Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Mumsnet classics

Relive the funniest, most unforgettable threads. For a daily dose of Mumsnet’s best bits, sign up for Mumsnet's daily newsletter.

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Original poster

Things that are utterly bloody fascinating

770 replies

ElizabethBest · 06/03/2023 14:24

Let's hear it please - I love a good wikipedia rabbit hole. I'll start - The Willard Suitcases. Over 400 suitcases of possessions were found in an attic at the Willard Insane Asylum belong to patients who had died whilst inpatients so never left. The New York State Museum started a project to document the cases and their contents, and you can learn all about it and see the cases on their website.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
15
WarningToTheCurious · 06/03/2023 23:18

jizzlord · 06/03/2023 23:08

Paternoster lifts I've spent hours reading about and watching them after riding on one In Germany

We had paternosters in the main library at uni in the 1980s.

And I never tried them out because the only time I set foot in the library was freshers week (in my defence, all our books were in the department library).

Feels like a missed opportunity.

Tabitha1960 · 06/03/2023 23:21

Timingiseverythingcoll · 06/03/2023 22:51

Yes I would love to see this programme too!

my ancestor was put in prison following a protest outside parliament. Id love to know more about these women!

Show quote history

What was your ancestor's name? I could look her up for you in the papers and the HO files.

Bingoisthebestnotbluey · 06/03/2023 23:23

@Hermya How about ivf conception?

catfunk · 06/03/2023 23:26

The gut brain link and new research on the microbiome. It's fascinating and will be changing a lot of healthcare.....

WheresMyRemoteControl · 06/03/2023 23:29

I've always found the murder story of the Russian Romanov family fascinating.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MurderofftheRomanovvfamily

I also often sit and ponder how much stupider the human race is getting every year in comparison to our ancestors who built Rome, the pyramids, etc.

I also often wonder how people discovered random things like baking (who decided to mix yeast and various ingredients together to make bread, cakes, etc?) or home remedies - like cabbage leaves on engorged breasts to get rid of mastitis?

cassiatwenty · 06/03/2023 23:58

SinnerBoy · 06/03/2023 16:51

This programme - I appreciate that not everybody likes fungus!

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b041m6fh

🙂

Kate0902900908 · 07/03/2023 00:02

I found out 2 years ago I am a human fusion chimera. I absorbed the cells of my non identical twin in early pregnancy and have twos sets of DNA. I have two completely separate sets of reproductive organs including 4 ovaries. 2 mine 2 my female twin. Twins are the only ones working.

I keep loosing babies because I have a rare blood type and she wouldn’t have had so my body has aborted 4 babies in a row as technically they are completely foreign bodies. Heart just stops.

I have various other signs autoimmune conditions and organs in different places and a heart shaped pancreas.

All a bit strange.

cassiatwenty · 07/03/2023 00:07

Learning about so much of oceans unexplored and creatures that live very very deep, Marianna Trench, microbiology

cassiatwenty · 07/03/2023 00:08

Also, Georgiana Spencer and her life

Calistan · 07/03/2023 00:11

Hermya · 06/03/2023 22:54

What we traditionally understand of how the immune system works in pregnancy (like a transplant organ) isn’t actually true. There’s been a whole raft of research, including a textbook, that shows the absolutely fascinating way the body actually adapts.

There is now research to suggest that there is an immunological clock in pregnancy, and we can set our watches by it.

Additionally, some other research that suggests that some miscarriages are caused by the body not making the correct cytokine shift at an early stage in pregnancy.

Quite frankly every pregnancy is an absolute miracle biologically.

Yes, that's why incubating babies in men fake wombs will never happen.

Freetodowhatiwant · 07/03/2023 00:14

Kate0902900908 · 07/03/2023 00:02

I found out 2 years ago I am a human fusion chimera. I absorbed the cells of my non identical twin in early pregnancy and have twos sets of DNA. I have two completely separate sets of reproductive organs including 4 ovaries. 2 mine 2 my female twin. Twins are the only ones working.

I keep loosing babies because I have a rare blood type and she wouldn’t have had so my body has aborted 4 babies in a row as technically they are completely foreign bodies. Heart just stops.

I have various other signs autoimmune conditions and organs in different places and a heart shaped pancreas.

All a bit strange.

That is utterly fascinating, although I am very sorry to hear about your losses, that when you get pregnant it’s actually your twins eggs that are getting pregnant. I have so many questions but feel bad probing you about this.

I had auto immune related miscarriages and was treated with steroids and other immune modulators, not sure if they would be helpful for you but it made me think of this also when I read a PP talking about the immune response in pregnant women.

Kate0902900908 · 07/03/2023 00:19

@Freetodowhatiwant ask away! I don’t mind!
I had drugs in the last pregnancy but it didn’t work. I am beginning to see it’s not going to happen it’s biologically not all in order and in some ways I’m ok with that. I’ve come to understand if my twin was a boy I would have been what is known as hermaphrodite and that would have been tremendously difficult. So I have to count my blessings I suppose X

LemonadeSunshine · 07/03/2023 00:35

countdowntonap · 06/03/2023 21:54

Geoguessr now downloaded and I’m officially addicted!

Me too! It's amazing 😀

SecretCoconut · 07/03/2023 00:35

Tabitha1960 · 06/03/2023 18:28

The suffragettes. It's a much longer, bigger, more complicated and exciting story than most people seem to think. I cannot get enough of the subject: lectures, newsreels, photographs, books, websites, individual biographies. If I have a spare hour to fill I sometimes just log on to the newspaper archives and read contemporary news stories about their activities.

