The middle ages being incredibly gross is a misunderstanding that goes back to the nineteenth century. In that era cities were overcrowded and very filthy and they concluded that in the ‘dark ages’ this would have been much worse.

It gets perpetuated by Hollywood always having someone have excrement out of a window or peeing in the street. Yet those were collected for fertilizer and as washing purposes (urine contains ammonia which is handy for degreasing wool).

Another common myth that keeps getting related is that people drank beer as the water was filthy. Water is the main ingredient in beer and people did know boiling water purified it.

Would it smell like roses? No not at all, nor does it in modern cities. There were stupid and filthy people, just like today, but usually people did make an effort of keeping clean.

But if you want really filthy cities, you have to go to the nineteenth century, where human waste was combined with a lovely dose of unbridled industrial pollution.

Indeed:

A “lasagna cell” is accidentally produced when salty moist food such as lasagna or sauerkraut is stored in a steel baking pan and is covered with aluminium foil. After a few hours the foil develops small holes where it touches the lasagna, and the food surface becomes covered with small spots composed of corroded aluminium

American car makers famously unsubsidized and holding up their own pants.

Fries and snacks slothered in mayonnaise and other sauces, like curry, ketchup and peanut sauce.

We have names for sauce combinations:

Fries and … : means fries and mayo, witch is so common it needs not saying the word.

Mayo, curry/ketchup and diced raw onion: fries special.

Mayo, peanut sauce and diced raw onion: war fries.

Fries with doner kebab, salad, garlic sauce +chilly sauce, topped with grilled cheese: fries barber parlor (because the guy that came up with it worked at a barber shop)

The French taco is incredibly silly, certainly if you consider that French supermarkets stopped selling the hard shell taco years ago as it’s not authentic (they do sell little pre formed tortilla bacs in a similar shape).

How were his banjo playing skills tho

In the middle is luitenant kolonel Thom Karremans, leader of the Dutchbatt peacekeeping force near Srebrenica, to the left is Ratko Mladic the last of the Serbian forces.

Mladic promised the to let there population of the enclave to go free, and Karremans believed him.

They were slaughtered instead.

*sniffs it like it’s primo Columbian marching powder*

If you read up on the history of the French Revolution (or other revolutions, but the French one is particularly dramatic) you’ll find out how hard it can be to establish who is really running the country.

Religious extremists that aim to undermine women’s liberties recognizes game.

Would be interesting if multiple Russian exclaves revolted at the same time, more he has all his forces in Ukraine

Yeah, being colonized and ostracized by the Chinese is pretty evil.

I’ll add some mouse ones: if you have thumb buttons they are next/previous page.

Mouse wheel down clicking on a link opens it in a new tab.

Mouse wheel down clicking on a tab label closes the tab (no need to hunt for the little x).

I wish I got to be as militant about my atheist beliefs as some nut jobs can be about their faith.

Not that I really want to, but must be nice sometimes just acting like everybody that doesn’t think like me is wrong

I’m currently reading Anthony Beevors ‘D-Day’… But I’m also in Normandy, so I just read that book whilst sitting on Omaha Beach, which is pretty special.

What book is it in?

This should be mandatory in Sartre.

Black humor is an important coping mechanism

I’d replace him with a rabbit.

This is the history of mankind summarized succinctly.

What’s the situation with the Istanbul mayor today? Haven’t heard much about that