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Archive for category History

French people reek.

Aug 5

Posted by Natasha Latysheva in Geography, History | 1 Comment

freeimages.co.uk photos of objectsThe rumor/caveat: French people allot the most minimal of efforts to personal hygiene and thus smell icky.

This international legend dates back to the 16th century, an epoch during which Parisians disposed of their household wastes by nonchalantly hurling it out of their windows, not really bothering to forewarn the unsuspecting pedestrians strolling below.

Furthermore, the court of Versailles was notorious for its deplorable hygiene; nobles practically bathed in perfume to sufficiently mask the naeuseating odors.

The stereotype persists in modern day society, and actually, it’s not entirely unwarranted. The French consume, on average, about half of the soap of their English and German confreres, and less than 1 in 2 frenchmen opt to wash themselves daily.

Source: Article appearing in the newspaper Ca m’intéresse.

The origin of coffee?

Jul 29

Posted by Natasha Latysheva in Geography, History, Items | No Comments

AccordiCaféng to historical discoveries, coffee first appeared in Ethiopia (more precisely, in the province of Kaffa) in the east of Africa. It seems that the locals of this region have been getting jittery with it since about the 8th century. These Ethiopians then summarily introduced the delightful caffeinated concoction to Yemen, but it wasn’t imported to the Orient until the 15th century. The city of Moka in Yemen, situated on the ideal trading spot alongside the Red Sea, transformed into the first important coffee port by the mid 15th century.

As for Europe, the importation and consumption of coffee commenced around the 16th century.

There are about 60 types of coffee; however, only two of these are regularly cultivated as ingredients in the ambrosial drink, those being the Arabica and the Robusta (Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora). Arabica is a small and extremely fragile plant whose fine, complex aroma is enhanced in proportion with the altitude at which its grown; fields of Arabica plants are scattered throughout South America and oriental Africa. The Robusta is a relatively stalwart and resistant plant and is capable of maturing in both tropical regions and at comparitively low altitudes.

A good coffee generally consists of 90 to 95% Arabica bean and 5 to 10% Robusta. The sensuous texture and musty fragrance of the latter allow for a thicker cream and a more striking and acute taste, making it an ideal ingredient for espressos and ristrettos. But note well, coffee blending is a fervently contentious domain, with its own sets of zealous purists (usually advocates of 100% Arabica cuppa’s) and visionary avante-garde experimenters.

Sources : Revue Nespresso, Wikipédia.
Image : La lène

On the origins of body piercing..

Jul 27

Posted by Natasha Latysheva in Geography, History, Items | No Comments

In our time, it’s common to see someone spontaneously getting a piercing simply for it’s aesthetic appeal. However, piercing has an astoundingly ancient origin and has even been assimilated into rituals within certain tribes.

freeimages.co.uk photos of objectsEar piercing: The story goes that sailors would don a golden earing so that they might sell it to finance their rescue in the event of a shipwreck. It’s also said that holes in the ear stimulate an acupunctural point thought to ameliorate vision, but this hasn’t been verified.

Nostril piercing has originated principally in India where it was reserved for the superior castes, particularly fiancés. In this case, the prenuptial couple would wear a small chain linking the nose piercing to an earring worn on the same side. This getup would be summarily taken off after the marriage ceremony.

Mayan and Aztec stories were already recounting tales of priests who would pierce their tongues to facilitate better communication with the gods. The origin of piercing the lips also comes from these two illustrious civilizations, who would adorn their fissured lips with jewels. In Central and South America, certain tribes pierce their lower lips and then largen the hole so that it might comfortably fit a decorative wooden plate display.

Piercing of the central strip of cartilage in the nose comes from New Guinea where the Papuans decorate this prized aperture with an ornament made of bone or wood.

Navel piercing seems to come from Egypt; only the pharoah and the royal family were permitted to wear it.

Piercing the nipple became popular thanks to Roman centurions. The guard closest to Ceasar bore a ring through his nipple fissure, a symbol of virility and great courage.

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Why do we toast?

Jul 25

Posted by Natasha Latysheva in History | No Comments

A toast... by Omar G!.

Whether during the drinks before a meal or at the end of a meal, it’s pretty common for guests at a dinner party to toast while wishing each other good health.

This practice dates back to the Middle Ages. During this epoch,  it wasn’t too rare to die from being poisoned or from inadvertently ingesting some poison during a meal. To cut down on the risk, it was custom to touch your drinking glass against those of your fellow guests before drinking in order to pass a bit of the liquid from person to person. If the charming party-goer to whom you proposed to clink your respective glasses refused your offer, you could then be justified in having serious doubts about the contents of your drink. On the other hand, if they accept your humble invitation, then they will in turn gentlly hit their glass against yours. In this way, the respective guests could ascertain the loyalty of their fellow guests (or perhaps just the lack of homicidal tendencies) as well as generally feel more merry and at ease during the celebration knowing that their mortality won’t be tested during the course of the evening.

The expression ‘To health!’ associated with this gesture also comes from the same practice; if there is no poison in the glass, one consequently ‘wishes’ oneself good health by virtue of not incurring bad health. Today, however, toasting is usually more of a symbol of friendship rather than a skeptical search for sly murderers and deadly chemicals.

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Equestrian Statues

Jul 22

Posted by Natasha Latysheva in History, Items | 2 Comments

It’s always amusing to note how certain things are bursting with information even if you’re completely incognizant of it. That’s the case with equestrian statues. Yes, these statues do much more than display guano stains of various thickness depending on their location; they actually inform you of the cause of death of the mounted figure depicted on the horse.

- If the horse has its two front paws in the air, this signies that the warrior was has died in combat. A true hero then!

- If the equine has a single front leg raised, it means that the rider was pretty badly beaten up in the course of battle but managed to get out before breathing his last breath on the battlefield. But he eventually died of the wounds inflicted during the brawl. A fighter nonetheless!

- And if your ungulate has his four hooves firmly planted on the platform, then your rider has done nothing glorious enough to be commemorated. Doubtless, he was well-known in his time and he probably died old, riche, and pot-bellied, of a natural death (perhaps by the ‘fires of love’).

Finally, if you happen to encounter an equestrian statue that has 3 legs in the air, then the cavalier was about to be in for a nasty fall flat on his face. But this is nothing but a personal interpretation.

More seriously, try think of these categories the next time you come across a famous statue.

P.S.: It seems that certain sculpteurs scrapped this code which they considered to be rather veiled and far from tacit. Don’t be shocked to discover a statue that isn’t in line with the rule.

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 and zero are called Arabic numerals. Who invented them?

Jul 22

Posted by Natasha Latysheva in Geography, History | No Comments

Contrary to their name, it wasn’t the Arabs that came up with these numbers. Rather, it was the Indians!

In Europe, Roman numerals were used until up to the Middles Ages. So to write 138, you essentially had to write 100+10+10+10+5+1+1+1, i.e. CXXXVIII. With this system, arithmatic operations were inevitably extremely complicated.

At the same time in India,a much better system was in place: each number, including zero, was represented by a symbol. So then, to express the idea of ‘one dozen’, one only had to write the symbol ‘1′ followed by  the symbol ‘2′.

The Arabs, being ingenious mathmaticians and mighty travelers, immediately understood the inherent value in the Indian system; they adopted it and spread it up to the Middle East. It was here, in the 10th century, that Europeans finally discovered this system and adopted it for themselves.

ChiffresArabesIndens

Since these numbers were in use by the Arabs, the Europeans called them ‘Arabian numerals’, ignorant of their true Indian origin. For what it’s worth, these ‘Arabic numbers’ are in Arabic called ‘Hindu numbers’.

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