MY LAST MESSAGE

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Hello Byters, readers.

Yes, that is correct, Bytes is finishing with this message. It is the end of an era for me, I have been doing this since 2010.

As you know, I have had an ongoing battle with throat and neck cancer.

Yesterday I was told that the cancers had rapidly grown and spead into my cheek. I won't go into details, only to say that I have been gven a guesstimate of 3 months.

I need to refocus priorities and wish to see more of my family in the time that I have left, hence my discontinuing Bytes, which has become more demaning to create and post in my current condition.

I value the years doing it, the friends I have made from it and the exchanges which have ensued.

God bless you all and keep you safe.

Signing off.

Otto.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

 

ON THIS DAY

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July 23, 1904

World’s first ice cream cone

On July 23, 1904, according to some accounts, Charles E. Menches conceived the idea of filling a pastry cone with two scoops of ice cream and thereby invented the ice cream cone.

He is one of several claimants to that honor: Ernest Hamwi, Abe Doumar, Albert and Nick Kabbaz, Arnold Fornachou, and David Avayou all have been touted as the inventor(s) of the first edible cone. Interestingly, these individuals have in common the fact that they all made or sold confections at the St. Louis World’s Fair.

Children and their mother enjoy ice cream cones at the St. Louis World’s Fair.

Farm boys eating ice-cream cones, Washington, Indiana, 1941.

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ON THESE DAYS

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July 18, 1925

Volume 1 of Mein Kampf published

Mein Kampf (German: 'My Struggle') is a 1925 autobiographical manifesto by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. The book outlines many of Hitler's political beliefs, his political ideology and future plans for Germany and the world. Volume 1 of Mein Kampf was published on this day in 1925 and Volume 2 in 1926.

Hitler began Mein Kampf while imprisoned following his failed coup in Munich in November 1923 and a trial in February 1924 for high treason, in which he received a sentence of five years in fortress confinement. Although he received many visitors initially, he soon devoted himself entirely to the book. As he continued, he realised that it would have to be a two-volume work, with the first volume scheduled for release in early 1925. The governor of Landsberg Prison noted at the time that "he [Hitler] hopes the book will run into many editions, thus enabling him to fulfill his financial obligations and to defray the expenses incurred at the time of his trial." After slow initial sales, the book became a bestseller in Germany following Hitler's rise to power in 1933.

After Hitler's death, copyright of Mein Kampf passed to the state government of Bavaria, which refused to allow any copying or printing of the book in Germany. In 2016, following the expiry of the copyright held by the Bavarian state government, Mein Kampf was republished in Germany for the first time since 1945, which prompted public debate and divided reactions from Jewish groups.

BTW:

Hitler originally wanted to call his forthcoming book Viereinhalb Jahre (des Kampfes) gegen Lüge, Dummheit und Feigheit (Four and a Half Years [of Struggle] Against Lies, Stupidity and Cowardice). Max Amann, Hitler's publisher, is said to have suggested the much shorter "Mein Kampf" ("My Struggle").

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July 19, 64AD

Great Fire of Rome

The Great Fire of Rome began on 19 July 64 AD. The fire started in the merchant shops around Rome's chariot stadium, Circus Maximus. After six days, the fire was brought under control, but before the damage could be assessed, the fire reignited and burned for another three days. In the aftermath of the fire, nearly three quarters of Rome had been destroyed.

According to Tacitus and later Christian tradition, Emperor Nero blamed the devastation on the Christian community in the city, initiating the empire's first persecution against the Christians. Other contemporary historians blamed Nero's incompetence but it is commonly agreed by historians nowadays that Rome was too densely populated and inadequately prepared to effectively deal with large scale disasters, including fires, and that such an event was inevitable.

BTW:

According to a well-known expression, Rome’s emperor at the time, the decadent and unpopular Nero, “fiddled while Rome burned.” The expression has a double meaning: Not only did Nero play music while his people suffered, but he was an ineffectual leader in a time of crisis. Certainly Nero had many enemies and is remembered as one of history’s most sadistic and cruelest leaders.

