Carbon dioxide posted:

Googled that quote. Wikiquote says there's no actual proof Hesiod ever said that... is it a hoax?

Slammy posted:

System Metternich posted:

A 1709 portrayal pf Buchinger along with various pictures showing off what he could do, e.g. "woodcutting", "shaving himself", "reloading a gun", "playing dice" etc.

Alhazred posted:

At age eight Sun Yaoting was castrated by his father so that he could serve the Chinese emperor as an eunuch. Eight months later the emperor was deposed.

System Metternich posted:

That's super interesting, can you recommend some literature about it?

HEY GAL posted:

it was to show off your body, but that pose those guys are doing is also a specific thing to this culture/time, which denotes manliness and martial power. read this article for more
http://www.rug.nl/research/portal/files/3346046/BremmerH5.pdf

quote:

The most intriguing duel fought between women, and the sole one that featured exposed breasts, took place in August 1892 in Vauduz, the capitol of Liechtenstein, between Princess Pauline Metternich and the Countess Kielmannsegg. It has gone down in history as the first “emancipated duel” because all parties involved, including the principals and their seconds were female. Also, the confrontation was organized and presided over by the Baroness Lubinska, who had a degree in medicine (a rarity for a woman in those days) and was prepared to minister to any wounds incurred. Before the proceedings began, the baroness pointed out that many insignificant injuries in duels often became septic due to strips of clothing being driven into the wound by the point of a sword. To counter this danger she prudently suggested that both parties should fight stripped of any garments above the waist. Certainly, Baroness Lubinska was ahead of her time, taking an even more radical take on the (at the time) widely dismissed theories of British surgeon Joseph Lister, who in 1870 revolutionized surgical procedures with the introduction of antiseptic. With the precautions Baroness Lubinska recommended, the topless women duelists were less likely to suffer from an infection; indeed, it was a smart idea to fight semiclad. Given the practicality of the baroness’ suggestion and the “emancipated” nature of the duel, it was agreed that the women would disrobe—after all, there would be no men present to ogle them. For the women, the decision to unbutton the tops of their dresses was not sexual; it was simply a way of preventing a duel of first blood from becoming a duel to the death.

At the dueling ground on the fateful day, all formalities were carried out to the letter including an attempt at and refusal of reconciliation. The ladies engaged and, after a few trifling feints and thrusts, a wild slash from the princess brought about a light flow of blood from the countess’ nose. Seeing the injury she caused, the shocked princess, in a stereotypical feminine gesture, threw both hands up to her cheeks. Just then, the countess lunged and pierced the princess through her right forearm. The sight of the ensuing blood caused the respective seconds to faint. The footmen and coachmen, who had been ordered to stand some distance away with their backs toward the action, heard the cries and ran toward the women to render aid. Baroness Lubinska, however, decided the male servants had more salacious motives and attacked them with her umbrella, shouting, “Avert your eyes, avert your eyes—you lustful wretches!” The baroness was once again ahead of her time in sensing the necessary precautions. It was as if she already knew the gossip and speculation that would result from this premier example of what could have become a clothing–optional sport.

The rumors started just as soon as the Princess Metternich and Countess Kielmannsegg cast aside their weapons. Artists and storytellers speculated about the duel, most of their tales centering specifically on the scanty clothes the women wore. It is humorous that most recounts of this historic event fail to mention two important things: the winner of the duel (Princess Metternich) and the reason why the women came to arms in the first place—they disagreed over the floral arrangements for an upcoming musical exhibition. Bared breasts, apparently, overshadow such trivial details.

Government Handjob posted:

Holy hell this is so bad I can't stop listening to it.

Khazar-khum posted:

Let's step away from the table for a moment, shall we?

When Elizabethan theatres are excavated, they usually find the shattered remains of ceramic boxes. The boxes had an opening like a piggy bank, but there was no way to get the coins out.

What the theatre managers did was wait until the performance ended, then go into a back room with the principal parties and smash the box. The coins would be counted and properly divvied up.

The name of that little room has survived to this day. It's called--box office.

quote:

The Old Price Riots of 1809 (also sometimes referred to as the O.P. or OP riots) were caused by rising prices at the new Theatre at Covent Garden, London, after the previous one had been destroyed by fire. [...] The riots lasted three months, and ended with John Philip Kemble, the manager of the theatre, being forced to make a public apology.

On 20 September 1808, the original Covent Garden Theatre was destroyed by a fire along with most of the scenery, costumes and scripts. [...] The new theatre opened on 18 September 1809. The cost of constructing and furnishing the building, however, was so high that the management was forced to raise the prices from six shillings to seven for the boxes, from 3 shillings and sixpence to four shillings for the pit, and the third tier, usually reserved for the public, was converted into private boxes at a rent of £300 per year.
[...]
On the opening night, riots broke out during a performance of Macbeth and continued throughout the play. At the end, the audience refused to leave so Kemble sent for the Bow Street police, but this only made the situation worse, and the rioters did not disperse until 2am. After the first night, the rioters only came in at half price time, and the inside of the theatre was covered with banners and slogans. Newspapers and journals reported frequently on the riots, citing as central to its continuation a perceived suppression of customary liberties and a lack of dialogue between the patrons and the management. At one point, a coffin was carried in with the message "Here lies the body of the new price, which died of the whooping cough on 23 September 1809, aged 6 days". The riots were to last another 64 days. However, unlike earlier riots, little damage was done to the theatre and the whole affair was characterised by a "spirit of fun". The rioters even had a name for themselves: the OPs. The OPs stretched across class and cultural lines, ranging from businessmen to labourers, and pushed Kemble to lower the prices. Kemble did so (and also issued an apology) and the situation returned to normal, until he tried to maintain half the number of private boxes at the start of the next season – the riots started again, forcing him to withdraw his plan.

Krankenstyle posted:

He also had a wooden leg (iirc because he had to cut his real leg off with a pocket knife due to frostbite) that he called "lortebenet" or "the poo poo leg".

Edgar Allen Ho posted:

I know about the Great Ancient Hwan Empire of Korean but where did the Finnish side of the hyper war meme come from?

Waci posted:

The idea of the Earth being flat didn't start as a meme though.

Queen_Combat posted:

Translation for brokebrains that can't read cursive?

Alhazred posted:

If a Norwegian surname is rare enough you have to ask each one with that name if its okay for you to take it.

Jerry Cotton posted:

Obviously I know that since I'm classically educated. (I.e. read Astérix, Lucky Luke, and Tintin as a kid.)

Red Bones posted:

So are you drinking directly from a carton on your desk at work, or do you put it into a glass first?