Our look at some of the significant happenings 100 years ago this month.
4. Died. Edith Nesbit, British author (b. 1858)
11. Mercedes-Benz is formed by the merging of companies owned by Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz
12. Born. Tony Hancock, English comedian (d. 1968)
Somehow we’ve almost got to the end of April, which means it’s time for our regular round up of links to items you may have missed. As well as the usual motley collection, we seem to have a lot of science-y stuff this month, so let’s get stuck in!
Science, Technology, Natural World
It is interesting the way that Nature keeps evolving the same patterns independently. As an example, crabs have evolved five separate times.
Talking of the unexpected, researchers have used decades-old tins of salmon to track the health of the ocean’s fish stocks. [££££]
And on the subject of tracking … scientists in the UK have developed a trap which is an early warning system for Asian hornets.
And we keep the chain going … wasp researchers have agreed that the media is biased against wasps. Well who would have guessed!?
And now for something completely different … medical researchers continue to try to make sense of death and near death experiences. [LONG READ]
So why is it that some people always get lost, but others don’t? [LONG READ]
Researchers are using ancient records of previous total solar eclipses to help measure history.
I bet you didn’t know that billions of years ago the moon turned inside out, well sort-of. I certainly didn’t.
It’s well established that Stonehenge is aligned with the sun, but is it also aligned with the moon? Archaeologists and astronomers are about to use a rare lunar event to find out.
And still on space, NASA scientists have seemingly done the impossible and managed to bring the Voyager 1 probe back to its senses. Two, slightly different, looks in the Guardian and on Live Science.
Health, Medicine
An epidemiologist highlights that kids don’t need to get diseases to be healthy.
Here a medical health researcher looks at the UK’s failure in 2020 to “act fast and isolate” against Covid.
And staying on pandemics, the consensus amongst scientists is that the next pandemic will be caused by a flu virus.
Changing tack somewhat … a top OB/GYN looks at the basics of menstrual blood and explodes more than a few myths.
And another myth exploded … it seems that time-restricted eating is linked to a 91% (ie. almost double) higher risk of cardiovascular death.
Lastly in this section: you’ve heard of dyslexia, but do you know about dyscalculia? [££££]
Sexuality
The somewhat outspoken sex researcher, Dr Kate Lister, asserts that all straight men should try pegging once.
Meanwhile sex educator Dr Emily Nagoski talks to the BBC about sex and orgasm myths.
And coincidentally two women talk in the Guardian about their experiences of their unexpectedly open marriages. First Cassie Werber; and secondly New Yorker Molly Roden Winter. [BOTH ARE LONG READS]
Social Sciences, Business, Law, Politics
IanVisits reckons that according to an inoperative law we have the date of Easter all wrong.
Politicians in the UK fulminate about foreign courts having sway over our law, when in fact there are more foreign courts on UK soil pontificating on affairs elsewhere in the world.
Now what have I been saying for years? … Using phonics to teach children to read doesn’t work.
Art, Literature, Language, Music
Here’s a blog post on the interesting work of New York artist Rose Wong.
Meanwhile Ian Dunt eulogises the word cunt.
Early medieval England saw a boom in the minting of silver coins, but until now no-one really knew why.
Mediaeval Mythbusting goes on the trail of the tales behind our more ancient pubs, including one of my favourites, The Mermaid in Rye. [LONG READ]
And Going Medieval discourses on obscenity, ancient and modern. [LONG READ]
London
London once had dozens of iconic green huts which were cabman’s shelters. Now there are only 13 and the final one has just got heritage protection.
Lifestyle, Personal Development, Beliefs
So here’s another look at the culture and usefulness of pubic hair.
And finally … Another of my favourite places in Dungeness, on which stands Prospect Cottage, the late Derek Jarman’s seaside home. It is sometimes open to the public, but the Guardian has some interior photographs.
Here’s our next instalment of things that happened in ..24 years of yore.
Notable Events in 1024
Unknown Date. Introduction, in the Sichuan province of China, of the world’s first paper-printed money (replica below), which greatly benefits the economy of the Song dynasty
Our look at some of the significant happenings 100 years ago this month.
1. Adolf Hitler is sentenced to 5 years in Landsberg Prison in Germany for his participation in the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch (he serves less than 9 months)
15. Born. Sir Neville Marriner, English conductor and violinist (d. 2016)
20. Born. Leslie Phillips, English actor (d. 2022)
24. Born. Clement Freud, British writer, broadcaster, chef and politician (d. 2009)
28. Born. Kenneth Kaunda, 1st President of Zambia (d. 2021)
OK, guys and gals, it’s time for our monthly round up of links to items you may have missed the first time round. So here goes …
Science, Technology, Natural World
There’s this giant star-shaped sand dune in Morocco whose mysteries are now beginning to be understood.
