"...we should pass over all biographies of 'the good and the great,' while we search carefully the slight records of wretches who died in prison, in Bedlam, or upon the gallows."
~Edgar Allan Poe

Friday, February 24, 2023

Weekend Link Dump

 

"The Witches' Cove," Follower of Jan Mandijn

This week's Link Dump is proud to be hosted by feline royalty!



What the hell were the origins of the Black Death?

Watch out for those exploding teeth!

Being a WWII combat glider pilot wasn't fun.

Revealed: a 52-foot Book of the Dead.

Napoleon the mediocre horseman.

High Strangeness, meet Deep Weird.

The "other" Elizabethan succession crisis.

Weird things wash up on beaches.

On that same note, there's now a theory about why human feet keep washing up on beaches.  I'm not sure I'm entirely sold, though.

A strange burial in Sardinia.

The sinking of HMS Perseus and a remarkable survival story.

Archery is a lot older than we thought.

The man who rode a bear.

A brief history of pancakes.

A brief history of smuggling.

A brief history of San Francisco's "quake shacks."

A handy reminder that science is rarely settled.

And sometimes science is a little embarrassing for all concerned.  (The article's behind a paywall, but the headline tells you all you need to know.)

Why "W" is called "Double U."

A 2,000 year old flush toilet.

An 18th century forgery scandal.

You will no doubt be pleased to learn that there's a guy who specializes in making armor for cats and mice.

A look at ancient ghost stories.

Stolen Cambodian royal jewelry has been returned to the rightful home.

The living rocks of Romania.

A guy who kept his wife's ashes in a tin can.

Early 20th century tips for living in tropical climates.

Honoring a canine tax collector.

A tragic message in a bottle.

A Pennsylvania "ghost train."

Washington D.C.'s Demon Cat.

An affair of blood and mystery.

The hazards of travel in Early Modern Britain.

Butch, the WWII-era mascot of the Fort Hamilton Fire Department.

The room that proves there is such a thing as too much quiet.

A good story about a modern-day treasure hunt.

The downfall of a medieval London mayor.

A "living fossil" may be living in Indonesia.

The trade of the 19th century gardener.

Pro tip: If someone you meet online offers you $9 million to kill someone, don't do it.

That's it for this week!  See you on Monday, when we'll look at a mysterious grave.  In the meantime, here's Los Lobos.

1 comment:

  1. A very interesting article on the power-struggle in late Elizabethan England. I, for one, am glad the Cecils came out on top. The human feet story does make sense; I suppose it's why this sort of thing started happening only after running shoes became very common. And as for the armour for cats and mice... "It simply dawned on him – he could make a tiny suit of armor for a mouse". Really, I think the transition from 'could make a tiny suit of armour' to 'did make' could be explained a bit more fully. (And no, I'm not going to get armour for my cats, just because they always carry swords.)

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