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174 results for “mythologyandhistory”
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Did you know that #Mao #Zedong didn't speak Mandarin?
He was a native of Shaoshan, Hunan province, which spoke Old Xiang. It made it hard for some people to understand him, while others saw him as unsophisticated.
Interestingly, Mao also decided to learn English instead of the (in 1950) more common Russian.
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Did you know that owning gold or silver was illegal in #Ancient #Sparta ?
Sparta is said to have had only brittle iron bars as currency. These couldn't be used for anything else due to their devalued state, & their heaviness (making them hard to hoard). Other Greek states did not accept them, so they kept Sparta isolated, too.
#Plato saw this as one of the ideals of a perfect state, as a lack of precious metals meant a lack of #greed.
#history -
Did you know that there's a place in #Europe that still has a #feudal system?
The #crown dependency of #Sark is a curious place. It has no paved #roads & #cars are forbidden, #women only got the right to inherit #property in 1999, & the whole island is, to this day, a fiefdom.
This means the #monarch is the head, with a #lord (seigneur here) as the executive power & the tenants (effectively liegemen) as the vassals.
Sark has to pay the #king a yearly #knight's fee.
It's £1,79. -
Did you know that there are reliefs from a pre-Columbian society that were thought to be innocuous, but modern #research suspects something much more #sinister...?
At Monte Albán, an #archeological site in #Mexico, the earliest carved #stones show "Danzante", lit. "dancers".
Or that's what was assumed to be shown in the 19th c.
Today, the images are identified as being of naked men with mutilated genitals in twisted positions.
They're assumed to be sacrificial #prisoners of #war.
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Did you know that the first modern standing #army revolted?
During the 14th c. the #Ottomanempire found itself in need of #soldiers. The easiest recruits were children of Christian slaves who were turned #Moslem.
These boys were 7-14 years old & would become proper soldiers, known as Janissary, at age 24.
They had to remain isolated from society, #poor & #celibate.
Around 1446 did they start to demand to be paid.
By 1566 marriage was allowed.By 1862, they were gone.
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Ah #Plato , you should have thought this one through some more.
#philosopherkings #totalitarianism #philosophy #imwithpopper
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Did you know that #hardtack, the long lasting flour & water #cracker used by seafarers & soldiers, was made round at #sea & square on land?
During sea voyages, hardtack was stored in barrels (hence: round), while during land campaigns it was stored in wooden boxes, & therefore made square.
#British Royal Navy sailors were issued 50g more hardtack than #US #Navy sailors.
During Queen Victoria's reign, now made with machines, hardtack became a cost efficient hexagonal shape.
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After 6 weeks in Germany, I've learnt that every other episode of 'Maury' & the TV show 'Succession' are apparently loosely based on my life.
Pro-tip:
When you dig too deep, you may just hit a cesspit - always stay at surface level.
(This manure-rich episode is now passé & I'll return to mildly entertain again shortly!)
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Sorry for the lack of posts lately, I've been obsessing over a peculiar topic:
#Skills (& things) that have been introduced & then lost, just to be reintroduced anew later.
Like gutters.
The #Romans had them, showed them to the #Brits & they promptly forgot about them. Then the #Normans reintroduced them.
There are so many of those things & I wonder which we will rediscover soon!
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CW: Olympic Games Rant (OT)
So the schedule for the #LA28 #Olympics has been released & I'm wondering if they used ChatGPT...or meth.
In #Athletics, Saturday, 15/07/28 - they will have the prelims & Round 1 of the Women's 100m in the morning....& then the semi-final AND the final of the ON THE SAME DAY in the afternoon!
WHY?! Do they *want* injuries?
Maybe we should make Mondo vault 7m, Hassan should be forced to compete in the 400m & Ingebritsen must try the racewalk. Just because.
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#Germany has brought back a new type of #conscription. Young men and women aged 18 will get a letter requesting consideration to serve in the #military.
#Men will be required to show up for a physical examination by 2027.
This will all be #voluntary... Unless not enough volunteers are found.
The German #Bundeswehr ist aiming for 460k military personnel by 2029 (260k active soldiers, 200k reserves).
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Did you know that #Korea has a #magical #dog breed?
The Sapsalgae are a fluffy, good-natured breed that is said to ward off evil spirits and bad luck. They are also majestically thick-coated, which almost led to their extinction during the #Japanese occupation of Korea.