There are some mathematical techniques which can not only tell use where we’re going, but where we’ve been.
Most parents would agree that teenagers are odd. Here are two reasons why.
First it seems there may be evolutionary advantages to the affliction of “teenage brain“. [£££]
Secondly apparently puberty triggers “teenage armpit odour” of cheese, goat and urine.
Now to something more wholesome … Every cat has a strange pouch under its belly and scientists still don’t know why.
Health, Medicine
Girls are entering puberty ever earlier, and for some it is proving a significant mental health risk. [LONG READ]
Along with this we must stop trying to normalise and ignore women’s menstrual pain and bleeding. [LONG READ]
Mind you, it doesn’t help matters when menstrual health literacy is so alarmingly low.
Progressing through the reproductive cycle, here’s a piece of pregnancy and childbirth in 17th-century England.
Now for something different. Unusually some people are totally unable to picture things in their mind, they have no mind’s eye. [LONG READ]
Sexuality
This one’s not for the squeamish … Why do some people find it pleasurable to insert objects into their urethra? [LONG READ]
On safer ground, here’s a look at some new insights into people’s motivation for polyamory.
Social Sciences, Business, Law, Politics
It is much believed that girls avoid studying physics because the maths is too hard, but that is not the case.
History, Archaeology, Anthropology
The world’s oldest known fossilized forest has been discovered in England.
A Copper Age necropolis, containing skeletons and still sharp weapons, has been found in Italy.
Burginda was an early medieval English woman who was not just educated but well-versed in African poetry.
A guy fishing with a magnet from an Oxfordshire bridge has pulled up an 1100-year-old Viking sword.
So how do historians sensibly divide the 1100-ish years of the Middle Ages into manageable chunks of time.
Just as today, medieval women had informal social networks to share health problems and medical advice.
In which 17th-century ladies go dildo shopping.
Don’t like a seven day week? How does a 10 day week sound? The French Revolutionary Calendar tried it for 13 years until Napoleon abandoned it in favour of keeping step with the rest of Europe.
Food, Drink
There’s an impending risotto crisis as it seems the key Italian rice crops are dying due to drought. [LONG READ]
Lifestyle, Personal Development, Beliefs
Here’s one neurologist who makes a good case against daylight saving time. [LONG READ]
Meanwhile one sex researcher has vowed to never share her bed with anyone anymore. [££££]
There’s a growing belief that many of our ills, and especially those of younger generations, are all down to our dependence on smartphones.
You’ve doubtless heard of incels, now we need to start understanding the psychology of femcels.
And finally I’ll leave you with one (naturist) writer’s take on understanding the difference between naturism and primitive living. [LONG READ]
Here’s our next instalment of things that happened in ..24 years of yore.
Notable Events in 824
11 November. The Constitutio Romana establishes the authority of the Holy Roman Emperors over the papacy of Rome.
Unknown Date. Zenpuku-ji, one of the oldest Tokyo temples, is founded by the Japanese Buddhist monk Kukai.
Our look at some of the significant happenings 100 years ago this month.
3. The 407-year-old Islamic caliphate is abolished when Caliph Abdülmecid II of the Ottoman Caliphate is deposed. The last remnant of the old regime gives way to the reformed Turkey of President Kemal Atatürk
29. Died. Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, Irish composer, resident in United Kingdom (b. 1852)
Welcome to our monthly collection of links to items you may have missed but which struck me as interesting or amusing. We’ve got quite a collection this month, and as usual we’ll start with the hard stuff – the science – and then it’s all downhill.
Science, Technology, Natural World
Let’s start with something topical … So just why do we have leap years? [££££]
Scientists have again proven themselves wrong: this time they’ve concluded that Saturn’s moon Mimas probably has an underground ocean which they thought couldn’t exist.
On Earth, but not entirely disconnected, scientists have concluded that the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history happened 7300 years ago off Japan. [££££]
We’re familiar with Isaac Newton splitting light into a rainbow with a prism, but it was William Herschel (better known as an astronomer) who actually worked out what was going on beyond the red and the violet ends of the spectrum.
Changing tack entirely … Researchers have worked out a more detailed mechanism by which erections work – at least in mice – opening the door for better drugs for erectile dysfunction.
Which somehow brings us to penguins … One of the current team at UKAHT’s Port Lockroy station in Antarctica describes counting penguins and why the penguins think pebbles are cool.
So why do birds have skinny legs? [££££]
Let’s hear it for the Yellow-Crested Helmetshrike (below), which has been rediscovered after not being seen for 20 years.
