Historical

The Shaftesbury Byzant
If you pay a visit to the Museum in the Dorset town of Shaftesbury you are quite likely to see a very strange exhibit that looks a bit like a cross between an open umbrella and a May garland. It is a metal structure that has been gilded to make it look like solid gold, although that is not the case. This is the Shaftesbury Byzant (which is a corruption of “besom”, a type of sweeping brush). It has a fascinating history.
By John Welford5 years ago in FYI
One amongst very few auction houses dealing with original, rare vintage posters
James Montgomery Flagg, Wake Up, America Poster Auctions International is one of the not very many sale houses on the planet managing only in rare, unique vintage banners. Since the last part of the 1980s, we've held sell-offs 3-4 times each year. Banner devotees, lovers, gatherers, displays, and driving workmanship historical centers all throughout the planet esteem Rennert's Gallery as one of their most confided in scenes for effective transfers, special purchasing openings, unparalleled involvement with the field, and a perfect eye for quality in unique banner craftsmanship.
By Jenna Miller5 years ago in FYI
Unknown Facts Regarding World War 2
During WWII, the British Security Service or MI5 had a system called the Double XX system. It was an anti-espionage system that relied on spies and two agents to disseminate anonymous information. For example, agent Zigzag (or Eddie Chapman) has leaked German information by reporting that their bombs at the target, Central London. But in reality, when they are started down many miles and they are always lost. As a result, the Germans never aligned themselves with their mission and continued to intensify the war. Another anonymous information system is OperationMincemeat. The British attached high-secret documents to the corpse and dumped them off the coast of Spain. When a German chancellor received false documents, he believed that British troops were planning to invade Greece and Sardinia and immediately set out to capture them. In fact, the target was Sicily and Alliestook in Axis power by surprise. And while the Nazis struggled to find these spies and two agents, the British Double XX system was very successful. In fact, after the war, it was discovered that all agents sent to Britain in Britain had been arrested or simply surrendered.
By Sita Dahal5 years ago in FYI
Mad Potter of Biloxi
Ohr was brought into the world in Biloxi, Mississippi, on July 12, 1857. George Ohr has been known as the first art potter in the United States, and many say the best. The so called "mad potter of Biloxi" is known particularly for his extraordinary capacity to make dainty walled jars on a potter's haggle different procedures for misshaping a piece's shape—e.g., winding the jar to make an undulating design, leveling the opening in fragments to get a pie covering impact, squeezing the edge and bowing it in a grouped lace impact, and so forth In 1881-2, beginning in New Orleans, Ohr jumped on cargo prepares and halted in 16 states to visit each potter he could discover. In 1883, in Biloxi, he assembled his first ceramics. A productive specialist, he is said to have made more than 10,000 pots in the course of his life.
By Lisa Wilson5 years ago in FYI
Babies in Incubators Were Once a Sideshow
It’s a story that may be unfamiliar to a lot of people. Unless of course, you’re a fan of sideshows. I’d like to introduce you to a new type of sideshow exhibit that might surprise you. it turned out for a time at the beginning of the 20th century, babies became stars of sideshows for a very weird reason.
By Blessing Akpan5 years ago in FYI
The Confederate Counterfeiter
We’re talking about the king of Confederate counterfeit, Samuel Curtis Upham. He was a first-time counterfeiter of money of the Confederate side of the American Civil War. He was making fake Confederate money and was scamming the racists. The majority of the Confederate South didn’t own slaves but went out to war and were dying to own slaves of the low possibility that one day they’ll get super-rich and be able to own other people.
By Blessing Akpan5 years ago in FYI
The US and the UK Almost Went to War Over a Pig
You may be aware of the time that the UK went to war with what would become known as the United States in what we call the Revolutionary War. But did you know the US and the UK almost went to war again, due to a series of ridiculous events that began in 1859, on an island called San Juan Island? San Juan Island has nothing to do with Puerto Rico at all. It is a chunk of land located between the US and Vancouver Island. At the time, this place was home to settlers from the US and to British employees of the Hudson Bay Company.
By Blessing Akpan5 years ago in FYI
Pepsi Briefly Became the Sixth Largest Navy in the World
For some time, Pepsi became the sixth-largest Navy in the world. It turns out that it was some very clever bartering, some very clever kind of quid pro quo between the Russian government and the Pepsi Corporation.
By Blessing Akpan5 years ago in FYI
Nellie Bly | Women of History
Even if you’ve never heard Nellie Bly’s name, you may already know a little bit about her story. In this case, you may have seen the show American Horror Story -- in particular, the second season Asylum. If you’ve seen it, you know that Sarah Paulsen plays a journalist named Lana Winters; she gets herself committed to an insane asylum in order to expose the horrific treatment practices and abuse taking place there. The story of Lana Winters on American Horror Story was loosely based on just one piece of the incredible life story of Nellie Bly, the subject of this edition of Women of History.
By Shea Keating5 years ago in FYI
Rushton Triangular Lodge, Northamptonshire
If you think that the best things always come in threes, then a visit to Rushton Triangular Lodge is a must. Everything about this place is triangular. It has three walls and three storeys, with three windows in each. Each wall is topped by three triangular gables and in the centre is a three-sided chimney. On the exterior walls the decoration also revolves around the number three.
By John Welford5 years ago in FYI
The Spare is the Heir. Top Story - July 2021.
In general, the second sons of British monarchs have a pretty sweet life, enjoying all the royal perks with far less responsibility. The spares aren't destined for the throne so they're free to pursue personal happiness (to a certain extent, anyway). Aside from ribbon cutting, tree planting, and balcony waving, their royal duties are pretty limited.
By Kathy Copeland Padden5 years ago in FYI
Louis Pasteur: Portrait Artist Turned Medical Giant
LOUIS PASTEUR never really wanted to study science: in fact, he had long harboured the dream of being an artist. Yet he went on to change medical and veterinary science, his experiments establishing the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurisation and revolutionising the way disease was treated.
By Wilson da Silva5 years ago in FYI