Art Curio
A daily dose of visual culture.
Curio Cabinet
- By Date
- By Type
December 11, 2018
-
6 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
From the BBC World Service… The U.K. parliament's vote on Brexit has been indefinitely delayed. Now what? Prime Minister Theresa May is already on her way to...
From the BBC World Service… The U.K. parliament's vote on Brexit has been indefinitely delayed. Now what? Prime Minister Theresa May is already on her way to...
-
FREEWork Daily Curio #1676Free1 CQ
The expression "canary in a coal mine" carries more baggage than you might think. It's derived from the British mining tradition of using the tiny birds to detect dangerous buildups of carbon monoxide or methane in mines. The practice was outlawed in Britain 32 years ago this month. The birds were replaced with an "electronic nose" that reports air quality levels on an LED screen. But miners missed their birds, which they treated more like pets than unwitting death-detectors. The idea of using canaries to prevent mining accidents came from John Scott Haldane, a turn-of-the-century physiologist who often experimented on himself to determine the effects of poisonous gases on humans. During World War I, he went to the front lines to help the British Army identify the gases being used by the Germans—and invented the first respirator as a result. He used similar first-hand research techniques to identify the cause of mining disasters, and then began looking for a "sentinel species" that was hypersensitive to the culprit: the odorless and colorless carbon monoxide. His research identified the canary as an ideal sentinel, because its tiny body requires huge ratios of oxygen to fly at great heights. To accomplish this, it stores freshly inhaled air in tiny sacs which it then accesses while exhaling, essentially getting two chances to extract oxygen with every breath. But this also makes them twice as vulnerable to poisons in the air. So Haldane figured they would be the perfect early warning device for high levels of carbon monoxide—by dropping over. The canaries didn't always die, and coal miners carried special cages which aided in resuscitating them. While it was technically animal rights sentiment and government regulation that ended the use of canaries, the practice was really another victim of technology. With fewer miners and more instrumentation, the birds became unnecessary. Using technology to maximize mining profits turned out to be the canary in the coal mine for the canary in the coal mine.
Image credit & copyright: United States Mine Safety and Health Administration
The expression "canary in a coal mine" carries more baggage than you might think. It's derived from the British mining tradition of using the tiny birds to detect dangerous buildups of carbon monoxide or methane in mines. The practice was outlawed in Britain 32 years ago this month. The birds were replaced with an "electronic nose" that reports air quality levels on an LED screen. But miners missed their birds, which they treated more like pets than unwitting death-detectors. The idea of using canaries to prevent mining accidents came from John Scott Haldane, a turn-of-the-century physiologist who often experimented on himself to determine the effects of poisonous gases on humans. During World War I, he went to the front lines to help the British Army identify the gases being used by the Germans—and invented the first respirator as a result. He used similar first-hand research techniques to identify the cause of mining disasters, and then began looking for a "sentinel species" that was hypersensitive to the culprit: the odorless and colorless carbon monoxide. His research identified the canary as an ideal sentinel, because its tiny body requires huge ratios of oxygen to fly at great heights. To accomplish this, it stores freshly inhaled air in tiny sacs which it then accesses while exhaling, essentially getting two chances to extract oxygen with every breath. But this also makes them twice as vulnerable to poisons in the air. So Haldane figured they would be the perfect early warning device for high levels of carbon monoxide—by dropping over. The canaries didn't always die, and coal miners carried special cages which aided in resuscitating them. While it was technically animal rights sentiment and government regulation that ended the use of canaries, the practice was really another victim of technology. With fewer miners and more instrumentation, the birds became unnecessary. Using technology to maximize mining profits turned out to be the canary in the coal mine for the canary in the coal mine.
Image credit & copyright: United States Mine Safety and Health Administration
-
1 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree1 CQ
Word of the Day : December 11, 2018
immure \ih-MYOOR\ verb
Definition
1 a : to enclose within or as if within walls
b : imprison
2 : to build into a wal...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day : December 11, 2018
immure \ih-MYOOR\ verb
Definition
1 a : to enclose within or as if within walls
b : imprison
2 : to build into a wal...
-
5 minFREEHumanities Worldly CurioFree3 CQ
Under the Trump administration, America is closing its doors to refugees. US refugee caps have been steadily slashed from 110,000 a year under the Obama admi...
with PRI's The WorldUnder the Trump administration, America is closing its doors to refugees. US refugee caps have been steadily slashed from 110,000 a year under the Obama admi...
-
FREEBlues Piano Song CurioFree2 CQ
Elvis' version may be the most famous one, but in 1952, Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton became the first person to growl those infamous words "You ain't nothing but a hound dog." It's easy to believe the swingin' 12-bar blues was destined for greatness; it was an early composition by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who would go on to pen over 70 chart hits like Love Potion No. 9 and Stand By Me. The track also kicked off the recording career of Big Mama Thornton: a 25-year-old, six-foot-tall powerhouse singer who was regularly upstaging the main acts she opened for. When Hound Dog was released in 1953, it became a #1 R&B hit, selling over 500,000 copies. As for Elvis, somehow he didn't get the memo on her song, with his version said to have been inspired by a Las Vegas lounge act named Freddie Ball. We're not sure whether or not Ball was a real cool cat, but one thing's for sure—Thornton's influence on blues and rock 'n' roll deserves a howling salute on the 92nd anniversary of her birthday.
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Photofest
Elvis' version may be the most famous one, but in 1952, Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton became the first person to growl those infamous words "You ain't nothing but a hound dog." It's easy to believe the swingin' 12-bar blues was destined for greatness; it was an early composition by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who would go on to pen over 70 chart hits like Love Potion No. 9 and Stand By Me. The track also kicked off the recording career of Big Mama Thornton: a 25-year-old, six-foot-tall powerhouse singer who was regularly upstaging the main acts she opened for. When Hound Dog was released in 1953, it became a #1 R&B hit, selling over 500,000 copies. As for Elvis, somehow he didn't get the memo on her song, with his version said to have been inspired by a Las Vegas lounge act named Freddie Ball. We're not sure whether or not Ball was a real cool cat, but one thing's for sure—Thornton's influence on blues and rock 'n' roll deserves a howling salute on the 92nd anniversary of her birthday.
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Photofest
-
FREEPhotography Photo CurioFree1 CQ
For those who are serious about their ho-ho-hos, mistletoes, and World War II history, there is the city of Rovaniemi in Lapland, Finland—otherwise known as "The Official Hometown of Santa Claus." It's a location where Mr. Claus can be found in all seasons, along with reindeer and an official Arctic Post Office where half a million letters addressed to Jolly Old Saint Nick are received each year. While the entire construction of Santa Claus Village might seem like a winter's fever dream, its origins are heavily bound to World War II. Rovaniemi was the site of an important transportation hub at the time and became a site of contention between the Germans and Finns during the Lapland War in 1944. The Germans destroyed the area with scorched earth tactics and landmines; after World War II, former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt visited Lapland to monitor the recipients of the first pre-UNICEF aid. The "Arctic Circle Cabin" was built for her, signaling the start of growing tourism in the area—which eventually lead to the development of Santa's Village around the original cabin site. Now that's what we call spreading the holiday cheer!
Below: more images of Santa's village and the Arctic Circle Cabin built for Eleanor Roosevelt's stay in 1950.
Image credit & copyright: Santa Claus Village, Discovering Finland
For those who are serious about their ho-ho-hos, mistletoes, and World War II history, there is the city of Rovaniemi in Lapland, Finland—otherwise known as "The Official Hometown of Santa Claus." It's a location where Mr. Claus can be found in all seasons, along with reindeer and an official Arctic Post Office where half a million letters addressed to Jolly Old Saint Nick are received each year. While the entire construction of Santa Claus Village might seem like a winter's fever dream, its origins are heavily bound to World War II. Rovaniemi was the site of an important transportation hub at the time and became a site of contention between the Germans and Finns during the Lapland War in 1944. The Germans destroyed the area with scorched earth tactics and landmines; after World War II, former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt visited Lapland to monitor the recipients of the first pre-UNICEF aid. The "Arctic Circle Cabin" was built for her, signaling the start of growing tourism in the area—which eventually lead to the development of Santa's Village around the original cabin site. Now that's what we call spreading the holiday cheer!
Below: more images of Santa's village and the Arctic Circle Cabin built for Eleanor Roosevelt's stay in 1950.
