Quiddity

Cemeteries doomed to become parking lots

Seven cemeteries stranded in parking lots.  

Knox was named minister of the main church in Edinburgh — St. Giles — where he was buried upon his death in 1572. Despite his status as a vital part of Scottish history, Knox was not immune to the rising need for space in the growing city, and when the cemetery was paved over Knox’s body remained underneath. Today the gravesite of John Knox, the man who led the theological conversion of Scotland, is marked by a single tile in parking spot #23 at St. Giles Cathedral.

Abandoned Antarctic whaling stations & other cold oddities

8 Abandoned Antarctic Whaling Stations

Strange Historic Photos From Antarctica

Antarctic Photo Library

Hunting for meterorites in Antarctica via Peter Rejcek

Vintage photographs of ladies proudly showing off their tattoos

Vintage photographs of women and their tattoos.

A Secret History of Women & Tattoo

A History of Old Time Tattooed Circus Ladies

The Story of How I Became the Tattoo Queen -- Jean Furella used to be the bearded lady in the circus, but she had to shave her beard off in order to be with the man she loved.

Dog Power: The Curious History of Dog Powered Machines

Here's a bizarre post about the history of dog powered engines.  I'm particularly fascinated by the turnspit dog.  That's so cruel!

The Turnspit Dog, 1500-1900 - A dog specifically bred to run on a small wheel in order to turn meat so it would cook evenly. This took both courage, to stand near the fire, and loyalty, to not to eat the roast. Due to the strenuous nature of the work, a pair of dogs would often work in shifts. This most likely led to the proverb “every dog has his day."

Link via Nag on the Lake.

Old snapshots of gay bikers from the '60s & '70s

Scott Zieher has published a book of found snapshots featuring gay bikers from the '60s & '70s.  

I found them while doing laundry in my apartment building. I had no knowledge of the man who owned them, but my superintendent told me he’d passed away and that he had lived on my floor. There was a large glass container of coins the super wanted to keep, otherwise the rest was up for grabs—it appeared that the man’s entire apartment had been discarded. From among the rubble of furniture, clothing, a potted plant, I plucked one, lone, standard file-box. I was mesmerized for over an hour while looking through the box back upstairs in my apartment. By the time I went down to put my clothes in the dryer, the heap was gone, bagged, and waiting on the sidewalk for the sanitation department.

Link via Nag on the Lake.

Vintage underwater pinups

Kind of odd, but cute collection of vintage underwater pinups.  

Link via everlasting blort.

Odd list of famous animals that have been stuffed

Essential Guide: Taxidermy Heroic Animals

Why a hippo left her watering hole in South Africa's Zululand and started to walk south is a mystery, but no matter the reason, she kept on walking for three years. Huberta the hippocovered hundreds of miles through the country, becoming something of a symbol of national spirit and hope during the depression of the 1930s.

Link via neaotrama.

UPDATE:  You can add the famous Galapagos tortoise named Lonesome George to the list.

"We are honored to receive this incredibly important specimen and ultimately, put it on display for the public," Michael Novacek, senior vice president and provost of science at the museum, said in a statement. "Our team of experts, using preservation and taxidermy techniques that have earned this institution recognition throughout the world, will ensure the legacy of Lonesome George lives on and is appreciated by future generations."

The Creepiest Photo Album

Here's a great collection of creepy vintage photos to give you nightmares this week.  Part II can be found here.

Link via coudal.

How people reacted after reading Shirley Jackson's The Lottery in 1948

Here's an interesting article about how people reacted after reading Shirley Jackson's The Lottery in The New Yorker for the first time in 1948.  It left a lot of people baffled and they wanted answers.

In an e-mail to me, Kroeber’s daughter, the novelist Ursula Le Guin, who was nineteen years old when “The Lottery” appeared, recalled her father’s reaction: “My memory is that my father was indignant at Shirley Jackson’s story because as a social anthropologist he felt that she didn’t, and couldn’t, tell us how the lottery could come to be an accepted social institution.” Since Jackson presented her fantasy “with all the trappings of contemporary realism,” Le Guin said, her father felt that she was “pulling a fast one” on the reader.

I can't believe how many people thought the story was true.  Some of them actually wanted to watch a lottery take place.

Vintage Phrenology Diagrams From 1902

Vintage phrenology diagrams from Vaught's Practical Character Reader (1902).

Link via everlasting blort.

6 Abandoned Asylums

io9 has a great post on 6 abandoned mental asylums and the stories behind them.  Creepy stuff.

There is one story from Topeka State Hospital that is sure to make your skin crawl: According to the Topeka Capital-Journal, a reporter visited the facility at some point during the early 20th century and saw a patient who had been strapped down for so long that his skin had begun to grow over his restraints. Other patients were chained up while naked for months at a time.

And just for fun, here's Jessica Lange singing The Name Game on American Horror Story.  Never gets old.