kingdom.
10 months 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...
5 months ago
78
5 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.
Classical Wisdom
Are Protests the Best Way to Say Nay? Can Mobs Make the Change They Want to See?
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.
a year ago
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
over a year 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...
a year ago
78
a year 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 …...
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
4 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?
over 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...
5 months ago
78
5 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...
African History...
Kingdoms at the forest's edge: a history of Mangbetu (ca. 1750-1895) The northern region of central Africa between the modern countries of D.R.Congo and South Sudan has...
a year ago
77
a year ago
The northern region of central Africa between the modern countries of D.R.Congo and South Sudan has a long and complex history shaped by its internal cultural developments and its unique ecology between the savannah and the forest. Among the most remarkable states that emerged in...
Res Obscura
Why did clothing become boring? An investigation into when, how, and why everyone started dressing the same — and what it was like...
5 months ago
77
5 months ago
An investigation into when, how, and why everyone started dressing the same — and what it was like when they didn't
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...
10 months ago
77
10 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...
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...
4 months ago
77
4 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...
Useless in Gaza As always, if you don't know what you're doing.
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
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
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...
5 months ago
76
5 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...
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
76
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...
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...
10 months ago
76
10 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...
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...
4 months ago
76
4 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...
Res Obscura
Why I love etymologies Telephones popularized "hello," "lox" is 8,000 years old, and other reasons why the history of words...
a year ago
76
a year ago
Telephones popularized "hello," "lox" is 8,000 years old, and other reasons why the history of words matters
Patterns in Humanity
Sweden's immigration taboo Immigration data kept behind closed doors
9 months ago
Trying to Understand...
Games Nations Play. But they forget the people and the Street.
a year ago
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.
a year 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...
5 months ago
75
5 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...
a brief note on contacts between ancient African kingdoms and Rome. finding the lost city of Rhapta on the east African coast.
11 months 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...
10 months ago
75
10 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".
African History...
A complete history of Zeila (Zayla): ca. 800-1885 CE. Journal of African cities: chapter 14
8 months 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
75
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...
Trying to Understand...
Teach Your Children .... Not to be afraid of moral relativism.
over a year ago
African History...
A complete history of Abomey: capital of Dahomey (ca. 1650-1894) Urbanism in the forest region.
a year ago
African History...
a brief note on the history of Music in Africa plus an overview of Ethiopian musical traditions
a year ago
Global Inequality...
The end and the beginning of history Three ways of thinking about Lea Ypi’s Free
10 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Do We Need Dress Codes? Are standards elevating or elitist?
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
The Threat of Back to Normal Global power has always been distributed.
over 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...
5 months ago
74
5 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...
Trying to Understand...
We Are All Civilisational States It's just that some people don't realise it.
over a year ago
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.
a year ago
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...
9 months ago
74
9 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.
Trying to Understand...
Too Much of Not A Lot Winning the day and losing the war.
a year ago
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...
4 months ago
74
4 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...
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...
a year ago
74
a year 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...
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...
5 months ago
73
5 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, …...
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...
11 months ago
73
11 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...
Trying to Understand...
Let's Hear It For The "Underlying Causes." Here's the answer. What was the question again?
over a year ago
Patterns in Humanity
The case for prisons The purpose of prisons, and the evidence of their efficacy
8 months ago
Trying to Understand...
One Way Or Another .... We're going to get you.
a year 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
over a year ago
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...
a year ago
72
a year 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...
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...
a year ago
72
a year 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...
Trying to Understand...
The Year's Midnight. Kindness can be a revolutionary act.
over a year ago
Global Inequality...
The life of Maynard K. A review of Zach Carter’s “The Price of Peace”
11 months ago
Trying to Understand...
Service to what nation? Why people should stop talking about conscription.
10 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
over a year ago
Trying to Understand...
Another Of My Essays In French And some odds and ends.
10 months 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
71
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...
Trying to Understand...
Let's Be Enemies Since it seems to be the fashion these days.
over a year ago
Trying to Understand...
