Launched today:
The Register of British Slave-Traders
"presents biographical data related to each of the known investors in the transatlantic traffic in enslaved African people from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries."
DNA and Archeological Research Reveal the Overlooked History of Japan’s Women Warriors
By Sage Helene
Books about Japanese fiction at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subject/36794
https://youtu.be/Aom0Ftwhd8g?is=P0MT-jY_Mrt33UrG
Lecture on Lydia Zamenhof (in English) -- 2026 Usona Landa Kongreso
My new book 'Atlas Gothica: An Alternative Guide to the World's Most Curious Destinations' (Headline/Hachette) is now on pre-order! The book takes in 50 Gothic destinations around the world, including vampire-plagued Victorian graveyards, haunted English libraries, witch-haunted caves, mummy-stuffed catacombs, Dracula's Whitby and much more. You can discover the very raven the inspired Edgar Allan Poe, a Chinese city based on a blueprint of hell, the tombs of Voodoo queens, and the lair of the legendary Mothman. Grab it here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Atlas-Gothica-Alternative-Curious-Destinations/dp/1035434385/ #gothic #folklore #history #mythology #weird #paranormal #literature #travel #books #graveyard #death #ghost #vampire #vampires
How A Cotton Bandage Shortage During World War I Led To The Invention Of The Maxi Pad
During World War I, the Kimberly-Clark paper company began making bandages from a newly-developed cotton alternative known as Cellucotton — and frontline nurses started using the highly absorbent product during their periods.
Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera’s Blue House in Coyoacán Was a Refuge for Leon Trotsky... Until It Wasn‘t
H. Keith Melton and Nigel West on Trotsky and Kahlo‘s Simmering Affair Amidst Political Turmoil
"The #FirstResponders - The black men from Pittsburgh who made up #America’s original paramedic corps wanted to make #history and save lives—starting with their own."
by Kevin Hazzard
https://magazine.atavist.com/2019/the-first-responders-paramedics-pittsburgh-civil-rights-ems
#longform #writing #atavistmagazine #amreading #BlackMastodon #BlackFedi #BlackHistory #BlackExcellence #AmericanHistory #EMS #paramedics
"The hope that the internet would obey rules existed at one end of a spectrum; at the other end was the more widely held enthusiasm for the idea that the internet would be a place without rules."
49 years ago today
Talking Heads: 77, is the debut album by the American rock band Talking Heads, released on this day in 1977, includes the singles "Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town", "Psycho Killer" and "Pulled Up"
#punk #newwave #postpunk #TalkingHeads #history #otd #punkrockhistory
33 New Deal Posters That Helped Lift America Out Of The Great Depression
Beginning in 1935, artists for the Works Progress Administration created thousands of posters that promoted the arts and public health, encouraged Americans to visit national parks, and informed citizens about New Deal initiatives.
"1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History--and How It Shattered a Nation" by Andrew Ross Sorkin. My rating: 5 out of 5 stars. Published in 2025.
Book description: A New York Times Notable Book of 2025. This book is a narrative of the most infamous stock market crash in history—one with ripple effects that still shape our society today. In 1929, the world watched in shock as the unstoppable Wall Street bull market went into a freefall, wiping out fortunes and igniting a depression that would reshape a generation. But behind the flashing ticker tapes and panicked traders, another drama unfolded—one of visionaries and fraudsters, titans and dreamers, euphoria and ruin. Andrew Ross Sorkin takes readers inside the chaos of the crash, behind the scenes of a raging battle between Wall Street and Washington and the larger-than-life characters whose ambition and naïveté in an endless boom led to disaster. The dizzying highs and brutal lows of this era eerily mirror today’s world. of AI proliferation, and in my opinion, over investment, and a bubble which will one day burst.
This was an excellent read. I highly recommend this book.
#nonfiction #history #WallStreet #investment #StockMarketCrash #wealth #books #reading @bookstodon
This Box of 300 Love Letters Showed Up Out of the Blue. Who Was the Whimsical World War II Soldier Who Wrote Them?
Nobody knows who dropped Speedy Weber’s correspondence at a USO office in 2022. Researchers have finally tracked down two living relatives who remember him
Honestly, this article on "Doggerland" is absolutely fascinating
"The floor of the North Sea is now recognized as the largest well-preserved prehistoric archaeological landscape in the world. It would have been a paradise for the bands of hunter-gatherers who followed the retreating ice sheets into the region to settle there. They, however, were not Doggerland’s first inhabitants. Millennia prior to their arrival, the North Sea basin had belonged to Neanderthals, who lived there for hundreds of thousands of years."
Vecinos is a new video account about Latin American history (the videos are in English by the way). You can follow the account at:
➡️ @vecinos_latin_american_history_vids
(Don't worry if it looks blank to you, that just means no one from your server follows it yet. Follow the account and its videos will start gradually showing up on your server too.)
