Aubergines , eggplants and a tale of two fanny`s….

“Used in present-day English chiefly by America speakers as a synonym for the aubergine, aubergine was originally applied specifically to the white-skinned, egg-shaped variety of the vegetable. This was in the mid-eighteenth century (available evidence suggests that the term predates aubergine by about 30 years). By the middle of the …

Dung and Douching – Contraception through the ages…….

For tens of thousands of years, the only contraceptive method was coitus interruptus, the biblical sin of Onan, in which the man withdraws to ejaculate outside the woman’s body. Every culture sought its own foolproof method to prevent conception. In ancient China, women were advised to swallow quicksilver (mercury) heated …

Urbanus Magnus or a Book on Manners………

As England became more prosperous in the 16th century there was a renewed focus on etiquette and manners. As befitting the influence of the renaissance this was also a time which saw a renewed interest in ‘household ordinances and serving manuals’- namely a series of Anglo-Latin courtesy poems which gave …

Caligula……

The appalling Roman emperor Caligula (12 – 41 AD) had a somewhat novel approach to foreplay according to the historian Suetonius in his De Vita Caesarum (121 AD). Caligula would invite attractive aristocratic couples to dine with him. Then during a pause in conversation he would sidle over to a …

The rather peculiar history of the Codpiece…..

A codpiece (from the Middle English cod, meaning scrotum) was an important article of men’s clothing for about two hundred years from 1400 to 1600 and were was still worn in Shakespeare’s time (1564 -1616). The codpiece did not just appear overnight:; it evolved. In the late Middle Ages, when …

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