Understanding What's Happening in France. The kinetic phase may come next.
over 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
71
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...
Global Inequality...
2x2 geopolitics Wars and ideology simplified
11 months ago
Global Inequality...
To be young, perchance to dream A review of Miloš Vojinović's “The political ideas of the Young Bosnia”
5 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...
5 months ago
71
5 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...
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...
4 months ago
71
4 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...
Their Enemies The Russians But what about the rest of us?
over a year ago
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...
a year ago
70
a year 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
12 Ancient Greek Terms that Should Totally Make a Comeback Eudaimonia, Arete, and much more...
over a year 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...
11 months ago
70
11 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
The Tragedy of Ajax Greece's Second Greatest Soldier?
a year 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...
4 months ago
70
4 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...
Classical Wisdom
Who’s in the Tomb? A Macedonian Mystery: The Tombs of Aigai
a year 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
70
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...
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...
5 months ago
70
5 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...
Classical Wisdom
Does FREE WILL Exist? And if not, what are the consequences?
5 months ago
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...
10 months ago
70
10 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...
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
70
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...
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...
4 months ago
70
4 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...
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
69
a year ago
Generative AI offers a new, more engaging (and, hopefully, more empathetic) way of teaching history. But how to use it?
Global Inequality...
Trump and the Rise of Asia My interview with "Atlantico"
5 months ago
Trying to Understand...
Ukraine In NATO Would Be A Disaster ... But not necessarily for the reasons you think.
a year ago
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
Classical Wisdom
Tolkien and the Classics Plato, Cicero... Bilbo?
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...
5 months ago
69
5 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...
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...
a year ago
69
a year 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...
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
69
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...
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...
4 months ago
69
4 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 history of the Damagaram sultanate of Zinder: ca. 1730-1899. Politics, Guns, and Trade in the pre-colonial Sahel
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Should We Own Stuff? The Wealth and Gold of Ancient Georgia
a year 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...
11 months ago
68
11 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...
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
Trying to Understand...
The Third World War Has Been Cancelled. It was all too difficult, finally.
11 months 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...
10 months ago
68
10 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...
African History...
The complete history of Gondar: Africa's city of castles (1636-1900) Journal of African cities chapter 8
over a year ago
Patterns in Humanity
Age and infertility Facts and misconceptions about maternal age-related infertility
5 months ago
Trying to Understand...
They Say They Want Rearmament .... We-ell, you know ....
over a year ago
Classical Wisdom
The Two Trojan Wars Secret Origins
over a year ago
Patterns in Humanity
Immigration and crime: Sweden Worrying crime trends in the land of Pippi Longstocking
9 months ago
African History...
a brief note on African travel literature in history a Swahili document on south-central Africa.
a year ago
African History...
The complete history of Kano (999-1903) journal of African cities chapter 9
over a year 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)...
a year ago
68
a year 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
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...
a year ago
68
a year 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...
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup Origins of Stoicism
10 months ago
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...
11 months ago
68
11 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...
Patterns in Humanity
Global crime How do crime rates vary around the world? And how reliable is the data?
6 months ago
Trying to Understand...
People, States and Borders. And other dubious ideas.
9 months ago
Trying to Understand...
So They Want Negotiations, Now. Have they any idea what they are talking about?
a year ago
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
67
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...
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup Plato Vs Aristotle
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
Little People With Agency. No, not that Agency.
8 months 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...
5 months ago
67
5 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...
Classical Wisdom
Essential Classics Memorial Sales Ends
a year ago
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...
9 months ago
67
9 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...
Res Obscura
When technology follows art From optics to machine learning, artists have played an important, if underrated, role in the...
a year ago
67
a year ago
From optics to machine learning, artists have played an important, if underrated, role in the history of technology
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
Trying to Understand...
Don't Give Peace Too Many Chances. Nothing is more dangerous than a flawed peace treaty.
over a year ago
Patterns in Humanity
2024 in writing A brief recap of my 2024 posts
4 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...
