dynasty decapitated, you just might see a ghost tonight

Another link post, but I think some fun links to edify and amuse.

First, we know of the purported Victorian "flower code", for which there is a plethora of contradicting information, but what about Victorian book flirtation? I didn't even know this was a thing, and as the article explains, current scholarship says it likely wasn't? But the concept is entertaining, for all it makes my inner librarian cringe at the thought of biting books.

Next, apparently there were exercise manuals for Victorian ladies, but very few of them advised strenuous exercise, just very mild stretching movements. What I find fascinating is that many dances of the time were good cardiovascular exercise, and womens' fencing clubs required strength and agility, and that required an elevated heart rate. So on the one hand, women weren't supposed to exercise, because men felt it was bad for their delicate bodies, while on the other, they were required to exercise, so they'd have the stamina to fence, dance, ride, and other supposedly strenuous activities. Odd.

And finally, though it comes with a mild warning for language, portable toilets used to be shaped like books. Why? When did it start? How did I not know this sooner?

There is a lot going on in this article covering a debate between Sam Harris and Ben Shapiro. Neither are particularly admirable people, and both of them get things wrong in the debate, but I'm linking the article because it looks deeply at the many presuppositions of our 'modern' belief set in Galileo having been tortured for his scientific knowledge. Which, we know now, is simply not the case. Yet men who went to college and proudly list their degrees in their introductions still get this fundametal fact wron. Why? Why do they never go back and verify that what they're saying is accurate? Especially if they've been that wrong, that many times.

Second Life's in the news again, and this time around, it's not a huge scandal. It actually is fairly complimentary. Yay for that.