Category Archives: history

August 1925

Our look at some of the significant happenings 100 years ago this month.


2. Born. Alan Whicker, British journalist and television host (Whicker’s World), in Cairo, Egypt (d.2013)

7. The United Kingdom passed the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act, making it illegal to sell peerages or any other honours.

12. Born. Twin brothers Norris (d.2004) & Ross McWhirter (d.1975), founders of Guinness World Records, in Winchmore Hill, LondonMcWhirters & Guinness World Records

15. Born. Oscar Peterson, Canadian jazz pianist (d.2007)

18. Born. Brian Aldiss, science fiction writer, in East Dereham, Norfolk (d.2017)

22. Born. Honor Blackman, English actress (d.2020)

27. Born. Nat Lofthouse, footballer, in Bolton, Lancashire, England (d.2011)


Monthly Links

Here we go with this month’s collection of links to items you may have missed – and we have a good selection of both science and history this month.


Science, Technology, Natural World

Let’s start with a look at some counter-intuitive statistics from the Men’s Soccer Under-21 Euro competition.

Still on statistics, here’s another look at the Monty Hall Problem (above) & the meaning of life.

Now for optical illusions rather than mental illusions.

Now to geology … and there are some deep pulses beneath Africa.

Observers think it possible that some fragments of meteor have landed on Ben Nevis.

Cosmologists report that they’ve seen the gravitational waves from the largest ever seen merger of two black holes. [££££]

The Owl Galaxies (below) (what a wonderful name) are hiding a secret, but observers can’t agree on what the secret is.

And here’s a clump of quasars which really shouldn’t exist in such a small volume of space.

Now we have three items on the third (known) alien visitor to our solar system. The first from Phil Plait’s Bad Astronomy Newsletter, then the Scientific American report [££££], and finally Scientific American also look at seven mysteries [££££] [LONG READ] about the object.

Now let’s come back down to the gory details of life on Earth. Around 13 million years ago there was a huge “terror bird” and one of them appears to have been killed by an equally huge reptile. Truly a battle of apex predators.

More up to date … How do various apes settle status disputes? [LONG READ]

Apparently evolution can explain human testicle size but says nothing about our unique chins.

And finally for this deep science section … every one of the thousands of rose cultivars is ultimately derived from one (or more) of three original species.


Health, Medicine

First a recap of something we already knew … Measles isn’t just dangerous, it can wipe your immune system’s memory leaving you exposed to infections from which you’ve previously recovered.

Plague (Yersinia pestis), aka the Black Death, is still alive and still causing illness and death – albeit at a much reduced level than 400+ years ago. [££££] [LONG READ]

On the curious variety of blood groups, which has uncovered Gwada-negative, the rarest blood group on Earth carried by just one person.

A look at how currency can affect clinical trials.


Art, Literature, Language, Music

A historian looks at the lack of female labia in sculpture. [LONG READ]

Meanwhile another historian takes a look at the history of adultery in art.


History, Archaeology, Anthropology

The first, almost complete, Denisovan skull has allowed researchers to suggest what our ancient cousin looked like. [££££]

A short step across to Neanderthals, and it appears that individual groups had their own local food cultures. [££££]

Once upon a time Pharaoh came in the Nile.

Also from ancient Egypt, in an unusual burial in a pot, the skeleton has undergone whole genome analysis.

A quick hop across to Peru where archaeologists have found a 3500-year-old city.

Back to Europe and one archaeologist points out that most Minoan art is made up – if only by joining the dots to fill in missing sections. [LONG READ]

Going Medieval looks at the Crusades, and how they were pretty much all failures. [LONG READ]

A buildings archaeologist shares some thoughts on cellars. [LONG READ]

Here an archaeologist discusses some of the medieval treasures in Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum. [LONG READ]

Here in the UK we’ve not long managed to escape from this year’s Wimbledon tennis championship, but in the 16th-century (real) tennis was a decidedly dangerous sport.

I’m sure I’ve mentioned the New River before, but in case you missed it, here’s its history. [LONG READ]

And lastly here, we’re right up to date with news of Denmark’s radical experiment in archaeology which embraces metal detectorists. [LONG READ]


London

Matt Brown has taken on the task of colouring John Roque’s 1746 map of London. Here’s the latest section Tyburn Tree to Hide Park Corner. [LONG READ]

Kew Gardens is going to close its iconic Palm House for five years from 2027 in order to give it a major make-over and conservation.

As many here will know GWR have been trialling a battery-driven train on my local branch line, and it seems this technology could bring significant benefits to many small lines.


Lifestyle, Personal Development, Beliefs

A microbiologist looks at how often one really should wash all your bedding.

