Jörmungandr's Reading Room

fuckyeahvalhalla: Previously never before seen drawing by...

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 18:05:18 -0500

Previously never before seen drawing by Tolkien for the Hobbit.

fuckyeahhistorycrushes: This badass right here would be Colonel...

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 17:57:18 -0500

This badass right here would be Colonel Claus Philipp Maria Justinian Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg - better known as Claus von Stauffenberg, one of the leaders behind the famous 20 July plot to kill Hitler. Of course, the attempt inevitably failed and he was executed by firing squad the following day. Cool side note: von Stauffenberg was third in line to be executed, with Lieutenant Werner von Haeften, a co-conspirator, fourth in line, but von Haeften placed himself between the firing squad and von Stauffenberg at the last minute, taking von Stauffenberg’s bullets for him.

Basically, the man tried to kill Hitler. And he could rock an eyepatch. And he was cute with his kids. AND, Tom Cruise played him in Valkyrie. Isn’t there some sort of rule that if Tom Cruise plays you in a movie, you’re attractive by default? Probably.

blithewine: A collection of anatomical drawings by Benjamin...

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 17:57:11 -0500

blithewine:

A collection of anatomical drawings by Benjamin Haydon, c. 1805

(via the Royal Academy of Arts)

fuckyeahhistorycrushes: Amy Johnson. First woman to fly solo...

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 17:57:00 -0500

fuckyeahhistorycrushes:

Amy Johnson. First woman to fly solo from England to Australia. Sadly lost during WW2, very near where I live, while ferrying fighter aircraft (not allowed to fight with them for some stupid reason) in 1941. Plus she is kinda hot.

Enigma by Gustave Dore

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:32:58 -0400

Enigma by Gustave Dore

biomedicalephemera: The last thylacine ever, in Hobart,...

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:32:52 -0400

biomedicalephemera:

The last thylacine ever, in Hobart, Tasmania. His name was Benjamin.

The thylacine jaws could open over 120 degrees, but were not particularly strong. Actually, compared to other carnivores (like the Tasmanian Devil), they had quite weak jaws. I wonder why they could open so wide, but not chomp down? I mean, I’m sure the two traits go together (the longer the muscle, the more it takes to make it strong), but I wonder about the origin of the traits.

biomedicalephemera: Thylacines at Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart,...

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:32:48 -0400

biomedicalephemera:

Thylacines at Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart, Tasmania

This photograph was taken in 1910. The thylacines in this photograph are siblings, and I think they were the last litter ever born.

teaology: The Tooth Worm as Hell’s Demon”, southern France,...

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:32:39 -0400

teaology:

The Tooth Worm as Hell’s Demon”, southern France, 18th Century; This artistically designed ivory carving is contained in a molar, 10.5 cm in height, which can be separated into two halves of equal size. It opens out into two scenes depicting the infernal torments of toothache as a battle with the “tooth worm”. The legend of the “tooth worm” as the cause of toothache originated in Mesopotamia around 1800 B.C. A legend, in much the same sense as that of the Creation, concerning the origin of the tooth worm is to be found in the inscriptions on ancient tablets from 1800 B.C., and from the New Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian periods of 650 and 550 B.C.

Photo

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:32:33 -0400

fuckyeahhistorycrushes: Ilya Repin: Russian populist painter...

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:31:55 -0400

fuckyeahhistorycrushes:

Ilya Repin: Russian populist painter who attempted to accurately portray rural peasant life by actually living with them for years. Part of a group of painters from 19th century Russia called “The Wanderers.” His portraits are known for reflecting deep emotion and psychological conditions. Anyone who can paint like that is a grade A hottie in my book. Also, sweet beard!

Biomedical Ephemera, or: A Frog for Your Boils: the unit "one human" is the same in metric AND imperial

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:31:47 -0400

Biomedical Ephemera, or: A Frog for Your Boils: the unit "one human" is the same in metric AND imperial:

ofpaperandponies:

-one modern bathtub holds approximately 80 gallons of water when completely full

-a human displaces one gallon of water for every ~8.3 lbs of weight at 4 C/39.2 F

-at 150 lbs, one human would displace ~18 gallons

-assuming you don’t want to cause the tub to overflow but…

stephenfrykawaii: fuckyeahstrangeleaders: Joanna the Mad,...

