631 replies to this topic

[wjfox]

Carbonated water vending machines, USSR, 1970s

 

 

[Zaphod]

35 year old who lives in 1946 - BBC News

[wjfox]

Severn bridges: Final day of at least 800 years of tolls

 

BBC Wales News

 

Sunday marks the final day of a centuries' old tax of paying to cross between south Wales and south-west England before the toll is removed.

Charges on both the M4 and M48 Severn bridges are being abolished - saving commuters as much as £1,400 a year.

Passengers have had to pay to cross the Severn Estuary, with its treacherous tides, since Roman times and the first recorded ferry crossing was in 1775.

"Monday will be a very historic day," said historian Anne Rainsbury.

"It'll be the first time you can cross the Severn Estuary for free."

The charge is being scrapped after the bridges returned to public ownership last year.

 

https://www.bbc.co.u...-wales-46539168

 

 

[wjfox]

30 years ago today – the worst ever terrorist attack on British soil:

 

https://youtu.be/wJaHzuS0rRg

 

https://en.wikipedia...n_Am_Flight_103

[Yuli Ban]

Honda Introduces Smarter 'Asimo' Humanoid Robot

2002-12-12
 
Honda unveiled on Wednesday an improved version of its two-year-old robot, which can now do much more than ring the famed opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange as it did in February this year. The new model, which Honda plans to begin leasing next month, can greet and recognize people, as well as perform advanced commands such as moving in the direction indicated by reading hand gestures. A small step closer to more functional AI and Robotics

[wjfox]

A WWII bunker:

 

 

[Yuli Ban]

The world's first true automobile. Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot created this steam-powered contraption back in 1769.

[Yuli Ban]

A Japanese depiction of a Victorian-era couple.

Utagawa Kunihisa II - Russian Couple Holding Hands, 1861

[wjfox]

[SkittleBlu]

Percent of US Hourly Workers At or Below Federal Minimum Wage Since 2001

 

 

Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics

 

To add: the last time the federal minimum wage rose was in 2009, and when combined with the effects of the 2008 recession, could explain the rise in 2009-2010.

[wjfox]

The Old Cincinnati Library, 1874-1955

 

 

[SkittleBlu]

As the immigration debate rages on in the United States, a look at which states hold the largest shares of foreign-born population:

 

 

Data is from 2017

[SkittleBlu]

Spread of the Zika Virus

 

https://external-pre...8190892027aad49

[SkittleBlu]

An incredibly detailed map of Medieval trade routes

 

 

Even before modern times the Afro-Eurasian world was already well connected. This map depicts the main trading arteries of the high middle ages, just after the decline of the Vikings and before the rise of the Mongols, the Hansa and well before the Portuguese rounded the Cape of Good Hope.

 

The map also depicts the general topography, rivers, mountain passes and named routes. All of which contributed to why cities came to be, and still are, up until modern times.

 

https://merchantmach...l-trade-routes/

[rennerpetey]

100 Years of Breed “Improvement”

 

 

It seems incredible that at one time the Bull Terrier was a handsome, athletic dog. Somewhere along its journey to a mutated skull and thick abdomen the bull terrier also picked up a number of other maladies like supernumerary teeth and compulsive tail-chasing.

 

 

The English bulldog has come to symbolize all that is wrong with the dog fancy and not without good reason; they suffer from almost every possible disease. A 2004 survey by the Kennel Club found that they die at the median age of 6.25 years (n=180). There really is no such thing as a healthy bulldog. The bulldog’s monstrous proportions make them virtually incapable of mating or birthing without medical intervention.

 

I recommend checking out the whole article.  It really is horrible what we've done to these dogs.

[Yuli Ban]

"Evening on the trail". Montana, 1911

[Yuli Ban]

Cowboys drinking at a saloon in Tascosa, Texas 1907

[Yuli Ban]

Eureka Colorado, ca 1900

[SkittleBlu]

Downtown Tokyo, 1897:

 

https://youtu.be/lvnfmY5kZhc

 

Filmed in the Nihonbashi district, close to the Imperial Palace.

 

What the neighbourhood looks like today:

 

 

More info: https://japantoday.c...tal-has-changed

[Yuli Ban]

Romanian peasant from Vrancea, sitting on the coffin he made for himself - 1937

TheDeadWhale
Due to the humble clothing, woodworking and surroundings, this scene could be from anytime in history from the bronze age onward. We have been living relatively the same way for a very long time, but it is sad to say that our viewpoint on death seems to be the most divergent thing between our lives and this man's