Trivia (should have been 25 October)

Office Girls: 1921
via Shorpy Historical Photo Archive – Vintage Fine Art Prints by Dave

December 1921 Washington, D.C.
“Machinists Association”
And what could be an exhibit for the Museum of Antique Office Equipment. Experts please weigh in.
National Photo Company Collection glass negative
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20 Amazing Novels You Should Read Before You Watch The Movies Based on Them
via Lifehack by Sarah Anton
There’s nothing better than sinking into your comfy chair with a wonderful book and being drifted off into a whole new world. A world that isn't yours. Many will agree that reading books is different than from watching the movie version, since you grow attached to the characters as their feelings and story progresses. It’s not uncommon for a reader to actually get caught up into the book to such a level that they cry, laugh, blush or scream while their favorite character goes through different life episodes. That being said, there are 20 amazing novels that you must read before you watch the movie! Not only to know what to expect before it happens, but also to compare your vision of the character to the movie’s portrayal.
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And it's not uncommon for me to watch the first five minutes of a movie and give up because it is so different from my own idea of what the characters and the landscape should be like.

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Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate

Slavery and capitalism
The relationship between the two is key to understanding the origins of the modern world… more

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What lies beneath London?
via BBC News, London by Andy Dangerfield

From deep-level air raid shelters to the colossal Crossrail construction, beneath London lies a labyrinth of tunnels. BBC News delved underground to visit some of the capital’s rarely seen subterranean spots. Continue reading

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15 of the World’s Coolest Sheds
via Killer Web Directory by David Eaves
Here is an infographic from the garden buildings website called What Shed all about the most awesome sheds. The majority of these sheds are based in the United Kingdom but they are not sure about the location of some of them.
Check it out here

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Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate

Inventing the future
The Victorians told a particular story about culture, technology, and optimism. It still shapes our vision of things to come… more

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How I learned to think like a mushroom
via Boing Boing by Trad Cotter
We need fungal solutions to pollution, pandemics, and starvation, says Tradd Cotter, a microbiologist and professional mycologist.
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The ‘live bait squadron’
via National Archives by Dr Richard Dunley

Admiralty ship Hogue, ADM 176/337 (2)
In the space of little over an hour on the morning of 22 September 1914, the Royal Navy suffered one of the worst disasters in its history. Three armoured cruisers were sunk with the loss of over 1,450 lives. The culprit, U-9, a small German submarine with a crew of less than 30, slipped away unharmed. This battle fundamentally changed perceptions of warfare at sea, and set the tone for the very modern maritime conflict to be fought over the next four years.
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Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate

The invention of clumsiness
With the advent of photography, artists grew to differ in their depictions of the ungainliness of the human form… more

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Supporting a son who wants to wear pink shoes
via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorw

Todd, who made an appearance here last year, pondering how to support his little boy who’d been scared off wearing pink; now he's back with the latest chapter in his son’s life.
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