You can also follow their non-video account at @VecinosHistory
#FeaturedPeerTube #History #LatinAmerica #LatinAmericanHistory #PeerTube
A time-warp to my room around late 1992, where I show how exhilarating it was to be a game developer. 😆
#TeamHoi #PixelArt #GameDev #gaming #games #game #gamer #RetroGaming #RetroComputing #RetroGames #RetroTech #VintageComputing #retro #history #commodore #amiga #computing #1990s #tech #technology #vintage #nostalgia #digital #DigitalArt #designer #artwork #art #artist #arte #arts #GraphicDesign #MastoArt #FediArt #CreativeToots #ArtistsOnMastodon #hoi #MoonChild
What three female figures in the Bayeux tapestry reveal about medieval women
by Natasha R. Hodgson
The women of the Bayeux tapestry tell a story as compelling and important as the main depiction of the battle.
Books about Bayeux tapestry (including La Tapisserie de la Reine Mathilde by A. Levé) at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subject/4445
"Marmee & Louisa: The Untold Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Mother" by Eve LaPlante. Your rating: 4 out of 5 stars. Published in 2012.
Book description: A moving portrait of Louisa May Alcott and her mother, the real “Marmee.” This biography is based on the Alcotts’ intimate diaries and other private papers, some recently discovered in a family attic and others thought to have been destroyed, to revive this remarkable daughter and mother. Abigail May Alcott—long dismissed as a quiet, self-effacing background figure—comes to life as a gifted writer and thinker. A politically active feminist firebrand, she fought for universal civil rights, an end to slavery, and women’s suffrage.
I was totally captivated by this book. Not only does it present a portrait of the characters, but it also paints a vivid picture of the times in which they lived on this earth. My life is richer for having read this book.
Rated The Rape of Recy Taylor 8/10
Rated Britain's Greatest Codebreaker 8/10
Rewatched this as a result of having recently seen THE IMITATION GAME and deeming it severely lacking in its approach--historical and thematic--to Alan Turing's work. On technical levels this film could use some improvement in its cinematography and editing, but given that it bills itself as a made-for-tv docudrama it comes across as both insightful and competent.What I appreciated most about the film was its construction and the way it dramatized the interactions between two people--Turing (Ed Stoppard) and his therapist, Franz Greenbaum (Henry Goodman). We get a bit of backstory of both, of course, but the interaction between the two allow us to get a better sense of the inner-workings of Turing's mind before, during, and after his service at Bletchley Park.This back-and-forth is complemented by the more traditional style of sit-down interviews, which include relatives and descendants of Turing and Greenbaum. More importantly to me, though, was the way in which the film perfectly contextualizes his general thinking about the computability of life with his discoveries of and contributions to computer science, artificial intelligence, and biological mathematics.What I appreciated most about this was the way in which it positions the sciences (and universities, really) as places of interdisciplinary study. Wozniak for the most part stresses the integral nature of his contributions to computer science and machine learning, but it is left to the professors to explicate how his genius would influence later thinkers and both postulate (and shape) the theories, philosophies, and extent(s) of artificial intelligence.The film isn't solely about his mind, however, it's also about his heart. And here the film also gets it right. We learn about the loss in his youth of his childhood friend Christopher and, perhaps masterfully, the philosophical question of immortality through AI is raised while at the same time Turing's conception of a means of discerning true intelligence--his eponymous test--comes into form.At nearly the same time his love for Queen and country is tested when, following a burglary at his residence, law enforcement are called, but are more interested in his sexual proclivities than in meting out justice to the thieves. What's interesting about the recollection of this event is how it's used to color Turing. We learn from various sources about how open he was about his sexuality, even with these officers, and also that he was aware that he bore some social privileges as an academician.Charged with gross indecency and offered the choice between jail and chemical castration, the film shows us how Turing's disillusionment and anger with the world and British society began. What he didn't count on was that his mind might become just as addled and confused as his heart. The idea that the country he helped save from Nazi Germany's atrocities could visit the same upon its own citizens would eventually drove him to his death. The film captures this reality with little to no effort and it doesn't shy away from it. It can't.CODEBREAKER is a film that is as much about genius as it is about the social contexts and relationships that inform and constrain it. What this film does right is depict a man wronged by society simply because he could be wronged. It is a tale about villainy and state violence, but it's also a story about a boy who wanted to give something back to the world and vindicate the worth of an adolescent friendship. It's a glimpse into a time characterized by secrets and surveillance. Deeply human despite its flaws, it passes the test.
Scientists Studied 185,896 Miles of Roman Roads—and That’s Still the ‘Tip of the Iceberg’
After developing the biggest-ever map of Roman roads, a team of archaeologists has found that some of our most basic assumptions about them may be way off.
By Gayoung Lee
https://gizmodo.com/the-biggest-map-of-roman-roads-ever-made-still-isnt-big-enough-2000811770
Original article:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-75453-3
Books about Rome -- Antiquities at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subject/7494
Five Centuries of Scottish Art, by Duncan Macmillan, created in association with the Royal Scottish Academy
.
#Scotland #Ecosse #book #livres #Art #ScottishLiterature #ScottishArt #ArtBook #bookshops #librairies #bookstodon #history #histoire
The law of the innocents: Ireland’s medieval precursor to the Geneva conventions
How a seventh-century monk drew up a blueprint for modern international humanitarian law.
by Chris Doyle
Books about Medieval Ireland at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subject/26627