The Roman historian Tacitus wrote that Nero was rumored to have sung about the destruction of Rome while watching the city burn; however, he stated clearly that this was unconfirmed by eyewitness accounts. When the Great Fire broke out, Nero was at his villa at Antium, some 35 miles from Rome. Though he immediately returned and began relief measures, people still didn’t trust him. Some even believed he had ordered the fire started, especially after he used land cleared by the fire to build his Golden Palace and its surrounding pleasure gardens.

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QUOTE FOR THE DAY

 

I'M BACK

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Hello again Byters and readers.

Apologies for my unexplained absence.

By way of comment:

• I have been in hospital again, with pneumonia again.

• I have been receiving intravenous antibiotics, again.

• Internet difficulties at the hospital (which even the hospital techie could not resolve) prevented me sending out Bytes.

• I am now on 2 weeks' oral antibiotics.

Am so glad to have been discharged - hospitals have a way of developing an invalid mentality, turning one into a hospital zombie.

That is not to say the medicos and nurses aren't wonderful, however its the same effect as prisoners who become institutionalised by being incarcerated.

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Over the next few days I will post the 'On This Day' items that were missed and will go back to usual posting when caught up.

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ON THIS DAY - 22 JULY 1983

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July 22, 1983

First round the world helicopter flight

On this day in 1983, entrepreneur and founder of Australian Geographic, Dick Smith, completed his first solo around-the-world helicopter flight. It was also the first solo flight from the US to Australia by helicopter and the first solo helicopter flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

Smith flew the helicopter in which he usually took his family ‘helicamping’ around Australia and battled exhaustion, freezing temperatures, torrential rain, turbulence, extreme heat, dust and tropical storms. He was also shot at when he was over Alaska, with bullets hitting the helicopter’s reserve fuel tank.

The legs of his journey:

First leg:

Fort Worth, Texas to Europe, covering 11,752 km in just over 60 hours, spread over 11 days. He was met at the end of this leg in Scotland where he was met by Prince Charles and his royal family.

Second leg:

London to Rome then to Athens, Crete, Cairo, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. From there he flew through Jakarta and Bali and set down in Darwin, achieving his goal of matching Australian aviator Bert Hinkler’s time of 15 days from London to Darwin, which was completed in 1928. He completed his trip by flying under the Harbour Bridge and landing in Sydney’s Darling Harbour. By this stage he had covered 30,000 km.

Final leg:

The final leg of his journey took place in May 1983, when he flew from Sydney to Cape York then on to Manilla, Hong Kong and Japan. Not having been granted permission by the USSR to land on the Kuril Islands and needing to refuel. he organised to land on the deck of Norwegian cargo ship Hoegh Marlin between Japan and the Aleutian Islands. From there he flew to Alaska, Canada and finally back to Texas.

All up, he travelled a total of over 55,000 km in 260 hours of flying.

In 1990, after a number of trips resulting in over 1500 hours and 280,000 km, Dick Smith took his helicopter on its last flight from his home in Terrey Hills to the Powerhouse Museum. He presented the helicopter to the museum where it can still be seen today.

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ON THESE DAYS - 16 JULY 1945 AND 17 JULY 2014

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 July 16, 1945 

First atomic bomb exploded.

Trinity was the first detonation of a nuclear weapon, conducted by the United States Army on July 16, 1945, as part of the Manhattan Project. 

The test was of an implosion-design plutonium bomb, or "gadget", of the same design as the Fat Man bomb later detonated over Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9, 1945. Concerns about whether the complex Fat Man design would work led to a decision to conduct the first nuclear test. The code name "Trinity" was assigned by J. Robert Oppenheimer, the director of the Los Alamos Laboratory, possibly inspired by the poetry of John Donne. 

The test was conducted in the Jornada del Muerto desert about 35 miles (56 km) southeast of Socorro, New Mexico, on what was the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range (renamed the White Sands Proving Ground just before the test). 

Some 425 people were present on the weekend of the Trinity test. The Trinity bomb released the explosive energy of 25 kilotons of TNT and a large cloud of fallout. Thousands of people lived closer to the test than would have been allowed under guidelines adopted for subsequent tests, but no one living near the test was evacuated before or afterward.

The test site was declared a National Historic Landmark district in 1965 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places the following year.