Let’s finish with three useful and explanatory articles on naturism. First, naturism is only exhibitionism in disguise, isn’t it? Well no, actually.

Secondly a piece on navigating social nudity and group dynamics.

And finally … So what is wrong with tattoos or piercings which have traditionally been frowned upon in nudist settings? Spoiler: nothing.


What Happened in 1325, 1425

Here’s our next instalment of things that happened in ..25 years of yore.


Some Notable Events in 1325

7 January. Afonso IV becomes the new King of Portugal upon the death of his father, King Denis I.

9 March. Queen Isabella, wife of King Edward II of England and sister of King Charles IV of France, departs from England on a mission to Paris to mediate an end to the war between the two kingdoms. She is directed to return to England by midsummer.

31 March. A truce is signed between King Edward II of England (who is also Duke of Aquitaine) and King Charles IV of France to end the war of Saint-Sardoso under terms negotiated by England’s Queen Isabella; Edward cedes Agenais (part of modern-day Lot-et-Garonne) and pledges to swear homage to King Charles from then on as a condition of keeping the rest of Aquitaine. England is allowed to reclaim Ponthieu and the Duchy of Gascony if Edward will come to Paris to
pay him homage. Isabella, unhappy with her marriage to Edward, remains in France indefinitely.

20 April. Elizabeth de Comyn, daughter of the late Guardian of Scotland, John Comyn III of Badenoch, is forced to sign away title to her properties at Painswick and at Goodrich Castle to Hugh Despenser the Elder after being kidnapped in 1324 and imprisoned at Pirbright.

5 May. The Istrian Demarcation, setting out the boundaries of disputed Italian territories in the Adriatic Sea peninsula of Istria, confirms the agreement between the Independent Italian states of Aquileia, Gorizia, and the Venetian Republic. The document is published in three languages (Latin, German and Croatian).

14 June.(2 Rajab 725 AH). Ibn Battuta, Moroccan scholar and explorer, sets off from Tangier on a hajj to Mecca. En route, he travels to Tlemcen, Béjaïa and Tunis. For safety, Ibn Battuta joins a caravan to reduce the risk of being robbed. On the way, he takes a bride in Sfax, but soon leaves her due to a dispute with her father. Traveling more than any other explorer before the modern era, he will travel an estimated 73000 miles over 30 years, more than three times as much as Marco Polo.

12 September. Edward II is persuaded not to go to France by Hugh Despenser the Elder, his chief adviser. He decides to send his 12-year-old son, Prince Edward of Windsor, to Paris to pay homage instead. Before the young Edward departs, he is bestowed with the title of
Count of Ponthieu.

21 September. Isabella of France conspires with the exiled Roger Mortimer to have Edward II deposed. To build up diplomatic and military support, Isabella has Edward of Windsor engaged to the 12-year-old Philippa of Hainault. She is the daughter of Count William of Hainaut, who is married to Joan of Valois, granddaughter of the late King Philip III of France.

24 September. Edward, Prince of Wales pays homage to King Charles IV of France on behalf of his father, King Edward II of England.

10 October. King Edward II calls for representatives of the three estates (including the knights representative) to meet at Westminster for a session of the English Parliament, beginning on 18 November to discuss the matter of the failure of his wife, Queen Isabella, to return from France.

21 November. Yuri III Danilovich, Grand Duke of Moscow, is assassinated by Dmitry of Tver, Grand Duke of Vladimir. Yuri’s younger brother, Iván I Danilovich Kalitá, the Grand Duke of Vladimir, inherits Yuri’s throne and relocates the spiritual capital of the Russian people to Moscow by directing the Metropolitan Peter to move his episcopal see from Kiev. The decision gradually makes Moscow the political center of Russia.

1 December. King Edward II of England makes one final attempt to save his marriage to Queen Isabella, and sends her a letter ordering her to return from France to England immediately, writing that “Oftentimes have we informed you, both before and after the homage, of our great desire to have you with us, and of our grief of heart at your long absence,” and adds that he is aware of her affair with Roger Mortimer and that “ceasing from all pretenses, delays and excuses, you come to us with all the haste you can.” She declines to return.


Some Notable Events in 1425

9 December. The Old University of Leuven, Belgium is founded.

Unknown Date. Beijing, capital of China, becomes the largest city in the world, taking the lead from Nanjing.

Unknown Date. Paper currency in China is worth only 0.025% to 0.0l4% of its original value in the 14th century; this, and the counterfeiting of copper coin currency, will lead to a dramatic shift to using silver as the common medium of exchange in China.China, early paper money

July 1925


Our look at some of the significant happenings 100 years ago this month.


