Tag: 18th century

The Origin of the Piggy Bank

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During the 15th century, the English would often store coins within pygg pots or containers. During the 18th century these vessels became referred to as “piggy banks” which is where the modern day term is derived from. Piggy banks were called as such because of the pygg they were comprised of which is a type of clay, an inexpensive, orange colored earthenware clay used to produce everyday vessels within England from the 15th century onward (e.g. pitchers, cups, pots etc.). The primary reason for this is that metal has been costly all throughout history, due to the difficulty of sourcing and producing it from ore, and because of this expense, alongside the fact that pygg is more commonly available and found in larger quantities throughout England, the English public relied upon pygg containers to hold not only food and liquids but also spare coins and other small treasures

The Fallacy of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte Being Short in Stature

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Napoleon Bonaparte was not actually short in stature, in fact he was of average height. This misconception stems from paperwork being written about Bonaparte which states that he was 5’2″, written as 5 pieds 2 pouces within France during the early 19th century, but it was from a French town which used an antiquated unit of measurement referred to as the “French foot”, which classified the imperial measurement of 1′ as 13″ instead of the 12″ which is what 1′ is stated to be within the imperial measurement system. When accounting for this error in transcription, it would appear that Bonaparte was actually 5’7″ which during the last half of the 18th and beginning half of the 19th century when Bonaparte was alive, was considered average, or even slightly above average in regard to the stature of height. The fallacy of Bonaparte being short was exaggerated by English propaganda, particularly satirical cartoons which portrayed Bonaparte as small and temperamental, affixing this image to Bonaparte for centuries and into the modern day

The Reason the Catacombs of Paris, France Were Created

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There are over 300 kilometres of underground passages underneath Paris, France as underground quarries were made due to the large demand of stone it took to build the city. The catacombs beneath Paris hold nearly 6,000,000 (6 million) human skeletons. During the 18th century, death was quite common and the cemeteries quickly filled up. As such, the city of Paris decided to empty the cemeteries and place the bones underground. The bones were tidied up by making them into walls by stacking skulls and humerus arm bones on top of eachother, making each piece fit in the groove of the next. The collection of bones beneath Paris is essentially the Medieval population of Paris

One Person Can Change the World Via the Gift of Charity

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It is often said that one person cannot make a difference, but on December 19, 1843, Charles Dickens released A Christmas Carol, with charitable donations skyrocketing seemingly overnight as the book became a best seller and sold out by Christmas Eve of that same year. A Christmas Carol has gone on to become one of the best selling book publications of all time even during the modern day. Dickens’ publication was not only a story, it was a strong critique of the socioeconomic inequalities which plagued Victorian England, and Europe as a whole, during the 19th century due to the development of the Industrial Revolution during the 18th century. Dickens’ work discusses the moral obligations of the wealthy and was successful at projecting a message of social justice and reformation. After its release, the English public’s attitude toward poverty and charity softened, with many becoming more generous during the holiday season, a tradition which persists into the modern day in the form of holiday gift giving on Christmas and/or Christmas Eve. Dickens deliberately retailed A Christmas Carol affordably in a concerted effort to ensure it would reach as broad of an audience as possible. This decision contributed greatly to the novels rapid success and influence within English culture. The book serves as a strong example of how both literature and art can function as powerful tools for advocacy and reformation, perhaps even upon a global scale

How Flames Were Artificially Produced for Opera Productions During the 18th Century

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During the 18th century within opera and theater productions, stage doors which would lead a character to Hell achieved simulating the flames of Hell with brandy which would be placed into a container and lit on fire due to the fact that during the period, brandy was the brightest glowing flame available because of it’s high alcohol content. Once the brandy was burning bright, a powder referred to as “lycopodium” was blown across the flames to create an intense illumination, creating a fireball of sorts. It was in truth a very dangerous special effect to achieve because of the wooden sets, the actors involved, and the enclosure of the theatre itself. Most of those who performed the pyrotechnics for operas and plays during this period were ex-military, often soldiers who understood how these chemicals worked in depth as rocket technology was at the cutting edge of warfare during the era