 

Trinity Site obelisk.

The black plaque on top reads: Trinity Site Where The World's First Nuclear Device Was Exploded On July 16, 1945 Erected 1965 White Sands Missile Range J. Frederick Thorlin Major General U.S. Army Commanding

The gold plaque below it declares the site a National Historic Landmark, and reads: Trinity Site has been designated a National Historical Landmark This Site Possesses National Significance In Commemorating The History of the United States of America 1975 National Park Service United States Department of the Interior

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July 17, 2014

Malaysian airliner shot down

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that was shot down by Russian-backed forces with a surface-to-air missile on 17 July 2014, while flying over eastern Ukraine. All 283 passengers and 15 crew were killed.

The responsibility for investigation was delegated to the Dutch Safety Board (DSB) and the Dutch-led joint investigation team (JIT), which in 2016 reported that the aircraft had been downed by a surface-to-air missile launched from pro-Russian separatist-controlled territory in Ukraine. The JIT found that the missile had been transported from Russia on the day of the crash, fired from a field in a rebel-controlled area, and that the launch system returned to Russia afterwards.

On the basis of the JIT's conclusions, the governments of the Netherlands and Australia held Russia responsible and began pursuing legal remedies in May 2018. The Russian government denied involvement in the shooting down of the aircraft and its account of how the aircraft was shot down has varied over time.

On 17 November 2022, following a trial in absentia in the Netherlands, two Russians and a Ukrainian separatist were found guilty of murdering all 298 people on board flight MH17. The Dutch court also ruled that Russia was in control of the separatist forces fighting in eastern Ukraine at the time.

MH17 was Malaysia Airlines' second aircraft loss during 2014, after the disappearance of Flight 370 four months prior on 8 March. It is also the deadliest aircraft shoot-down incident to date.

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QUOTE FOR THE DAY

 

Compare with:

LIFE HACKS

Life hack:

a good solution or piece of advice that helps you in your everyday life

Some good advice here . . .

ON THIS DAY

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July 15, 1997

Gianni Versace murdered.

Giovanni Maria "Gianni" Versace (1946 – 1997) was an Italian fashion designer, socialite and businessman. He was the founder of Versace, an international luxury-fashion house that produces accessories, fragrances, make-up, home furnishings and clothes. He also designed costumes for theatre and films. As a friend of Eric Clapton, Princess Diana, Whitney Houston, Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, Madonna, Elton John, Tupac Shakur, Joan Collins and many other celebrities, he was one of the first designers to link fashion to the music world.

On 15 July 1997, he was murdered outside his Miami Beach mansion, Casa Casuarina, by serial killer Andrew Cunanan.

On the morning of 15 July 1997, in Miami Beach, Florida, Versace exited his mansion and walked on Ocean Drive to retrieve his morning magazines. Usually, Versace would have an assistant walk from his home to the nearby News Cafe to get his magazines, but on this occasion he decided to go himself. Versace had returned and was climbing the steps of his Miami Beach mansion when a man dressed in a gray T-shirt, black shorts, a white hat, and carrying a backpack shot him in the head at point-blank range with a .40 caliber Taurus PT100. Versace was pronounced dead at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, at 9:21 a.m. He was 50 years old at the time of his death.

Versace was the last victim of Andrew Cunanan, a serial killer who had earlier murdered four other men. Cunanan died by suicide on a houseboat eight days after Versace's murder.

Cunanan was obsessed with the designer and often bragged about his close "friendship" with Versace, although this was symptomatic of Cunanan's delusions of grandeur: he often falsely claimed to have met celebrities. However, FBI agents firmly believe that Versace and Cunanan had previously met in San Francisco, although what their relationship entailed is still a mystery.

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QUOTE FOR THE DAY

 

Liberty, Equality, Fraternity

MUSIC MONDAY

COUNTRY MUSIC NARRATIVES

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Country narrative songs, also known as story songs, are a subgenre of country music that tells a story through lyrics. These songs often feature vivid characters, compelling plots, and emotional depth.

The plots may often be simple and the lyrics aren’t Shakespeare or Yeats but, as I have written before, in 3 minutes the songs both tell a story and have a life lesson, witness The Gambler, A Boy Named Sue, Ode to Billie Joe.

