Help me find interesting thing to learn about!
June 15, 2015 7:50 PM   Subscribe

I love researching historic things that I have never heard of, such as the Victorian chatelaine: [link]. What other items might I enjoy learning about? Thank you!
posted by harrietthespy to Grab Bag (11 answers total) 19 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: You would enjoy Low-Tech Magazine's Obsolete Technology category (and possibly a lot of the rest of the site)
posted by jessamyn at 7:56 PM on June 15, 2015 [3 favorites]


Best answer: Comptometers
posted by MsMolly at 8:37 PM on June 15, 2015


Best answer: Paint pigments! The Paris Review recently had an article on the History of Ultramarine.
posted by gemutlichkeit at 10:57 PM on June 15, 2015 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Jacquard weaving. They were able to achieve complex patterns with simple punch cards
posted by moonlily at 12:01 AM on June 16, 2015


Best answer: It's the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo. Well, I got to wondering-- what happened to Napoleon AFTER the battle? very interesting!

Find something in history which is interesting and pursue it. I love it when I read on Twitter that something happened on this day centuries ago, and always pursue that. I should have been a historian!

But just follow interests till you find something you don't want to move on from.
posted by pippin at 12:07 AM on June 16, 2015


Best answer: Automats!

Related Metafilter thread with more automat related links.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:52 AM on June 16, 2015 [1 favorite]


Best answer: I found the history of the vibrator fascinating. I started with a book called the technology of orgasm, published 1999, and there's more recent debates about its analysis.
posted by yesbut at 1:19 AM on June 16, 2015


Best answer: Quipus! Analog computers!
posted by nakedmolerats at 7:44 AM on June 16, 2015


Response by poster: Thanks everyone!
posted by harrietthespy at 9:50 AM on June 16, 2015


If I had unlimited time, I would totally research heraldry and learn all the cool terminology and the meaning of colors, lions rampant vs lions passant, and all that groovy stuff.
posted by janey47 at 9:55 AM on June 16, 2015


Response by poster: Oooh! Lookee what I found!

Jackpot!!
posted by harrietthespy at 3:13 PM on June 16, 2015 [1 favorite]


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