1. Cupid on the Move
Works by Michelangelo Maestri, found on Gods and Foolish Grandeur.
2. “Married to the Eiffel Tower”, a documentary about women who fall in love with objects
3. A tiny time-warp cafe in Paris goes full Art Nouveau
Atelier Alma oversaw the transformation of the micro-bar, using reclaimed materials and old-school craft methods to create a thoroughly vintage feel from relatively little. Paris Nouveau: 5 Rue des Haudriettes, 75003 Paris, France
Found on The Spaces
4. One of the world’s oldest and most celebrated architectural glass and mosaic studios
The Munich atelier where stained glass comes to life, found on The New York Times.
5. Melvin Way (1954-2024), discovered in the early 1980s at a homeless center in New York City
Melvin Way became known for his obsessive, diagrammatic artworks. Having interrupted his scientific studies because of his schizophrenia, he relentlessly covered fragments of papers of mathematical and chemical formulas. The artist’s works are now in the collections of the MoMA (New York) and the Smithsonian (Washington).
Found on Anonymous Works
6. How to Comment on Social Media
1) Do not read the whole original post or what it links to, which will dilute the purity of your response and reduce your chances of rebuking the poster for not mentioning anything they might’ve mentioned/written a book on/devoted their life to. Listening/reading delays your reaction time, and as with other sports, speed is of the essence.
Read the rest of the pointed in the full article found on Lithub.
7. The author of Peter Pan also wrote a 19th century book on quitting smoking
Before he conceived of Peter Pan, J. M. Barrie decided it was time to grow up and quit smoking. He justifies this decision in My Lady Nicotine: A Study in Smoke (originally published in 1890), which begins with a common trio of arguments against substance addiction. The bodily and spiritual ruin; the economic impact; the pain caused to loved ones.
Read more on Public Domain Review.
8. Michelle Phillips eating a banana during a Mamas and the Papas performance on Ed Sullivan because they had to lip sync
9. The Romance of Paper “Cobwebs”
Among the many works on paper in The Met’s Department of Drawings and Prints is a large collection of historic Valentines from Europe and the United States. In paper form, these tokens of love are known from the 17th century onwards, and were either handmade or, from the mid-18th century on
10. A 19th century taxidermist’s gift for a princess visiting his town in Brazil
Found on Reddit.
11. Silvesterklaus, a little-known Swiss holiday
The Swiss celebrate New Year’s twice, on the December 31 and on January 13. A Silvesterklaus or New Year’s Mummer (Chlaus in Swiss German) is dressed up as a Saint Sylvester or New Year’s Eve character. In the Reformed half-canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, the turn of the year is still celebrated in this way.
Found on Wikipedia.
12. World railway map
Usually you see a railway map from a local perspective, because it’s meant to show how you get from point A to point B. As a learning experiment, Zhaoxu Sui mapped major railways worldwide. It’s not comprehensive but still interesting to think about, in case you’re trying to get to China from Europe by train.
You can grab the full PDF version here, found via Flowing Data.
