Medieval Ribalds or The Knights of S**t
March 7, 2019
Facts
While Medieval Knights get all the glory and attention, spare a thought for the Ribalds, who were in charge of pillaging, wall-scaling and portering. The Ribald appears in the …
Medieval Bed Box – is it time to get back in your box?
February 28, 2019
Facts
Is it time to climb back into the Medieval bed box? As a bed in a closet, they’re ultra space-saving. As a bonus, you can add drawers below for …
After the bloody battle : Medieval Loot and Hostages
February 27, 2019
Facts
Some soldiers built their fortune on Medieval looting and ransoming hostages. Battlefield fallen and captive and the baggage train might as well have been marked “Medieval loot”. Precious booty …
Medieval Irish cursing – when even saints loved to swear
February 25, 2019
Facts
Speech in Medieval Ireland held such power that laws existed to control poets and satirists, whose insults could bring on physical illness, blemish, and death. Medieval Irish cursing had …
Fox tossing was a bizarre aristocratic pastime of the 17th century
February 19, 2019
Facts
Fox tossing was an aristocratic pastime of the 17th century, truly a case of the unmentionable tossing the uneatable. The aim of the game was to launch the fox …
Oomancy is the act of reading the future by inspecting a poached egg
Your future - it's all ova
February 15, 2019
Facts
Oomancy is foretelling the future with eggs. The usual method is to drop the egg white in a plate with water and look for the future in the swirls. …
Auto Polo, polo with cars instead of horses, was played until the late 1920s
The Lunatic game
February 6, 2019
Facts
Auto Polo or automobile polo was basically horseback polo but replace the horse with horse power. This “lunatic game” was popularized by an car salesman named Ralph “Pappy” Hankinson …
The first airline stewardesses were all nurses
February 5, 2019
Facts
The first airline stewardesses were all nurses and were called the Sky Girls. The Sky Girls Airlines weren’t interested in women pilots in 1930. Ellen Church, qualified …
Medieval Tomb Raider: When the Middles Ages were The Wild West for relic theft
January 30, 2019
Facts
The Middle Ages was the wild west for relic theft. Carrying off saints’ bits was so common in the Middle Ages that they called it “furta sacra” (holy theft). Relic …
Dangerous and Insane – Tea drinking in the 19th century
You won't, you won't, you won't
January 25, 2019
Facts
In the 19th century, tea drinking was regarded as reckless, uncontrollable and a waste of precious time for poor women in Great Britain and Ireland. The tea habit …
Saint Bearded Lady – the Medieval female saint with the beard
It's hard out there for a bearded virgin.
January 23, 2019
Facts
The cult of a bearded female saint called Wilgefortis once nearly rivaled that of the Virgin Mary. Wilgefortis was often depicted as a Portuguese, sometimes septuplet, princess distinguished by …
How Monopoly was a secret weapon in WWII
January 21, 2019
Facts
Special break out of jail free Monopoly sets were sent to prison camps during WWII. Just how involved was Milburn Moneybags? Modded sets of Monopoly were created by …