Unruly History in the News #76
We're back, baby
Hey friends,
Phew, it’s been a whirlwind few weeks over on my end. I got to go to
’s launch party in LA for her new biography, Riding Like The Wind. It was such a cool event. I also wrote a review of the new book last week—in short, it’s awesome.
I’m also excited to announce that I’ll be doing a reading and signing of my book Unruly Figures here in Los Angeles! If you’ve been wanting to come to an event but weeknights are hard, this one is on a Sunday afternoon—perfect for a reading accompanied by sweet treats and good coffee! November 3, 2 pm-4 pm. RSVP (for free) here:
Okay, now into history acting unruly in the news:
Obligatory Halloween story: Is there any truth behind the Loch Ness monster?
Want more Halloween history news? Revisit last year’s roundup for more spooky tales.
This week in 1964, Jean-Paul Sartre became the first person ever to decline their Nobel Prize.
DNA testing shows that this Ice Age toddler had dark skin and blue eyes. He also appears to be an ancestor of the Villabruna people, who existed about 14,000 years ago. The discovery of his remarkably intact skeleton tells us a lot about Mediterranean life during the last Ice Age.
Judy-Lynn del Rey is finally getting her due. Don’t recognize the name? We have her to thank for popularizing the fantasy fiction genre.
This Balkan breakfast is going viral on TikTok. Here’s the history (and science) behind it.
One example of the Balkan breakfast that’s taking TikTok by storm. Photograph by Eugenia Maximova, Anzenberger/Redux Craving carbs today? Apparently that craving has been with us for—literally, truly—almost a million years.
Life in a monastery might sound peaceful, but in fact many Medieval monks led quite violent lives.
In Angkor Wat, a temple gaurdian dating to the 13th century was just uncovered and is remarkably intact.
To zoom out to a cosmic scale, scientists have pinpointed the origins of most meteorites on Earth. This sheds light on the history of our universe.
A new digital model of Ernest Shackleton’s shipwreck Endurance is a remarkably detailed look at wooden vessel that his been underwater for over 100 years.
Speaking of shipwrecks, three large shipwrecks were found in an Viking Age burial ground in Sweden, along with 139 Viking graves and “a ship-shaped mound.”
A newly excavated 5,000-year-old sculpture of a dragon (or “dragon”) is causing some controversy among researchers and archaeologists.
Several Iron Age swords were smuggled out of Iran and extensively modified to be more appealing on the black market. They were described as “a sort of Frankenstein’s monster.”
Two surprisingly high-altitude Medieval cities that were important stops on the Silk Road have been found in the Uzbek Mountains. One of these is particularly interesting to archaeologists becuase it has a well-preserved graveyard.
How the legacy of European colonialism has left Caribbean nations more vulnerable to hurricanes.
For fans of Indiana Jones: A secret tomb has been discovered in Petra, hiding beneath a mysterious structure featured in The Last Crusade.
Also for fans of Indiana Jones: The treasure hunt for a golden owl has finally ended after 31 years, making it the second-longest running treasure hunt based on a book. (The longest-running is an ongoing hunt for The Secret.)
A beautiful Monet has been returned to the descendants of the people the Nazis stole it from.
Some people claim that Columbus was of Sephardic Jewish ancestry. The debate is not a new one, but it is changing as his legacy shifts from heroic discoverer of the “New World” to initiator of destructive European colonialism in the Americas.
