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Leo Tolstoy playing with his grandchildren in a photograph from 1909
Don't Worry, Children, It's Only 1,300 Pages. Leo Tolstoy playing with his grandchildren, 1909
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NB! · Archaeology · Archive · The East · Humour
During the building of the pyramid of King Neferirkare, the tallest of the Fifth Dynasty pyramids, one of the officials in charge of its construction was so overcome by the pharaoh's visit that he died of fright
Faith · Monarchies · Humour
“God Is with Us
«С НАМИ Б҃ГЪ. РАЗУМѢЙТЕ ЯЗЫЦЫ И ПОКОРѦЙТЕСѦ», that is, “God is with us. Understand, O nations, and submit yourselves”. The quotation, in Church Slavonic, is from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah and is inscribed on the obverse of the medal “For the Pacification of Hungary and Transylvania”. The
Art · Mores · Humour
A young man in very strange breeches points at his unfaithful sweetheart in the company of another man
Czech engraver Wenceslaus Hollar, 1646
NB! · Art · Observations · Science · Humour
Should you ever grow vain, compare yourselves, lying awake until two in the morning with a telephone in your embrace, scrolling through reels, with the seventeenth-century astronomer of the Dutch painter Gerrit Dou, who, with hourglass and globe, passes h
Should you ever grow vain, compare yourselves, lying awake until two in the morning with a telephone in your embrace, scrolling through reels, with the seventeenth-century astronomer of the Dutch painter Gerrit Dou, who, with hourglass and globe, passes his nights over a scientific treatise. Do you feel the
Art · Observations · Humour
Imaginary Portrait of the Poet Virgil by Ludger tom Ring the Elder
The poet Virgil, an imaginary portrait by the German artist Ludger tom Ring the Elder (1496–1547). The artist's first name is Ludger, his surname is tom Ring. When I say "attentively", this is precisely the expression and the degree of concentration I have in mind
NB! · Faith · Observations · Rome · Humour
The Institute for Religious Affairs as the official name of the Vatican bank
Officially, the Vatican Bank is called the Institute for the Works of Religion. Ingenious
Monarchies · Observations · Humour
British scientists calculate that Wales occupies zero area on the flag of the United Kingdom
British scientists have done the sums. The area of the flag of Great Britain that symbolically represents Wales is equal to zero. This could be remedied by the green stripe or the dragon from the Welsh flag, or by the yellow cross of St David, the patron saint of Wales,
NB! · Cinema · Pop Culture · Saint Petersburg · Humour
Tom Bombadil in Amazon's new season of "The Lord of the Rings" and Tom Bombadil in the 1991 Leningrad Television play "The Keepers"
Tom Bombadil in Amazon's new season of "The Lord of the Rings" and Tom Bombadil in the 1991 Leningrad Television play "The Keepers". The Briton Rory Kinnear against the Soviet actor Sergei Parshin
NB! · Moscow · Observations · Humour
A miniature entitled: Heat of +25 Opposes Cold of -2 in Moscow, May 2024
A miniature entitled: Heat of +25 Opposes Cold of -2 in Moscow, May 2024. We understand, of course, on whose side the sun stands
NB! · London · Observations · Society · Humour
The Royal Arms Vanish from the British Prime Minister's Lectern
The royal arms have vanished from the lectern of the British Prime Minister. What might this mean?
NB! · Archive · Monarchies · People · Humour
Wind blows up the skirt of Queen Elizabeth II in a black-and-white photograph
Queen Elizabeth II. The wind lifts her skirt