Here is one such . . .

Bob Newhart once said that he didn’t like country music, but that he didn’t mean to denigrate those who did, and for the people who liked country music, denigrate meant 'put down'.

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Old joke... What happens when you play a C & W song backwards?

Answer: Your dog comes back to life, your crops start growing and your wife comes back to you.

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THE COWARD OF THE COUNTY

__________

Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yK543f0_UKc

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Lyrics:

Ev'ryone considered him the coward of the county.

He'd never stood one single time to prove the county wrong.

His mama named him Tommy, the folks just called him yellow,

But something always told me they were reading Tommy wrong.

He was only ten years old when his daddy died in prison.

I looked after Tommy 'cause he was my brother's son.

I still recall the final words my brother said to Tommy:

"Son, my life is over, but yours is just begun.

Promise me, son, not to do the things I've done.

Walk away from trouble if you can.

Now it won't mean you're weak if you turn the other cheek.

I hope you're old enough to understand:

Son, you don't have to fight to be a man."

There's someone for ev'ryone and Tommy's love was Becky.

In her arms he didn't have to prove he was a man.

One day while he was workin' the Gatlin boys came callin'.

They took turns at Becky.... n' there was three of them!

Tommy opened up the door and saw his Becky cryin'.

The torn dress, the shattered look was more than he could stand.

He reached above the fireplace and took down his daddy's picture.

As his tears fell on his daddy's face, He heard these words again:

"Promise me, son, not to do the things I've done.

Walk away from trouble if you can.

Now it won't mean you're weak if you turn the other cheek.

I hope you're old enough to understand:

Son, you don't have to fight to be a man."

The Gatlin boys just laughed at him when he walked into the barroom.

One of them got up and met him halfway 'cross the floor.

When Tommy turned around they said, "Hey look! ol' yellow's leavin'."

But you coulda heard a pin drop when Tommy stopped and locked the door.

Twenty years of crawlin' was bottled up inside him.

He wasn't holdin' nothin' back; he let 'em have it all.

When Tommy left the barroom not a Gatlin boy was standin'.

He said, "This one's for Becky," as he watched the last one fall.

And I heard him say,

"I promised you, Dad, not to do the things you done.

I've walked away from trouble when I can.

Now please don't think I'm weak, I didn't turn the other cheek,

And Papa, I sure hope you understand:

Sometimes you gotta fight when you're a man."

Ev'ryone considered him the coward of the county.

__________

About:

"Coward of the County" is a song written by Roger Bowling and Billy Edd Wheeler and recorded by American country music singer Kenny Rogers. The song was released in November 1979 as the second and final single from Rogers' multi-platinum album Kenny.

The evil brothers in this song are the "Gatlin Boys." In real life, Larry, Steve and Rudy Gatlin were a popular trio who performed as "Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers." Not only that, Larry Gatlin had dated a girl named Becky, which was the name of Tommy's girlfriend in the song. "After it came out, we started getting accused of being rapists," Larry Gatlin said. "I think they could have showed a little good taste and used somebody else's name." The songwriters made the dubious claim that the name was chosen because they "liked the sound of it," and that it had nothing to do with the actual Gatlin brothers. "We tried some other names like the Barlow boys, but they just didn't have the grit of the Gatlin boys," Wheeler said.

Rogers has stated that he was unaware of the connection and that he would have otherwise asked for the name to be changed. Gatlin later claimed in an interview that the song’s cowriter Roger Bowling held a personal grudge against him and deliberately included the name.

__________

Moral:

“Sometimes you gotta fight when you're a man."

__________

BTW:

It is ambiguous whether the Gatlin Boys end up dead at the end.

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ON THIS DAY

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July 14, 1789

Bastille stormed by Paris mob

The Storming of the Bastille, which occurred in Paris, France, on 14 July 1789, was an act of political violence by revolutionary insurgents who attempted to storm and seize control of the medieval armoury, fortress, and political prison known as the Bastille.

