Art · Observations · Humour
A magnificent lemon, if we trust the title of the painting, or an orange, if we trust our own eyes. By the master of the Golden Age of Dutch painting Jan Davidsz. de Heem, 1665 Have you ever seen a fruit peeled in so unusual a fashion?
NB! · London · People · Humour
Archive · Monarchies · Saint Petersburg · Humour
Napoleon Sent Two Letters to Saint Petersburg and Received No Reply. Worse than importunate people are only importunate emperors
Art · Humour
What a lovely child! Is it a boy? It's a Van Gogh. In 2015 this child was sold for 7.6 million dollars
Archive · Books · Science · Humour
Why is it coldest at dawn and before morning, of all the hours of the day? So an unknown inquirer asks Paul Taverner, Rector of the University of Lyon, in 1597. But we already know that the darkest hour is just before the dawn. Thanks be to Benjamin Disraeli or
Archive · Books · Humour
Which years are best for a man to wish for? A thinker of the 1600s speaks to the point: The manly, or stalwart years: from the age of 35 manhood begins and lasts until 48. In them lies all the perfection of human life
NB! · Monarchies · People · Humour
Books · Observations · Humour
Went to an exhibition. Seethed. Cursed the mediocrity and the lies. Dined. Out of boredom got drunk And swayed like ripe rye. Literal translation Sasha Chorny
NB! · Observations · Mores · Humour
Observations · Science · Education · Humour
The Minister of Education and Science has decided to turn to nature-like technologies. Though, to be fair, Da Vinci was at it more than five hundred years ago. It used to be called bionics, bioengineering, biomimetics and biomimicry. Now it is "nature-likeness" (prirodopodobiye), presumably under the
NB! · Mores · Humour
Books · Observations · Humour
In the spirit of Meghan Markle, just a little