Image credit & copyright: Santa Claus Village, Discovering Finland
-
1 minFREEPoetry Poem CurioFree1 CQ
Poem of the Day: A Gift for You. By Eileen Myles.
with Poetry FoundationPoem of the Day: A Gift for You. By Eileen Myles.
-
FREEArt Appreciation Art CurioFree1 CQ
Title: Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)
Artist: David Hockney (b. 1937)
Created: 1972
Medium: acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 7 x 10 ft (2.1 x 3 m)
Going once… going twice… sold for $80 million to the man on line two! David Hockney's painting Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) fetched $90.3 million with fees last month at Christie's Rockefeller Center—absolutely shattering the record for most expensive living artist. (Sorry, Jeff Koons!) The richly-colored acrylic painting, which depicts Hockney's ex-boyfriend and artist Peter Schlesinger watching a man swim underwater, quickly drew a bidding war between three people in the room and five callers, all anonymous. The resulting price point marks an unprecedented leap towards diversity in the fine arts world, as openly gay artists and their artworks—though hardly taboo in galleries—have struggled in the past to achieve such monumental feats. Five African-American artists, including surrealist Robert Colescott and color-field painter Sam Gilliam—who both sold for $912,500 and $2.2 million, respectively—also hit new personal highs at the auction, rounding out a remarkable night at Christie's. In recent years, there's been a lot of reason to call out the art world as insular, prone to gimmicks, and out of touch, but last month, we witnessed a shining light of hope in the darkness—one refracted off of Portrait of an Artist's rippling pool!
Image credit & copyright: Christie's / David Hockney
Title: Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)
Artist: David Hockney (b. 1937)
Created: 1972
Medium: acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 7 x 10 ft (2.1 x 3 m)
Going once… going twice… sold for $80 million to the man on line two! David Hockney's painting Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) fetched $90.3 million with fees last month at Christie's Rockefeller Center—absolutely shattering the record for most expensive living artist. (Sorry, Jeff Koons!) The richly-colored acrylic painting, which depicts Hockney's ex-boyfriend and artist Peter Schlesinger watching a man swim underwater, quickly drew a bidding war between three people in the room and five callers, all anonymous. The resulting price point marks an unprecedented leap towards diversity in the fine arts world, as openly gay artists and their artworks—though hardly taboo in galleries—have struggled in the past to achieve such monumental feats. Five African-American artists, including surrealist Robert Colescott and color-field painter Sam Gilliam—who both sold for $912,500 and $2.2 million, respectively—also hit new personal highs at the auction, rounding out a remarkable night at Christie's. In recent years, there's been a lot of reason to call out the art world as insular, prone to gimmicks, and out of touch, but last month, we witnessed a shining light of hope in the darkness—one refracted off of Portrait of an Artist's rippling pool!
Image credit & copyright: Christie's / David Hockney
-
2 minFREESTEM Nerdy CurioFree2 CQ
Learn why "the rain follows after the forest".
with Minute EarthLearn why "the rain follows after the forest".
December 10, 2018
-
8 minFREEWork Business CurioFree5 CQ
Why limiting which federal benefits undocumented immigrants receive could be disastrous for some hospitals. Former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn and the compa...
Why limiting which federal benefits undocumented immigrants receive could be disastrous for some hospitals. Former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn and the compa...
-
1 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree1 CQ
Word of the Day : December 10, 2018
repartee \rep-er-TEE\ noun
Definition
1 a : a quick and witty reply
b : a succession or interchange of clever retort...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day : December 10, 2018
repartee \rep-er-TEE\ noun
Definition
1 a : a quick and witty reply
b : a succession or interchange of clever retort...
-
FREEPlay Daily Curio #1675Free1 CQ
Deep Blue became the first computer to beat a chess grandmaster in 1997. In the 20+ years since, artificial intelligence programmers have been looking for the next Holy Grail: an algorithm that can teach itself how to play chess. It looks like they just found it. Announced last week in Science, the company DeepMind has developed a program called AlphaZero that can beat the world's best chess players. It can also beat Stockfish, the leading chess-playing program. It won 155 out of 1,000 games, losing only six—the rest were draws. But what's remarkable is that AlphaZero has also learned how to play Shogi, a Japanese cousin of chess. And the Chinese game Go, which has 300 times more possible moves than chess. Unlike previous game-playing algorithms, AlphaZero doesn't start with a huge dataset of human knowledge. Instead, it just starts with a model of the game rules and begins playing games against a computer. As it plays thousands of games, it builds its own algorithm based on trial and error. To do this, AlphaZero uses 5,000 computers, or TPUs, developed by DeepMind's parent company Google specifically for AI programs. Using that processing power, AlphaZero was able to play 60 million games of chess in just a few hours and then beat Stockfish. It beat the reigning computer champions in Go and Shogi with similar amounts of effort. Next up, AlphaZero hopes to master Texas hold 'em and multiplayer video games. These are much trickier problems since not all information is available to all players. The scientists hope their effort isn't just fun and games. They hope their work could be directly applicable to medicine, math, and scientific research. Not to mention it's already teaching chess grandmaster lots of new moves.
Deep Blue became the first computer to beat a chess grandmaster in 1997. In the 20+ years since, artificial intelligence programmers have been looking for the next Holy Grail: an algorithm that can teach itself how to play chess. It looks like they just found it. Announced last week in Science, the company DeepMind has developed a program called AlphaZero that can beat the world's best chess players. It can also beat Stockfish, the leading chess-playing program. It won 155 out of 1,000 games, losing only six—the rest were draws. But what's remarkable is that AlphaZero has also learned how to play Shogi, a Japanese cousin of chess. And the Chinese game Go, which has 300 times more possible moves than chess. Unlike previous game-playing algorithms, AlphaZero doesn't start with a huge dataset of human knowledge. Instead, it just starts with a model of the game rules and begins playing games against a computer. As it plays thousands of games, it builds its own algorithm based on trial and error. To do this, AlphaZero uses 5,000 computers, or TPUs, developed by DeepMind's parent company Google specifically for AI programs. Using that processing power, AlphaZero was able to play 60 million games of chess in just a few hours and then beat Stockfish. It beat the reigning computer champions in Go and Shogi with similar amounts of effort. Next up, AlphaZero hopes to master Texas hold 'em and multiplayer video games. These are much trickier problems since not all information is available to all players. The scientists hope their effort isn't just fun and games. They hope their work could be directly applicable to medicine, math, and scientific research. Not to mention it's already teaching chess grandmaster lots of new moves.
-
1 minFREEPoetry Poem CurioFree1 CQ
Poem of the Day: [Let Us Gather in a Flourishing Way]. by Juan Felipe Herrera.
with Poetry FoundationPoem of the Day: [Let Us Gather in a Flourishing Way]. by Juan Felipe Herrera.
-
FREEComposition Photo CurioFree1 CQ
Nobody is as creative as Mother Nature. German photographer, sculptor, and professor Karl Blossfeldt believed as much and tailored his photography accordingly. Shown above are coils of maidenhair fern, or Adiantum pedatum, that Blossfeldt placed on plain cardboard and magnified with a custom camera; elegantly whirling upward into tight baubles, they give an indication of how Blossfeldt pinpointed beauty in the microscopic world. Having died on December 9, 1932, he was a member of the Neue Sachlichkeit, or "New Objectivity": a group of photographers who argued that the camera should only be used to authentically replicate reality, rather than serve an expressive, aesthetic function. Blossfeldt, who taught sculpture at the Royal School of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Berlin, believed that limitless visual beauty already existed in the world, and that only objective photography could unveil it and, therefore, inspire artists working in other mediums. In this way, Blossfeldt exalted photography as an unrivaled window into the unseen, but also derided it as being inferior to sculpting, painting, and other conventional forms of art. However, photographers get the last laugh—because Blossfeldt is more remembered today for his photography than his sculpting!
Below: more of Blossfeldt's sinuous plant photos, including: shots of carex grayi; cucurbita (tendrils of a pumpkin); and papaver.
