Black and white still of a creature in heavy make-up with tangled hair reaching forward, beside the words “Frankenstein 1910”.

Cinema · Observations · Pop Culture · Humour

The first screen adaptation of “Frankenstein” in 1910 runs for 12 minutes

A Hundred Years Ago the TikTok Girls Were More Talented. Poster for the first screen adaptation of Frankenstein, 1910. The film runs for 12 minutes and is packed with metaphors of the meaning of existence and the search for the capacity to feel in earnest. The Monster looks more modern

Science · Mores · Humour

Umbrellas and hats with lightning rods in Europe after Franklin's 1752 invention

In the 1770s, Umbrellas and Hats with Lightning Conductors Came into Fashion in Europe. The device invented in America for diverting lightning strikes from houses made a strong impression on the fashionable European public, which promptly wished to secure against atmospheric electricity its own persons as well. Umbrellas with lightning

Books · People · Humour

Every fool will find a greater fool to admire him

The French poet Nicolas Boileau (1636-1711)

Art · Cinema · Museums · Pop Culture · Humour

Works by Vasnetsov, Bryullov and Repin in Dumbledore's Office at Hogwarts

As everyone knows, the portraits of Hogwarts' former headmasters, famous wizards and other eminent figures of the magical world hang in Dumbledore's office. But look closely, and among these sorcerers you will find Ivan the Terrible, as painted by Vasnetsov. Nor is that the only discovery the

NB! · Humour

If everyone is jumping, don't jump

NB! · Observations · Humour

Whose Side Are You On?

NB! · Faith · Observations · Humour

Sunday School Lessons Were Not Wasted

Faith · Cinema · Pop Culture · Humour

Chris Hemsworth in a dress recalls how the cunning Thrym thought he would marry the fairest of the goddesses, Freyja, whom he demanded as ransom for Thor's stolen hammer, only to discover beneath the bridal veil a monster in a gown: Thor himself…

Chris Hemsworth in a dress recalls how the cunning Thrym thought he would marry the fairest of the goddesses, Freyja, whom he demanded as ransom for Thor's stolen hammer, only to discover beneath the bridal veil a monster in a gown: Thor himself had arrived in the guise

NB! · Cinema · Observations · Humour

Still Waiting for a Sitcom About This Woman

Cinema · Observations · Mores · Humour

A post-Soviet person, raised in a standard-issue flat behind an iron door with three locks, itself set over a wooden door upholstered in leatherette, with a bolt, a latch and a little hook, cannot grasp the true horror of American films, in which the most

A post-Soviet person, raised in a standard-issue flat behind an iron door with three locks, itself set over a wooden door upholstered in leatherette, with a bolt, a latch and a little hook, cannot grasp the true horror of American films, in which the most terrifying things (a

Archive · Monarchies · Education · Humour

When you want to be certain that a person has truly recognised their mistake

Elizabeth II watches forensic science students of Berkshire College gather evidence at a simulated crime scene

A metal iron shaped like a rooster, with an open beak, a patterned tail and a wooden handle, stands in a display case.

NB! · Humour

Iron shaped like a rooster with an open beak and a wooden handle

The Iron: Don't worry, I won't tell a soul, a secret is a secret. The same iron, a moment later: