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

Detail of an old painting: part of a woman's face in a white headdress with a fly painted on it.

Art · Humour

The Master of Frankfurt portrays himself with his wife in a self-portrait of 1496

When the Landlady Was Telling the Truth About There Being No Cockroaches. Self-Portrait of the Master of Frankfurt with His Wife, 1496

NB! · Art · Observations · Education · Humour

Perhaps everyone has seen this already, but the crib sheets of a Spanish student at the University of Málaga, published by his lecturer, really do look like a work of art

Archaeology · Observations · Ethnography · Humour

Serpent Stone from the Roman town of Alauna in Britain, with Celtic and Roman symbols

Good morning! Here is the so-called Serpent Stone from the Roman civilian settlement of Alauna in Britain. The meeting of Celtic traditional beliefs and Roman symbolism looks for all the world like Aesculapius' serpent that has failed to coil itself around a phallus of considerable girth. Such stones

Aristocracy · Archive · Monarchies · Mores · People · Humour

Funeral at sea of Lady Edwina Mountbatten off Portsmouth on 25 February 1960

When the Queen Mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, was told that Lady Edwina Mountbatten, the aunt of Prince Philip, would be buried at sea, the Queen Mother replied cheerfully: “Dear old Edwina, she always did love to make a splash!”. That the last Vicereine of India, Lady Mountbatten, had willed to

NB! · Monarchies · Humour

When you find out that your coronation is not until 6 May next year

In a watercolour, a man in a top hat and a woman in a bonnet and shawl stand on a park path beside a pavilion under trees.

Archive · Monarchies · Mores · Humour

A lady alone with a gentleman on a park path by a pavilion, watercolour

Queen Victoria and King Louis-Philippe of France at the Château d'Eu during the royal visit of 1843. Alone with a man. What a scandal!

Black-and-white portrait of Jacques Brel in a jacket, chin resting on folded hands, gazing thoughtfully to the side.

People · Pop Culture · Humour

Portrait of Jacques Brel, French poet, singer-songwriter and actor

Humour Is the Healthiest Form of Mindfulness. The French poet, singer-songwriter and actor Jacques Brel

Watercolour costume sketch of a human figure with a radish for a head and a dress of green leaves.

Archive · Art · Observations · Humour

Costume designs for Luigi Manzotti’s ballet “Love” at La Scala, 17 February 1886

Which Fruit or Vegetable Do You Feel Like Today? Costume sketches for the ballet "Amor", presented by Luigi Manzotti at La Scala on 17 February 1886. One would, of course, like to be a salad, but all one manages is a potato

Science · Mores · Humour

Humphry Davy tested nitrous oxide on himself, and the gas became a parlour entertainment

Laughing gas, now widely used in Western medicine as an analgesic and inhalation anaesthetic, first came into use in the 1800s precisely as a substance that provoked fits of merriment when inhaled. The British chemist Sir Humphry Davy, who was investigating the treatment of disease by gases, was the first

Books · Moscow · Observations · Society · Humour

A flame war is raging around the Mayakovsky Library's post for Yesenin's birthday

A flame war is raging around the Mayakovsky Library's post for Yesenin's birthday. I see a great many angry comments about the supposedly blasphemous treatment of the poet's legacy. What chiefly outraged the public, as I understand it, was the disclaimer "do not

Black-and-white portrait of a man in round glasses with thick dark eyebrows and moustache, holding a cigar beside his cheek.

Cinema · People · Humour

Portrait of American comedian Groucho Marx with a cigar and round glasses

Inside every old man is a young man wondering what happened. American comedian Groucho Marx