Architecture · Faith · Heritage

Whale decoration on Catholic pulpits in Poland and Czechia and the story of Jonah

A Pulpit in the Form of a Whale in the Eighteenth-Century Polish Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Duszniki-Zdrój. Such a decoration for a pulpit is highly unusual in Catholic churches, and is found chiefly in Poland and Bohemia. The image of the whale evidently alludes to

Faith · Observations · Mores · Society

Pope Francis voices concern over priests and nuns viewing pornography online

Pope Francis has expressed concern that many priests and nuns use the internet to watch pornography. The Pontiff urged his brothers and sisters to be more wary of diabolical temptation. The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines, in so many words, the exploitation of sexual images as an offence against

Archive · Monarchies · Society · Saint Petersburg

Executive Committee resolves to arrest Nicholas Romanov and prevent his departure for England

Resolution of the Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet of 9 (22) March 1917:. “In view of information received that the Provisional Government has granted Nicholas Romanov the opportunity to leave for England, it has been resolved to declare forthwith to the Provisional Government the inflexible will of the Executive

NB! · Archaeology · Art · Museums · Humour

In the Secret Cabinet of the Naples Museum there is a depiction of a Pompeian fresco in which a satyr creeps up on a sleeping nymph, discovers that it is a hermaphrodite, and promptly tries to flee in horror, while the two-sexed object of his desire tries

Marble sculptural group on a slab, showing Hermaphroditus from behind wrestling with a satyr who is falling backwards.

Archaeology · Art · Mores

First-century AD symplegma of Hermaphroditus and a satyr from ancient Oplontis

I Do Not Love You, and That Is My Chief Virtue! A sculptural group of entwined bodies is called a symplegma. The symplegma of the 1st century AD, found in ancient Oplontis, depicts Hermaphroditus and a Satyr. Hermaphroditus, the son of Hermes and Aphrodite, is undergoing an extraordinary metamorphosis, while

Geography · Science · Nature

Bar-tailed godwit flew 13,560 km across the Pacific in 11 days without stopping

This small migratory bird, no more than 40 centimetres long, holds the record for the longest non-stop flight. The figure is phenomenal: 13,560 km. A five-month-old bar-tailed godwit chick flew over the Pacific Ocean for 11 days without stopping, travelling at a speed of about

NB! · Observations · Humour

My compliments to the person who came up with this

The East · Monarchies · Observations · Mores

Eleanor of Aquitaine, the chess queen and the widening of the queen's moves

When in chess the Ferz, meaning vizier, is called the Queen, this alludes to Eleanor of Aquitaine, mother of Richard the Lionheart, who is often named as the initiator of the chess reform that changed the name of the ferz. The photograph shows a chess figure of a queen from

NB! · Aristocracy · Monarchies · People

Rollo or Robert I, First Duke of Normandy, Viking by Descent, Great-Great-Great-Grandfather of William the Conqueror

Archaeology · The East · Science

The megalithic complex of Göbekli Tepe in Anatolia, between 9,000 and 12,000 years old

Göbekli Tepe in South-Eastern Anatolia is considered the oldest of the large megalithic structures in the world, its age estimated at 12 to 9 thousand years. The building of temples on this site began as early as the Mesolithic, which attests to the existence of a highly organised society

NB! · Art · Observations

I dream of a kitchen with a view from the window, like the one in this 2017 painting by Jennifer Diehl

Faith · Observations · People · Humour

Edmund Waldstein, son of theologians, and the story of the kiss from Pope John Paul II

There is a popular story about a child who grew up to become a Catholic priest after being kissed by Pope John Paul II. It is usually shared as a headline and a photograph in which the Pope brings his lips to the head of an infant. One would not

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