Those bawdy medievals
Penis trees, anus trumpets, horseplay, and more. And then you go to Hell. Source: Got Medieval.
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John Hale on Themistocles and the Athenian navy
Hale is a powerful writer — his opening two-paragraph description of a trireme’s pulsing, relentless approach will make the blood surge in your own veins.
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The first 15 countries to grant women the vote
In chronological order: 1893 New Zealand1902 Australia1906 Finland1913 Norway1915 Denmark1917 Canada1918 Austria, Germany, Poland, Russia1919 Netherlands1920 United States1921 Sweden1928 Britain, Ireland All other countries in the world: Granted later or not yet granted. Interesting: Six of the fifteen are British or former British colonies, and the other nine are northern European. Source. Related: This clip on the Enlightenment of the 1700s, which transformed the Western world’s
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Toohey’s five strategies of altruism
The ethics of altruism [from the Latin, alter-ism or other-ism] holds that others are the standard of value. One is good to the extent one puts the interests of others first, acts to achieve their interests, and, when necessary, sacrifices one’s interests for their sake. In The Fountainhead, Ellsworth Toohey is the major strategist of
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ABSURDITY AND MEANINGLESSNESS? JEAN-PAUL SARTRE and ALBERT CAMUS. Lecture 3 of Postmodern Philosophy [Peterson Academy course]
Suppose that God really is dead. Then, Sartre says “there is no human nature, because there is no God to have a conception of it.” Camus asks whether we are then like Sisyphus, “the absurd hero.” Themes: The decline of religion? The reality of war. Depression and the Depression. The pointlessness of existence? Existence precedes
Innovations in transportation: The Box
One reason why goods are much less expensive now: “Freighters used to carry loose cargo in sacks and crates of various sizes, crammed into holds and piled on deck by stevedores. That began to change in 1956, when a Texas trucking magnate named Malcom McLean refitted an oil tanker with steel frames on its decks
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Rossini and the end of the castrati
One more thing to thank the Enlightenment for. I’m reading a biography of Rossini. Gioachino was born into a musical family in February 1792 (two months after the death of Mozart), but his family always struggled financially. In the music world of the 1700s, the castrati had reached the height of their popularity due to
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Which important leftist said this?
(No peeking at the answer below.) “I want everyone to keep the property that he has acquired for himself according to the principle: benefit to the community precedes benefit to the individual. But the state should retain supervision and each property owner should consider himself appointed by the state. It is his duty not to
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