5 months ago
67
5 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...
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...
11 months ago
66
11 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...
If We Had More Than a Hammer ... We might not be in this mess.
over 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...
5 months ago
66
5 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...
Can't Do, Won't Do! But striking poses is fun and easy.
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Plato On Knowledge What is True?
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Why Read Modern Books? Now Available: Night Drew Her Sable Cloak
a year ago
African History...
A social history of the Lamu city-state (1370-1885) Journal of African cities chapter 5
over a year 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...
5 months ago
66
5 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...
A Collection of...
Fireside Friday, November 15, 2024 Hey folks, Fireside this week! For the musing this week, I want to talk about, at least for a...
6 months ago
66
6 months ago
Hey folks, Fireside this week! For the musing this week, I want to talk about, at least for a humanities field, what ‘research support’ from a university means and why it is valuable, but before we get to that, I just want to make a note going forward. In particular, there have...
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...
10 months ago
66
10 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...
Trying to Understand...
Peter Pan goes to Ukraine Some people never grow up.
over a year ago
Trying to Understand...
Everything is (Somewhat) Connected. But some things are more connected than others.
over a year ago
Global Inequality...
“To the Finland Station” Trump as a tool of history
4 months ago
Trying to Understand...
I Hate My Job And I Want To Cry. Tried chopping wood and carrying water?
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
The Year of Failing To Understand. Not your usual end-of-year review.
5 months 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...
11 months ago
65
11 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...
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
65
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,...
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,...
11 months ago
65
11 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...
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...
5 months ago
65
5 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 complete history of Jenne: 250BC-1893AD Journal of African cities chapter 6
over a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Religion in the Olympics The Olympics: Do they Unite or Divide Us?
10 months ago
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...
a year ago
65
a year 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...
Classical Wisdom
Why Did Rome Fall? & Which Lesson Should We Take Away?
over a year 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...
5 months ago
65
5 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...
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...
5 months ago
65
5 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...
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,...
11 months ago
65
11 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 the long history of African diplomacy. historical links between west africa and the Maghreb.
10 months ago
Global Inequality...
Marx Truncated A review of Shlomo Avineri’s “Karl Marx”
11 months ago
Trying to Understand...
Round Two? There Is No Round Two. Game pretty much over in Ukraine.
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
How About a Victory for the Left Occasionally? Here are a few modest ideas.
over 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
64
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...
African History...
a brief note on Africa in 16th century global history. the international relations and manuscripts of Kongo
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
The Evils Of Professionalism In politics, anyway.
11 months ago
Classical Wisdom
The Mysterious Phaistos Disk And the Palace where it was found...
a year 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...
a year ago
64
a year 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
Art of the Etruscans Romans before the Romans
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
Trying to Understand...
Will it Bend or Will it Break? The international system, that is.
over a year ago
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...
10 months ago
64
10 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...
Trying to Understand...
A Fistful of Clockwork Oranges What's it going to be, then?
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
When Ukraine Is Over ... How will they turn out the lights?
4 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.
over a year ago
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...
10 months ago
63
10 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...
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup The Best of the Best
over a year ago
African History...
The Meroitic script and the documents of ancient Kush (ca. 300BC-450CE) The Meroitic writing system of the kingdom of Kush is one of the best-known, yet most enigmatic...
5 months ago
African History...
The forts and castles of Africa: a brief architectural history. For much of African history, the construction of fortresses and fortified structures was a mostly...
4 months ago
63
4 months ago
For much of African history, the construction of fortresses and fortified structures was a mostly urban phenomenon associated with large states.
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
63
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...
Global Inequality...
Devant la guerre On E. H. Carr's "The twenty years' crisis 1919-39"
5 months ago
Trying to Understand...
And Now for Something Completely Different. Am I me? Are You you? ?
over 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.
a year 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...
4 months ago
63
4 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.
Trying to Understand...
The Sense Of An Ending. But right back where we started from.
9 months ago
Trying to Understand...
The Modern World Is Boring. Where are the heroes and the adventures now?