Image credit & copyright: Karl Blossfeldt Archiv / Stiftung Ann und Jürgen Wilde, Pinakothek der Moderne, München
Nobody is as creative as Mother Nature. German photographer, sculptor, and professor Karl Blossfeldt believed as much and tailored his photography accordingly. Shown above are coils of maidenhair fern, or Adiantum pedatum, that Blossfeldt placed on plain cardboard and magnified with a custom camera; elegantly whirling upward into tight baubles, they give an indication of how Blossfeldt pinpointed beauty in the microscopic world. Having died on December 9, 1932, he was a member of the Neue Sachlichkeit, or "New Objectivity": a group of photographers who argued that the camera should only be used to authentically replicate reality, rather than serve an expressive, aesthetic function. Blossfeldt, who taught sculpture at the Royal School of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Berlin, believed that limitless visual beauty already existed in the world, and that only objective photography could unveil it and, therefore, inspire artists working in other mediums. In this way, Blossfeldt exalted photography as an unrivaled window into the unseen, but also derided it as being inferior to sculpting, painting, and other conventional forms of art. However, photographers get the last laugh—because Blossfeldt is more remembered today for his photography than his sculpting!
Below: more of Blossfeldt's sinuous plant photos, including: shots of carex grayi; cucurbita (tendrils of a pumpkin); and papaver.
Image credit & copyright: Karl Blossfeldt Archiv / Stiftung Ann und Jürgen Wilde, Pinakothek der Moderne, München
-
FREEArt Appreciation Art CurioFree1 CQ
Title: Statue of Unity
Artist: Ram V. Sutar (b. 1925)
Created: 2015-2018
Medium: steel framing, reinforced concrete, bronze cladding
Dimensions: 597 ft (182 m)
Current location: Narmada River, Kevadiya, Gujarat, India
Move over Lady Liberty because the Statue of Unity now occupies a prominent place on the Narmada River in India. Recently dedicated in a ceremony lead by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the finished statue featuring the visage of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel stands at an impressive 597 feet high—making it the world's tallest statue. Patel was an obvious choice for the monument because of his role in unifying India in the mid-20th century; he was a leader of the Indian independence movement, then became the first Deputy Prime Minister and unified over 500 princely states under India's borders. A smaller bronze version of Patel's statue is located at the International Airport in Ahmedabad, though when the specially appointed team of artists, historians, and academics chose Ram V. Sutar to recreate his work, they went with a redesigned model, which would require 3D scanning of the clay mold with bronze cladding imported from China. The final statue took 33 months to complete, with a budget of $430 million, and an unusual architectural slenderness ratio of 16:19 to compensate for the slim base and massive overall height. Patel's ironclad stare is said to inspire onlookers to greatness—which could somebody result in even more grandiose statues!
Below: a closer detailed view of the Statue of Unity, and a visual comparison of other prominent statue's heights around the world.
Image credit & copyright: Prime Minister's Office of India, News 18, CNBC TV 18
Title: Statue of Unity
Artist: Ram V. Sutar (b. 1925)
Created: 2015-2018
Medium: steel framing, reinforced concrete, bronze cladding
Dimensions: 597 ft (182 m)
Current location: Narmada River, Kevadiya, Gujarat, India
Move over Lady Liberty because the Statue of Unity now occupies a prominent place on the Narmada River in India. Recently dedicated in a ceremony lead by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the finished statue featuring the visage of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel stands at an impressive 597 feet high—making it the world's tallest statue. Patel was an obvious choice for the monument because of his role in unifying India in the mid-20th century; he was a leader of the Indian independence movement, then became the first Deputy Prime Minister and unified over 500 princely states under India's borders. A smaller bronze version of Patel's statue is located at the International Airport in Ahmedabad, though when the specially appointed team of artists, historians, and academics chose Ram V. Sutar to recreate his work, they went with a redesigned model, which would require 3D scanning of the clay mold with bronze cladding imported from China. The final statue took 33 months to complete, with a budget of $430 million, and an unusual architectural slenderness ratio of 16:19 to compensate for the slim base and massive overall height. Patel's ironclad stare is said to inspire onlookers to greatness—which could somebody result in even more grandiose statues!
Below: a closer detailed view of the Statue of Unity, and a visual comparison of other prominent statue's heights around the world.
Image credit & copyright: Prime Minister's Office of India, News 18, CNBC TV 18
-
1 minFREEAstronomy Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
Today's Nerdy Curio is brought to you by NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab. So, you want to study Mars with a lander or rover – but where exactly do you send it?
Today's Nerdy Curio is brought to you by NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab. So, you want to study Mars with a lander or rover – but where exactly do you send it?
-
6 minFREEHumanities Worldly CurioFree4 CQ
The Rohingya may be pushed even farther from home: banished to a remote island off the coast of Bangladesh. There are nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees in B...
with PRI's The WorldThe Rohingya may be pushed even farther from home: banished to a remote island off the coast of Bangladesh. There are nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees in B...
-
FREEMusic Song CurioFree2 CQ
For a man with such an obscure legacy, guitarist Davy Graham was ahead of the times. The '60s British folk revivalist, who died on December 15, 2008, popularized DADGAD tuning and inspired acclaimed musicians like Simon & Garfunkel. In all of Graham's instrumentals, the mysteries of the guitar seem ready to expose themselves to the ear, as is the case in the tranquil Cry Me A River, released on his 1963 album, The Guitar Player. The foundation of the song—commonplace, descending minor arpeggios that resolve in major chords—closely resemble the A minor acoustic interlude of Led Zeppelin's legendary tune, Stairway to Heaven (1971). Though bassist Mark Andes of the band Spirit unsuccessfully took Zeppelin to court in 2014, believing that Zeppelin stole from Spirit's 1968 song Taurus to create Heaven's introduction, Graham's Cry Me A River exposes the simplistic and unowned beauty that supports all three of these songs. When playing and composing music, always appreciate the bare essentials!
Image credit & copyright: BBC News
For a man with such an obscure legacy, guitarist Davy Graham was ahead of the times. The '60s British folk revivalist, who died on December 15, 2008, popularized DADGAD tuning and inspired acclaimed musicians like Simon & Garfunkel. In all of Graham's instrumentals, the mysteries of the guitar seem ready to expose themselves to the ear, as is the case in the tranquil Cry Me A River, released on his 1963 album, The Guitar Player. The foundation of the song—commonplace, descending minor arpeggios that resolve in major chords—closely resemble the A minor acoustic interlude of Led Zeppelin's legendary tune, Stairway to Heaven (1971). Though bassist Mark Andes of the band Spirit unsuccessfully took Zeppelin to court in 2014, believing that Zeppelin stole from Spirit's 1968 song Taurus to create Heaven's introduction, Graham's Cry Me A River exposes the simplistic and unowned beauty that supports all three of these songs. When playing and composing music, always appreciate the bare essentials!
Image credit & copyright: BBC News
December 9, 2018
-
1 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree1 CQ
Word of the Day : December 9, 2018
galumph \guh-LUMF\ verb
Definition
: to move with a clumsy heavy tread
Did You Know?
Bump, thump, thud. There's no do...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day : December 9, 2018
galumph \guh-LUMF\ verb
Definition
: to move with a clumsy heavy tread
Did You Know?
Bump, thump, thud. There's no do...
-
1 minFREEPoetry Poem CurioFree1 CQ
Poem of the Day: Love (III). by George Herbert (read by Forrest Gander).
with Poetry FoundationPoem of the Day: Love (III). by George Herbert (read by Forrest Gander).
-
FREEUS History PP&T CurioFree1 CQ
Women capture the vote—for all the wrong reasons.
Decades before the 19th Amendment passed in 1920, women like Esther Morris, shown above, were serving as judges and voting in the Wyoming territory. Before it even became a state, Wyoming's legislature enacted laws to give women the vote and other rights unheard of in the U.S. in the 1860s. Were they ahead of their time? The answers aren't quite so simple.
Wyoming itself was in a precarious place by the late 1860s. The land that became the territory was acquired in parts through the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, the 1846 Oregon Treaty between Britain and the U.S., and the 1848 Mexican Cession following the Mexican-American War. In July of 1868, President Andrew Johnson signed the Organic Act, which took land from Dakota, Idaho, and Utah territories to form Wyoming—a name taken from the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania and the Munsee Indian word for "near the big river flat," or prairie region. To add to the location's identity crisis, the Union Pacific Railroad landed in Cheyenne in 1867. What should have been a celebration of railroad jobs arriving in the region was marked by the scarcity of working bodies—or any bodies, for that matter—nearby. Wyoming had a population problem, and its governing body knew that.
