A short history of the rise and fall of the ice industry in 19th century America
Category Archives: Interesting/Supplemental
WWI Posters
A sampling of WWI posters from around the world. There’s a link at the bottom for a grand archive of more of these artistic graphic designs.
Sumerian Humor
What do notes passed in class look like in ancient Babylonia? A few bits of juvenalia have been deciphered
Labor and Business History: May Day
A review of the history of May 1st, aka May Day as a labor holiday, commemorating the 8-hour workday and the violence which met the labor movement.
New History of Nazi War on Jews
Three scholars have collected hundreds of life stories of Jews affected by Nazi policy, and published a selection of stories under the title The Night of Broken Glass: Eyewitness Accounts of Kristallnacht
Whaling
Remember, before oil meant “petroleum from the ground”, it meant “whale.”
Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
A nice discussion of William Shirer’s Rise and Fall of the Third Reich on the 50th anniversary of its publication. Shirer was the first to write a full-bore survey of the Nazi regime’s origins, policies and military collapse, and it was a very widely read book back in the 60s, despite being a massive tome.
Crimean War Images
What excellent timing: after our discussion of the Crimean War yesterday, this morning BibliOdyssey has pictures and maps. It’s worth noting that the Crimean War was a little too early for photography to be used extensively (though they were used, which was new), which is why lithographs were necessary. PK also has links to this short history of the war. Also, I forgot to mention, this was the war in which the Charge Of the Light Brigade took place, inspiring one of the most famous poems of the 19th century.
School Lunch History
A review of a new dissertation on school lunches: Eating to Learn, Learning to Eat: School Meals and Nutrition Policy in the United States, 1900-1946,by Andrew R. Ruis (UW 2011).
White Bread History
A political, cultural, and technological history of white bread in America