The Last Prima Donnas
Interviews with fifty-six great operatic divas of the twentieth century illuminate their lives, their art, and the world of modern opera.
The Ice Block Expedition Of 1959
The Ice Block Expedition Of 1959 was a publicity stunt carried out by the Norwegian insulation material producer Glassvatt. Responding to a challenge from the radio station Radio Luxembourg, Glassvatt decided to equip a truck to bring a three-ton block of ice from the Arctic Circle to the Equator. There was no form of refrigeration applied, and the expedition was intended to display the efficiency of the insulating glass wool used. Crossing the Sahara, where the truck repeatedly got stuck in the sand, proved both a dangerous and laborious task. Once the truck had made it through the desert, however, and reached its final destination, it was revealed that the ice block had lost no more than 11% of its original weight. The expedition was an enormous success, judged both by the end result and by the media attention generated for the company, and has been called “the world’s greatest publicity stunt”.
Train surfing
The phenomenon of riding on the outside of trains came with the appearance of the first railway lines. On a series of first railroads, riding on rooftops and footboards of trains was common, but over time, starting from the second half of the 19th century, with an increase in the sizes and speed of trains, passenger coaches began to be produced fully covered and insulated from streets with a placement of all passenger seats inside carriages in order to improve the safety of passengers and prevent people falling from a moving train. However, some individuals have continued riding on the outside of trains.
The Manuscript Found In Saragossa
In Jan Potocki's literary masterpiece, we are given over to a mind-bending number of stories, stories within stories, and stories within stories within stories. There is, however, also a strong framing narrative, involving a young Wolloon Guard, Alphonse Von Worden, and his peregrinations through the possibly haunted Sierra Moreno and beyond, in the company of, amongst others, cabbalists, sexy lesbian Muslim sisters, gypsies, bandits, and hanged men.
The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen
In this book, the Baron's astounding feats included riding cannonballs, travelling to the Moon, and escaping from a swamp by pulling himself up by his own hair.
The Little Red Schoolbook
The Little Red Schoolbook is a book written by two Danish schoolteachers. The book encourages young people to question societal norms and instructs them in how to do this. Out of 200 pages, it includes 20 pages on sex and 30 on drugs, including alcohol and tobacco.
Talipot palm
The Talipot palm flowers only once in its lifetime, producing the biggest inflorescence in the flowering kingdom. The palm grows for 30 to 80 years, storing up energy and strength in its trunk to send out this massive inflorescence. After flowering and fruiting the plant will die.
Timothy Dexter
Timothy Dexter was an American eccentric businessman who was peculiarly lucky and never bothered to learn to spell. Dexter bought a huge estate in Chester, New Hampshire. He also bought a new house in Newburyport and decorated it with minarets, a golden eagle on the top of the cupola, a mausoleum for himself and a garden of 40 wooden statues of famous men, including George Washington, William Pitt, Napoleon Bonaparte, Thomas Jefferson and of course, himself. It had an inscription "I am the first in the East, the first in the West, and the greatest philosopher in the Western World." People flocked to gawk at this collection. Dexter also had his own way with household staff. He had a black and protective housekeeper called Lucy, whom he claimed to be a daughter of an African prince. Other servants included a large idiot, a fortune teller and his "poet laureate" Jonathan Plummer. At the age of 50 he decided to write a book about himself - A Pickle for the Knowing Ones or Plain Truth in a Homespun Dress. He wrote about himself and complained about politicians, clergy and his wife. The book contained 8,847 words and 33,864 letters, but absolutely no punctuation, and capital letters were sprinkled about at random. At first, he handed his book out for free, but it rapidly became popular and ran into eight editions in total. When people complained that it was hard to read, for the second edition he added an extra page - 13 lines of punctuation marks - asking readers to "peper and solt it as they plese."
Tokaji
Tokaji Aszú is the first of the great sweet wines, well established as such by the mid-17th century. The beneficial effects of botrytis were noted here almost a century before they were accidentally discovered in Germany. Moreover, the vineyards were the first ever to be classified: in 1700 Prince Rákóczi of Transylvania introduced 1st, 2nd and 3rd class (or growth) quality ratings. Tokaji was the most highly regarded and sought after wine particularly by Russian and Polish royalty and nobility. The vineyards, mostly owned by the Hungarian aristocracy, were the country’s most valuable assets.
The Garden of Cosmic Speculation
The Garden of Cosmic Speculation is a private garden created by Charles Jencks. The garden is inspired by science and mathematics, with sculptures and landscaping on these themes, such as Black Holes and Fractals. The garden is not abundant with plants, but sets mathematical formulae and scientific phenomenae in a setting which elegantly combines natural features and artificial symmetry and curves.