January 2012
25 posts
“We have now obtained the doubleeyed or twin pictures, or Stereograph, if we may...”
– Oliver Wendell Holmes, 1859. The NYPL has perfected the art of nineteenth-century 3D.
John Tyler's Grandsons Are Still Alive!
Shut UP, history! You are so crazy!
mentalflossr:
Born in 1790, John Tyler was our 10th President. He took office in 1841 after William Henry Harrison died. And he has two living grandchildren!
Not great-great-great-grandchildren. Their dad was Tyler’s son.
How is this possible? The Tyler men have a habit of having kids very late in life. Lyon Gardiner Tyler, one President Tyler’s 15...
“When Dostoevsky met Dickens in 1862 — a meeting that is hard to imagine —...”
– Verlyn Klinkenborg, “The Whirling Sound of Planet Dickens” (via fwriction)
A Different Stripe: Elizabeth von Arnim in Downton... →
Oooh, that’s a good suggestion NYRB.
nyrbclassics:
We know we are jumping on the bandwagon, but we couldn’t resist. The New York Times ran a piece about the publishing world’s eager reaction to Downton Abbey, and we just had to chime in with our own related author. In the first episode of the new season the odious Molesley presents a…
Three line poems from the NYPD police blotter.
Why didn’t we think of this? WHY?
michellelegro:
“At 4 a.m. on an Upper East Side subway platform, a stare-down between two men was being held. One blinked, and Joseph Owens, 32, attacked.”
Félix Fenéon, meet @neofeneon: Three line poems from the NYPD police blotter.
December 2011
17 posts
Santa's phone number? ME 2-6681. →
Better than Callin’ Oates? You decide. 719-26-OATES.
usagov:
You might know that NORAD tracks Santa’s path around the globe each year, but do you know why? Read the story.
“It is now the month of December, when the greatest part of the city is in a...”
– Seneca The Younger, from a letter referencing Saturnalia (via wwnorton)
November 2011
27 posts
The earliest known example of "Black Friday" to... →
Ben Zimmer has the origins of the phrase “Back Friday” over at the Visual Thesaurus, from an article about worker absenteeism, not shopper frenzy
Man arrested at Large Hadron Collider claims he's... →
Looks like Dr. Who is alive and well in Geneva.
michellelegro:
Police said Mr Cole, who was wearing a bow tie and rather too much tweed for his age, would not reveal his country of origin. “Countries do not exist where I am from. The discovery of the Higgs boson led to limitless power, the elimination of poverty and Kit-Kats for everyone. It is a communist chocolate hellhole and I’m here to...
“The NYPD have raided the Occupy Wall Street camp in Zuccotti Park, tossing...”
– Occupy Wall Street Library Evicted - GalleyCat (via rachelfershleiser)
When you destroy the OWS Library, you destroy LQ. That makes LQ ANGRY. Help rebuild.