March - 2019

Torre Argentina (Roman Cat Sanctuary)

Hundreds of lucky felines haunt the ruins where Caesar was murdered. Known as Largo di Torre Argentina, this archaeological wonder was excavated as part of Mussolini’s rebuilding efforts in 1929, revealing four Republican victory-temples that lie sunken 20 feet below modern street level. In addition to the remains of four different temples, Torre Argentina also contains part of the famous portico of Pompey, upon whose steps dictator Julius Caesar was betrayed and killed in 4

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Rome, Before And After

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This Rare Vintage Typewriter From The 1950s Lets You Type Sheet Music

While most composers like to handwrite their sheet music, over the years there have been all types of machines invented to help print music. Perhaps one of the coolest is the Keaton Music Typewriter. First patented in 1936, it definitely doesn’t look like an ordinary typewriter. Robert H. Keaton from San Francisco, California created the machine, which has now become something of a rare collector’s item. The original patent was for a 14-key typewriter, which was then up

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The Ides of March: Julius Caesar's Fateful Day

The Ides of March ("Eidus Martiae" in Latin) is a day on the traditional Roman calendar that corresponds to the date of March 15th on our current calendar. Today the date is commonly associated with bad luck, a reputation that it earned at the end of the reign of the Roman emperor Julius Caesar (100–43 BCE). A Warning In 44 BCE, Julius Caesar's rule in Rome was in trouble. Caesar was a demagogue, a ruler who set his own rules, frequently bypassing the Senate to do what h

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Metal in Soviet Russia: Monsters of Rock 1991

What if I told you that one of the largest crowds to ever attend a concert—1.5 million people—happened in Russia? What if I told you that it was just before the fall of the Soviet Union? What if I told you that it was a heavy metal festival? Yes, this all happened in the fall of 1991, the very same year that the Iron Curtain fell. This is the story of the Monsters of Rock Moscow show. The whole Monsters of Rock idea started in Castle Donington, England in 1980, gaining a mon

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10 Million Years of Evolution Visualised in an Elegant, 5-Foot Long Infographic from 1931

Click here to see the entire histomap in large, zoomable, format. The early decades of the twentieth century belonged to Cecil B. DeMille and his epic films both Biblical and classical: The Ten Commandments, Cleopatra, Samson and Delilah. The grand scale of these pseudo-histories required the most up-to-date cinematic invention of the day, and the most imperial vision, one later decades looked upon rather cynically. But just as the epic has roared back with a vengeance—with t

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Read the “Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down” Letter That Albert Einstein Sent to Marie Curie

Marie Curie’s 1911 Nobel Prize win, her second, for the discovery of radium and polonium, would have been cause for public celebration in her adopted France, but for the nearly simultaneous revelation of her affair with fellow physicist Paul Langevin, the fellow standing to the right of a 32-year-old Albert Einstein in the above group photo from the 1911 Solvay Conference in Physics. Both stories broke while Curie—unsurprisingly, the sole woman in the photo—was attending the

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How The Shangri-Las Created Punk

Fifty years ago, New York's the Shangri-Las hit it big with tunes of tragedy -- and set an influential example of bands to come. Leader Mary Weiss recalls her rock 'n' roll youth below. At a Texas concert venue in the mid-1960s, as James Brown was preparing to headline an all-black soul revue — complete with segregated audience seating — he doubled over laughing when one of his supporting acts showed up. Based on the Shangri-Las’ soulfully evocative 1964 singles “Remembe

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Hal Blaine – The Most Recorded Musician In History

Hal Blaine played drums on over 35,000 recorded tracks of music in his 25 year career, including 350 top ten records and more than 40 number one hits. As a key member of the Los Angeles, California session musicians nicknamed The Wrecking Crew, Hal’s talents were in high demand during the 1960’s. “If music in the second half of the 20th century were the Empire State Building, Hal Blaine would be the ground floor.” Art Garfunkel Born Harold Simon Belsky February 5, 1929 i

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Anne Frank: Quotes From The Diary of A Young Girl

On her 13th birthday Anne Frank received a gift that she had pointed out to her father in a shop window just the week before. While hiding from the German occupation of Amsterdam during the second world war, Anne wrote her diary in hiding in a secret annex of an old warehouse for the next two years. The diary stops abruptly in August 1944, when her family are betrayed and eventually sent to Auschwitz death camp. Only Anne’s father Otto survived and published his daughter’s An

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Glamour, Gangsters, And Racism: 24 Photos Inside Harlem’s Infamous Cotton Club

The Cotton Club had a reputation for catapulting famous careers, but history has a way of glossing over the cabaret's social transgressions. If there was a staple of Harlem nightlife in the 1920s and 30s, it was the Cotton Club. Boasting some of the era's most talented performers, the entertainment venue and speakeasy remains an icon of New York City even today. But as much as we praise the club for bringing names like Duke Ellington and Lena Horne into the spotlight, the tru

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A Map of the Roman Empire Allowing Blind & Sighted Students to Experience Geography by Touch (1888)

From pavement bumps to safer playgrounds, the public spaces we occupy have been transformed for the better as they become easier for different kinds of bodies to navigate. Closed captioning and printable transcripts benefit millions, whatever their level of ability. Accessibility tools on the web improve everyone’s experience and provide the impetus for technologies that engage more of our senses. While smell may not be a high priority for developers, attention to a sense mos

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A Visualisation of the United States’ Exploding Population Growth Over 200 Years (1790 – 2010)

