Spoiler alert – I suggest you read the following only if you have listened to the S-Town podcast or if you have no intention of doing so, though it will make less sense. Days after I binged on the podcast ‘Shittown’ the story of John B McLemore still haunts me. Journalist Brian Reed did a … Continue reading
Here’s a bit of seriously obscure research that took me a while to nail down. I found a few monstrance clocks but wanted to know what they were and meant. Here’s one from the collection of the Guild of Clockmakers, now in the Science Museum: The original. monstrance was an ornate container for display and … Continue reading
Roger Bacon (born 1214) is generally considered to be the father of modern science. He wrote f the values of book and experience. This is from Jean Gimpel’s The Medieval Machine. There are two modes of acquiring knowledge – namely by reasoning and experience. Reasoning draws a conclusion and makes us grant the conclusion but does … Continue reading
Dr Katterfelto is one of the most fascinating characters from late 18th/early 19th century England. He was called the King of Puff, and his claims to have cured Londoners of the flu epidemic helped sell his remedies. He demonstrated solar microscopes, and danced either side of the divide between science and magic with a big … Continue reading
Forget about the Wright Brothers, the first flight was in England, a beautiful machine called Ariel. This is from a lovely illustrated book on a 19th century family of publishers who are still in business, Ackermann 1783-1983, and is one of the many strange items associated with this printing house: In 1843 Ackerman & Co. published … Continue reading
This is from the i paper, by Andrew Johnson, titled “Without public funding, there is no iphone” or much else, for that matter: Hands up who likes paying tax? No one? Thought so. While most of us recognise it’s a necessary burden there are others – often the very wealthy – who don’t like to … Continue reading
This is another fascinating piece from Atlas Obscura on the problem of duelling between gents. The practice was made safe by using wax bullets. I find this fascinating as it reminds me that England was not always the laughing stock of the world, but led the way in many improvements. One of them was the … Continue reading
This seems to be an idea from science fiction, and for no apparent useful purpose, but this article from the i on 2 June suggests otherwise: Asteroids were once viewed as the vermin of the sky, disrupting astronomical observations by leaving streaks on long-exposure photographic plates used to stay the stars. How times have changed. … Continue reading
I did post a while back on early weaponry, including that of the sling. In the latest Current Archaeology is an article on Burnswark, Scotland, where the Romans assaulted a hill fort using such primitive but effective weapons. Three types of lead bullets were found there: shaped as a lemon, as an acorn, and a … Continue reading
I did a post some time back on Marianne Davies who was something of a protege and performed across Europe with her soprano sister, but it is rare to actually hear it played. So enjoy this lovely sound. It seems perfect choice for Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Or music about any fairy. http://www.openculture.com/2016/06/hear-the-instrument-benjamin-franklin-invented-the-glass-armonica-play-tchaikovskys-dance-of-the-sugar-plum-fairy.html
