Things that are utterly bloody fascinating

[ElizabethBest]

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.

Most of you will probably think I am "seriously mistaken

That's one way of putting it.

I think this too.

Bloody hell. Now there's 2 of them.

Why people believe utter nonsense like this. That's fascinating in its own way I guess.

Great thread though.

For those on page 1 discussing periods - here is a youtube video of Abby Cox trying out a traditional period apron

@TallulahBetty I had a very quick Google. I think this is the one he has but several similar books popped up.

The suffragettes ( a term coined by the Daily Mail ) were terrorists who conducted a bombing and arson campaign with targets ranging from St Paul's Cathedral and the Bank of England in London to theatres and churches in Ireland. This violence, which included several attempted assassinations, culminated in June 1914 with an explosion in Westminster Abbey.

Conveniently for some, Suffragette bombers have been airbrushed from history, leaving us with a distorted view of the struggle for female suffrage, with real evidence that their militant activities actually delayed, rather than hastened, the granting of the parliamentary vote to British women.

GobbieMaggie Ooh yes me too! Adore London (also my childhood home) Esp British Museum (Swear I could live there!) Also just the Tube alone, so fascinating and such a work of Art of sorts .Blood Sweat and Tears by many navvies and labourers gone unseen largely. Bridges ,Buildings ,Rivers and parks its got the whole lot

@Needmorelego Have you seen this website? Loads of strange streetview here https://neal.fun/wonders-of-street-view/

Thanks so much :)

Who was Shakespeare?
How did one man, with a grammar school education. write so many profound and varied things and why are there so few records of him?

Placemarking to read later - I just love these threads

This is so moving - thank you for the link. I'd love to see that exhibition (and would come away with tears pouring down my cheeks, not doubt).

Those poor mothers - obviously desperate, and loving their babies so much - and the children who were left there's many of whom did. (Of course, it was an age of high infant mortality)

What lovely names they were given, though. I really got the impression that the Foundling Hospital did its best to make them feel cared for.

@Kate0902900908 I'm so sorry about your losses but it does sound absolutely fascinating. Did you have any indications or other symptoms prior to finding out two years ago? I miscarried one of my twins when they were approximately 11 weeks and just accepted that my body / the placenta had reabsorbed the foetus as it wasn't visible by 16 weeks. I had no idea that the other twin could absorb the foetus.

A bit morbid but I can go into a rabbit hole with this. So many fluke things, some are stupidity or human error. Just all the weird ways we can shuffle off our mortal coil!

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unusual_deaths

Have ordered Your Inner Fish for my son. Thank you for the rec!

Thank you so much for this thread - it's fascinating!

Made me think of this:

toronto.ctvnews.ca/aerial-view-of-anatomically-correct-newmarket-health-centre-sparks-jokes-worldwide-1.2254688

It muse be so tempting as a town planner or architect to sneak in designs within the plans

Have bookmarked this on my laptop - this is great!

Nick Cave has a website called the red hand diaries where fans write in with questions or complaints and he discusses the issues in thought provoking letters back. Hundreds of letters.

The story of Lady Baker who explored East Africa in her teens in the 1850s. Definitely should be a movie! Florence Baker

My gran used rags. But poor women in the past had no underwear. I do not see why you would buy or make a sanitary belt instead of underwear.

For those who love an abandoned building:

Abandoned Burger King

This is a bit grim but I love programmes about surgery and operations. I’m fascinated by what surgeons can do with new technology and research. I don’t know how they can do such complex things through tiny keyholes. I’m also intrigued by the number of Drs and nurses they have in the operating theatre while operations are being done.

I went on a deep dive about Henry VIII's wives the other day and found an amazing YouTube channel called Royalty Now Studios where she examines contemporary accounts and portraits of historical figures and then recreates what she believes they would have looked like today. Really interesting! The videos are very relaxing so I've been watching them before bed.

The Pendle Witch Trials are also grimly fascinating. I recently discovered a great documentary presented by Simon Armitage called '1612: The Disturbing Witch Trial That Shook Britain'. You can search for it on YouTube. It delves into how the standards for credible witnesses have changed over time (the Pendle witches were convicted based on evidence from an 8 year old) and how the battle between Protestantism and Catholicism shaped so much of what went on in England at that time. It's so interesting.

Dumpedinkilburn There are a few theories that seem to suggest Shakespeare could have been several writers ,all under the umbrella that was his name.Mind you theres a similar on Jk Rowling as well! Maybe true or put about by jealous types(Her ex apparently says he "helped" her to write them" Jackanory I feel!

Something I saw for the first time at the weekend and was absolutely blown away. A murmuration of starlings. The sky was black and the birds were just going round and round in a massive flock.

I googled it when we got home and there are whole websites dedicated to it. I find birds generally really fascinating

www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/spot-a-starling-murmuration-this-winter.html#:~:text=At%20sunset%2C%20huge%20groups%20of,group%20of%20starlings%20in%20flight.www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/spot-a-starling-murmuration-this-winter.html#:~:text=At%20sunset%2C%20huge%20groups%20of,group%20of%20starlings%20in%20flight.

I love these type of threads thanks op
I find Victorian death photography sad and fascinating
sometimes the only picture they would have had of a loved one