Notices by mythologyandhistory (mythologyandhistory@mas.to)

Did you know #coffee was, according to #legend, discovered by accident?

In 850 CE, a #goat herder noticed that his goats liked to nibble on an unknown berry. Curious about their energetic behaviour, he tried the fruit himself.

Elated, he brought the fruit to the #Islamic leader of his village, who declared it evil. The berries were thrown into a fire.
The fruit emitted such a lovely smell that the religious leader added the fruit to water & drank it. Coffee quickly spread.

#mythology

Did you know that the 1st commercial #Christmas card was a #marketing scheme for a new #postal service?

In the #UK, prior to the 1840s, letters were paid by distance & sheets. This was expensive & poorer households rarely used it.

Some men decided to implement a general rate of 1 penny per letter.
While this doubled the letters sent in the 1st year, it was financially bad for the government.

Entrepreneur Henry Cole commissioned the first Xmas Card in 1843. It was a rousing success.

#history

Did you know that there's a creature in #mythology that is "mid" in the most interesting way?

#Germany has the Moosweiblein. A woman living in the forest, barefoot. Midday or midnight, she sings incomprehensibly. She spins the moss on trees. The mist rising over the mountains is her baking. She can heal or make you sick.
Be nice & you get yarn which never ends.
She is afraid of caraway & counted baked goods.

She may bless your farm - but only if you never curse or fight again!

750k pages. Incredible!

Nuremberg trial records made available online after painstaking 25-year project | Nazism | The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/20/digitised-official-records-of-nuremberg-trials-made-available-online

#history #NurembergDocs

It's 1967 & she's 24 years old. It had taken her 3 months to go through the chart-recorder paper manually. She had helped build the radio #telescope that picked up the waves. There was a pulsating signal, regular; it turned out to be a #pulsar.
Her supervisor didn't believe her. She insisted it's real.

It was. But the press would ask her about boyfriends. Her male colleagues were asked about science.

7 years later, Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell
would be excluded from the #Nobel Prize of #Physics.

@JorgeStolfi

There is too much politics around, on every single social media website, this one included.

It IS interesting that 2 countries almost lost it over some crustaceans. That's an interesting fact, and if someone wants to go into the political reality of maritime laws, etc. that's great!

This is similar to the 'Emu Wars' in Australia - that was technically serious too, but life's too short not to see the amusing parts, wouldn't you agree? :)

@JorgeStolfi

I try to post about historical facts that are somewhat light-hearted (usually).

Great informed comment though! Thanks :)

Did you know that #Roman road design included #safety features?

In the ruins of #Pompeii, you'll notice small white stones interspersed with the large paving ones along the extensive roads.

Those white #stones are 'cats eyes', i.e. gems that have a single line of inclusion of crystals of another mineral inside.

Upon light reflective on them (from the #moon), they enable the walker to see that they are still on the right path!

https://youtu.be/74n6TgXbgAQ?si=56oPfp7mG1ENxflN

#history

Did you know that #India has an equivalent to Cupid?

Kamadeva is the #god of #desire. He is a beautiful man, friends with #bees & parrots, & he shoots arrows tipped with fragrant #flowers.

Kama is not fully good, however.

As he stirs lust, he'll sometimes pester wise men, so that they won't become #divine.

When he foolishly disturbs god Shiva, he's incinerated. Goddess Parvati asks for his resurrection, & he becomes a spring breeze.

#mythology

After not having spoken my mother tongue out loud in 8+ years, I've come to the realisation that it's possible to sound idiotic:

- in the language you're meant to know
- the one you're using everyday
- and all the ones you foolishly thought #Duolingo would help you learn during the #pandemic...

Ich hab absolut no idea hvordan snakke flytende tai johdonmukaisesti; λυπηρός.

#immigrantproblems #language #nowords