Friday, December 22, 2023

Weekend Link Dump

 

"The Witches' Cove," Follower of Jan Mandijn

Welcome to The Link Dump Before Christmas.

Santa's almost here!


The coronation of Elizabeth of York.

That time Bronson Alcott tried to create a Utopia.   It didn't go too well, as is usually the case when people try to create Utopias.  It probably didn't help matters that Bronson was kind of a cluck.

The psychology of serial poisoners.

The true story that inspired "The Exorcist."

A haunted ship.

The rules of Christmas Eve ghost stories.

George Washington served some pretty impressive eggnog.

When sailing ships had "learning labs."

A comedian discovers that ghosts are no laughing matter.

The strange life and death of "Dr. Gonzo."

The mystery of strange notes hidden in a 19th century dress.

Recollections of Christmas trees past.

Understanding the language of whales.

How ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon became "winter spices."

Everyone wants a signature of Button Gwinnett.

Some lesser-known Christmas characters.

The different meanings of the word "wicked."

Ancient bricks and mysterious magnetic anomalies.

Has Alexander the Great's tomb been found?

Yet another disappearance in a national park.

A look at Viking dentistry.

DIY vintage Christmas ornaments.

The thoughts of farm animals.  My grandmother grew up on a farm in Latvia. She always thought the animals they raised had thoughts and feelings just like ours.  (Especially pigs; she found them particularly intelligent and sweet.)  It really troubled her that the family would kill and eat them.

A friend of Charlotte Bronte.  Who thought Charlotte really needed to get out of the house more.

A visit to the home of the Benders.

Before there were e-mails from Nigerian princes, there were visits from Zulu princes.

The Thames Torso Murders.

A "humble" Christmas tree turns out to be very valuable.

The meteor shower that some thought signaled the end of the world.

The legend of the "Devil's Talon."

The mysterious death of Thelma Todd.

HMS Dolphin captures a slave ship.

The myths of the Boston Tea Party.

The Kecksburg UFO mystery.

The woman who inspired "Tess of the D'Urbervilles."

That's it for this week!  See you on Monday, when we'll celebrate the holiday with another Christmas ghost!  In the meantime, here's a fun version of this carol.  


1 comment:

  1. I like the idea of local Christmas characters like Mr Jingeling. They are, I suspect, a diminishing breed, along with small city department stores, those not owned by a chain. The note found in a 19th century dress appears to have been deciphered - the words appear to point to a message about weather, but it seems strangely 'jargonistic' to be found in a woman's dress from the 1880s. I can't imagine many people writing weather notes in official meteorological language. And I've read a number of accounts of the Royal Navy battling slavers; it was a shining era for the Senior Service, fighting the slavers.

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