Tiller

Today I learned some strange things and I want to share them with you

Posts by topic

  1. religion (8)
  2. music (8)
  3. usa (4)
  4. language (4)
  5. politics (4)
  6. world-war-ii (3)
  7. food (3)
  8. uk (3)
  9. monarchy (3)
  10. history (3)
  11. geography (3)
  12. italy (3)
  13. art (3)
  14. film (3)
  15. food-industry (2)
  16. india (2)
  17. london (2)
  18. folklore (2)
  19. non-conformism (2)
  20. ireland (2)
  21. stunts (2)
  22. go more obscure…
  1. asia (1)
  2. drinks (1)
  3. nazi (1)
  4. germany (1)
  5. shoes (1)
  6. corporate-harms (1)
  7. radiation (1)
  8. science (1)
  9. bulgaria (1)
  10. erosion (1)
  11. north-carolina (1)
  12. trains (1)
  13. transport (1)
  14. farming (1)
  15. milk (1)
  16. adverts (1)
  17. business (1)
  18. biscuits (1)
  19. cake (1)
  20. queen-victoria (1)
  21. legal-battle (1)
  22. property-dispute (1)
  23. english-law (1)
  24. florida (1)
  25. disney (1)
  26. law (1)
  27. lawyers (1)
  28. victorian-era (1)
  29. liverpool (1)
  30. islam (1)
  31. mesoamerica (1)
  32. maya (1)
  33. chichen-itza (1)
  34. equinox (1)
  35. astronomy (1)
  36. mexico (1)
  37. neologisms (1)
  38. erasmus (1)
  39. henry-viii (1)
  40. stubbornness (1)
  41. latin (1)
  42. jazz-age (1)
  43. renaissance (1)
  44. forgery (1)
  45. sculpture (1)
  46. racism (1)
  47. abolitionism (1)
  48. slavery (1)
  49. alps (1)
  50. ethnomusicology (1)
  51. bollywood (1)
  52. kenya (1)
  53. blues (1)
  54. clowns (1)
  55. regency-era (1)
  56. theatre (1)
  57. egalitarianism (1)
  58. quakers (1)
  59. war (1)
  60. cultural-vandalism (1)
  61. athens (1)
  62. greece (1)
  63. beijing (1)
  64. china (1)
  65. crime-and-punishment (1)
  66. cross-dressing (1)
  67. traditions (1)
  68. justice (1)
  69. wales (1)
  70. campania (1)
  71. naples (1)
  72. volcanoes (1)
  73. fractal (1)
  74. maths (1)
  75. bible (1)
  76. christmas (1)
  77. medicine (1)
  78. psychology (1)
  79. apulia (1)
  80. animism (1)
  81. ghosts (1)
  82. japan (1)
  83. creativity (1)
  84. irish-language (1)
  85. culture (1)
  86. dance (1)
  87. indonesia (1)
  88. bali (1)
  89. lancashire (1)
  90. temperance (1)
  91. alcohol (1)
  92. cowboys (1)
  93. animal-cruelty (1)
  94. animals (1)
  95. hollywood (1)
  96. egotism (1)
  97. radio (1)
  98. hci (1)
  99. ux (1)
  100. technology (1)
  101. melanesia (1)
  102. creole (1)
  103. vanuatu (1)
  104. eccentricity (1)
  105. aristocracy (1)
  106. belgium (1)
  107. brussels (1)
  108. architecture (1)
  109. construction (1)
  110. trade-unions (1)
  111. morality (1)
  112. drugs (1)
  113. sex (1)
  114. belfast (1)
  115. terrorism (1)
  116. sheep (1)
  117. biological-warfare (1)
  118. british-army (1)
  119. scotland (1)
  120. wildlife (1)
  121. jamaica (1)
  122. james-bond (1)
  123. go less obscure…
  1. history • monarchy • india • asia • geography

    Sikkim

    A country in Asia I’d never heard of – and how it disappeared. Read on…
  2. history • germany • nazi • world-war-ii • drinks • food

