Unruly History in the News #93
a long one after a little break
Hey everyone,
As I logged in to write this post, I realized that I completely forgot to tell everyone that I was going on vacation. So sorry about the radio silence for a few weeks there! I’m back in LA now and ready to dive into what’s been going on in the world of historical news.
With AI-generated art and writing seemingly taking over the internet, I’d like to reaffirm that everything I write for Unruly Figures is written with my own fingers and my own brain. Unlike this recent Chicago Sun-Times recommended reading list, I looked at every article listed and they’re all real (and usually pretty good, promise).
Starting this week, I’m adding a new category to these roundups: My favorite of the week. Usually, when I do these roundups, one article really stands out to me. I wanted to highlight it somehow, so now it’ll just go at the top. If you read anything each week, I hope you read that story.
And last but not least: Happy Pride! If you’re interested in learning about some historical queer icons, I’ve got a roundup of podcast episodes about them.
In history acting unruly…
My favorite of the week: A Unified Theory of the Handbag.
Once upon a time, the US government built beautiful homes for working-class Americans to help combat a housing crisis.
What was bone music? And how did it contribute to the fall of the Soviet Union?
Records could be printed on x-rays to go unnoticed by Soviet censors. Source: Adam Berry/Getty Images A long-lost painting by Frans Post, painted nearly 400 years ago, was found in a barn. After restoration, it went for $6 million at auction.
Canada and the US have long been uneasy neighbors. Their history is why.
Inside the final days of Katherine Mansfield, the famous writer who joined a cult for connection… and found it?
A fascinating look at how one researcher uncovered Viking pit stops on the sea.
Why was the US’s National Science Foundation created, and what did WWII have to do with it?
How did Thutmose III make Egypt into a superpower?
And who did he learn to rule from? His regent, Hatshepsut.
Speaking of Egypt, three large tombs have just been uncovered at Luxor. They belong to a scribe, a mayor, and a temple attendant.
And, our history of artificial limbs stretches back to Ancient Egypt.
A 3,000-year-old Mayan complex has just been uncovered in Guatemala.
How did snails and oysters develop from peasant foods to luxury repasts?
Just like anyone taking a careful selfie before posting it, Walt Whitman used photography to curate his image
From the article: “Though Walt Whitman insisted to friends that the moth was real – and landed on his finger spontaneously – it was a cardboard prop.” Image source: Library of Congress. If you’ve kept an eye on Trump versus Harvard, you are probably aware that every century has its (wannabe) dictator that hates academia. But did you know the Brothers Grimm were once the targets of academic martyrdom?
Speaking of Harvard, the university has relinquished photos of enslaved Americans to the lone descendant of the people photographed. It took an eight-year legal battle and an overturning of legal precedent (ownership of photographs usually belongs to the photographer, not the subjects).
A tradition of wedging coins into Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland is causing serious damage to this world heritage site. The coins rust and expand, causing the basalt columns to crack.
If you’ve ever ridden to the hospital in an ambulance, thank these trailblazing Black paramedics.
In the 1960s, brides started wondering something surprising: If a marriage was just a piece of paper, could their dresses be too?
What actually happened to the samurai? Why did they disappear?
Interested in more samurai history?
A look at how humans disrupted a centuries-long migration pattern.
Speaking of centuries-long: bedbugs have been biting us for so long, they’ve been termed the first urban pest.
And speaking of cities: What was the Model Cities experiment of the 1960s? And could it be brought back?
It has been 50 years since the literary collaboration between “The Greatest” and a Great American writer—Muhammad Ali and Toni Morrison.
Humans have always played games, but the unique conditions of the 19th century allowed for the rise of board games.
Have you ever wondered how we figured out the Earth’s magnetic poles?
7,000 years ago, a 1,300-pound boulder was carried by an enormous tsunami wave and deposited miles inland on the island of Tonga. Can it tell us about the impact of landslides, earthquakes, and tsunamis on coastlines today?
A fascinating discussion about the history of modern capitalism (starting around 1700) through today. What is the past, and what could be the future?
These beautiful jade burial suits were considered a fantastic rumor—until some soldiers stumbled across a (miraculously) untouched tomb in 1968.
If you’re interested in reading more things by me, check out my review of Robert Macfarlane’s Is A River Alive? in the LA Times.