1. This artist who creates the most incredible dollhouses
Dive into Amy Balfour’s tiny colourful universe.
2. The Ancient Saudi Arabian Tribe of ‘Flower Men’
Usually camera-shy, “a photographer took a series of exceptional portraits of the “flower men” of Saudi Arabia — a tribe of people whose traditions date back more than two millennia.”
The crows are often made of marigolds, basil, jasmine, and fenugreek, which are thought to have medicinal benefits but they’re also largely worn simply for the aesthetic. “They are regular people, business owners, employees, students,” photographer Omar Reda says. “I wanted to show not just the physical beauty of the crowns, but also the pride and joy that the men took in wearing them. Each crown is a unique design that reflects the wearer’s individual taste and creativity.”
Omar Reda’s Instagram is here. Found via Peta Pixel.
3. Egyptologists have discovered the first tomb of a pharaoh since Tutankhamun’s was uncovered over a century ago
Researchers found Thutmose II’s mummified remains two centuries ago but its original burial site had never been located.
Found on BBC News.
4. The forgotten color made from a tiny insect that was once so valuable, emperors coveted it, artists went wild over it, pirates ransacked ships for it
Thousands of years ago, however, Mesoamericans discovered that pinching an insect found on prickly pear cacti yielded a blood-red stain on fingers and fabric. The tiny creature—a parasitic scale insect known as cochineal—was transformed into a precious commodity – the secret to the color of desire.
How could a color be so valuable? In culture after culture, red commands the eye. We are drawn to its power, and to its passion, its sacrifice, its rage, its vitality. It’s not an accident that this coveted color is red: It turns out that we humans are unusually susceptible to scarlet hues. Studies show that the color quickens our pulse and breath, perhaps because we link it with birth, blood, fire, sex, and death.
Today, in a surprising turn of history, the cochineal market is booming again—thanks to contemporary demand for safe food and cosmetic coloring. See names like carmine, carminic acid, crimson lake, Natural Red 4, or E120 on a label, and you may be looking at a modern manifestation of the color once fit for kings.
Found on Smart History.
5. Golo Morgh ( Flower and Bird ) painting is a traditional Persian way of painting in which the flower is the beloved and the bird is the lover
This style of painting was popular during the Saljooghi, Safavi and Ghajar periods and reached its popularity peak during Safavi period. It was likely influenced by Huaniaohua, an ancient kind of Chinese painting, considered one of the treasures of Chinese culture.
Just while we wait for Spring. Found on Wikipedia.
6. The Lost Profession of “The Cat’s Meat Men”
A charming article over on the Public Domain Review.
7. An online Pocket Computer Museum
The online museum feels like as much of as relic as the machines it’s dedicated to. Discover the website here.
8. This is why the Cancan dance was considered so scandalous that attempts were made to suppress it and arrest performers
The dance involves high kicks, and women’s underwear at the time had an open crotch. In the 19th century, women wore pantalettes, which could be a one-piece or two separate garments, one for each leg, attached at the waist with buttons or laces. The crotch was left open for hygiene reasons.
More about the history of the can can here and pantelettes here.
9. Quick History of the Khaki
We might associate them with classic American style, but khaki comes from the Urdu word which means ‘soil-colored’. It has been used as a color name in English since 1848 when it was introduced as a military uniform via the British Indian Army. Khaki was first worn as a uniform in the Corps of Guides that was raised in December 1846 by Henry Lawrence (1806–1857), agent to the Governor-General for the North-West Frontier and stationed in Lahore. Initially the border troops were dressed in their native costume, which consisted of a smock and white pajama trousers made of a coarse home-spun cotton, and a cotton turban, supplemented by a leather or padded cotton jacket for cold weather. In 1848, a khaki uniform was introduced. Subsequently, all regiments serving in the region, whether British or Indian, had adopted khaki uniforms for active service and summer dress. The original khaki fabric was a closely twilled cloth of linen or cotton.
Found on Wikipedia.
10. These portraits by Zandile Tshabalala
Follow her work here.
11. Joan Didion’s Official Archive, going on view at the New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is opening up its archives of Joan Didion and her husband Gregory Dunne to the public beginning March 26. The Library acquired the late writers’ archives in 2023, just over three years since Didion’s 2021 death at age 87. Dunne died in 2003, aged 71. The dual collection comprises a total of 336 boxes “most of which have never been seen publicly” and which represents “the most comprehensive collection of the authors’ materials” according to the library’s announcement.
Read more about the collection on The Gothamist.
12. A list of the tallest abandoned skyscrapers around the world
909 Chestnut Street, St. Louis (588 feet): In 2022, Rosin Preservation wrote a report arguing that 909 Chestnut Street, also known as One AT&T Center, should be added to the National Register of Historic Places. Completed in 1985, the St. Louis building is one of the tallest in the state and has a “fortress-like base.” AT&T didn’t renew its lease in 2017, and the building has been empty since. In 2024, the Goldman Group bought 909 Chestnut for $3.6 million, a fraction of its 2006 price of $205 million.
Beirut Trade Center, Beirut (459 feet): During the Lebanese Civil War, from 1975 to 1990, snipers took up residence in several Beirut buildings in what became known as the “Battle of the Hotels.” Construction on the 40-story Beirut Trade Center, also known as Burj al-Murr or the “tower of bitterness,” began in 1974, just a year before war broke out.
Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea (1,082 feet): Work on the 105-story building began in 1987 under the rule of Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Un’s grandfather. In 1992, the economic depression following the Soviet Union’s collapse halted construction before windows were installed and the concrete was covered. On the outside, though, a new LED screen broadcasts propaganda.
1 Seaport, New York City (670 feet): At between $1.5 million and $20 million a pop, units in 1 Seaport came with the promised luxuries of an infinity pool, dazzling views, and 10-foot ceilings. Buyers snapped them up, putting down hundreds of thousands of dollars as deposits.
In 2017, a carpenter working on the $273 million building fell to his death, The New Yorker recently reported. When it emerged that the building was sinking and leaning to the left, its contractors and developers started blaming each other. One lawyer involved in one of 1 Seaport’s many lawsuits described the tilted structure as resembling a banana. While the building is unlikely to fall over, construction has been halted since 2020.
Find the full list on Business Insider.