As if attracting and keeping settlers in the region wasn't a hard enough task, the Wyoming Territorial legislature wasted no time picking a political fight over the task ahead of them. In 1868 President Grant appointed General John Campbell as governor of the Wyoming territory, hoping to establish Republican favor in the region. But as elections were held in September, Confederate-sympathetic Democrats won all 22 seats of the territorial legislature. In an effort to undermine the Republican governor's efforts at unification, President of the Council William H. Bright introduced the female suffrage bill; it was meant to pit Republicans vs. Democrats and abolitionists vs. suffragists, all while boosting publicity for the state. Despite all the ulterior political motives, the hopes of luring women to head out west were indeed genuine, as men outnumbered women in the region six to one.
The suffrage bill passed in a seven-to-four vote in the House and was ultimately approved in December 1869 by a hesitant Governor Campbell. As a result, an unprecedented number of gender-equality firsts occurred within the next year. The city of Laramie become the first location to include women in a public jury in March, Martha Symons Boies was appointed the first female bailiff there, and Louisa Swain cast the first women's vote in a general election in September. Over in Cheyenne, Esther Morris became the first justice of the peace and a figurehead for women's suffrage across the nation.
Were there really any good intentions on Bright's, or any of the legislature's parts, in introducing the women's suffrage bill? In 1871, a new session of the Wyoming Territorial legislature did attempt to repeal the bill to no avail. Stories circulated about how the whole thing had been intended as a joke in the first place, yet the bill was treated with all the seriousness of any other item of legislation. The person who may have had the most eloquent explanation of exactly what happened with women's suffrage in Wyoming was none other than Esther Morris' husband William, who stated, "It is a fact that all great reforms take place, not where they are most needed, but in places where opposition is weakest; and then they spread."
Below: the text of the Wyoming Territorial legislature's women's suffrage bill.
Female Suffrage
Chapter 31
An Act to Grant to the Women of Wyoming Territory the Right of Suffrage, and to Hold Office
Be it enacted by the Council and House of Representatives of the Territory of Wyoming:
Sec. 1. That every woman of the age of twenty-one years, residing in this territory, may at every election to be holden under the laws thereof, cast her vote. And her rights to the elective franchise and to hold office shall be the same under the election laws of the territory, as those of electors.
Sec. 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.
Approved, December 10, 1869.
Image credit & copyright: Adam ProcterWomen capture the vote—for all the wrong reasons.
Decades before the 19th Amendment passed in 1920, women like Esther Morris, shown above, were serving as judges and voting in the Wyoming territory. Before it even became a state, Wyoming's legislature enacted laws to give women the vote and other rights unheard of in the U.S. in the 1860s. Were they ahead of their time? The answers aren't quite so simple.
Wyoming itself was in a precarious place by the late 1860s. The land that became the territory was acquired in parts through the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, the 1846 Oregon Treaty between Britain and the U.S., and the 1848 Mexican Cession following the Mexican-American War. In July of 1868, President Andrew Johnson signed the Organic Act, which took land from Dakota, Idaho, and Utah territories to form Wyoming—a name taken from the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania and the Munsee Indian word for "near the big river flat," or prairie region. To add to the location's identity crisis, the Union Pacific Railroad landed in Cheyenne in 1867. What should have been a celebration of railroad jobs arriving in the region was marked by the scarcity of working bodies—or any bodies, for that matter—nearby. Wyoming had a population problem, and its governing body knew that.
As if attracting and keeping settlers in the region wasn't a hard enough task, the Wyoming Territorial legislature wasted no time picking a political fight over the task ahead of them. In 1868 President Grant appointed General John Campbell as governor of the Wyoming territory, hoping to establish Republican favor in the region. But as elections were held in September, Confederate-sympathetic Democrats won all 22 seats of the territorial legislature. In an effort to undermine the Republican governor's efforts at unification, President of the Council William H. Bright introduced the female suffrage bill; it was meant to pit Republicans vs. Democrats and abolitionists vs. suffragists, all while boosting publicity for the state. Despite all the ulterior political motives, the hopes of luring women to head out west were indeed genuine, as men outnumbered women in the region six to one.
The suffrage bill passed in a seven-to-four vote in the House and was ultimately approved in December 1869 by a hesitant Governor Campbell. As a result, an unprecedented number of gender-equality firsts occurred within the next year. The city of Laramie become the first location to include women in a public jury in March, Martha Symons Boies was appointed the first female bailiff there, and Louisa Swain cast the first women's vote in a general election in September. Over in Cheyenne, Esther Morris became the first justice of the peace and a figurehead for women's suffrage across the nation.
Were there really any good intentions on Bright's, or any of the legislature's parts, in introducing the women's suffrage bill? In 1871, a new session of the Wyoming Territorial legislature did attempt to repeal the bill to no avail. Stories circulated about how the whole thing had been intended as a joke in the first place, yet the bill was treated with all the seriousness of any other item of legislation. The person who may have had the most eloquent explanation of exactly what happened with women's suffrage in Wyoming was none other than Esther Morris' husband William, who stated, "It is a fact that all great reforms take place, not where they are most needed, but in places where opposition is weakest; and then they spread."
Below: the text of the Wyoming Territorial legislature's women's suffrage bill.
Female Suffrage
Chapter 31
An Act to Grant to the Women of Wyoming Territory the Right of Suffrage, and to Hold Office
Be it enacted by the Council and House of Representatives of the Territory of Wyoming:
Sec. 1. That every woman of the age of twenty-one years, residing in this territory, may at every election to be holden under the laws thereof, cast her vote. And her rights to the elective franchise and to hold office shall be the same under the election laws of the territory, as those of electors.
Sec. 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.
Approved, December 10, 1869.
Image credit & copyright: Adam Procter -
2 minFREEWork Business CurioFree2 CQ
In Florida, changing climate and a lack of good diagnostic tools make it easier for insect-borne diseases like Eastern Equine Encephalitis to spread.
with MarketplaceIn Florida, changing climate and a lack of good diagnostic tools make it easier for insect-borne diseases like Eastern Equine Encephalitis to spread.
-
5 minFREEHumanities Worldly CurioFree3 CQ
Sir John A. Macdonald is as close to a founding father as Canada has and monuments in his memory are sprinkled across the country. But now Macdonald is being...
with PRI's The WorldSir John A. Macdonald is as close to a founding father as Canada has and monuments in his memory are sprinkled across the country. But now Macdonald is being...
-
3 minFREESTEM Nerdy CurioFree2 CQ
Today's Nerdy Curio is brought to you by Engines of Our Ingenuity. Episode: 3193 Purple Men: The History of the Color Purple. Today, we see purple.
Today's Nerdy Curio is brought to you by Engines of Our Ingenuity. Episode: 3193 Purple Men: The History of the Color Purple. Today, we see purple.
December 8, 2018
-
1 minFREEPoetry Poem CurioFree1 CQ
Poem of the Day: Misgivings. By William Matthews.
with Poetry FoundationPoem of the Day: Misgivings. By William Matthews.
-
1 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree1 CQ
Word of the Day : December 8, 2018
approbation \ap-ruh-BAY-shun\ noun
Definition
1 : commendation, praise
2 : an act of approving formally or officially
...with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day : December 8, 2018
approbation \ap-ruh-BAY-shun\ noun
Definition
1 : commendation, praise
2 : an act of approving formally or officially
... -
2 minFREEAstronomy Nerdy CurioFree2 CQ
Learn what to look for in the night sky with today's Nerdy Curio from Stardate. A big dust storm blanketed the planet Mars for much of this year, hiding much...
with StardateLearn what to look for in the night sky with today's Nerdy Curio from Stardate. A big dust storm blanketed the planet Mars for much of this year, hiding much...
-
FREEPlay Teaser Curio #167Free1 CQ
Nothing gets the juices flowing (brain juices and blood juices) like a math teaser in winter. If your furnace is out, or you've cranked down the heat to help save the planet, or you think heat is for the weak, warm up your brain with this one.
The weather outside is frightful, a frigid n°. As it turns out, if you divide n2 by 5, you get the remainder 4. And, as it also turns out, if you divide n3 by 5, you get the remainder 3. Bored out of your skull because you don't want to go outside, you decide to divide n by 5. What remainder to you get?
Think you know the answer? Email support@curious.com with the subject "Teaser #167" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!Nothing gets the juices flowing (brain juices and blood juices) like a math teaser in winter. If your furnace is out, or you've cranked down the heat to help save the planet, or you think heat is for the weak, warm up your brain with this one.
The weather outside is frightful, a frigid n°. As it turns out, if you divide n2 by 5, you get the remainder 4. And, as it also turns out, if you divide n3 by 5, you get the remainder 3. Bored out of your skull because you don't want to go outside, you decide to divide n by 5. What remainder to you get?