The U.S. is barely even an adolescent compared to many other countries around the world. Yet it ranks third, behind China and India, in population. How did the country go, in a little over 200 years, from 6.1 people per square mile in 1800 to 93 per square mile today? We’ve previously featured maps of how the real estate came on the market. And we’ve brought you a map that tells the locations and stories of the peoples who used to live there. The map above takes a different a

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“Stay Free: The Story of the Clash” Narrated by Public Enemy’s Chuck D: A New Spotify Podcast

FYI: Spotify, in partnership with the BBC, has launched “Stay Free: The Story of the Clash," an eight-part podcast on the iconic punk band, narrated by Public Enemy front man, Chuck D. It might seem like an unexpected pairing. And yet Spotify explains: "Like The Clash, Public Enemy openly challenged the status quo in a completely original way—this parallel and Chuck D’s personal experiences bring a surprising new dimension to the story of The Clash." Reviewing the production

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Bizarre Descriptions of the Ancient World According to Herodotus's Histories

Widely considered one of the first serious works of history, Histories—written in the 5th century BCE by the Greek scholar Herodotus—is a highly influential account of the Greco-Persian wars, and offers one of the best glimpses into ancient cultures. Herodotus was remarkably scrupulous with his research, traveling across Europe and the Middle East to interview countless people. “[M]y rule in this history is that I record what is said by all as I have heard it,” he’d write. Un

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The Legend of London's Time-Traveling Tomb

Swinging open the front gate of Brompton Cemetery is a bit like cracking the spine of a book detailing London history. Famous suffragist Emmeline Pankhurst rests here. Beatrix Potter strolled its 39 acres and plucked names from tombstones to use in her work, including decedents Peter Rabbett and Mr. Nutkins. More than 35,000 monuments in all are present, rich and poor, known and obscure. In the middle of the grounds and shrouded by trees stands a mausoleum. An imposing 20 fee

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20 Terrifying Facts About The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

In the summer of 1973, newbie director Tobe Hooper—who passed away on August 26, 2017 at the age of 74—and a group of unknown actors ventured out into the Central Texas heat to make a horror movie. Braving blistering temperatures, on-set injuries, and a shoestring budget, they produced one of the most terrifying motion pictures ever made. More than four decades after its release, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre still shocks and thrills audiences with its realistic imagery, unhing

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12 Posters Of Female Scientists That Would Suit Every Classroom

Move over, Einstein. Can you name five female scientists from history? Maybe you named one, or two. Chances are you remembered Marie Curie, the famed two-time Nobel Laureate whose work led to the discovery of radioactivity. Yet there are hundreds of female scientists whose work has been foundational to science as we know it today–but many people don’t know their names, their faces, or their achievements. “They were discouraged from getting an education, for fear it would hurt

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The Year Women Became Eligible To Vote in Each Country

SUFFRAGE HAPPENED (for some women) in 1918 in the Britain, a year behind Russia and Canada but 93 years ahead of Saudi Arabia, as noted by this map depicting the year women became eligible to vote in each country. Countries began joining the fray en masse by the mid-twentieth century, but the leader of the pack comes from far down under — women in New Zealand obtained voting rights in 1893. This map was uploaded to Reddit and shows the year women became eligible to vote in ea

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'Haus Work: Famous Logos Redesigned To Mark The Bauhaus Centenary

Germany’s Bauhaus art school, founded 100 years ago, introduced a bold, minimal and radical new approach to design which remains hugely influential. To mark its centenary, an international community of designers have reimagined a host of modern brand logos in this now iconic style. About the project The Bauhaus was established in the wake of World War One by Prussian architect Walter Gropius, and taught a wide range of disciplines, from pottery, printmaking and bookbinding to

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“He Got Stabbed And Didn't Know It!” – The Making Of Primal Scream's Give Out But Don't Give Up

Bobby Gillespie Of Primal Scream at last night’s Rough Trade East signing “We recorded a couple of demos, but most of the time we got wasted, you know…”Primal Scream lead singer Bobby Gillespie on the initial recording sessions of “Give Out But Don’t Give Up” To understand just how hard drinking Primal Scream were, let’s ask ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons, who happened to be in Memphis during the recording of the album. “Billy. Just how hard drinking were Primal Scream?” Bill

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José Naranja And His Sketchbooks Teeming with Colourful Calligraphy, Diagrams, and Travel Ephemera

José Naranja creates beautifully detailed sketchbooks by collaging elements of photography, writing, stamps, and his own precise drawings of everything from poison mushrooms to a bird’s eye view of his dream studio. The ex-aeronautic engineer began working with sketchbooks after he discovered pocket-size Moleskine notebooks in 2005 and realised they were the perfect vessel to document his daily experiences and develop his wildest ideas. After 13 years of using the same style

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The Fall of Angkor Was More Than a Century in The Making

New research suggests that the city’s demise wasn’t related to a sudden catastrophe, but rather, a choice. ONE OF HISTORY’S MOST PERPLEXING mysteries has been what caused the collapse of Angkor, the capital of the Khmer Empire, during the 15th century. For decades, researchers have pointed to the abrupt abandonment of the city in 1431 as a sign that a sudden catastrophe had taken place. However, according to a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Aca

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During WWII, Polish Refugees Found a Home in India

The Maharaja of Nawanagar opened his summer palace to displaced children. WHEN HE WAS ONLY SIX years old, Feliks Scazighino and most of his family were deported from Poland to a Siberian gulag. They remained there for almost two years. Like many refugees, when he was finally released from his imprisonment, he had nowhere to go. That is, until a Maharaja from India opened his doors to Scazighino and nearly a thousand Polish children. “I was with my mother, my brother, our nann

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