    Fanta’s Nazi past

    The soft drink’s connections, historical and more recent, to the Third Reich. Read on…
  4. monarchy • bulgaria • world-war-ii • politics

    Simeon II

    The king who came back – very late. Read on…
  5. geography • usa • north-carolina • erosion

    Mirlo Beach

    A quickly eroding beach in North Carolina. Read on…
  6. milk • farming • food • food-industry • transport • trains • uk

    Milk trains

    Special trains that delivered milk around Britain. Read on…
  7. food • uk • cake • biscuits • world-war-ii • business • food-industry • adverts

    The Cake and Biscuit Alliance

    The trade body that tried to get us eating more biscuits. Read on…
  8. law • monarchy • disney • florida • english-law • property-dispute • usa • uk • legal-battle • queen-victoria

    Royal lives clause

    Why monarchs’ kids get named in wills. Read on…
  9. politics • usa • language

    Acronym Bills

    Why the US Congress introduces such strangely named laws. Read on…
  10. religion • islam • liverpool • victorian-era • lawyers

    William Quilliam

    A convert to Islam and founder of Britain’s first mosque. Read on…
  11. mexico • religion • astronomy • equinox • chichen-itza • maya • mesoamerica

    The descent of the snake

    An astronomical illusion at the Chichén Itzá. Read on…
  12. language • latin • stubbornness • religion • henry-viii • erasmus • neologisms

    Mumpsimus

    A useful nonsense-word of 16th-century origin. Read on…
  13. art • sculpture • italy • forgery • renaissance • jazz-age

    Alceo Dossena

    A sculptor and prolific forger. Read on…
  14. slavery • london • abolitionism • racism • politics

    Ignatius Sancho

    The first black person to vote in a British election. Read on…
  15. music • blues • usa • kenya • india • bollywood • ethnomusicology • alps

    Blue Yodel

    A strange bridge between musical traditions, from the Alps to Kenya. Read on…
  16. theatre • london • regency-era • clowns

    Joseph Grimaldi

    An actor who invented our idea of clowns, and the sadness behind them. Read on…
  17. religion • quakers • non-conformism • egalitarianism

    Shakers

    An 18th-century religious sect that anticipated modern design. Read on…
  18. history • china • beijing • greece • athens • cultural-vandalism • war

    The Elgins

    The cultural vandalism of father and son. Read on…
  19. wales • justice • traditions • cross-dressing • crime-and-punishment

    Ceffyl Pren

    Cross-dressing justice in Wales. Read on…
  20. volcanoes • geography • italy • naples • campania

    Monte Nuovo

    A brand-new mountain and its influence on science. Read on…
  23. folklore • italy • apulia • religion • music • psychology • medicine

    Taranto

    The Italian city’s influence on the English language. Read on…
  24. japan • folklore • ghosts • animism • religion

    Tsukumogami

    The spirits within everyday objects. Read on…
  25. music • ireland • irish-language • creativity • language

    Lilting

    Irish mouth-music. Read on…
  26. bali • indonesia • dance • art • culture • film

    Kecak

    The Balinese religious ceremony that’s not as old as you might think. Read on…
  27. alcohol • temperance • lancashire • religion • non-conformism

    Temperance bars

    The teetotaler’s answer to the temptations of the pub. Read on…
  28. hollywood • film • stunts • animals • animal-cruelty • cowboys

    Yakima Canutt

    How a stuntman changed Hollywoood – and saved countless animals’ lives. Read on…
  29. radio • music • egotism

    Desert Island Discs

    Some of the stranger choices from the long-running radio programme. Read on…
  31. language • vanuatu • creole • melanesia

    Bislama

    A creole language that’s strangely familiar to English-speakers. Read on…
  32. art • architecture • brussels • belgium • aristocracy • eccentricity

    The Stoclet Palace

    A house that’s a work of art – and that few have set foot inside. Read on…
  34. music • sex • drugs • morality

    Dirty blues

    Shockingly filthy lyrics in early blues music. Read on…
  36. scotland • british-army • biological-warfare • sheep • terrorism

    Gruinard Island

    Sheep, anthrax, and state secrets. Read on…