Think you know the answer? Email support@curious.com with the subject "Teaser #167" and let us know, or check back next week to find out! -
6 minFREEHumanities Worldly CurioFree4 CQ
After nearly two decades of war, prospects for peace talks have been gaining momentum in Afghanistan. This has created a sense of optimism and anxiety among ...
with PRI's The WorldAfter nearly two decades of war, prospects for peace talks have been gaining momentum in Afghanistan. This has created a sense of optimism and anxiety among ...
-
1 minFREEWork Business CurioFree1 CQ
Consumers are paying more for iceberg lettuce and other leafy greens.
with MarketplaceConsumers are paying more for iceberg lettuce and other leafy greens.
December 7, 2018
-
6 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
From the BBC World Service… OPEC is on day two of a meeting aimed at cutting the cartel’s production amid plunging global oil prices. With members struggling...
From the BBC World Service… OPEC is on day two of a meeting aimed at cutting the cartel’s production amid plunging global oil prices. With members struggling...
-
1 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree1 CQ
Word of the Day : December 7, 2018
sandbag \SAND-bag\ verb
Definition
1 : to bank, stop up, or weight with sandbags
2 a : to hit or stun with or as if wi...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day : December 7, 2018
sandbag \SAND-bag\ verb
Definition
1 : to bank, stop up, or weight with sandbags
2 a : to hit or stun with or as if wi...
-
9 minFREEHumanities Worldly CurioFree5 CQ
The daughter of Huawei's founder, a top executive at the Chinese technology giant, was arrested in Canada and faces extradition to the United States.
with PRI's The WorldThe daughter of Huawei's founder, a top executive at the Chinese technology giant, was arrested in Canada and faces extradition to the United States.
-
FREEMusic Song CurioFree2 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this desert-themed favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Make classical music cool again! Hans Zimmer is leading a new charge to bring orchestral works to the masses, if only ones from his highest-grossing movies. The German-born film score composer was persuaded to "look [his] audience in the eye" by his unlikely musical buds, Johnny Marr (guitarist for the Smiths) and Pharrell Williams (legendary hip-hop producer and absurd hat wearer). So he scheduled a massive world tour fit for his epic compositions. It's hard to think of a better person than Zimmer to bring classical music to the masses. His scores—which include Pirates of the Caribbean, The Lion King, Rain Man, and the Batman trilogy—sometimes make use of unconventional orchestra instruments like electric guitar and bass. Not to mention Zimmer has some pop chops; he used to fill in on keyboards for the Buggles, of Video Killed the Radio Star fame. Hans Zimmer Live pulled into town at Indio, California, to do an evening set at the second weekend of Coachella 2017. We're loving his medley of music from the scores of Inception and Interstellar, although we can't imagine it was easy for fans to listen to an hour of film score mashups, only to be followed by the usual festival fare. If you, like the rest of us mortals, weren't able to make it out to the festival, check out a clip of the performance below:
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this desert-themed favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Make classical music cool again! Hans Zimmer is leading a new charge to bring orchestral works to the masses, if only ones from his highest-grossing movies. The German-born film score composer was persuaded to "look [his] audience in the eye" by his unlikely musical buds, Johnny Marr (guitarist for the Smiths) and Pharrell Williams (legendary hip-hop producer and absurd hat wearer). So he scheduled a massive world tour fit for his epic compositions. It's hard to think of a better person than Zimmer to bring classical music to the masses. His scores—which include Pirates of the Caribbean, The Lion King, Rain Man, and the Batman trilogy—sometimes make use of unconventional orchestra instruments like electric guitar and bass. Not to mention Zimmer has some pop chops; he used to fill in on keyboards for the Buggles, of Video Killed the Radio Star fame. Hans Zimmer Live pulled into town at Indio, California, to do an evening set at the second weekend of Coachella 2017. We're loving his medley of music from the scores of Inception and Interstellar, although we can't imagine it was easy for fans to listen to an hour of film score mashups, only to be followed by the usual festival fare. If you, like the rest of us mortals, weren't able to make it out to the festival, check out a clip of the performance below:
-
FREEAesthetic Photo CurioFree1 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this desert-themed favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Forecast: sandy. What looks to be an encroaching black sky is actually the shadowy side of a dune ridge in the Namib desert. This striking optical illusion, photographed by Jirawat Plekhongthu, is a testament to the height of the desert's rust-colored dunes. Towering over 1,000 feet, the dunes are located in the desert's driest expanse along the coast of southwestern Africa. It's so arid here that dead trees can't decompose, turning into the skeletal shapes seen in the foreground above. The average annual rainfall there is less than eight inches, with June marking the start of the dry season. Still, a wide range of plants and animals—from elephants to beetles—have adapted to survive there on moisture provided by heavy fogs. As for humans? The desert, though largely uninhabited by man, has become a new hotspot for sand-skiing—which is exactly what it sounds like. Note to participants: bring lots of water, and watch out for the dark side of the dune!
Image credit & copyright: Jirawat Plekhongthu
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this desert-themed favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Forecast: sandy. What looks to be an encroaching black sky is actually the shadowy side of a dune ridge in the Namib desert. This striking optical illusion, photographed by Jirawat Plekhongthu, is a testament to the height of the desert's rust-colored dunes. Towering over 1,000 feet, the dunes are located in the desert's driest expanse along the coast of southwestern Africa. It's so arid here that dead trees can't decompose, turning into the skeletal shapes seen in the foreground above. The average annual rainfall there is less than eight inches, with June marking the start of the dry season. Still, a wide range of plants and animals—from elephants to beetles—have adapted to survive there on moisture provided by heavy fogs. As for humans? The desert, though largely uninhabited by man, has become a new hotspot for sand-skiing—which is exactly what it sounds like. Note to participants: bring lots of water, and watch out for the dark side of the dune!
Image credit & copyright: Jirawat Plekhongthu
-
FREEAesthetic Art CurioFree1 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this desert-themed favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Title: concept painting of C-3PO and R2-D2
Artist: Ralph McQuarrie (1929-2012)
Created: 1975
Medium: painting
Though Star Wars was originally the brainchild of director George Lucas, the appearance of the galaxy far, far away owes a heavy debt to concept artist Ralph McQuarrie. Pictured above is one of his early designs for the desert planet Tatooine, with the two droids R2-D2 and C-3PO in the foreground. McQuarrie modeled the arid landscape after Morro Rock in Morro, California, and Threepio's humanoid appearance after the robot Maria from the 1927 Fritz Lang film Metropolis. Lucas initially recruited McQuarrie to help visualize and market the original Star Wars sci-fi opera concept to Fox Studios; McQuarrie accomplished far more than Lucas ever expected, designing the iconic looks of Darth Vader, Chewbacca, and the interior of the Death Star. McQuarrie's vibrant and emotional views of Star Wars worlds lead him to other massively popular sci-fi projects, including E.T., Battlestar Galactica, and Cocoon, the latter earning him an Oscar for Best Visual Effects in 1986. The Force and paintbrushes were strong with this one!
Below: more images from Ralph McQuarrie's Star Wars concept art.
Image credit & copyright: Ralph McQuarrie, Star Wars
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this desert-themed favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Title: concept painting of C-3PO and R2-D2
Artist: Ralph McQuarrie (1929-2012)
Created: 1975
Medium: painting
Though Star Wars was originally the brainchild of director George Lucas, the appearance of the galaxy far, far away owes a heavy debt to concept artist Ralph McQuarrie. Pictured above is one of his early designs for the desert planet Tatooine, with the two droids R2-D2 and C-3PO in the foreground. McQuarrie modeled the arid landscape after Morro Rock in Morro, California, and Threepio's humanoid appearance after the robot Maria from the 1927 Fritz Lang film Metropolis. Lucas initially recruited McQuarrie to help visualize and market the original Star Wars sci-fi opera concept to Fox Studios; McQuarrie accomplished far more than Lucas ever expected, designing the iconic looks of Darth Vader, Chewbacca, and the interior of the Death Star. McQuarrie's vibrant and emotional views of Star Wars worlds lead him to other massively popular sci-fi projects, including E.T., Battlestar Galactica, and Cocoon, the latter earning him an Oscar for Best Visual Effects in 1986. The Force and paintbrushes were strong with this one!
Below: more images from Ralph McQuarrie's Star Wars concept art.