11 months ago
Trying to Understand...
Books To Help Us Understand The World? Well, a few, anyway. And a bit.
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Dionysus The God of Wine!
8 months ago
African History...
Join me on Notes "On the Zanzibari envoy to 11th century china and the recent Swahili-Persian DNA study"
over a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Socrates' Wayward Student ...and the Philosophy of Pleasure
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
Reality Would Like A Word. Paging Tom and Daisy Buchanan
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Emotions: Better Out or In? Can Catharsis Help... or Harm?
a year 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
Trying to Understand...
You And Whose Army? NATO would do well to stay out of Ukraine.
over a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Do We Need Passports? Or Borders? Watch now (23 sec) | Crossing with Radiohead
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup Plutarch and Pleasure
a year ago
Trying to Understand...
Macron is Safe for the Moment But the future worries me.
over a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Empedocles The Philosopher God?
over a year ago
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
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
62
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...
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
62
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...
Classical Wisdom
Healthy Skepticism for Better Debates Philosophical Tools for the Holidays
6 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...
5 months ago
61
5 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...
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
61
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.
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Jews in the Roman Bathhouse Is it time to rethink the relationship between Judaism and Greco-Roman society?
over a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup Constantine and the Queen of Carthage
a year ago
Flashbak
The Boston Years: On The Streets 1972-75 In 1972, Philip Flip Collier was in Boston. Philip, who has previously shared his terrific...
9 months ago
61
9 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...
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup The Story of Thebes
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Five Reasons Why Socrates Was A Terrible Husband Should you meet your heroes?
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...
5 months ago
61
5 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...
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...
5 months ago
61
5 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
Artemisia of Caria Commander, Queen, and Eva Green
over 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
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...
11 months ago
61
11 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...
Classical Wisdom
Sparta and… Scotland? Laconic wit through the centuries
a year ago
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
61
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...
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’
5 months ago
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup Blindspots and Biographies
over a year ago
Open Culture
10,000+ Free Online Certificates & Badges: A Resource for Lifelong Learners For those looking to boost their skills or explore new fields without breaking the bank, Class...
4 months ago
60
4 months ago
For those looking to boost their skills or explore new fields without breaking the bank, Class Central has done the heavy lifting. Known as a search engine for online courses, Class Central has compiled what might be the largest collection of free online certificates and badges...
African History...
A brief history of Gold in Africa and the emporium of Sofala. It was copper, not Gold, that was considered the most important metal in most African societies,...
9 months ago
60
9 months ago
It was copper, not Gold, that was considered the most important metal in most African societies, according to an authoritative study by Eugenia Herbert.
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....
5 months ago
60
5 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...
Classical Wisdom
Events Listing Ancient Women, Marcus Aurelius, Economics and Resilience...
over a year ago
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....
5 months ago
60
5 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,...
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...
4 months ago
60
4 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...
African History...
A history of the Massina empire (1818-1862) the sucessor of Songhai
a year ago
Overcoming Bias
What Would Socrates Do? Christians often ask themselves, as a guide to living, “What would Jesus do?” In her new book Open...
4 months ago
59
4 months ago
Christians often ask themselves, as a guide to living, “What would Jesus do?” In her new book Open Socrates, my podcast-cohost Agnes Callard suggests we instead ask “What would Socrates do?”
Trying to Understand...
The Past Is Another Country. A book review from the future.
10 months ago
Trying to Understand...
The Machine Stops. And fiddling won't fix it.
8 months ago
Flashbak
The Last Question: Hear Leonard Nimoy Read Isaac Asimov’s Best Short Story Isaac Asimov (January 2, 1920 – April 6, 1992) liked one of his stories above all others – more than...
11 months ago
59
11 months ago
Isaac Asimov (January 2, 1920 – April 6, 1992) liked one of his stories above all others – more than the 500 or so stories he wrote or edited, including the bestselling I, Robot, the Foundation series and Lecherous Limericks. The story is The Last Question. First published in the...