A side benefit to this is that, when recently a Mastermind contender chose the suffragettes as her specialist subject, she scored 9 out of the 11 questions asked of her, whilst I got all 11 correct.

I am at a complete loss to understand why a TV series has not been made depicting the whole story. All they've ever been given is one six-part, low-budget series made in 1974 and all but forgotten.

These women deserve better than that!

Totally agree a documentary series needs to be made. I loved the 2015 film Suffragette, that was the first time I really learned about them and have read a lot more since including Emmeline Pankhurst's 'My Own Story'.

Doggydarling · 07/03/2023 00:38

catfunk · 06/03/2023 23:26

The gut brain link and new research on the microbiome. It's fascinating and will be changing a lot of healthcare.....

I agree, think it'll be astonishing the links between gut health and general health. I'm trying to eat better and just earlier took my kefir out of the fridge to start a new batch (but I am in bed eating a crunchie so while the intentions are good the body is weak).

Misunderestimated · 07/03/2023 00:58

Tabitha1960 · 06/03/2023 18:28

The suffragettes. It's a much longer, bigger, more complicated and exciting story than most people seem to think. I cannot get enough of the subject: lectures, newsreels, photographs, books, websites, individual biographies. If I have a spare hour to fill I sometimes just log on to the newspaper archives and read contemporary news stories about their activities.

A side benefit to this is that, when recently a Mastermind contender chose the suffragettes as her specialist subject, she scored 9 out of the 11 questions asked of her, whilst I got all 11 correct.

I am at a complete loss to understand why a TV series has not been made depicting the whole story. All they've ever been given is one six-part, low-budget series made in 1974 and all but forgotten.

These women deserve better than that!

Many fascinating people involved too. Perhaps you should write the series.

emotionalsupperhuman · 07/03/2023 01:22

Randonautica

HarrietSchulenberg · 07/03/2023 01:45

Timeslips especially the Bold Street stories from Liverpool.
Researching who lived in my house in its 124 year history.

AmandaJonah · 07/03/2023 01:48

How little is known about even fairly recent history of ordinary people. For example in Britain ordinary working class unmarried women used to let period blood run down their legs and this was seen as important to attract a husband.
liberationcollective.wordpress.com/author/lesleysmit/

ComeTheFckOnBridget · 07/03/2023 02:15

AmandaJonah · 07/03/2023 01:48

How little is known about even fairly recent history of ordinary people. For example in Britain ordinary working class unmarried women used to let period blood run down their legs and this was seen as important to attract a husband.
liberationcollective.wordpress.com/author/lesleysmit/

Fascinating!

Sadly these accounts leave us with many questions that I certainly am currently unable to answer. So for example, when did this attitude to menstrual bleeding change and why? Why has the fact that it was relatively recently acceptable to openly bleed amongst some women, been erased from our history and largely forgotten? And when exactly did this practice die out?

And, vitally, what did it mean to play pop with the manager?

kateandme · 07/03/2023 02:28

died.hmm debatle.
and put in the attic.
more like confiscated,stolen.robbed of everything they new or owned.
abuse mistreated and basically killed.
suitcases hidden away from them as a way of punishing and stripping them as soon as they entered.
diminished them on sight. took away all they had left. left them begging for their belonging.for pctures of family or the dress of the baby they just had to give up or their mums hankie.
they didnt deserve to own things.
they were taken.
they didnt die inside.they never left.were trapped in some of the worst most horrific treated ways you could ever imagine.
and also at this stage not just those who were ill. just people seen as lesser than.degraded. made to feel like nothing.never to see their belongings again.

kateandme · 07/03/2023 02:32

kateandme · 07/03/2023 02:28

died.hmm debatle.
and put in the attic.
more like confiscated,stolen.robbed of everything they new or owned.
abuse mistreated and basically killed.
suitcases hidden away from them as a way of punishing and stripping them as soon as they entered.
diminished them on sight. took away all they had left. left them begging for their belonging.for pctures of family or the dress of the baby they just had to give up or their mums hankie.
they didnt deserve to own things.
they were taken.
they didnt die inside.they never left.were trapped in some of the worst most horrific treated ways you could ever imagine.
and also at this stage not just those who were ill. just people seen as lesser than.degraded. made to feel like nothing.never to see their belongings again.

oh and then hidden in the attack so the many "death" "record of life" "disappearances" coulsnt be found.

OldFan · 07/03/2023 02:34

This is a bit morbid but obscure genetic diseases. I found out about all of those on the NORD. rarediseases.org/

I was going to make a book where every character has a disease/deformity, a mental or psychological illness, and an odd spiritual belief or paraphilia, or something like that. Ideally it would be in a 'choose your own adventure' format where which way you went decided who you'd meet etc. But it sort of got a bit sick and complicated. The working title was 'Sick Kink of Death.' 😂

OldFan · 07/03/2023 02:37

No, I think it was 'Sick Kink of God.'

OldFan · 07/03/2023 02:41

@AmandaJonah I've heard that theory before and read a site about it, but I don't actually believe it. I heard it about the Regency era. But a lot of the dresses were white. Imagine having to get the period blood out all the time. Clothes were not as easy to get as they are now and people would pass on their clothes etc.