NB! · Architecture · London · Humour

To Milo of Croton, the Greek wrestler who killed a bull with a blow of his fist and ate it whole

To Milo of Croton, the Greek wrestler who killed a bull with a blow of his fist and ate it whole. A commemorative bas-relief that once adorned the London inn The Bull and Mouth. A good appetite is the guarantee of good health.

Glass display cases with rows of stamps and seals against a wall bearing the Russian inscriptions “Special control”, “Permanent” and “To be returned”.

NB! · Archive · Museums · Society

Collection of KGB officers' stamps at the KGB Museum in Vilnius

Stamps for every occasion in a chekist's life: prohibit, special control, secret. The KGB Museum, Vilnius

Painted portrait of a red-haired boy in a red coat and yellow breeches, hugging a small dark dog under a tree.

NB! · Monarchies · Paris · People

Portrait of the Dauphin Louis Charles with a dog and his death in the Temple prison in 1795

The Dauphin of France, Louis Charles, with his little dog. The unhappy child died in the Temple prison on 8 June 1795 as a result of cruel treatment. He was only 10

NB! · Art · People · Pop Culture

The portraits by the Baroque artist Chardin are an excellent example of the gender neutrality of eighteenth-century fashion: here the aged Jean-Baptiste wears an unusual peaked headdress and spectacles

The portraits by the Baroque artist Chardin are an excellent example of the gender neutrality of eighteenth-century fashion: here the aged Jean-Baptiste wears an unusual peaked headdress and spectacles. This is how he always looked

Portrait of an elderly man in spectacles, a white cap with a blue ribbon and a pink neckerchief against a dark background.

NB! · Art · Paris · People

Jean-Baptiste Chardin portrayed himself in a nightcap, not a turban

Self-portrait by Jean-Baptiste Chardin. The old man is wearing neither a turban nor a headscarf: it is a nightcap

A wall with a deep crack spanned by a white measuring plate, with N17 02.04.18 handwritten beside it.

NB! · Observations · Education · Humour

Crack in a university wall in Russia fitted with a measuring plate

Dropped in at the university. In principle, that is all one needs to know about higher education in Russia.

NB! · Aristocracy · Mores

The water really does have a connection to the Medici family: it comes from a spring on the grounds of their Tuscan hunting estate of Panna, from which the Medici had it brought to Florence in enormous flasks

NB! · Aristocracy · Heritage

This is the key to the Bastille: in 1790 the Marquis de Lafayette presented it to his old friend George Washington

This is the key to the Bastille: in 1790 the Marquis de Lafayette presented it to his old friend George Washington. Washington hung the key in his house at Mount Vernon, where it hangs to this day

Aristocracy · Books · Mores · People

If we are to believe that the prototype of the Queen of Spades was the old Princess Golitsyna, then we must of course bear in mind: Natalya Petrovna was one of the most beautiful women of her time, in Paris she was called the Muscovite Venus, Emperor Geor

If we are to believe that the prototype of the Queen of Spades was the old Princess Golitsyna, then we must of course bear in mind: Natalya Petrovna was one of the most beautiful women of her time, in Paris she was called the Muscovite Venus, Emperor George II gave

NB! · Art · Observations · Humour

Goya's "Time" shows two old crones with the comic remains of youthful make-up and vacant stares, before the question "What's new?" The old girls plainly fail to notice the mythical creature behind their backs

NB! · Books · People

In honour of Pushkin's birthday, let us recall one of the most popular covers of "The Queen of Spades"

NB! · Faith

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