The Belief of How Insects Spawned Within Europe During the 18th Century

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It was primarily believed within Europe during the 18th century that insects were correlated with the devil, as anything not understood or relatively misunderstood during the period was explained as evil or demonic phenomena in nature powered by supernatural forces. Scientific knowledge was limited during the 18th century, therefore superstitious beliefs were commonplace throughout the whole of Europe. Europeans believed that insects spawned from the mud annually, because they could not explain why insects develop en masse and are only present for the warmer months of the year, with this hypothesis referred to as “spontaneous generation”. This theory was only laid to rest after the theory of spontaneous generation was challenged by several scientists including Italian physician Francesco Redi, who conducted experiments during the 17th century which demonstrated that maggots decaying upon meat arise from eggs laid by flies, not from the meat itself. During the 18th century, Italian priest and biologist Lazzaro Spallanzani conducted further experiments which refuted spontaneous generation, particularly for microorganisms

The Auctioning of Spouses During the 18th Century and 19th Century

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Traditionally, if a wife was no longer desired by her husband, he would lead her in her Sunday best, to the towns market square, laiden with a rope halter wrapped around her neck or waste, to be sold to the highest bidder. Women were exhibited the same way livestock are sold during the modern day. Over the course of the 18th and 19th century, approximately 300 transactions of a wife for money were exchanged within the U.K. The most recent exchange took place in 1928, in Blackwood, Wales for £1.00. Technically wife sales were illegal but because wives were considered the property of their husbands, English society turned a blind eye to the act

The 18th Century Gin Craze and it’s Association with Murder

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Gin was highly consumed in poorer areas of London, England as it was a cheaper alternative to beer. Gin was unregulated during the early 18th century, and was often badly distilled and filled with harmful compounds like oil of vitriol which is similar in construct to modern day turpintine, sulfuric acid, and methylated spirits. By 1750, gin consumption was at its peak, with the city of London consuming 11,000,000 (11 million) gallons per year. In the poorest areas of London, specifically upon the east end, it was not uncommon for everyone in public to be permanently drunk; an analogue to the modern day crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980’s. All members of society consumed gin including men, women, and children, with many cases exhibiting severe addictive traits as was the case with Judith Darfour, who took her child into a heath, murdered them to sell their petticoat clothing and acquire more gin, then attended work later that day as if nothing had occurred. Gin related crime soared and Mothers Ruin which refers to “women who killed their family members to acquire funds for gin” was responsible for the deaths of thousands of men, women, and children. When the death rate climbed higher than the birth rate, the British government was forced to intervene, outlawing small gin distilleries and ending the era referred to as the “Gin Craze”

One of the Key Factors Behind the Rise of the U.S. as a World Super Power

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The U.S. went from being an experiment in democracy and a colonial backwater during the 18th century, to the most technologically advanced and industrialized country in the world in the 20th century, with this incredible transformation occurring because of those who founded the country and their understanding that the U.S. could not farm its way to wealth, with innovation being encouraged and promoted. Because of this simple yet novel idea, ordinary people suddenly had the opportunity to invent and make life easier for society at large, and were incentivized to profit from these ideas because of patent protection. The Americans developed a system in which new ideas were sought after because they were profitable which is a much more powerful motivational factor than prestige alone or the will and desire to help the greater collective of civilization. It’s not that the U.S. population is more creative than other nations, rather it is because the U.S. government actively decided to back and support those who pursued invention by providing them with a high probability to a path of moderate to substantial fortune. Protecting invention is single handedly one of the most important and influential ideas which has ever developed within the U.S., and even during the modern era, countries which fail to inspire innovation and protect it from theft and exploitation, continue to play catch up with industrialized nations who do reward and promote innovation

The Defiant American Natural Landscape Art Form and Luminism

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Artists in the America’s who continually pushed further west, pioneered the technique of “luminism” which used light effects and concealed brush strokes to create paintings which were considered so overwhelming detailed that opera glasses were needed to fully appreciate their true beauty. The American landscape was psychologically bore out of feelings of inferiority and competition with the European continent, as the Americas at this time were not the industrialized indomitable power they are today, but rather a fairly poor country still developing itself and not yet having reached the same milestones which Europe had already accomplished. During the 18th and 19th century, those living in the Americas rejected the notion that Rome, Italy was the center of art and that the best landscapes with the highest and most spectacular mountains were only found in places like France and Switzerland, as the west had its own mountains and its own unique monoliths and animals which could be depicted and celebrated to create American pride within the American landscape