After four hours of fighting and 94 deaths, the insurgents were able to enter the Bastille. The governor of the Bastille, Bernard-René Jourdan de Launay, and several members of the garrison were killed after surrendering. At the time, the Bastille represented royal authority in the centre of Paris. The prison contained only seven inmates at the time of its storming and was already scheduled for demolition but was seen by the revolutionaries as a symbol of the monarchy's abuse of power. Its fall was the flashpoint of the French Revolution.

In France, 14 July is a national holiday called Fête nationale française which commemorates both the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille and the Fête de la Fédération which occurred on its first anniversary in 1790. In English this holiday is commonly referred to as Bastille Day.

BTW:

The name Bastille means "fortress" or "castle" in French.

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QUOTE FOR THE DAY

 

ART SPOT

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The artist:

THOMAS DAMBO

Thanks to Sue P for bringing him to my attention.

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About the artist:

Thomas Dambo is a Danish "recycle art activist" who is known for his installations of giant monumental wooden sculptures called trolls, made entirely out of recycled materials.

Although he is well known around the world for his large recycle sculptures and installations, he has also built and placed more than 3500 birdhouses made out of recycled materials and spread them in several cities over the world.

After high school Dambo began studying to become a carpenter, although he quickly became bored with the repetitive work. Searching for a different line of creativity, he applied at Kolding School of Designs and was accepted in 2005. During his early years at the design school, Thomas started to see great potential in all of the stuff that people threw out. He was especially intrigued by all the plywood that was thrown away daily by construction sites and one day when he came across a giant container filled with this, he got the idea for his first major street art project; “Happy City Birds”.

Thomas Dambo hides his giant wooden trolls around the world in wilderness and forests. By doing this, he hopes to lure people away from concrete cities and computer screens, into the wild and reconnect them with the natural world.

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Trolls:

A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human beings.

In later Scandinavian folklore, trolls became beings in their own right, where they live far from human habitation, are not Christianised, and are considered dangerous to human beings. Depending on the source, their appearance varies greatly; trolls may be ugly and slow-witted, or look and behave exactly like human beings, with no particularly grotesque characteristic about them.

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Gallery:

Trolls:

Birdhouses:

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ON THIS DAY

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July 13, 2024

Donald Trump survives assassination attempt.

On July 13, 2024, Donald Trump, then a former president of the United States and presumptive nominee of the Republican Party in the 2024 presidential election, survived an assassination attempt while speaking at an open-air campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania.

Trump was shot and wounded in his upper right ear by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who fired eight rounds from an AR-15–style rifle from the roof of a nearby building. Crooks also killed one audience member, Corey Comperatore, and critically injured two others. Four seconds after Crooks began firing, a member of the Butler County Emergency Service Unit shot at him and hit his rifle, preventing him from firing more shots. Twelve seconds later, Crooks was shot and killed by the Counter Sniper Team of the United States Secret Service.

As shots were fired, Trump clasped his ear and took cover behind his lectern, where Secret Service agents shielded him until the shooter was killed. Evan Vucci, a photojournalist for the Associated Press, captured photographs of Trump with blood on his face and ear, pumping his fist in the air and saying "Fight!" as agents escorted him offstage; the images went viral on social media. Trump was taken to a hospital, treated, and released later that day. He made his first public appearance after the shooting two days later at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, wearing a bandage on his ear.

The incident is regarded as the most significant security failure by the Secret Service since the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan in 1981.

The director of the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, faced bipartisan calls for her resignation when she testified before the United States House Committee on Oversight and Accountability on July 22; she stepped down the following day. President Joe Biden ordered an independent review of the security arrangements, condemned the violence, and called for a reduction in heated political rhetoric, emphasizing the importance of resolving political differences peacefully.

Misinformation and conspiracy theories spread on social media after the shooting. Lawmakers called for increased security for major candidates in the election, and the Secret Service subsequently approved enhanced security measures, including the use of bulletproof glass at Trump's outdoor rallies.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

 

ARCHAEOLOGY

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There is a Facebook page called Archaeology World which features interesting and fascinating items from the past. Recently Bored Panda featured a selection of those items at:

https://www.boredpanda.com/interesting-archaeology-pictures/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter_Daily&utm_term=July_01

Here are some of those featured items with BP commentaries, headings and BP reader comments.

