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212 results for “mythologyandhistory”
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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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Yuval Harari, #author of big science history books 'Sapiens' & 'Homo Deus', has just posted this on his Instagram (pic w/ alt txt below).
I don't usually get annoyed by generalisations, but...
I wrote a short #refutation of this #claim that #science is "far more imaginative" than #mythology & "didn't predict black holes or atoms" here:
https://www.kittythinks.com/yuval-is-wrong/
Tl:dr: Many scientific theories can be traced back to mythology & creation myths are there to ask questions science is answering.
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Did you know that the 18th c. #Danish court had delicate problems?
Sophia of #Denmark married Gustav III of #Sweden when she was 20. It took 9 years to consummate their marriage.
The #king had asked the master of the horse, #Finn Adolf Munck, for sex ed. Munck was to stay close to the bedchamber to assist. His help was soon needed by both parties.
When Sophia fell pregnant, all of Stockholm was atwitter.
If Gustav IV was indeed #illegitimate remains unknown.
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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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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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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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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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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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Did you know that #demonic possession haunted 17th-century nuns?
In Aix-en-Provence, in 1609, a novice #nun was sexually abused by a #priest. She soon exhibited symptoms of #possession.
All exorcisms failed & another nun got infected.
After extensive #torture, the priest was burned at the stake & the nuns banished. One recovered, but the other remained possessed until her death.
The ashes of the burned priest spread the possessions to other cloisters for the next 20 years...
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Did you know that #demonic possession haunted 17th-century nuns?
In Aix-en-Provence, in 1609, a novice #nun was sexually abused by a #priest. She soon exhibited symptoms of #possession.
All exorcisms failed & another nun got infected.
After extensive #torture, the priest was burned at the stake & the nuns banished. One recovered, but the other remained possessed until her death.
The ashes of the burned priest spread the possessions to other cloisters for the next 20 years...
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We may need #space #trashmen .
Earth's orbit is full of #rubbish & it's colliding. Those collisions lead to smaller pieces & more collisions ("Kessler Syndrome").
https://www.instagram.com/p/DJ8tqEKRd3Y/?igsh=YjdpdDc1MXZkYXFk
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What's the worst thing you can imagine?
This is the most comprehensive & digestible video I've seen on #Unit731 & #japanese #warcrimes .
Don't recommend eating while watching.
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What's the worst thing you can imagine?
This is the most comprehensive & digestible video I've seen on #Unit731 & #japanese #warcrimes .
Don't recommend eating while watching.
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The polls have closed in the eastern states of #Australia & their results will be available in about an hour.
As an "ineligible to #vote" resident, I find myself rather interested in how this is going to go.
Any feelings from the #aussiesofmastadon ?
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Did you know that "do you plead guilty to the charges?" was once an unlikely question to be answered?
Until the 18th century, common #law had a clause in which a person charged with a capital #offence would be subjected to torture if they did not plead either #guilty or not.
Many defendants refused to plead despite this prospect, because if they did, their heirs would not inherit their property!
#Torture by crushing was used to either elicit a plead or #death.
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Did you know that "do you plead guilty to the charges?" was once an unlikely question to be answered?
Until the 18th century, common #law had a clause in which a person charged with a capital #offence would be subjected to torture if they did not plead either #guilty or not.
Many defendants refused to plead despite this prospect, because if they did, their heirs would not inherit their property!
#Torture by crushing was used to either elicit a plead or #death.
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Did you know that "do you plead guilty to the charges?" was once an unlikely question to be answered?
Until the 18th century, common #law had a clause in which a person charged with a capital #offence would be subjected to torture if they did not plead either #guilty or not.
Many defendants refused to plead despite this prospect, because if they did, their heirs would not inherit their property!
#Torture by crushing was used to either elicit a plead or #death.
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Did you know that "do you plead guilty to the charges?" was once an unlikely question to be answered?
Until the 18th century, common #law had a clause in which a person charged with a capital #offence would be subjected to torture if they did not plead either #guilty or not.
Many defendants refused to plead despite this prospect, because if they did, their heirs would not inherit their property!
#Torture by crushing was used to either elicit a plead or #death.
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Did you know that "do you plead guilty to the charges?" was once an unlikely question to be answered?
Until the 18th century, common #law had a clause in which a person charged with a capital #offence would be subjected to torture if they did not plead either #guilty or not.
Many defendants refused to plead despite this prospect, because if they did, their heirs would not inherit their property!
#Torture by crushing was used to either elicit a plead or #death.
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The #Nintendo leak revealed some interesting #mythology about #Typhlosion !
(Starts at the Typhlosion lore:)
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Did you know that the #Egyptian Cobra has a #divine & #royal #history?
The large, venomous #snake was represented in 2 different #Ancient Egyptian #goddesses.
Cobra-headed Meretseger protected the Valley of the Kings & Wadjet protected both #kings & childbirth.
In Lower Egypt, the cobra topped crowns.
In 2011, The Bronx #Zoo had to inform the public that an Egyptian Cobra escaped its enclosure.
It was found 5 days later hiding & named Mia - “missing in action”.
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Did you know that #invisibility cloaks are #real?
From the 2nd c's Cap of Hades to #Marvel 's Invisible Woman, magic that renders one #invisible is a common theme in #mythology & #scifi.
In 2006, #theoretical #physicist John Pendry figured out that light could be bent around an object so that it renders it invisible.
This led to many advancements in metamaterial science, known as 'metamaterial cloaking'.I've enjoyed this talk by Pendry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO6IrynhjKs [start: 4:43min]
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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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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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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 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.