Image credit & copyright: Ralph McQuarrie, Star Wars
-
FREEPlay Daily CurioFree1 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this desert-themed favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Location, location, location. Nathan Mendelsohn apparently wasn't aware of this real estate mantra when he bought 82,000 acres in the Mojave desert in 1958. Mendelsohn's plan was to build a desert mecca, called "California City," to rival nearby Los Angeles and Palm Springs. But whereas it took centuries for those towns to develop into thriving cities, Mendelsohn decided to build out his town before it had any inhabitants. Bad move. Today, California City is the third largest city in California by area but has a population of less than 15,000. Satellite photos of the miles of roads that were supposed to be lined with houses and businesses instead look like abstract sand etchings. At first, Mendelsohn had success attracting potential buyers. Most bought inexpensive lots without visiting the town. A few actually settled there to escape the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles. Within a few years, though, it became clear most of the speculators had no intention of moving in. Too late for Mendelsohn, who had already commissioned a 160-acre "central park" and hooked up the entire grid to central power and water. Now those aging, never-used pipes are leaking mightily: California City was named the number one water waster in the state last year. If you visit there today, you'll find significantly more life than in China's ghost cities, from Curio #1081. It's a sleepy desert town with an Air Force base, a very nice park, a state correctional facility, and a desert tortoise preserve—where the tortoises have a lot of room to roam.
Image credit & copyright: Google Maps
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this desert-themed favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Location, location, location. Nathan Mendelsohn apparently wasn't aware of this real estate mantra when he bought 82,000 acres in the Mojave desert in 1958. Mendelsohn's plan was to build a desert mecca, called "California City," to rival nearby Los Angeles and Palm Springs. But whereas it took centuries for those towns to develop into thriving cities, Mendelsohn decided to build out his town before it had any inhabitants. Bad move. Today, California City is the third largest city in California by area but has a population of less than 15,000. Satellite photos of the miles of roads that were supposed to be lined with houses and businesses instead look like abstract sand etchings. At first, Mendelsohn had success attracting potential buyers. Most bought inexpensive lots without visiting the town. A few actually settled there to escape the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles. Within a few years, though, it became clear most of the speculators had no intention of moving in. Too late for Mendelsohn, who had already commissioned a 160-acre "central park" and hooked up the entire grid to central power and water. Now those aging, never-used pipes are leaking mightily: California City was named the number one water waster in the state last year. If you visit there today, you'll find significantly more life than in China's ghost cities, from Curio #1081. It's a sleepy desert town with an Air Force base, a very nice park, a state correctional facility, and a desert tortoise preserve—where the tortoises have a lot of room to roam.
Image credit & copyright: Google Maps
-
4 minFREESTEM Nerdy CurioFree3 CQ
Today's Nerdy Curio is brought to you by Engines of Our Ingenuity. Episode: 2835 Reverse Engineering the Brain. Today, we look to the brain.
Today's Nerdy Curio is brought to you by Engines of Our Ingenuity. Episode: 2835 Reverse Engineering the Brain. Today, we look to the brain.
-
1 minFREEPoetry Poem CurioFree1 CQ
Poem of the Day: The Mysterious Arrival of an Unusual Letter. By Mark Strand.
with Poetry FoundationPoem of the Day: The Mysterious Arrival of an Unusual Letter. By Mark Strand.
December 6, 2018
-
1 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree1 CQ
Word of the Day : December 6, 2018
dossier \DOSS-yay\ noun
Definition
: a file containing detailed records on a particular person or subject
Did You Know...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day : December 6, 2018
dossier \DOSS-yay\ noun
Definition
: a file containing detailed records on a particular person or subject
Did You Know...
-
8 minFREEWork Business CurioFree5 CQ
The arrest of Chinese tech giant Huawei's CFO in Canada sends the financial markets tumbling. What does Meng Wanzhou's potential extradition to the U.S. mean...
The arrest of Chinese tech giant Huawei's CFO in Canada sends the financial markets tumbling. What does Meng Wanzhou's potential extradition to the U.S. mean...
-
3 minFREEHumanities Worldly CurioFree2 CQ
The 41st president was known for reaching across the aisle and supporting a range of issues, including birth control. His support even earned him the nicknam...
with PRI's The WorldThe 41st president was known for reaching across the aisle and supporting a range of issues, including birth control. His support even earned him the nicknam...
-
FREESociology Daily Curio #1674Free1 CQ
It's the most wonderful time of the year… for some. In today's Saint Nicholas Day Themed Thursday, we're investigating the Netherlands' version of St. Nick, Sinterklaas. A tall and trim predecessor to Santa, he wears bishops' clothing, a miter hat, and a stylish ruby ring as he rides around on a white horse delivering presents to good children. When Dutch families settled in America in the late 18th century, they brought along the legend of Sinterklaas, which slowly evolved into that of portly, reindeer-riding Santa Claus. But there are a few critical differences between the two. While Santa employs sweet-toothed elves to manufacture his toys, Sinterklaas' little helper happens to be Zwarte Piet, or "Black Pete." Black Pete is said to be of Moorish descent: a population of Muslims who were expelled from modern-day Spain. He has dark skin attributed to his ethnicity and a knack for slipping down chimneys. He also has plump red lips, a thick afro, and wears vibrant clothing and massive hoop earrings inspired by old Moorish fashion. This character, who appears identical to racist blackface caricatures, arrives on a boat from Spain to dance, wave, and offer treats to kids during parades. And the Dutch find little issue with him. In a 2015 poll, 81 percent of voters defended Black Pete's traditional appearance. But they may not get their way. This year, Dutch public broadcaster NTR announced that their representation of Black Pete will only have a soot-covered face. An increasing number of schools are also phasing out the character, or at least scaling back his jarring visage. This comes as a response to a litany of complaints from Dutch citizens of color, who complain their children are being teased and branded Black Pete in class. Even more disturbing, white extremists recently adopted Black Pete as a mascot and uniform, impersonating him as they block highways and tell teachers of color to "go back to your own country." In 2015, the United Nations urged the Dutch to retire Black Pete, calling him a lingering "vestige of slavery." But many Dutch refuse to budge. Meanwhile, the movement against Black Pete is gaining momentum. Sorry Dutch friends, but it seems to me there is only one right solution here: retire Black Pete and spend the time saved making more hilarious Zondag met Lubach videos.
Image credit & copyright: ANP
It's the most wonderful time of the year… for some. In today's Saint Nicholas Day Themed Thursday, we're investigating the Netherlands' version of St. Nick, Sinterklaas. A tall and trim predecessor to Santa, he wears bishops' clothing, a miter hat, and a stylish ruby ring as he rides around on a white horse delivering presents to good children. When Dutch families settled in America in the late 18th century, they brought along the legend of Sinterklaas, which slowly evolved into that of portly, reindeer-riding Santa Claus. But there are a few critical differences between the two. While Santa employs sweet-toothed elves to manufacture his toys, Sinterklaas' little helper happens to be Zwarte Piet, or "Black Pete." Black Pete is said to be of Moorish descent: a population of Muslims who were expelled from modern-day Spain. He has dark skin attributed to his ethnicity and a knack for slipping down chimneys. He also has plump red lips, a thick afro, and wears vibrant clothing and massive hoop earrings inspired by old Moorish fashion. This character, who appears identical to racist blackface caricatures, arrives on a boat from Spain to dance, wave, and offer treats to kids during parades. And the Dutch find little issue with him. In a 2015 poll, 81 percent of voters defended Black Pete's traditional appearance. But they may not get their way. This year, Dutch public broadcaster NTR announced that their representation of Black Pete will only have a soot-covered face. An increasing number of schools are also phasing out the character, or at least scaling back his jarring visage. This comes as a response to a litany of complaints from Dutch citizens of color, who complain their children are being teased and branded Black Pete in class. Even more disturbing, white extremists recently adopted Black Pete as a mascot and uniform, impersonating him as they block highways and tell teachers of color to "go back to your own country." In 2015, the United Nations urged the Dutch to retire Black Pete, calling him a lingering "vestige of slavery." But many Dutch refuse to budge. Meanwhile, the movement against Black Pete is gaining momentum. Sorry Dutch friends, but it seems to me there is only one right solution here: retire Black Pete and spend the time saved making more hilarious Zondag met Lubach videos.