1. Died. Erik Satie, 59, French composer

18. Adolf Hitler published Volume 1 of his autobiographical manifesto Mein Kampf.

20. An annular solar eclipse, visible across the south Pacific.

20. Born. Jacques Delors, French economist; in Paris (d.2023)

21. English racing motorist Malcolm Campbeli becomes the first man to exceed 150 mph (241 km/h) on land; at Pendine Sands, Wales he drives a Sunbeam 350HP automobiie at a two-way average speed of 150.33 mph (242 km/h)Sunbeam Bluebird

29. Born. Mikis Theodorakis, Greek songwriter; in Chios (d.2021)


Monthly Links for June

And so, already, we get to this month’s collection of items you may have missed.


Science, Technology, Natural World
Has any cat owner actually managed to fully decipher their cat’s meows? Well now researchers are trying to use AI tools to do just this. [££££]

Whether your cat is vocal or quiet may depend on its genes.

So, we’re still finding microbes we didn’t know about. In one case a microbe with a bizarrely tiny genome (above) which could just be evolving into a virus.

And in a further demonstration of how little we know about our home rock, scientists continue to be baffled by an apparent, and mysterious, link between Earth’s magnetism and oxygen levels. [££££]

Extending this lack of knowledge outward … Was the Big Bang really the beginning of our Universe? We don’t know, but there is research which suggests it could all have happened within a black hole!


Health, Medicine

Despite what they told you at school, insulin is made in the brain, and not just in the pancreas.

The ancient idea of the wandering uterus may be wrong, but the female reproductive tract is surprisingly mobile.


Sexuality

Who knew that semen allergy was a thing?

Another oddity … Orgasms can trigger colours in people with sexual synaesthesia. [££££]


Social Sciences, Business, Law, Politics

Denmark is deploying “saildrones” (above) in the Baltic Sea to monitor undersea cables and protect them from hostile action.


Art, Literature, Language, Music

English spelling will never make sense. Here’s something about why. [LONG READ]


History, Archaeology, Anthropology

One archaeologist thinks he’s uncovered a fraudulent scam involving Roman wine.

Also in the Roman world, a huge haul of fragments of Roman frescoes has been found in South London. What a nightmare jigsaw puzzle!

Here’s a review of a book on the making of books in the Middle Ages.

The Inca had a system of “writing” based on knotted strings, and some ancient examples are revealing Peru’s climate history.

There seemed little he couldn’t turn his hand to for the profit of humanity in general, making Benjamin Franklin (below) a phenomenon even during his lifetime.


London

Who knew that London still had sheriffs?

IanVisits investigates the one-time secret tunnels beneath Holborn, and looks at the plans to open them to the public.

In North London there’s a forgotten Tudor house that’s seen better days.

Coming right up to date … there’s to be a national memorial to Queen Elizabeth II. And of course it will be in London’s St James’s Park and being designed by Norman Foster. [No comment.]


Lifestyle, Personal Development, Beliefs
Continuing one of our recurrent themes, here’s an article on helping people understand naturism and social nudity.


Shock, Horror, Ha ha ha!

So let’s end with two unlikely items …

Did you know that Disney produced educational films about periods and family planning as long ago as 1946?

And finally a Dutch museum has put on display a 200-year-old, mint condition, condom (below) decorated with an explicit scene of a nun and three clergymen. It is believed to have been a “luxury souvenir” from a fancy brothel in France.


What Happened in 1125, 1225

Here’s our next instalment of things that happened in ..25 years of yore.


Some Notable Events in 1125

29 March. Reading School is founded in Berkshire, England.

23 May. Emperor Henry V dies of cancer in Utrecht after leading an expedition against King Louis VI of France and then against the citizens of Worms. Having no legitimate children, Henry leaves his possessions to his nephew, Frederick II, Duke of Swabia. At the Haftag diet in Regensburg, Lothair II (duke of Saxony) is elected King of Germany and crowned at Aachen on 13 September.

11 June. Battle of Azaz: The Crusader states led by King Baldwin II of Jerusalem defeat the Seljuk forces at Azaz and raise the siege of the town. Baldwin mobilizes a force of 1,100 armoured knights and 2,000 foot-soldiers. The Crusaders capture the Seljuk camp and Baldwin takes enough loot to ransom the prisoners taken by the Seljuk Turks.

Unknown Date. King Inge the Younger of Sweden is murdered, instigated by Queen Ulvhild Håkansdotter. Her cousin Magnus I proclaims himself ruler over the Lands of Sweden (Norrland, Svealand and Gothenland).

