1. China’s Abandoned Nuclear City
“404 is the name of an abandoned city in the Gansu province of northeast China, situated within the sandy plains of the Gobi desert. The city was built in 1958; it occupied an area of 4 km2 and included a factory, police station, school, and a residential area. In the 1990s, it was China’s largest nuclear base, and there were almost 100,000 people who lived there. There is no official report on what happened to 404, but according to photographer Li Yang, a third generation citizen of the city, the lack of decent medical facilities, an education system, and other supporting structures, drove residents to relocate in 2005.”
Yang returned to photograph the eerie state of 404 multiple times between 2013 and 2016. “I wanted to shoot the scenes which held my living experiences and memories,” he says, “like my kindergarten, the public bathroom, and my home.”
Found on The British Journal of Photography
2. London’s DIY Coffin Club (and Tea Party)
“Funeral poverty has become such a major societal issue,” says London resident Jane Morgan, 57, “but people don’t realise you can do things your way.” Death can be a (really fun) DIY affair. After years of performing non-religious end of life ceremonies, Morgan decided to follow in the footsteps of a New Zealand’s “Kiwi Coffin Club” by organising a 6-week coffin building workshop, complete with quality tea, cookies, and chat about end of life planning.
© Warren Cooper Photography
“Yes, the coffin-building is a big part of it, but more importantly we’ll be offering talks and speaker sessions,” says Morgan, “to help people navigate what can seem like a very daunting terrain.” The Coffin Club North London opens in September in Tottenham. Members of all ages are welcome.
Found via The Evening Standard.
3. This Dreamy Indonesian Treehouse for Sale
Because you know you we keep tabs on the most remarkable (and rent-able) treehouses. This bamboo beauty is nestled in a lush forest in Bali, Indonesia, and goes for $245 a night.
Found via Boutique Homes
4. A Voyeur in Paris
Artist Pierpaolo Rovero’s “Imagine All the People” series paints impecably detailed portraits of famous cities, as with Paris Plays. The best part? You can play digital voyeur and zoom into the scenes on his website.
Found via Pierpaolo Rovero
5. Coney Island in the Winter, 1953
“Brighton Bowl, Winter Boardwalk” taken by Marvin Newman at Coney Island, 1953.
Found on Tumblr
6. Behind the Scenes of Julia Child’s “The French Chef”
Found on Tumblr
7. How Lemonade Helped Paris Fend Off Plague
Courtesy of The British Library Board/The Overlook Press
It’s wild to imagine a world in which the latest food trend is chocolate. But such was the case in the 17th century. The delicacy was so popular, in fact, that Oliver Cromwell waged war with Spain “over its Caribbean cacao plantations,” according to NPR. It’s one of many fascinating tales in a new book by Tom Nealon, Food Fights and Culture Wars, which also teaches us about the trippy power of ergot poisoning, a fungus that infected food and caused hallucinations, severe convulsions, and gangrene, in correlation to motivations for the crusades. Perhaps most remarkably, it teaches us that Parisians’ love of lemonade might’ve staved off the bubonic plague. Locals of all social standings loved the stuff, sipping it on street corners the way New Yorkers Juul in the subway. All the better: the acid in lemonade is a natural pest-repellent.
Found via NPR
8. Potato Plants Can Grow Poisonous Fruit
Not a cherry tomato! The “potato fruit” is a poisonous green fruit produced by spuds, as it contains the toxic alkaloid solanine. Steer clear.
Found on Wikipedia
9. The Most Fashionable Goat Herder
So that’s where Alejandro Jodorowsky took notes for his swag! Yemen goat herders, my friends.
Found on Tumblr
10. The Woman Who Sold Time
They called her the “Greenwich Time Lady.” Ruth Belville was a terribly crafty businesswoman from London who, together with her family, sold people the time by letting them look at their clock to adjust their own.
It all started with Ruth’s father in 1836. He’d set out each morning to the Greenwich observatory, his workplace, and set his own watch to Greenwich Mean Time before departing for the day to give – or rather, sell – the correct time to clients with his trusty pocket-watch (nicknamed “Arnold”). Eventually, suspicions arose about the accuracy of the operation, and the family hustle died out with the last of its kin. “Arnold” is apparently still in the hands of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers.
Found via Wikipedia
11. Horse Exercise at Home
Found on Tumblr
12. Relatable Still Lifes
Found on Tumblr
13. When “Baby Cages” Were a Thing
A way of “airing out” the children in the big city, baby cages were all the rage in the 1920s. Apparently, Eleanor Roosevelt was even a fan of the little “Penthouse for Baby,” an cage (think chicken coop material) fastened to the side of a window:
Found on Fatherly
