Today:
You know the drill: this is the thread for all your history-related outpourings that are not necessarily questions. Minor questions that you feel don't need or merit their own threads are welcome too. Discovered a great new book, documentary, article or blog? Has your Ph.D. application been successful? Have you made an archaeological discovery in your back yard? Did you find an anecdote about the Doge of Venice telling a joke to Michel Foucault? Tell us all about it.
As usual, moderation in this thread will be relatively non-existent -- jokes, anecdotes and light-hearted banter are welcome.
The Outline did a really nice article on AskHistorians this week--without our knowledge! I'm not sure I'd call us soothing, but...check it out!
A Good Place Where Nothing is Fake and There Is No News
The subreddit r/AskHistorians has nothing but soothing facts, stories, and explanations.
[It's] run by a strict community of historians that don’t tolerate your internet nonsense. You make jokes? You don’t cite your sources? You’re history.
It’s an intellectually inviting space with no strings attached. People are excited to give out their knowledge and I’m excited to receive it.
Is it weird that I am a bit excited for tomorrow's Saturday Showcase? To tease your historical appetites, I have a piece on the (British) equid cost of the Second Boer War that I've prepared. It has tables and sources, >!and most distressingly, a lot of dead horses. 350,000 if you want an estimate.!< So unless you're dying to know why the British lost so many horses, keep an eye out for tomorrow!
I'm interested in the history of food, cooking and the different cultures around them. Can anyone recommend good books or documentaries on these?
Last week me and my friends organised The Interactive Pasts Conference 2 in the Netherlands, a (scientific) conference about video games and the past (history, archaeology, accuracy, museums, archives, you name it) and it was a smashing success with over 100 attendees from all over the world. I'm still super stoked about what we all achieved, but I kinda underestimated how thoroughly tiring it is to organise and run a conference. I cleared this entire weekend, and I think I'll just go sleep.
PBS just put out a documentary on American eugenics and I'm excited about it.
I usually focus my readings and studies on the First World War, a war certainly filled with its share of atrocities and tragedy, and while there have been things I've read that have emotionally gotten to me, nothing has gotten to me like some of the passages in Ordinary Men, which I am currently reading (It's about a Reserve Police Battalion 101 and its involvement in the Holocaust, and on a more analytical side it's about why "ordinary men" felt compelled to take part in the Holocaust in WWII).
I physically had to put down my kindle today and walk away today, crying. I've never had that sort of reaction to a history book before.
Did any medical advances come out of the Black Death during the Middle Ages?
HEY YOU!
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