Spines of brown leather books with gilt tooling: “Histoire de Pierre III”, volumes 1 to 3, and “Vie de Catherine II”, volumes 1 and 2.

Books · Monarchies · Observations · Humour

Three volumes of “Histoire de Pierre III” and two of “Vie de Catherine II” in antique bindings

A History of Peter III: three volumes. The Life of Catherine II: two volumes. There is in this a certain inexpressible historical irony.

NB! · Humour

After His Trip to Europe, Mukhtar Is Unrecognisable

NB! · London · Monarchies · Pop Culture · Humour

What Makes Us Think That Charles III Is Subscribed to the "Thoughts of Great Lads" Page?

Colour map of Central Europe showing the many small territories of the Holy Roman Empire, with labels and a list of abbreviations.

NB! · Geography · Maps · Monarchies · Humour

Political map of the Holy Roman Empire in 1359

Has it fallen apart? The Holy Roman Empire in 1359. Mind you don't lose count

NB! · Art · Humour

A Man in a Pram: A Request to Return the Child to Its Mother

Books · Society · Humour

Blaise Pascal on how the number of lackeys decides who yields the way

How right it is to distinguish men not by their inner qualities but by their outward signs! Which of us two is to go first? Which is to yield the way to the other? The one who is less nimble. But we are equally nimble, so force will have to

NB! · Humour

Et tu, Brute?

Art · Observations · Humour

The Main Thing Is Not to Forget That a Dragon Is a Dragon

Illustration by the American artist Joseph Christian Leyendecker (1874-1951)

NB! · Observations · Palaeontology · Humour

How about this for a fossil?

How about this for a fossil? I am sure there is still some 10 per cent of charge left in it

Two gilded stools upholstered in green floral silk, each with a cushion and tassels on top and an arched opening with curtains.

NB! · Art · Monarchies · Museums · Humour

Pair of stools with kennels for the dogs of Louis XV, 1765

A pair of stool-kennels for the dogs of Louis XV, 1765. The luxury doghouse

NB! · Humour

Stand Back, You

Science · Society · Humour

Conclusions of a memorandum on astrology and its recommendations to astrologers

The Commission for Combating Pseudoscience of the Expert Council of the Russian Academy of Sciences has issued an 11-page memorandum on the pseudoscientific nature of astrology. The memorandum concludes: - Astrology does not meet the methodological requirements imposed on a scientific discipline. - Experimental tests of astrologers' claims yield negative