The Japanese colonists used the dog's pelts as winter coats. By the 1980s they were down to 8 animals.
A geneticist saved their DNA & the numbers now are up to a few thousand.
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Did you know that during the #Renaissance, the opposite of clean wasn't dirty?
The #French 17th century emphasizes "#cleanliness" & rejects "#filth". The words used in texts are 'propre' & 'propreté'.
However, dictionaries of the time (e.g. the Dictionnaire de Trévoux from 1704) define 'propre' as synonymous with the Latin 'ornatus' & 'comptus', meaning ornate & adorned respectively.
Cleanliness therefore wasn't the absence of dirt, but the presence of #elegance!
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I apologise for the Reddit link but this is a good post.
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"My words are well weighed, my deeds have no equal!"
I think I'm a bit in love with #King #Hammurabi & his #law #code.
The code is oddly #fair.
For example, if a soldier is conscripted by the ruler & later ransomed, he may pay his ransom himself.
If he can't pay himself, the temple shall.
If the temple can't, the rich of the city must.
The soldier's property ("field, orchard, house") stays untouchable.
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Personal Anecdote Time:
I once wrote to Jan N. Bremmer, a Dutch #historian , because I was interested in #eleusinianmysteries .
I told him I'm a random layperson but thought his talk (a lecture at a German uni at the time) was great but I can't afford his books (still can't).
After 6 months, I received a massive envelope in the mail from Mr Bremmer - it contained an entire book chapter on the mysteries & a note that he hopes this will help!
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1 more day until the first #Nobel Prize for #PHYSIOLOGY or #MEDICINE will be announced!
My bet is on Jeffrey M. Friedman & Rudolph Leibel for their discovery of #leptin, a hormone that has a role in #obesity.
(I would LIKE the prize to go to the team that developed the endobronchial valve, a minimally invasive device that is used to divert air from diseased portions of the lung to healthier ones. It's used by COPD & tuberculosis patients.)
What is everyone else's #prediction???
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Did you know that a "Devil’s advocate" used to be a real job?
When deciding who should be canonised, the Roman #Catholic #Church used to require someone to argue against a candidate.
The Devil’s advocate would point out any flaws, past and present, which would keep a person from qualifying as saintly.
Today, this position of negativity has been abolished. Now the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, a kind of court, instead assesses the arguments *for* #sainthood.
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I just need to know: is anyone from the #USA going to the Ig Nobel prize discussion on the 11. November?
This year's bangers include a #physics prize for measuring the extent to which ocean water mixing is affected by anchovy sex & a #literature prize for studying the sensations people feel when they repeat a single word many, many, many, many times.
If you go, PLEASE tell me all about it! I want to live vicariously through you.
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Did you know we die because some #nerd listened to a #god?
Per the #mythology of #Mesopotamia, there was a guy, Adapa, who got thrown into the sea by the south wind & was so angry that he cut the wind's wings.
Sky god An summoned him & upon hearing about the trial, creator god Enki told him to neither eat nor drink from the gatekeepers (both vegetation gods).
He refuses the food & drink of #life which amuses An.
He is thus sent back unharmed but leaving us all #mortal.
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New #petpeeve unlocked:
#Government services that do not use BCC in notification emails!
I signed up for a lecture that (like currently everything Down Under) was cancelled due to heat - & the geniuses of the local government (library service) sent a mass email exposing everyone's private emails.
Already got an email from some random confused person.
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#Stunning frescos #uncovered in the "Black Room" in #Pompeii.
I'm mesmerised! :GhostHeart:
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Did you know that #Ancient #Greeks & #Romans would use an #Assyrian king to shame self-indulgence?
#Aristotles said that those in power shared the tastes of Sardanapalus - the (fictional) last king of Assyria.
He had male & female concubines, dressed in women's clothes & ate lavishly; he felt that hedonism was the purpose of life.
Due to his lack of virtue, a rival besieged his city & after some years, the king burnt his wealth, his retainers & himself on a pyre.
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The only #surgeon with a 300% #MortalityRate !
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Did you know that only a single #British #MP was ever executed for a non-political crime?
MPs have been serving the English parliament since 1593, & a good number died by execution.
But only one, MP for #Dorset in 1614, Mervyn Tuchet, 2nd Earl of Castlehaven (as Mervyn Audley) died not because of treason or for being a Royalist... but for raping his wife & "sodomy".
He was #beheaded.
The charges were brought by his own son & wife, who feared for their inheritance.
