If you’re into dinosaurs. you probably know that the Brontosaurus does not officially exist. At some point in time, it was decided that skeletons labeled brontosaurs were really skeletons of apatosaurs. You likely weren’t told this debacle happened all the way back in 1903 in the wake of the GreatContinue Reading
There’s talk of late of where transgender people should go to the bathroom. If you’re physically male, but you consider yourself female, do you use the men’s room or the ladies’ room? What if you have gender reassignment surgery, so you’re physically a different gender than you were at birth?Continue Reading
More than two years after his remains were identified and 530 years after his death, King Richard III of England will be laid to rest (again) on March 26. Historical Significance of Richard III’s Burial This is quite likely the last burial of an English king, as modern monarchs areContinue Reading
I don’t actually have a lot to debunk about St. Patrick Day. More like just giving up tidbits of information. Feast Day March 17 is the official feast day for St. Patrick. Theoretically, it’s the date of his death. In truth, we have no idea when he died, nor, toContinue Reading
Today’s post was inspired by a doctor’s visit when, in the waiting room, one patient abruptly informed another patient that Friday the 13th superstitions were based on the execution of the Templars. He also insisted most people don’t know that. Hasn’t everyone heard that story? Maybe it’s just a historyContinue Reading
This is my favorite WTF image in a long time. Dating from 1555, it’s a Renaissance image. I don’t officially know the story behind it, but there’s a good discussion of it on Reddit. Says sl99: ‘Flaisch macht Flaisch’ is from the old German proverb ‘Fleisch macht Fleisch, fisch machtContinue Reading
Today’s page is dedicated to those fans who have wondered when I’m going to put up more bizarre historical art. About 300 years ago, some genius Japanese artist gave us He-Gassen, or “the fart war.” I can’t make this up if I tried. Not quite safe for work. And thenContinue Reading
I love it when architecture fails spectacularly. I’ve previously talked about the Bent Pyramid in ancient Egypt, which took 20 years to build and doesn’t actually contain anyone because it threatened to collapse. There’s also the Black Pyramid, whose mud brick core essentially melted during construction. But, just to ensureContinue Reading
The western world takes sanitation for granted, an inherent part of civilization. In truth, few places had anything even resembling sanitation until the 19th century. The Problem of Population Civilization is defined by urban living: large numbers of people living in relatively small spaces. As historical populations grew, cities grewContinue Reading
Most of the time, I work from Goodwill purchases. There, you can find leather jackets for about $20 in a variety of different styles and qualities. This time, I really lucked out because a cousin tore the back of a very nice jacket, and she donated it to me forContinue Reading