Image credit & copyright: ANP
-
2 minFREEPoetry Poem CurioFree2 CQ
Poem of the Day: ABC Plus E: Cosmic Aloneness Is the Bride of Existence. By Mary Jo Bang.
with Poetry FoundationPoem of the Day: ABC Plus E: Cosmic Aloneness Is the Bride of Existence. By Mary Jo Bang.
-
3 minFREESTEM Nerdy CurioFree2 CQ
Today's Nerdy Curio is brought to you by 60-Second Science. The single organism that is the Utah aspen grove known as Pando is on the decline due to herbivor...
with 60-Second ScienceToday's Nerdy Curio is brought to you by 60-Second Science. The single organism that is the Utah aspen grove known as Pando is on the decline due to herbivor...
-
FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
Saint Nicholas' benevolence has been the subject of countless stories and artworks, though one, in particular, could give Stephen Sondheim's Sweeny Todd a run for its money. The French children's song La légende de Saint Nicolas tells of three boys who end up in the salting-tub of an evil butcher after they seek lodging in his home. After the initial scare of the first few verses, St. Nicholas meets the same butcher years later. As his cannibalistic plot is discovered, the butcher runs away from his house, wracked with guilt. The three boys, now free from their captor, are then restored to their whole forms when St. Nicholas performs a miracle. Though the song may tread odd territory with its terrifying butcher (in other countries, the butcher is an innkeeper), the tale is actually a common one told of St. Nicholas' good deeds and his dedication to protecting the lives of children. No matter how difficult their circumstances may be!
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: 123RF
Saint Nicholas' benevolence has been the subject of countless stories and artworks, though one, in particular, could give Stephen Sondheim's Sweeny Todd a run for its money. The French children's song La légende de Saint Nicolas tells of three boys who end up in the salting-tub of an evil butcher after they seek lodging in his home. After the initial scare of the first few verses, St. Nicholas meets the same butcher years later. As his cannibalistic plot is discovered, the butcher runs away from his house, wracked with guilt. The three boys, now free from their captor, are then restored to their whole forms when St. Nicholas performs a miracle. Though the song may tread odd territory with its terrifying butcher (in other countries, the butcher is an innkeeper), the tale is actually a common one told of St. Nicholas' good deeds and his dedication to protecting the lives of children. No matter how difficult their circumstances may be!
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: 123RF
-
FREEAesthetic Art CurioFree1 CQ
Title: Arm Reliquary of Saint Nicholas
Artist: unknown
Created: 1315
Medium: Silver with parcel-gilded silver sheet, twisted filigree, and gemstones
Dimensions: 18.69 x 3.75 w in (47.5 x 9.5 cm)
Current location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York
Saint Nicholas was known for selflessly giving a helping hand, so it's no wonder one of the artworks chosen to represent him in medieval Armenia was the cherished arm reliquary. The bejeweled piece, which features an image of the bishop engraved on the outside palm, was initially a gift to the head of the Armenian church, Constantine I of Cilicia. Christianity has been part of Armenian culture since St. Gregory converted King Tiridates III in the early fourth century; and a number of historical religious art pieces have been collected for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Armenia! show, which is on display until next month. These works display a resounding, centuries-long commitment to a faith through art—whether through illuminated manuscripts, bejeweled crosses, or holy reliquaries like the one above. They also tell of a cosmopolitan Middle Eastern locale which welcomed artistic influences from nearby cultures and religions. We bet St. Nick is giving the thumbs up!
Image credit & copyright: Metropolitan Museum of Art
Title: Arm Reliquary of Saint Nicholas
Artist: unknown
Created: 1315
Medium: Silver with parcel-gilded silver sheet, twisted filigree, and gemstones
Dimensions: 18.69 x 3.75 w in (47.5 x 9.5 cm)
Current location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York
Saint Nicholas was known for selflessly giving a helping hand, so it's no wonder one of the artworks chosen to represent him in medieval Armenia was the cherished arm reliquary. The bejeweled piece, which features an image of the bishop engraved on the outside palm, was initially a gift to the head of the Armenian church, Constantine I of Cilicia. Christianity has been part of Armenian culture since St. Gregory converted King Tiridates III in the early fourth century; and a number of historical religious art pieces have been collected for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Armenia! show, which is on display until next month. These works display a resounding, centuries-long commitment to a faith through art—whether through illuminated manuscripts, bejeweled crosses, or holy reliquaries like the one above. They also tell of a cosmopolitan Middle Eastern locale which welcomed artistic influences from nearby cultures and religions. We bet St. Nick is giving the thumbs up!
Image credit & copyright: Metropolitan Museum of Art
-
FREEPhotography Photo CurioFree1 CQ
Forget stocking stuffers because St. Nicholas takes his treats to another item of footwear: our shoes. The tradition of shoe stuffing for St. Nicholas Day seems to stem from tales of Saint Nicholas of Myra, a wealthy Christian bishop who was known to secretly disperse his wealth to those in need—sometimes by leaving coins in their boots. As the tales have evolved through the years, so has the tradition; on St. Nicholas Eve, a family member dresses up as the white-bearded saint and, together, the family recount their good deeds and shortcomings over the past year. When it's time for bed, everyone's shoes are laid out in a row, sometimes with a bit of carrots or grains left for St. Nick's trusty horse. When children and adults wake up the next day, they may find sneakers full of oranges, candy canes, and gold chocolate coins as signs of good fortune in the future. This is one holiday tradition that's sure to put a bit of sugar-pep in our step!
Image credit & copyright: Our Sunday Visitor
Forget stocking stuffers because St. Nicholas takes his treats to another item of footwear: our shoes. The tradition of shoe stuffing for St. Nicholas Day seems to stem from tales of Saint Nicholas of Myra, a wealthy Christian bishop who was known to secretly disperse his wealth to those in need—sometimes by leaving coins in their boots. As the tales have evolved through the years, so has the tradition; on St. Nicholas Eve, a family member dresses up as the white-bearded saint and, together, the family recount their good deeds and shortcomings over the past year. When it's time for bed, everyone's shoes are laid out in a row, sometimes with a bit of carrots or grains left for St. Nick's trusty horse. When children and adults wake up the next day, they may find sneakers full of oranges, candy canes, and gold chocolate coins as signs of good fortune in the future. This is one holiday tradition that's sure to put a bit of sugar-pep in our step!
Image credit & copyright: Our Sunday Visitor
December 5, 2018
-
6 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
From the BBC World Service… Takeda Pharmaceuticals shareholders gave the green light for a $59-billion takeover of U.K.-listed Shire. It clears the way for J...
From the BBC World Service… Takeda Pharmaceuticals shareholders gave the green light for a $59-billion takeover of U.K.-listed Shire. It clears the way for J...
-
1 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree1 CQ
Word of the Day : December 5, 2018
abandon \uh-BAN-dun\ noun
Definition
: a thorough yielding to natural impulses; especially : enthusiasm, exuberance
D...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day : December 5, 2018
abandon \uh-BAN-dun\ noun
Definition
: a thorough yielding to natural impulses; especially : enthusiasm, exuberance
D...
-
FREEHumanities Daily Curio #1673Free1 CQ
If yesterday's Curio has you considering celebrating Kwanzaa this year, then be ready to "pour one out." That's slang for the ritual of libations, where ancestors are honored by pouring the first sips of water, wine, or alcohol onto the ground. It's a common Kwanzaa tradition. Libations first came on the pop culture scene in 1996, as a way to honor the murder of Tupac Shakur. Tupac had recorded Pour Out a Little Liquor two years before his death, causing fans to honor his passing in that way. But the roots of libations are far deeper than gangsta rap. Humans have been doing it for at least 5,000 years. That's when ancient Egyptians are first recorded pouring water, milk, honey, or wine onto the ground to honor fallen kin. The ancient Greeks got into the act shortly thereafter, preferring to use sweetened wine. It gets a whole line in The Illiad: "Wait till I fetch you some sweet honeyed wine… to pour a libation." Ancient indigenous African, Chinese, and South Americans cultures had similar traditions as well. But it's the Romans who took things a step further. They built stone chalices into tombs, so mourners could pour wine into tubes which funneled directly into the entombed corpse. That way family members could have a meal at the gravesite and then "share" the wine with the deceased. I have to say, as a lover of red wine, this concept seems brilliant to me. But please, give me the good stuff!