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The Double Statue Of Mephistopheles And Margarita

Perhaps one of the most incredible sculptures in the world. There is a well-known sculpture called "The Double Statue of Mephistopheles and Margarita". The fact is that on one side of the statue there is a male figure, and on the other - a female one. The sculpture is created from a single piece of the oldest sycamore tree.

Reader comments:

This is an amazing early work that has to be seen to be believed.

Well this is from the 19th Century, made by an unknown French artist. Marvelous piece of woodcarving art. But not really that old. And nothing that was "found by an archeologist" as claimed by the headline...

🎶 Mephistopheles is not your name - I know what you're up to just the same 🎶

Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste..

"The oldest sycamore tree" ? Please explain. Or do you mean from a single block of wood?

They can't explain. They just tossed it in, to make it sound cooler

Where is it?

It's in the Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad, India. 🙂

Not archaeology.

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Cat Paw Prints In The Medieval Floor Tiles Of The 12th Century Ce St Peter Church In Wormleighton, England

Paw prints have been found EVERYWHERE ancients used baked tile.

We found marten prints in the concrete just hours after it was poured. Why should it have been different throughout history?

We had some of our patio fixed last year. There are paw prints in the concrete. Just wish I knew which of our cats left them!

__________

Ancient Marvel, From 1516, The Visionary Mind Of Leonardo Da Vinci Manifested In The Form Of A Captivating Spiral Staircase

Is this in the chateau of Chambord?

Yes

It looks like a twisted piece of fabric. F*****g Leo genius.

It reminds of the grand sweep of the skirt of ballgowns from a bygone era

Da Vinci was the most incredible genius to walk this planet, secondary only to Jesus Christ.

Reminds me of a Nautilus seashell.

That is so beautiful. Look at the door with the steps leading onto the steps and imagine trying to do that at night, without electric light and an almost guaranteed low level of inebriation in 1500s. Those stairs have stories to tell of those that bounced on down to the basement from there.

WOW!

__________

The Appennine Colossus

Built over 420 years ago in Florence, Italy, the Appennine Colossus is half man and half mountain. It was created with a brick core encased by a carved stone exterior that rises 35 feet above the water below. There's even a secret room behind his head with a fireplace that blows smoke through his mighty nostrils.

imagine thousands of years later from now, there will be identical documentaries about Disenyland!

I think the archaeologists will have some interesting theories when they find Legoland

Not archaeology.

Yes it is. It can be studied by archeologists. It is something humans made. It's archeology.

That gives me the creeps.

__________

Bust Of Maria Duglioli Barberini

Bust of Maria Duglioli Barberini, sculpted by the renowned Italian artist Giuliano Finelli in 1626. Finelli, celebrated for his skillful marble carvings, created a lifelike and dynamic representation of Maria Duglioli Barberini, a member of the influential Barberini family.

Exquisite detail. Love to see someone do that today.

Back then artists were paid so that they could spend years on each work. Don't know about this one but i am assuming haha. Some sculptors today can achieve this level of detail but may not be allowed the time.

The lace work is stunning.

How do you coordinate your hands and eyes to that level? I can't put ice in a cup without dropping at least one cube ffs.

You started an apprenticeship as a small child and worked your way up from dogsbody. For decades of your life you did grunt work chipping out rough forms for your master and gradually working your way up. And if you were very talented, very lucky, and your master didn't go out of business or get disgraced you might get this good.

She died during childbirth at a young age. Her uncle later became Pope and he had the main altar in St Peter's Basilica, Vatican made. On each of the corners of the altar are 2 sculptures, eight in all. And now that I have told you this try looking for the story on Google. The most important altar for the Catholic Church, the altar of the Popes...and...and... !!!!

Unfortunately my first thought was "how do you keep this clean?" 😂 dusting it would be a nightmare

The detail in her hair and on her clothing is amazing.

__________

Mycenaean Daggers/Swords, Greece 16th - 14th Century Bc, National Archaeological Museum, Athens, Greece

Stunning workmanship

So that means they are From 1300 to 1500 years ago. Wow!

