Things that are utterly bloody fascinating

samsswampy · Today 14:57

I’ve always been interested in abandoned places like Spinalonga the leper colony island near Crete...

Oh, we went there a few years ago, we loved it, DD was very bored, aged 6. She also didn't like Knossos!

@lieselotte

Lifts that can go horizontally and move around on track things that shift like railway points. I don't like the look of this at all.

Britinme · 07/03/2023 16:10
A really interesting book about the pre-war period in Germany is Erik Larsen's "Into the Garden of Beasts". Fascinating.

Thanks for the recommendation, I have just downloaded this on my kindle.

I am also fascinated by the language Friesian - it is the closest language to English and spoken in the Netherlands and a different type in northern Germany. You can learn it on Futurelearn.

I also came across a course for Sorb which is spoken in Eastern areas of Germany. You can learn anything on the internet!

I’ve always been interested in abandoned places like Spinalonga the leper colony island near Crete and Famagusta that Victoria Hislop wrote about

It was an abandoned farm in Scotland. Empty bottles of Gaviscon everywhere so I nicknamed it as I never used "real" place names.
From what I could work out it belonged to a couple and he was a cattle farmer, lots of auction receipts and notebooks. I think his wife died and then he lived there, in disarray, until he passed as well. It was a really sad place. Demolished now I believe.

I dont know if youve seen this video, from Hinterland - nva.org.uk/artwork/hinterland/

It's an amazing building. Pure brutalism.

Agree, I just watched the whole thing. Couldn't believe it.

That Kensington Avenue is fascinating and horrifying, you're right.

I have to say, I think this is the best thread I’ve ever come across on mumsnet! So thank you OP.

i agree @mumsnettowers this should be in classics!

Let us know if it's as good as it looks!

We'll be visiting the vicinity a bit later in the year. We'll def check this out. Looks fascinating.

The exact stats according to Wikipedia are:

the elevators slanted inward at 7.5 degrees. The are 61 feet (19 m) apart on the ground floor, but only 4.5 feet (1.4 m) apart on the top.

Margate Shell Grotto - wow! We went to Margate in 2019 and I'm now irked that I didn't know about it!

@lieselotte

My mum and I both have a recurring dream about a horizontal lift with brick walls. We both feel sure that it actually exists/existed but are not sure where

Not quite horizontal but the lifts in the George Washington Masonic Memorial in Washington DC deserve a mention on this thread.

The building is tiered - like a wedding cake - (picture of it here) - and it is very wide at the bottom but very narrow at the top

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Masonic_National_Memorial

It has two lifts/elevators that run the whole height of the building but on the ground floor they are at either end of the wide ground floor. By the time you get to the top they are side by side. If you are ever in DC it's worth a visit because it is the most bizarre thing. Also the view at the top is stunning.

Apparently the lifts are on a slanted track but even though they explain it to you, it is quite hard to get your head round exactly how they go from being so far apart in the lobby to being so close on the top floor.

Wish this thread had been around in lockdown!

A shout out for anyone in and around London to check out www.ianvisits.co.uk/ Been to some random little gems (sewing machine museum in Tooting, tour of the original London airport in Croydon, Amersham Fair Organ Museum etc).

Bit niche, but I'm fascinated by horse colour genetics, and even the names for different colours (like the poetic "sorrel" and "buckskin" in American English, and the variations in Icelandic).

When we go anywhere we look at Atlas Obscura. It has some main places to visit, but it is also full of obscure places. For example we visited the Old Operating Theatre Museum in London, Black Cats of Carreras, etc. Normally if we are going somewhere we look at this site and look at what other things are close by. Many are small things but fascinating.

Sad that so many people thought the EU was costing us money with little in return. It was a huge benefit. Thanks to the EU a lot of areas were regenerated.

I think it’s been mentioned but I’m fascinated by Everest and specifically the bodies that are there - how they are left, how much it costs to retrieve them, how they’re preserved in the ice. It’s so haunting.

Oh my this is so fascinating! I’ve never ever heard of it. I can’t believe they don’t even know how old it is. What a wonderful mystery.

@rbmilliner id never heard of that, just looked it up, how intriguing!

I went to Margate recently and visited the shell grotto. Apparently it was discovered early 1800's if I remember correctly, when the house above was being renovated. No one knows when or why it was built so has no history beyond that - a total mystery!

This is a fabulous thread and has given me lots to look at. Thanks to all of the contributors.

www.scotland.org/features/elsie-inglis-the-war-heroine-who-refused-to-go-home-and-sit-still

Hugh Pym's great Aunt was a lady called Dr Frances Ivens. She , along with countless others, saved many without any acknowledgement or thanks from the British Government 😡.

@MissBattleaxe i visited when I went to Edinburgh. Fantastic tour