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biomedicalephemera:

Bone saws from the 17th and 18th centuries

Bone saws were some of the most commonly-used medical instruments during the Renaissance, as amputation was one of the most common surgical procedures performed.

Unfortunately for the patients, just like so much else during the 17th and 18th centuries, style and status was a huge thing for the surgeons, like so many other elites in society. Since the surgeries were often performed in surgical theaters, a great way for surgeons to show off their status was with ornately decorated surgical instruments - and the bone saws were often the most ornate of all.

Aside from being uncomfortable to hold, the gilt or carved cedar or ebony handles, and the ornately-embellished frames, were perfect places for bacteria to fester, and to transfer from patient-to-patient. The more elite the surgeon, the fancier the saw - and the deadlier the consequences.

Models located at Science Museum London, originally created ca. 1650-1780.

Visual Timeline of The One Ring From The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings
Ken Denmead, wired.com

A fantastically-visualized timeline of the “life” of The One Ring (to rule them all) from J.R.R. Tolkien’s stories. The graphic covers both time, geography, and possession in a gorgeous layout. Well done!

Ken Denmead

BeerSci: Why You Should Never Drink Beer From A Clear Glass Bottle
By Martha Harbison, popsci.com

Avoid gross-smelling drinks by protecting your brew from light.

The sub­ject of Beer Gone Bad came up at the office the other day, and I gave my col­leagues an impromp­tu les­son in why “skunk­ing” in beer is very dif­fer­ent from a lot of the…

afterthecups:

Communal table. Back Forty.

afterthecups:

Freemans, from the archives. Portra 400.

thecivilwarparlor:

Lincoln’s Highlanders-Scots in the Civil War

16 June 1862, the Charleston Mercury reported, ‘It was left to the brave 79th Highlanders, to test the virtue of unadulterated cold steel on our Southern nerves. Thank God, Lincoln had only one 79th regiment.’ In fact, the Union Army possessed several predominantly Scottish regiments.

Approximately 600,000 Scots migrated to the United States between 1851 and 1861, bringing with them a rich military tradition. Militia companies of Scottish origin wearing full Highland uniforms were formed in both Northern and Southern states, including Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, South Carolina, and Tennessee.-

The 79th Highlanders fought bravely at Bull Run and later at Secessionville, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Vicksburg, the Wilderness, and Petersburg. They became one of the most respected units from New York City during the Civil War, and earned themselves a fearsome reputation on the battlefield, where they lost 190 men killed in action or died of disease, and 747 discharged because of wounds or sickness, from a total roster of 1,374.

centuriespast:

Marriage Contract

Pisa (Italy), 1721

• Ink and paint on parchment
• 24 x 18 15/16 in. (61 x 48.1 cm)
• The Jewish Museum, New York

tuesday-johnson:

ca. 1860-70’s, [tintype comic, “funny-gram”, of a man riding a mule cart]

via Ebay

(via ilovecharts)

theatlantic:

Rare Photo of the Mushroom Cloud Over Hiroshima Discovered in a Japanese Elementary School

The picture is a rare glimpse of the bomb’s immediate aftermath, showing the distinct two-tiered cloud as it was seen from Kaitaichi, part of present-day Kaita, six miles east of Hiroshima’s center. […] 

The person who took this photo would have been among the first to look out there and realize that this wasn’t just your run-of-the-mill bomb. It wasn’t the air raid that the citizens of Hiroshima had been anticipating for months. This was the beginning of a new world.

Read more. [Image: Honkawa Elementary School]

(via greatestgeneration)