Why don’t humans have gills? Spoiler: because guess what, we don’t live in water.
On a more macabre topic, scientists have discovered a detailed, and regularly timed, network of microbes for decomposing flesh.
Which takes us nicely on to …
Health, Medicine
It is estimated that one million people in England may have undiagnosed type 2 diabetes.
Bubonic plague is still a thing, albeit pretty rare, in America. The latest case is in Oregon.
We are still in the Covid pandemic – it’s only the fifth year – and it is still presenting challenges. [LONG READ] [££££]
An epidemiologist takes a long hard look at what you can do to boost your immune system – and what doesn’t work! [LONG READ]
Bodily secretions (blood, tears, wax) can tell us a lot about our health.
Should this be here or under History? … A bone analysis has revealed the first known cases of TB amongst Neanderthals.
Here’s some reassurance, especially for those of us in the springtime of our senility, that forgetting is a normal function of memory – and when we should start worrying about it.
Sexuality
Apparently some women (probably some men too) enjoy anal sex, it’s more common than supposed and it shouldn’t be a guilty pleasure.
Sex educator Emily Nagoski has a new book out (Come Together) which is a good excuse for a Q&A. [LONG READ]
And here’s an excerpt from Come Together. [LONG READ]
Social Sciences, Business, Law, Politics
Here are two related items from lawyer David Allen Green on when the UK government hold a border poll in Northern Ireland. The first from Prospect magazine, the second from DAG’s Substack blog. [LONG READ]
The first UK banknotes featuring King Charles III will be released into circulation on 5 June this year.
Art, Literature, Language, Music
I’m not at all sure I fully understand how they’ve done this, but researchers have uncovered secret mathematical patterns in Bach’s music. [££££]
A controversial new analytical technique offers a fresh look at the Indo-European roots of our languages.
Between about 1909 and 1915 Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky photographed Russia using his ground-breaking colour process.
A portrait by Gustav Klimt (above) has been rediscovered after being lost for nearly a century.
The astonishing art of Mattias Adolfsson.
History, Archaeology, Anthropology
We start this section with a long overview article on the emerging use of science in historical research. [LONG READ]
Forget our modern preconceived ideas, just what was life like for female Neanderthals?
What does jewellery tell us about the culture of Ice Age Europeans? [££££]
Here are two articles on the Egyptian’s practice of mummification. First, when did the Ancient Egyptians start mummifying their dead. And secondly their practice of mummifying baboons. [££££]
Having mentioned TB amongst Neanderthals earlier, researchers have used DNA to identify Down’s Syndrome in 2600-year-old infants. [££££]
Rare Roman funeral remains have been discovered beneath Holborn Viaduct in London
From
The devastating Roman-era plagues were associated with cold snaps.
Still with the Romans, what was life, and death, like for Roman legionaries? [LONG READ]
A haul of nearly 400 ancient medical tools from Turkey hint at rare Roman doctors’ offices.
We’re coming a bit more up to date with this look at St Margaret of Antioch. [LONG READ]
Still with the early medievals … A gold ring of Mercian Queen Æthelswith (above) was unearthed by a Victorian ploughman in Yorkshire.
A look at secret romantic communications in medieval times. [LONG READ]
And finally in this section, Going Medieval looks at the Black Death in Africa and Asia, and the interconnected Middle Ages.
London
Covenants, Easements & Wayleaves: the intricacies of London Infrastructure. [LONG READ]
The various parts of the London Overground train lines are to be given their own names and identity. [LONG READ]
Lifestyle, Personal Development, Beliefs
Not having children when you get old can be unsettling, but it need not be. [££££]
A huge “house share” in the Netherlands has always caused outsiders to speculate and gossip about the residents’ sleeping arrangements. [LONG READ]
Third century Buddhist scripture The Lotus Sutra still has relevance today.
Cats have many attention-seeking behaviours, but do they really suffer from a fear of missing out? [££££]
Shock, Horror, Humour, Wow!
And finally for this month, here’s Simon Tatham’s Portable Puzzle Collection.
Here’s our next instalment of things that happened in ..24 years of yore.
Notable Events in 724
Unknown Date. A Muslim fleet raids the Byzantine-ruled Balearic Islands, as well as Byzantine Sardinia and Lombard Corsica.
Unknown Date. Emperor Shomu orders that houses of the Japanese nobility be roofed with green tiles, as in China, and have white walls with red roof poles.
Our look at some of the significant happenings 100 years ago this month.
3. Died. Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States, Nobel Peace Prize recipient (b. 1856)
14. The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR), based in the US state of New York, is renamed International Business Machines (IBM)
21. Born. Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician, 1st President of Zimbabwe (d. 2019)