So, fun fact for all of you history dorks, but you know that legend about Cleopatra being so rich and trashy that she would drink her wine with crushed up pearls in it?
Pearls are mostly Calcium Carbonate. When they mix with acids (such as those in wine) they produce carbon dioxide like little balls of fancy alkaseltzer.
What Im saying is, call Cleopatra a trashy hoe all you want, but she was the trashy hoe who invented instant champagne. Bitch was living in 3018 while everyone else was in 18
Octavius payed you to write this post
Just remembered that the first time I ever heard this story
about Cleopatra was in an article by a historian who’d been arguing with
another historian about whether or not it was true – Other Historian insisted
it was just a legend because pearls could not be dissolved in wine.
OP Historian eventually bought a couple of small cultured
pearls, dissolved them in wine or possibly wine vinegar (it did take a few days
at least), made a salad dressing and served it to Other Historian at a dinner
party as a gotcha.
I like to think the first guy in a hunter/gathering type group to come up with farming had a really hard time selling it to the rest of the group like “uhh guys how about next time we find animals instead of killing them right away we round them up and *under his breath* make them fuuuuck”
other cavemen
I’ve been thinking about this and wondering if it started with “we follow this herd around anyway, why don’t we try patching up the injured ones so the population won’t shrink, and hey, that male keeps attacking us, so let’s kill him off and let the calmer male take over…”
In 1897, a 16-year-old Jewish orphan from Lithuania named Lena Himmelstein arrived in New York City and found work in a sweatshop for $1 a week. After her first husband, David Bryant, died at a young age, Lena supported herself and her son by making and selling tea gowns. When she applied to open a bank account, someone misspelled her name as “Lane.” Thus, the clothing line Lane Bryant was born.
In 1907, a customer asked Lena to design her something to wear during pregnancy – which was unheard of at a time when pregnant women were usually secluded until after birth. With some elastic and an accordion pleated skirt, Lena invented maternity wear. Her dresses were a hit—though she often had to be inventive about advertising, since American society still couldn’t accept the shape of a pregnant woman.
Soon, she branched out into creating fashions for plus-sized women as well. She met an eager audience. Together with her second husband and business partner, Albert Malsin, Lane Bryant broke new ground by selling stylish ready-to-wear clothing in larger sizes, all while offering employee benefits like insurance plans and pensions.
Respecting all body types and the needs of employees – not a bad legacy for a poor orphan from Lithuania.
Coat and trousers worn by Louis XVII, Louis Charles de France, Duke of Normandy in 1792. He died three years later.
Don’t wear the Pink Trousers of Doom or you will die within three years.
Food historians, care to weigh in? For the sake of argument, let’s say the loaves have all been brought by time machine rather than baked in the 21st century according to ancient recipes. All I can suggest off the top of my head is that the Egyptian loaf will likely be gritty because the sand is coarse and rough and irritating, and it gets everywhere.
Mooncustafer 