__________

The Gate Of All Nations In Persepolis

A massive guardian statue stands at the Gate of All Nations in Persepolis, the ceremonial heart of the Achaemenid Empire, located in present-day Iran. Commissioned by King Xerxes I in the 5th century BCE, this gate once received envoys from across the empire during New Year festivities. Carved from limestone, the figure features a bull’s body, eagle’s wings, and a human head—symbolizing power, guardianship, and royal dignity. Drawing inspiration from the Assyrian lamassu yet showcasing Persian elements, it exemplifies the empire’s majesty. Although weathered by time, the sculpture still powerfully conveys the artistry and authority of ancient Persia

ISIS or Taliban are the real vandals

Vandals were a group of people whose religion and history were ISISed by Rome and Christianity.

Sorry Dee, it is locals ISSIS and Taliban that destroy the historical wonders

Please tell me the US hasn’t bombed it. 😞

More likely ISIS or other terrorist groups bombing this stuff.

And of course British museum has a whole bunch of the reliefs from there...

There are a few YouTube and TikTok accounts that feature AI reconstruction of some of these sites and artifacts. Some are really not well done but some are and are fun to check out.

What a pity that such symbolism of tolerance and liberalism is under the control of one of the most backward regimes - hopefully, not for much longer.

It's miraculous it's still standing.

__________

A Statue Of Yasuke, An Enslaved African, Who Arrived In Japan In 1579 And Became The First Black Samurai

Yasuke a tall African man, arrived in Japan in 1579 and made history as the first foreign-born man to become a samurai warrior. Yasuke was originally a slave from Mozambique and was brought to Japan by Portuguese traders. The powerful Japanese warlord Oda Nobunaga was fascinated by Yasuke's tall stature and dark skin, and upon seeing him, ordered his servants to try and rub the "black ink" off his skin. Despite this strange encounter, Nobunaga took Yasuke into his service, granting him a sum of money, a house, and a katana. From then on, Yasuke loyally served Nobunaga as an honored samurai, fighting alongside him in fierce battles. He went from being a piece of Portuguese property to a member of the Japanese elite.

Not a Samurai, but rather their version of a Squire, some modern western writers not understanding the Japanese ranking system misinterpreted him as a Samurai, but he the level below that, the equivalent of what a Squire was in Medieval Europe. His story is interesting, and a fascinating piece of history, but keep details correct

There are some depictions which may show Yasuke, but that is a statue by Nicola Roos made in 2017

It appears to be a death mask.

Whoa - impressive!

__________

The Nushabad Underground City Near Kashan, Iran

The Nushabad Underground City near Kashan, Iran, stands as a 1,500-year-old marvel from the Sassanian era. Carved an impressive 4 to 18 meters deep across three levels, this labyrinth stretches over 4 square kilometers. Its intricate network of tunnels, rooms, and air ducts provided refuge for locals seeking shelter from invaders like the Mongols and Arabs. With hidden entrances tucked beneath homes and forts, plus cunning traps like narrow curving passages, it safely housed thousands for days, complete with wells and storage.

This incredible city was utilized into the Qajar era (1789-1925) but was gradually abandoned as external threats diminished. Its secrets lay buried under desert sands, forgotten by time, until 2005. That year, a Nushabad resident, while digging a drainage ditch, stumbled into a tunnel and unveiled this lost world.

The idea of this is awesome but it sure looks claustrophobic.

I was lucky to visit it a couple of years ago and somehow it's honestly not very claustrophobic, the passages are quite wide and tall. But to be fair, there are electric lights down there nowadays, things might have felt different with only oil lamps in the old days. Plus, it used to hide a lot of people, whole families.

How does something this huge, this amazing, go 'forgotten' for decades and decades until someone digging a ditch accidentally falls into it and OMG there is an entire underground city down here!! WOW! It looks amazing. Look at how sharp those steps look, so perfectly made! You can't argue with the craftsmanship.

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30 Million Year Old Amber Encasing A Praying Mantis

Keep it away from Dr. Hammond!

Proof that prayer doesn't always work

And from here we create Jurassic Park

Gorgeous. I have a small piece with a crane fly preserved. Approx 140 million years old and the species hasn't changed.

WHERE IS YOUR GOD NOW, MANTIS???!!

----------ooOoo-----------

More to come.