In 1932, a manager of a woman`s clothes shop in Yorkshire set his sights on a place in history by attempting the first ever solo ascent of Mount Everest. His name was Maurice Wilson and he had a rather cunning plan. He would conquer Mount Everest by crash landing …
When Matthew Robinson inherited the title of Lord Rokeby in 1793 he was already 81 years of age, As an ex Member of parliament he had strong views on just about everything. He was a fervent believer in the health giving properties of fresh air and exercise. He walked …
East Thistle Street in Edinburgh was the site of perhaps one of the most peculiar clubs ever to open its doors in Scotland; namely the Six foot high club. Opening in 1826, membership was only granted to people who were six foot or over. Admittance rules were strict. Each …
In 1996 the oddly named Maine resident Nancy 3 Hoffman found seven umbrella covers in her wardrobe, so she decided to open a museum. . Hoffman then spent the next year gathering more of them from friends and family, and opened her collection of around 80 covers later that …
More wonderful Victorian health advice…. Nipple shields were made from a variety of materials in the 18th and 19th centuries, wood, ivory and lead(!) the most common. They were intended to protect the mothers sore nipples. They were often perforated allowing the baby to feed through them (probably with considerable difficulty). These unperforated …
Apart from death, one of the few ways one could dissolve a Catholic marriage was proof of impotence. But how on earth could you prove it? .The only valid way at the time was to participate in a “public impotency trial” As bizarre as it may sound, church officials aided …
Despite having a land area the size of Mexico, Greenland has no road or railway system. Travelling between towns and villages is done by plane, helicopter, boat, or dogsled Greenland’s official language, Kalaallisut, is perhaps one of the most difficult languages to speak and learn. The words are hard to …
