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Reading List More from Dr Alun Withey
This week I had the wonderful message from WordPress that my blog has now had more than 500,000 views, from over 120 countries. When I started the blog more than a decade ago I had no expectation that anyone would read the posts, so thank you to everyone for your support. As you may have … Continue reading ‘Smock-Faced’ and ‘Imperbicke: The Shame of Beardlessness’
If there is one form of transport that perhaps typifies the 18th century more than any other, it is a sedan chair. Recently I have been doing some work on stage coaches, and the experience of what it was actually like to travel in one. This is already turning up some interesting evidence, suggesting that, far … Continue reading Jolted and Jumbled: Riding in a Sedan Chair in the 18th Century
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 for.
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, … Continue reading News Just In: Dr W Joins TikTok – @dralun7
More in history
Nearly half a century later, Sony’s original MDR-3 headphones are making a comeback.
President Donald Trump, it seems, has some sort of odd obsession with obtaining Greenland. On several occasions in the 2020s he has offered to buy the ice-covered island from Denmark, and also threatened to take it. But American interest in Greenland dates all the way back to the beginnings of the Cold War. . Camp … Continue reading America’s Cold War in Greenland →
The 1970s are often remembered for their distinctive fashion, colorful cars, changing city streets, and evolving American culture. But photographs from the decade reveal another side of the country, where industrial smokestacks towered over residential neighborhoods, chemical plants lined waterways, and pollution was part of everyday life for many communities. These scenes existed alongside ordinary […]
In the past, authorities have authorized censorship on the basis of claims of substantial chances of social disruption or collapse if people were free to hear about religious heresy, alternate ideologies, sexually permissive art, losses in ongoing wars, looming disasters, and pandemic details.
