NB! · Faith · Mores · Humour
A Puritan warning to sinners about falling eyes and a devil on a cloud
If you sin, your eyes will fall out, and then the devil will carry you off on a cloud. Hold fast to Puritan values, and have a good week!
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Humour
NB! · Observations · Humour
Carved wooden post with two round rosettes in front of a church altar
👌🏼 impeccable design. Rather orthodox
NB! · Aristocracy · Art · London · Mores · Humour
Symptoms of Debauchery: Maria Anne Fitzherbert and Albinia Hobart, Countess of Buckinghamshire (the one with the larger jewellery) at the theatre, 1794
Symptoms of Debauchery: Maria Anne Fitzherbert and Albinia Hobart, Countess of Buckinghamshire (the one with the larger jewellery) at the theatre, 1794. Sometimes intraspecific competition drives one to extreme measures
Monarchies · Mores · Saint Petersburg · Humour
When Catherine II Was Giving Birth to Her Bastard Alexei Bobrinsky, Her Valet Vasily Shkurin Set Fire to His Own House to Distract Peter III, Who Loved to Run to Fires
When Catherine II was giving birth to her bastard Alexei Bobrinsky, her valet Vasily Shkurin set fire to his own house to distract Peter III, who loved to run to fires. Now that is devotion!
Archive · Books · Observations · Society · Humour
I Once Came Across a Remarkable Letter from the Jewish Writer Vergelis to the Party Bureau of the Union of Soviet Writers of the USSR on the "Vicious Peculiarities" of Jewish Literature
I once came across a remarkable letter from the Jewish writer Vergelis to the Party Bureau of the Union of Soviet Writers of the USSR on the "vicious peculiarities" of Jewish literature. The author surveys the work of several Jewish writers: Hofstein, Albirt, Fefer, Der Nister, Bergelson, Dobrushin,
NB! · Museums · Observations · People · Humour
Talleyrand's orthopaedic shoes that compensated for his lameness
Talleyrand's celebrated shoes, compensating, as far as may be, for his lameness. One thing can be said: in 200 years orthopaedics has come a very long way.
NB! · Art · Mores · Pop Culture · Humour
As You Will Understand, the Enema and the Little Lapdog Were Equally Significant Fashions of the Eighteenth Century
As you will understand, the enema and the little lapdog were equally significant fashions of the eighteenth century. Jean-Frédéric Schall
NB! · Art · Mores · Humour
Do you know what distinguishes an elegant and fashionable lady from a common bourgeoise?
Do you know what distinguishes an elegant and fashionable lady from a common bourgeoise? A tiny dog that watches attentively as the lady is given an enema. Pierre-Antoine Baudouin
NB! · Paris · Pop Culture · Humour
Parisian men's costume of the early 19th century in a Costume Parisien fashion plate
The Parisian suit is when one hand is, quite literally, in the trousers. Fashion and the hardships of male existence
NB! · Faith · The East · Ethnography · Humour
The Egyptian god Bes, protector of the home and hearth, and theories of the origin of his cult
This hideous dwarf with his tongue lolling out and his legs bowed is the Egyptian deity Bes, patron of house, home and hearth. The cult is believed to derive from the cat, though possibly from a shrewish mother-in-law
NB! · Faith · Heritage · Humour
At least 18 foreskins of Christ are known to the Church as relics of the Catholic world
The foreskin of Jesus is one of the mysterious relics of the Catholic world. The product of Christ's circumcision is otherwise known as the Holy Prepuce. One subtlety: the modern Church knows of no fewer than 18 prepuces
Books · Observations · Humour
Results of a poll of 758 participants, 537 of whom answered in the negative
Are you familiar with the works of the Holy Prepuce? anonymous poll. No – 537 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 71% Not yet, but I'd like to be – 170 👍👍 22% Yes, and I am impressed – 36 ▫️ 5% Yes, but not enthused – 15 ▫️ 2% 👥 758 people voted so far.