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Ramblings of an unkempt man
Category: History
 

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Category: History

American football, mascara and the Evil eye…….

American football, mascara and the Evil eye…….

March 11, 2018 History / Odd

A “dirty look,” a “withering glance,” “if looks could kill,” and “to stare with daggers” are a few common expressions that derive from one of the most universal of fears, the evil eye. It has been found in virtually all cultures. In ancient Rome, professional sorcerers with the evil eye …

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Danger, yawning ahead……..!

Danger, yawning ahead……..!

March 10, 2018 History / Odd

  Today, covering the mouth when yawning is considered an essential of good manners. But the original custom stemmed not from politeness but from fear—a fear that in one giant exhalation the soul, and life itself, might depart the body. A hand to the lips held back the life force. …

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The Independent Soviet Republic of Limerick…….

The Independent Soviet Republic of Limerick…….

March 9, 2018 History / Odd

    You probably didn’t know, and it also came as a surprise to me, that for 12 days, the city of Limerick in Ireland and its surrounding area was a self-declared Soviet Republic. This came about at the start of the Irish war of Independence as a protest against …

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The worst novelist in history….

The worst novelist in history….

March 7, 2018 History / Odd

Who was the worst novelist in history? A worthy candidate would be a schoolmistress from Northern Ireland whose novels were so uniquely and thrillingly terrible that, in the early years of the last century, she became an ironic cause célèbre among the cultural luminaries of her time. Step forward, Amanda …

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“Lie back and think of England”……..

“Lie back and think of England”……..

March 4, 2018 History / Odd / sex

This famous piece of advice was supposedly given by Queen Victoria to her 17-year-old daughter, Princess Victoria Adelaide Mary Louise, on her wedding night in 1857, and has since become a catch-phrase for anything unpalatable. But it is most unlikely that the Queen ever said it; the phrase only appeared …

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The rather peculiar Sir Tatton Sykes………

The rather peculiar Sir Tatton Sykes………

March 3, 2018 History / Odd

  Sir Tatton Sykes ( 1826 – 1913) was convinced that in order to maintain good health the body should be kept at a constant temperature. In order to achieve this he had a collection of overcoats made for him, each a different colour and all made to fit over …

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A very short history of the Four-Leaf Clover…..

A very short history of the Four-Leaf Clover…..

March 2, 2018 History / Odd

I am currently finishing off another small book, this time on superstitions, in my new “Short History” series. So I thought that I would share with you an excerpt –  the history of the four-leaf clover… More than any other factor, the rarity of the four-leaf clover (normally, the clover …

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A very short history of beans……

A very short history of beans……

March 2, 2018 History / Odd

I have just put together a short Kindle book on the history of beans. In which you will discover the decidedly odd history of the humble bean . Discover why Pythagarus would not eat beans, why it was forbidden for nuns to eat them, how a fart from eating beans started …

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A very short history of kites……

A very short history of kites……

March 1, 2018 History / Odd

Did you know that kites originated in China as military signaling devices. Around 1200 B.C., a Chinese kite’s colour, its painted pattern, and particularly the air movements it was forced to execute communicated coded messages between camps. The ancient Chinese became so proficient in constructing huge, lightweight kites that they …

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A short history of Sex-Related Words……

A short history of Sex-Related Words……

February 28, 2018 History / sex / Words

With the conquest of England in 1066 by William of Normandy, the Anglo-Saxon language of the British Isles underwent several alterations. As the French-speaking Normans established themselves as the ruling caste, they treated the native Saxons and their language as inferior. Many Saxon words were regarded as crude simply because …

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