Tag: 1800
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Heinrich Heine and the mattress tomb
Nicolás Roberto Robles Badajoz, Spain Harry Heine was born in Bolkerstrasse, Düsseldorf, Germany. He jokingly described himself as the “first man of the century,” claiming that he had been born on New Year’s Eve 1800. Researchers have discovered, however, that December 13, 1797, is most likely the date of his birth. The oldest of…
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Dr. Avery, Medicine Woman
Edward McSweegan Kingston, Rhode, Island, United States Doctor Alida C. Avery, Photo courtesy of Archives and Specials Collections/Vassar College Library. Source In July 1878, astronomers headed into the American West to observe a total eclipse of the sun. Among them was America’s only woman astronomer, Maria Mitchell of Vassar College, and four of her…
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Washing our hands
Anthony Papagiannis Thessaloniki, Greece Winter Sunshine, Halkidiki, Greece. Photo by the author Ever since Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, washed his hands before condemning Jesus Christ to death by crucifixion, this simple act of personal sanitation has been used as the figurative icon of a disclaimer, the denial of responsibility. Today, in…
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Blessed is the heart
Jeanne Bryner Newton Falls, Ohio, United States Study of standing chute. Dominik Skutecký. 1880-1900. Slovak National Gallery. Image Source Peacemaker inside the great barn father of us all, he passes the meat plate, its thick roast to the left his fork last in line. Bless his bulbous nose, ruddy face and bloodshot eyes, his slur…
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The past and future of blood banking
Eva Kitri Mutch StoddartSaigon, Vietnam Blood oozes allure. The elixir of life, viscous and dramatic scarlet, courses through the veins of every living human. Blood has been viewed as sacred for centuries. Aristocrats used to sip at it to stoke their youth and vitality. Bram Stoker’s quintessential vampire novel, the revered Dracula, was published in…