-
I will be tabling once again this year at Sydney SMASH! on the 19–20th of August at table 116.
There’ll be a new selection of prints along with a couple of reruns. I’ll also be bringing a few copies of my book, Space Beside.
For a period of time before, during and after the convention my online store will be closed. It will be updated post-convention to reflect new stock levels.
Please come and say hi if you’re able!
(Source: 3daysmarch.net)
-
a nsa agent in a suit looking through my laptop camera: she’s on her phone…….. our data shows that she’s got tumblr open on her laptop but she has tumblr open on her phone………. double check her browser?
some nerd hired straight out of college: *types rapidly* she’s definitely got tumblr open on her laptop
the nsa agent, softly: so why is she looking at it on her phone…..
My husband and myself have served in the military. When we call home from overseas, our lines are monitored and on a short delay so no sensitive information is revealed. The line will just go dead if you say something you’re not supposed to.
Now, these calls are monitored by a department in the military called Signal corps. When we’d talk on my husband’s last deployment, we had a running joke that we said hi to “Signal Guy Fred.”
So this continued for his entire 12 month deployment, and we made sure we said hi or bye to “Signal Guy Fred” every phone call. On his final phone call before returning home we made sure to thank “Signal Guy Fred” for his time and wish him farewell.
So, before I disconnect the call, I wish “Fred” the best and thank him for his service. My phone was on speaker mode (I was cooking dinner) and my finger was hovering over the end call button when I hear the softest little, “My name’s Jason.”
(via peashooter85)
-
A case of cancrum oris following whooping cough. While whooping cough was resolving, a black sore was noted on the cheek. The sore remained there for 5 days, and on the fifth day spread to the gums and all the nearby teeth fell out. Cheek sloughed away soon after. Standard treatment for noma (gangrenous stomatitis) was given, but to no avail. Child died within 72 hours. Though noma was and is a serious disease, it was rarely so quickly fatal, especially when treated. On autopsy, the bronchi were inflamed and filled with mucous as happens with children who die of broncho-pneumonia.
The author of the book noted that noma and cancrum oris were two separate conditions. From what I can find in the modern literature, cancrum oris is now considered an antiquated term for noma, and noma is a disease of varying degrees.
Somewhat frighteningly, the only successful method of arresting the advance of what was known as “cancrum oris” was noted to be destroying all gangrenous tissue with nitric acid. These days, very strong antibiotics and greatly improved nutrition are the typical cures, though gangrenous tissue does still have to be excised in the end. At least we don’t have to burn it off with acid.
From The Surgical Diseases of Children. By J. Cooper Forster, 1860.
(via biomedicalephemera)
-
Still waiting for someone to make this superhero movie.
-
Did You Know Large Wine Bottles Have Special Names?
Wine bottle names are… odd. Once you get large enough, the wine holders become named after biblical kings:
- 1.5 L Magnum: Equivalent to two standard 750 ml bottles.
- 3.0 L Double Magnum: Equivalent to two Magnums or four standard 750 ml bottles.
- 4.5 L Jeroboam : Equivalent to six standard 750 ml bottles.
- 6.0 L Imperial: Equivalent to eight standard 750 ml bottles or two Double Magnums. Why they stopped using kings here I don’t know.
- 9.0 L Salmanazar: Equivalent to twelve standard 750 ml bottles or a full case of wine!
- 12.0 L Balthazar: Equivalent to sixteen standard 750 ml bottles or two Imperials.
- 15.0 L Nebuchadnezzar: Equivalent to twenty standard 750 ml bottles.
Interestingly, I looked around and could not find why the names are what they are. The names just appeared, I guess, and everyone agreed to use them.
(Source: guildsomm.com)
- 1.5 L Magnum: Equivalent to two standard 750 ml bottles.
-
The Great Wall of China isn’t the only great wall in Asia. India has one too! Rajasthan’s Kumbhalgarh is the second longest wall in the world at over 22 miles (36 km). The wall encircles a fort, which contains over 360 temples! The wall was built during the course of the 1400s by Rana Kumbha who ruled the Mewar Kingdom.
Interesting note about Rana Kumbha: he was the first Hindu ruler to be given the title “Hindu-suratrana” ( Hindu Sultan ). It was a title given to him by the Muslim rulers of Delhi and Gujarat after all three joined forces against another Muslim sultan who attacked Mewar.
-
The Practice of the Tibetan Kapala,
Common in Hindu and Buddhist Tantric traditions, especially those practiced in Tibet, a Kapala is a ceremonial vessel made from a human skull. Sometimes, the skull could be heavily decorated with silver, bronze, turquoise, and various stones or gems, sometimes it could be a plain skull that has elaborate carvings. Usually the skulls were collected from sky burials, a practice in which a corpse is left on the side of a mountain so that birds can feed upon. This is based on the idea that nothing should go to waste. The purpose of the Kapala was as a container to hold offerings to various Hindu and Tibetan deities.
(Source: ancient-origins.net, via peashooter85)
-
There is a small Junior Scientist Power Hour today! Small enough that I’ll just post it all right here on Tumbles. But hey if you wanna check it out on the site and read some more of these sweet comics, please go right ahead
-
Who Invented Sugar Packets?
The man was Benjamin Eisenstadt. He had worked at a tea bag factory when he was a young immigrant in New York, and as an adult he ran a family diner in Brooklyn. His family was constantly annoyed with their clumpy, coffee-stained sugar bowls. Refilling and unclogging them was a pain. Eisenstadt had a problem, and he came up with a solution: put the sugar in packets.
He went to Domino and offered his unpatented idea to them. They said “no, thanks.” Then a month later Domino was producing sugar in packets. Eisenstadt got the best revenge though. He founded Cumberland Packing which is better known today as the Sweet ‘N Low company. They produce packets of artificial sweetener, specifically saccharin, and Sweet ‘N Low successfully competed with Domino, the sugar company that ripped him off. Sweet 'N Low still has their headquarters at the original family diner in Brooklyn.
(Source: Wikipedia)