Unknown Date. The Venetians pillage the islands of Rhodes, ravage Samos and Lesbos, and occupy Chios. The Florentines sack and conquer the neighbouring independent republic of Fiesole in Italy.

Unknown Date. The first fair in Portugal is created in Ponte de Lima; it is an early sign of the commercialization and economic development.

Unknown Date. King Alfonso I of Aragon and Navarre leads a Castellan raid in Andalusia.

Unknown Date. King Henry I arranges the marriage between his nephew Stephen of Blois and the 20-year-old Matilda, daughter and heiress of Eustace III, count of Boulogne. This gives Stephen control of the County of Boulogne and also lands in England that had belonged to Eustace (who dies on his return from the Holy Land).

Unknown Date. A collection of Zen Buddhist koans is compiled, in the Chinese Blue C1iff Record.

Unknown Date. Died. Harding of Bristol, English sheriff reeve (b.1048).

Unknown Date. Died. Robert de Mowbray, Norman Earl of Northumbria.


Some Notable Events in 1225

11 February. The Charter of the Forest is restored to its traditional rights by King Henry III. “Free men” are allowed to find pasture for their pigs, collect firewood, graze animals, or cut turf for fuel. At this time, however, only about 10 percent of the population is “free”, the rest are locked into service to a local landowner, some of them little more than slaves.

25 July. Emperor Frederick II takes an oath at San Germano (near Cassino) and promises to depart on a Crusade (the Sixth Crusade), for the Near East in August 1227. He sends 1000 knights to the Levant and provides Rome with 100,000 ounces of gold, to be forfeited to the Catholic Church should he break his vow. These funds will be returned to Frederick once he arrives at Acre.

9 November. Frederick II marries the 14-year-old Queen Yolande, heiress to the kingdom of Jerusalem, and adds the Crusader States to his dominions.

29 November. The 12-year-old Henry VII, by order of his father Frederick II, marries Margaret of Austria, daughter of Duke Leopold VI.

Unknown Date. Magna Carta is reaffirmed (for the third time) by Henry III, in return for issuing a property tax. It becomes the definitive version of the text.Magna Carta, 1225

Unknown Date. The 8-year-old Henry I is crowned as king of Cyprus in the Cathedral of Saint Sophia at Nicosia.

Unknown Date. Born. Thomas Aquinas, Italian friar and theologian (d.1274).

June Quiz Answers

Here are the answers to this month’s six quiz questions. If in doubt, all should be able to be easily verified online.

World Affairs

  1. Which political figure became Baroness of Kesteven? Margaret Thatcher
  2. What year was the United Nations established? 1945
  3. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus became the head of which United Nations agency in 2017? WHO (World Health Organisation)
  4. Who was US President in the year 2000? Bill Clinton
  5. What was the name of the treaty signed between the Allies and Germany that officially ended WWI? Treaty of Versailles
  6. The border between North Korea and South Korea is about 257km long and 4km wide. What is this buffer zone known as? Korean Demilitarised Zone (DMZ)

Answers were correct when questions were compiled in late 2024.

June 1925

Our look at some of the significant happenings 100 years ago this month.


8. The Noël Coward comic play Hay Fever opened at the Ambassadors Theatre in the City of Westminster, England.

14. A significant German art exhibition of the Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) movement opened in Mannheim, with paintings by George Grosz, Otto Dix, Max Beckmann, Rudolf Schlichter and others.George Grosz, 'Ecce Homo', 1923

15. Born. Richard Baker, English broadcast journalist and author (d.2018)

24. The Five Sisters window at York Minster was dedicated to the women who lost their lives in the line of service during World War I


Monthly Links for May

Here is this month’s well packed collection of links to items you didn’t know you’d missed …


Science, Technology, Natural World

Let’s start with something which has always been a bone of contention … Do we all see colour the same way? And if so why is it that what I describe as blue, you say is turquoise?

Research has found that chimpanzees have surprisingly good hygiene habits: they use leaves to wipe bums and clean up after sex.

Down in the ocean depths there is still mystery surrounding the largest light in the sea.

And now up in the air … we’ve long known about their intelligence, but now it appears that crows can do geometry.

Scientists try to imagine what it’s like to be a raven or crow.

And now to our own intelligence … Can you convincingly explain the Monty Hall problem?

Is there really an underlying mathematical sequence which this year’s Premier League title for Liverpool has highlighted?

So there’s a new Pope, but how is the Conclave’s tell-tale black and white smoke ensured?

We’ve all heard of antimatter, but now researchers have discovered anti-spice, which makes chillies less hot. [££££]

Talking of hot … astronomers are now suggesting that a nearby ancient supernova (below) is an invader from another galaxy. [££££]

A new theoretical study is proposing that the very existence of gravity is evidence that we are all part of a giant computer simulation.

