Adela
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Lundi Gras
Lundi Gras is a popular name for a series of Shrove Monday events taking place during the New Orleans Mardi Gras. It includes the tradition of Rex, King of Carnival, arriving by boat. This began in 1874, but the term Lundi Gras (French for “Fat Monday”) was not widely applied until 1987 when the arrival was brought back as part of a series of river-related events under the name of “Lundi Gras”. Lundi Gras was the creation of journalist Errol Laborde. In 1874, 18 years after the beginning of modern Carnival celebrations in New Orleans, Rex chose to have a grand arrival in New Orleans from the Mississippi River. Once…
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Greek Goddess Eileithyia
She was the goddess of childbirth and labor pains. Her name means “she who comes to aid” or “relieve” from the Greek word elêluthyia. Her Roman counterpart was Lucina (“Light bringer”) or Natio (“Birth”). She was depicted as a woman wielding a torch, representing the burning pains of childbirth, or with her arms raised in the air to bring the child to the light. Hesiod in the Theogony states she is the daughter of Zeus and Hera. She was born in a cave near Knossos, Crete, and this became her main place of worship. She was also worshiped in Olympia, which is attested by the discovery of a shrine attributed…
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The Great Emu War
Yes, I am actually referring to the bird. Following World War I, large numbers of ex-soldiers from Australia and Britian took up farming within Western Australia. With the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, these farmers were encouraged to increase their wheat crops, with the government promising but failing to provide assistance in the form of subsidies. Wheat prices continued to fall, and by October 1932 matters were becoming intense. The farmers prepared to harvest the season’s crop while simultaneously threatening to refuse to load the wheat. The difficulties facing farmers was increased by the arrival of as many as 20,000 emus. Emus regularly migrate after their breeding season,…
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Weird Science – Ilya Ivanovich Ivano
Born around 1870 in the town of Shchigry, Kursk Gubernia, Russia. Graduating from Kharkov University in 1896 Ivano became a full professor in 1907. He worked as a researcher in the Askania-Nova Natural Reserve, also for the State Experimental Veterinary Institute for the Central Experimental Station for Researching Reproduction of Domestic Animals, and for the Moscow Higher Zootechnic Institute. Around the start of the 20th century, he would perfect the artificial insemination and practical usage for horse breeding. He proved that this technology allows one stallion to fertilize up to 500 mares. The results were sensational for their time, and Ivanov’s station was frequented by horse breeders from many parts…
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Smoking throughout history
Smoking can be dated to as early as 5000 BC, and has been recorded in many different cultures across the world. Many ancient civilizations, such as the Babylonians, Indians and Chinese, burnt incense as a part of religious rituals. The Israelites and the later Catholic and Orthodox Christian churches also practiced this as part of religious worship. Early smoking evolved in association with religious ceremonies- as offerings to deities, in cleansing rituals or to allow shamans and priests to alter their minds for purposes of divination or spiritual enlightenment. After the European exploration and conquest of the Americas, the practice of smoking tobacco quickly spread to the rest of the…