Open Culture
Nirvana Before They Were Nirvana: Watch Their 1988 Performance Recorded in a Radio Shack Here’s a strange home video of Nirvana when they were unknown, playing inside a Radio Shack in the...
4 months ago
59
4 months ago
Here’s a strange home video of Nirvana when they were unknown, playing inside a Radio Shack in the band’s hometown of Aberdeen, Washington. The video was recorded on the evening of January 24, 1988, after the store had closed. In those days the group went by the name of Ted Ed...
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...
9 months ago
59
9 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...
Wrong Side of...
The Indian-American century On the Anglo-Indo-sphere
5 months ago
African History...
A complete history of Dogon country: Bandiagara from 1900BC to 1900AD demystifying an ancient African society
over a year ago
Flashbak
Welcome to the Country Club: Prison Life in Four Different Nations Dutch photographer Jan Banning turned his lens on prisons and prisoners for his book Law & Order:...
8 months ago
59
8 months ago
Dutch photographer Jan Banning turned his lens on prisons and prisoners for his book Law & Order: The World of Criminal Justice,. Below we see photographs pictures of prison life in Colombia, France, Uganda and the United States. “I’m interested in these aspects of society that...
Classical Wisdom
Dido: Queen of Carthage Doomed Lover of Ancient Myth
a year ago
Classical Wisdom
Origins of Latin Literature ...and the Master of Roman Comedy
a year 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...
5 months ago
58
5 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...
Res Obscura
Why Early Modern Books Are So Beautiful Three theories
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...
7 months ago
58
7 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...
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
58
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.
Trying to Understand...
Don't Confuse Me With Facts. They know what they think.
a year ago
Hidden History
Antarctic Snow Cruiser In 1939, the United States began work on a colossal motor vehicle to be used for exploration and...
5 months ago
58
5 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...
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup Lost and Found
over a year ago
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...
2 months ago
58
2 months ago
The first backpacker to thru-hike the entire 2100-mile Appalachian Trail in one trip was a troubled WW2 veteran who did it as a kind of therapy. For most of human history, people got around from one place to another by walking. Although Rome pioneered an extensive network of...
Trying to Understand...
The West is Weak Where it Matters ... ...and some of the consequences are not obvious.
over a year ago
Flashbak
The Metamorphoses du Jour by JJ Grandville – 1829 Told in 73 coloured lithographs, Les Metamorphoses du Jour (1829) by French artist J.J. Gandville...
5 months ago
57
5 months ago
Told in 73 coloured lithographs, Les Metamorphoses du Jour (1829) by French artist J.J. Gandville (born Jean-Ignace-Isidore Gérard; 1803-1847) is a satire on the bourgeois middle class of Parisian society in the Romantic period. Grandville’s characters have a human body and an...
weird medieval guys
The coolest medieval woman you've never heard of Christine de Pizan on Circe, Medusa, and other virtuous ladies
over a year ago
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
Warner Bros. Lets You Watch 31 Films Free Online: David Byrne’s True Stories, Christopher Guest’s... It’s Friday, which means that tonight, many of us will sit down to watch a movie with our family,...
3 months ago
57
3 months ago
It’s Friday, which means that tonight, many of us will sit down to watch a movie with our family, our friends, our significant other, or — for some cinephiles, best of all — by ourselves. If you haven’t yet lined up any home-cinematic experience in particular, consider taking a...
Overcoming Bias
What Priority The Innocent? It is good if criminal law avoids punishing the innocent.
5 months 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...
5 months ago
56
5 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...
Flashbak
The Spellbinding Corrupted Photos On An Artist’s Stolen Laptop Pasedena police called photographer Melanie Willhide to tell her the good news: they’d found her...
8 months ago
56
8 months ago
Pasedena police called photographer Melanie Willhide to tell her the good news: they’d found her laptop and backup drive. They’d pulled over a car being driven by Adrian Rodriguez and spotted Willhide’s stolen possession on the back seat.  “It’s kind of like winning the lottery;...