Back with the (slightly) more mundane … there’s a collection of astronomers who spend their time trying to find and catalogue the seemingly infinite number of pieces of rock that whizz over our heads every day. [LONG READ]


Health, Medicine

Just why do some of use get travel sick but others don’t?


Sexuality & Relationships

Here’s a look at sex, art and the art of sex in ancient Pompeii.


Environment & Ecology

Not just “no mow May” it needs to be “leave it alone June, July and August” … We’d help our declining butterflies (and many other species) by mowing our lawns a lot less.

Researchers are discovering that there really are fungal superhighways connecting things up under our feet.


Art, Literature, Language, Music

Here’s a look at whether Spencer Tunick’s massed nude bodies (below) constitute good nude photography or not. [LONG READ]

The Courtauld Institute in London has released a huge art photo archive online, and it’s free

Also in London, at the Cartoon Museum, there’s an exhibition of cartoon cats from Korky to Garfield.

They seem to be two unlikely bedfellows but Cockney and Yiddish influenced each other considerably in London’s East End.

Going back in time, here’s an introduction to the history of runes. [LONG READ]

Here’s the story of how English lost several letters from its alphabet. [LONG READ]

And English then underwent the Great Vowel Shift which further ruined both our spelling and writing. [LONG READ]


History, Archaeology, Anthropology

A visit to the Rollright Stones (above) – and IME they’re worth a visit. [LONG READ]

There’s a new study looking at pregnancy amongst the Vikings.

A look at the expansion of Medieval Europe. [LONG READ]

An American looks at what other Americans actually know about medieval history. [LONG READ]

It’s not quite a grimoire but the Picatrix contained all the secrets to becoming an evil wizard.

What was happening in London during the first English Civil War (1642-1646). [LONG READ]

In Austrian village there’s a mysterious mummified priest – and it turns out he was mummified via his rectum!


London

North-west London boasts several Black Madonnas.

Some of the Cold War tunnels under central London are to be turned into a permanent museum of military intelligence.


Food, Drink

How to reduce the risk of your fridge being a breeding ground for bacteria.

Aspartame: a calorie-free, but not risk-free, artificial sweetener.


Lifestyle, Personal Development, Beliefs

So just how much can your name influence your future or occupation?

Here’s something on thinking slowly and recognising your biases and maybe improve your life. [LONG READ]

On the world of Berliners getting together in the nude. [LONG READ]

An Australian sex writer on learning to appreciate her curves.

And the same Australian sex writer on why she loves her full bush, even in a bikini.

On the naturist attitude to the inevitable erections.


Wow! Ha ha!

In 1990, in Calvine, Scotland, two men photographed what is reportedly the best UFO picture ever seen; but it’s remained a mystery.

And I’ll leave you with a little fable about the evolution of why women like performing oral sex.

Be good!


What Happened in 825, 925, 1025

Here’s our next instalment of things that happened in ..25 years of yore.


Some Notable Events in 825

Unknown Date. Grimur Kamban allegedly becomes the first man to set foot in the Faroe Islands, and settles in Funningur, on the northwest coast of Eysturoy.Funnigur today

Unknown Date. Battle of Ellandun: King Egbert of Wessex defeats Beornwulf of Mercia near Swindon. The battle marks the end of the Mercian domination of southern England. The kingdoms of Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Essex submit to Wessex, and East Anglia acknowledges Egbert as overlord.

Unknown Date. Borobudur, a Mahayana Buddhist Temple, is completed in Central Java.


Some Notable Events in 925

15 May. Nicholas I Mystikos, twice the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, having reigned a second time since 912, dies at the age of 73.

29 June. Stephen II becomes the new Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and head of the Eastern Orthodox Church, succeeding Nicholas I.

Unknown Date. A Fatimid expeditionary force led by Jafar ibn Obeid lands in Abruzzo, Southern Italy. They overrun Apulia all the way to the city of Otranto. After defeating the Byzantine garrisons, the Arabs lay siege to the castle of Oria. The defenders are massacred and the remainder (mostly women and children) are taken as slaves back to North Africa.


Some Notable Events in 1025

18 April. Boleslaw I the Brave is crowned in Gniezno as the first king of Poland. He takes advantage of the interregnum in Germany and receives permission for his coronation from Pope John XIX; however, he dies on 17 June.

15 December. Byzantine Emperor Basil II dies in Constantinople after a 50 year reign. Never married, he is succeeded by his brother and co-emperor Constantine VIII, who becomes sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire.

Unknown Date. Completion and publishing of Avicenna’s Canon of Medicine.