If yesterday's Curio has you considering celebrating Kwanzaa this year, then be ready to "pour one out." That's slang for the ritual of libations, where ancestors are honored by pouring the first sips of water, wine, or alcohol onto the ground. It's a common Kwanzaa tradition. Libations first came on the pop culture scene in 1996, as a way to honor the murder of Tupac Shakur. Tupac had recorded Pour Out a Little Liquor two years before his death, causing fans to honor his passing in that way. But the roots of libations are far deeper than gangsta rap. Humans have been doing it for at least 5,000 years. That's when ancient Egyptians are first recorded pouring water, milk, honey, or wine onto the ground to honor fallen kin. The ancient Greeks got into the act shortly thereafter, preferring to use sweetened wine. It gets a whole line in The Illiad: "Wait till I fetch you some sweet honeyed wine… to pour a libation." Ancient indigenous African, Chinese, and South Americans cultures had similar traditions as well. But it's the Romans who took things a step further. They built stone chalices into tombs, so mourners could pour wine into tubes which funneled directly into the entombed corpse. That way family members could have a meal at the gravesite and then "share" the wine with the deceased. I have to say, as a lover of red wine, this concept seems brilliant to me. But please, give me the good stuff!
-
6 minFREEHumanities Worldly CurioFree4 CQ
Protests in France that initially targeted an increase in the gas tax have turned into a broader anti-Macron demonstration. Over the weekend, protesters torc...
with PRI's The WorldProtests in France that initially targeted an increase in the gas tax have turned into a broader anti-Macron demonstration. Over the weekend, protesters torc...
-
FREEComposition Photo CurioFree1 CQ
The above photo may look like just another moment in a synagogue, yet it represents a highly unusual break from protocol. Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson of Brooklyn's Lubavitch-Chabad Hasidim stares into the camera of Chie Nishio, a Japanese-American artist who, at the time, was not entirely successful at her project: documenting the lives of notoriously private Hasidic Jews in New York during the 1990s. Nishio would have been in her 60s, an accomplished photojournalist who initially went in search of Judaism to understand an unspoken of part her husband's family history. With Rabbi Schneerson's gesture—handing an outsider woman a roll of nickels as a lesson on charity—and the growing acceptance of her presence in the Crown Heights congregation, Nishio was able to bring these intimate moments into the public eye. In 2014, Brooklyn Public Library collected her work with the Hasidic Jewish community; Nishio's ability to capture the beauty of unassuming moments of faith are finally on permanent display.
Below: more of Nishio's photos of Lubavitch-Chabad Hasidim: celebrating Chanukah in December, a young boy reading a prayer book, and a portrait of artist Michael Muchnik.
Image credit & copyright: Chie Nishio
The above photo may look like just another moment in a synagogue, yet it represents a highly unusual break from protocol. Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson of Brooklyn's Lubavitch-Chabad Hasidim stares into the camera of Chie Nishio, a Japanese-American artist who, at the time, was not entirely successful at her project: documenting the lives of notoriously private Hasidic Jews in New York during the 1990s. Nishio would have been in her 60s, an accomplished photojournalist who initially went in search of Judaism to understand an unspoken of part her husband's family history. With Rabbi Schneerson's gesture—handing an outsider woman a roll of nickels as a lesson on charity—and the growing acceptance of her presence in the Crown Heights congregation, Nishio was able to bring these intimate moments into the public eye. In 2014, Brooklyn Public Library collected her work with the Hasidic Jewish community; Nishio's ability to capture the beauty of unassuming moments of faith are finally on permanent display.
Below: more of Nishio's photos of Lubavitch-Chabad Hasidim: celebrating Chanukah in December, a young boy reading a prayer book, and a portrait of artist Michael Muchnik.
Image credit & copyright: Chie Nishio
-
2 minFREESTEM Nerdy CurioFree2 CQ
Today's Nerdy Curio is brought to you by 60-Second Science. Smart meters on shower heads encouraged hotel guests to conserve—even though they personally save...
with 60-Second ScienceToday's Nerdy Curio is brought to you by 60-Second Science. Smart meters on shower heads encouraged hotel guests to conserve—even though they personally save...
-
FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
For a song about letting one's guard down, singer-songwriter KT Tunstall's video for Human Being sure inspire us to suit up with arm and shin guards. Maybe it's because the '80s synth and guitar-sounds are set to a VHS-quality recording of Eccaia Sampson's nunchuck skills, which are as dazzling as they are dangerous. Tunstall was introduced to Sampson's work by her father, who is a guitar tech for the Canadian band Barenaked Ladies, and once she saw the eight-year-old girl's work, she knew it was perfect for Human Being. "The song is all about fighting to be something… you're trying to impress, you're trying to be the best that you can possibly be, but at the end of it all, you are just human," the musician said. For Tunstall, who broke out nearly a decade ago with her hit Black Horse and the Cherry Tree, her newest single reflects a wider conversation about physicality. If Human Being's video is any indicator, the visceral side of Tunstall's songwriting is sounding as exciting and electric as ever.
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: KT Tunstall
For a song about letting one's guard down, singer-songwriter KT Tunstall's video for Human Being sure inspire us to suit up with arm and shin guards. Maybe it's because the '80s synth and guitar-sounds are set to a VHS-quality recording of Eccaia Sampson's nunchuck skills, which are as dazzling as they are dangerous. Tunstall was introduced to Sampson's work by her father, who is a guitar tech for the Canadian band Barenaked Ladies, and once she saw the eight-year-old girl's work, she knew it was perfect for Human Being. "The song is all about fighting to be something… you're trying to impress, you're trying to be the best that you can possibly be, but at the end of it all, you are just human," the musician said. For Tunstall, who broke out nearly a decade ago with her hit Black Horse and the Cherry Tree, her newest single reflects a wider conversation about physicality. If Human Being's video is any indicator, the visceral side of Tunstall's songwriting is sounding as exciting and electric as ever.
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: KT Tunstall
-
FREEArt Appreciation Art CurioFree1 CQ
Title: Respecting the Circle
Artist: Manasiah Akpaliapik (b. 1955)
Created: 1989
Medium: whalebone, ivory, dark grey stone, antler, baleen, rust stone, horn
Current location: Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
We're putting our best face forward this winter, though we've probably got nothing on what Manasiah Akpaliapik's Respecting the Circle has to say about that. Akpaliapik was taught how to carve whalebone by his Inuit family in the Baffin Islands in northeast Canada. After suffering the death of his wife and children during a fire in 1980, Akpaliapik moved to the city of Montreal as part of a healing process and began carving professionally. Though his sculptures hearken back to more traditional forms of Inuit sculpting, the sheer multitude of creatures and faces put Akpaliapik's work into a category all its own, one full of maximum engagement with Inuit history and legends. "Everything that I'm doing is trying to capture some of the culture," Akpaliapik once said, "...simple things like hunting, wearing traditional clothing, harpoons, using legends. I feel that the only way we can preserve the culture is if people can see it." If Respecting the Circle is any indicator, Akpaliapik is doing just fine imbuing his work with Inuit motifs and eye-catching creatures.
Below: more of Akpaliapik's stunning sculptures.
Image credit & copyright: Art Gallery of Ontario, Deidra Kelly
Title: Respecting the Circle
Artist: Manasiah Akpaliapik (b. 1955)
Created: 1989
Medium: whalebone, ivory, dark grey stone, antler, baleen, rust stone, horn
Current location: Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
We're putting our best face forward this winter, though we've probably got nothing on what Manasiah Akpaliapik's Respecting the Circle has to say about that. Akpaliapik was taught how to carve whalebone by his Inuit family in the Baffin Islands in northeast Canada. After suffering the death of his wife and children during a fire in 1980, Akpaliapik moved to the city of Montreal as part of a healing process and began carving professionally. Though his sculptures hearken back to more traditional forms of Inuit sculpting, the sheer multitude of creatures and faces put Akpaliapik's work into a category all its own, one full of maximum engagement with Inuit history and legends. "Everything that I'm doing is trying to capture some of the culture," Akpaliapik once said, "...simple things like hunting, wearing traditional clothing, harpoons, using legends. I feel that the only way we can preserve the culture is if people can see it." If Respecting the Circle is any indicator, Akpaliapik is doing just fine imbuing his work with Inuit motifs and eye-catching creatures.
Below: more of Akpaliapik's stunning sculptures.
Image credit & copyright: Art Gallery of Ontario, Deidra Kelly
-
1 minFREEPoetry Poem CurioFree1 CQ
Poem of the Day: Noah / Ham: Fathers of the Year. by Douglas Kearney.
with Poetry FoundationPoem of the Day: Noah / Ham: Fathers of the Year. by Douglas Kearney.