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 19:37:45 -0400

stephenfrykawaii:

fuckyeahstrangeleaders:

Joanna the Mad, Queen of Castile and León.

When her manipulative, sheating husband, Philip the Handsome, died prematurely, she insisted on periodically having servants dig his coffin back up so she could cuddle and caress his rotting corpse.

Aw. How sweet. <3

Can’t stop reading about her.

fuckyeahvalhalla: icelandpictures: You know I actually walk...

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 19:37:41 -0400

fuckyeahvalhalla:

icelandpictures:

You know I actually walk along this path every day on my way to work. Although it is part of the daily routine, I guess you could have a lot of worse things in your daily routine.

Check out other great Iceland photos by UnaLei.

I wish this was my daily walk to work.

image: The Geocentric Solar System -Bartolomeu...

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 19:37:36 -0400

image: The Geocentric Solar System -Bartolomeu Velho

Geocentrism is an astronomical theory, central to the astronomy of Ancient Greece that posits that the Earth lies at the centre of the universe.

Until…

In 1543, the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus published a paper entitled, On the Revolution of Heavenly Spheres. He set out to mathematically demonstrate the viability of a heliocentric solar system, where the planets orbit the sun, instead of the other way around.

biomedicalephemera: Skeleton of anencephalic fetus with...

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 19:37:27 -0400

biomedicalephemera:

Skeleton of anencephalic fetus with complicated spina bifada

Cranial deformation is due to failure of skull to form bony material. Kerckringii proposes that this was an effect of the spina bifada.

Specilegium Anatomicum nec non Anthropogeniae Ichnographiam. Theodori Kerckringii, 1717.

skullandbone: human skeleton

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 19:37:20 -0400

skullandbone:

human skeleton

Leon Francois Comerre (1850-1916), Le déluge, n.d.

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 19:28:23 -0400

Leon Francois Comerre (1850-1916), Le déluge, n.d.

biomedicalephemera: One of the many excellent wax anatomical...

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 19:28:15 -0400

biomedicalephemera:

One of the many excellent wax anatomical sculptures found at La Specola, in Italy.

The museum was inaugurated in 1775, and until the early-mid 19th century, it was the only scientific museum open to the public. The wax models of both human and animal anatomy from the 18th century have been a central figure in the museum since its inception, but there are a lot of other very interesting historical artifacts there. Some of the museum collection pieces can even be definitively traced back to the Medici family.

Yggdrasil - The World Tree In Norse Mythology Yggdrasil—“Ygg’s...

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 19:28:04 -0400

Yggdrasil - The World Tree

In Norse Mythology Yggdrasil—“Ygg’s (Odin’s) Tree”—also known as The World Tree, is the giant ash tree that connects and shelters all the worlds. Beneath its roots the realms of Asgard (the homeland of warrior gods), Jotunheim (the homeland of the frost giants and the rock giants), and Niflheim (house of icy fogs and mists, darkness and cold) exist. Three wells lie at its base: the Well of Wisdom (Mimisbrunnr), guarded by Mimir; the Well of Fate (Urdarbrunnr), guarded by the Norns; and the Hvergelmir (Roaring Kettle), the source of many rivers.

Four deer run across the branches of the tree and eat the buds; they represent the four winds. There are other inhabitants of the tree, such as the squirrel Ratatosk (“swift teeth”), a notorious gossip, and Vidofnir (“tree snake”), the golden cock that perches on the topmost bough. The roots are gnawed upon by Nidhogg and other serpents. On the day of Ragnarok, the fire giant Surt will set the tree on fire.

biomedicalephemera: Tinea Favosa Tinea favosa is the ringworm...

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 19:27:57 -0400

biomedicalephemera:

Tinea Favosa

Tinea favosa is the ringworm fungus that affects both scalp and skin.

An American Text-Book of the Diseases of Children. Louis Starr, 1900.