Life's nature explored through extreme cold seed experiments
The London Lancet notes Herbert Spencer's view of life as continuous adjustment of internal external relations. Horace Brown reports seeds retaining germination after 110 hours at liquid air temperatures, suggesting resting protoplasm can still hold latent activity. The discussion touches on Lord Kelvin's meteorite origin theory and future biologist interest.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Herbert Spencer
London Lancet
Royal Society
Horace Brown
Lord Kelvin
Tricks of Memory and Armored Shirts in History
A collection of anecdotes on memory feats and odd historical customs. It recounts a Greek memory school founder who survived a collapsed audience, a German village girl who spoke languages she could not read, and a device of armor to avoid missing shirt buttons. It explains how memory claims emerged from miraculous recollections and how armor served practical needs.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Simonides
London
The Servian Drum Riders The Dog Cart Drummers Of Servian Regiments
The Servian army uses two wheel dog drawn carts to carry their big drums. Drummers play while marching behind the cart, with the dog keeping pace through long marches. Each regiment has two or three drums and few regiments have a band.
Not Always Remembering Pennies and Shillings
Uncle James tells Bobby to mind the pennies so the shillings follow. Bobby objects that he handles the pennies but his father takes care of the shillings when they reach him. The exchange appears in London Tit-Bits.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Uncle James
Bobby
London
Portrait gallery of U S stamps features 48 noted Americans
The early 10 cent stamp bore Washington and the other carried Franklin. Since then, United States issues have produced a distinctive portrait gallery showing 48 notable Americans.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Washington
Franklin
United States
Bullet of Nelson Preserved in Crystal Locket
The fatal bullet from Lord Nelson’s Trafalgar victory remains preserved, mounted in a crystal locket and kept inside a crimson bag with gold tassels.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Lord Nelson
Trafalgar
Magnificent Russian Churches Delighting Visitors in St Petersburg
In The Ladies' Home Journal Lilian Bell marvels at St Petersburg churches. She recalls Christmas mass while visiting Berlin and notes St Isaac's Kazan and Sts Peter and Paul with diamond encrusted icons under murky glass. Columns gleam with silver and flags. czar tombs attract crowds year round. The Alexander II wreath on his tomb, gifted by President Faure, gleams under glass.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
St. Petersburg
Lilian Bell
Ladies’ Home Journal
Berlin
St. Isaac’s
the Kazan
Sts. Peter and Paul
Alexander II
President Faure
Europe
Pat’s Penny Ruse Over a Crack in the Walk
A humorous Chicago News anecdote recounts an Irishman who dropped a nickel into a sidewalk crack and later, inspired by profit, drops a dollar there to justify digging up the sidewalk. The tale ends with the man explaining his plan to his surprised friend.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Pat
Chicago News
Dutiful Son Declares Engagement Amid Gossip
A son defends his engagement to Miss Golightly despite his mother’s complaints about her extravagance and laziness. She notes tomorrow is her birthday and warns a silver thimble gift might end the match.
Lassoing a Panther in Western Texas
A daring capture of a wild panther in western Texas recounts the lassoing of a large female and the seizure of her two cubs. The event describes hounds, vaqueros, and a negro named Jim guiding the hunt, with the mother named Miss Vixen and kept chained near the camp as the cubs grow friendly. The piece ends with a stray line about Surmatra tobacco plantations.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Texas
Dean River
Petmaker
Black
Menard County
George Black
Austin
Negro Jim
Jim
Vixen
St. Louis Republic
Oldest Newspaper The Tsing-Pao of Peking since 710 AD
The San Francisco Call notes the Tsing-Pao or Peking News as the oldest continuous newspaper, dating to 710 AD with an edition de luxe and a cheaper wax-plate version. It describes government reporting on the emperor, hats season, and translations, plus China’s Chin-Pao of Shanghai News founded 1872 and a shift toward modernization.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tsing-Pao
Peking News
Kin Pan
Peking
Imbault Huart
Canton
Europe
China
Shanghai
Chin-Pao
Shanghai News
Li Hung Chang
San Francisco
Texas Women Described As Sweet Polite And Courageous
The Providence Journal notes a Texas native praising local women as sweet, polite, gracious, and courageous. He emphasizes they do not curse or swear, ride well, handle a six shooter, and avoid harming families, presenting an ideal blend of strength and gentleness.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
North
South
Texas
Providence Journal
The Odor of the Opera Delights a Loyal Patron
A confirmed opera goer explains the distinctive odor he loves at the theater. He notes the scent rises with the curtain to the dress circle, describing it as the essence of opera flowers, laces, jewels, and music.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Paradise
New York Sun
Deliverance Tale Refuses Old Mincemeat Echo
In a humorous exchange a wife asks if their mince pie matches her mother in law’s recipe. The husband reveals his mother was a health reform lecturer and never baked mince pies, then takes a second slice. The brief vignette underscores quirks of family memory with a playful tone.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Herbert
Chicago Tribune
The Only Sure Way Pollywog and Jollydog Dialogue
A New York Journal quip contrasts a problem solving approach with a humorous refusal to search for a needle in a haystack. The exchange riffs on practicality versus avoidance in a short comic exchange.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Pollywog
Jollydog
New York Journal
The Railway and Liquor Outlays in Britain and U S
Excerpt cites a poem fragment from Lord Vyet and Other Poems by Arthur Christopher Benson and notes England spends 450 million dollars annually on alcohol and 90 million on army maintenance, with rough guesses about American liquor expenditures during Prohibition.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Lord Vyet
Arthur Christopher Benson
Nations spend more on drink than on armies across Europe
The piece compares annual spending on alcohol and military forces in European powers. It cites Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy, Austria-Hungary and Russia, noting liquor costs far exceed military budgets in several cases and detailing regional drinking patterns and army costs.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Republic of Switzerland
Switzerland
Germany
France
Austria-Hungary
Europe
Blue Danube
Vienna
Tyrol
Transylvania
Croatia
Hungary
Alva's Siege and Dutch War Amid Cruelty and Trade Setbacks
Alva forced sieges across Flanders while cruelty tainted each victory. Dutch liberation persisted as beacon fires spread, yet Elizabeth's England cut Dutch trade and seamen from the realm. Spanish garrisons in Brill and Flushing were expelled by the beggars of the sea who rallied for Orange deliverance. Alva’s era ended with his son Frederic and further harsh campaigns in Naarden.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Alva
Elizabeth
England
Spain
Netherlands
Brill
Flushing
Orange
Don Frederic
Philip
Naarden
Not Recognizing Whey Leads to Buttermilk Misunderstanding
A northern New York visit ends in humor as a traveling correspondent mistakes a cheese factory for a creamery and drinks buttermilk, calling it the darndest liquid he ever tasted. The tale showcases country knowledge gaps and rustic charm.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York State
Smith
One More of Them Riddle in a Sunday School
A wry London Figaro quip features a new rector in a Sunday school asking a boy if he has read the Thirty nine Articles. The boy answers no, but says he has read the Forty Thieves, delivering a comic contrast between serious doctrine and popular tales.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
London Figaro
Also Mentioned on This Page
Nature OF
Hood
Russia
Diplomatic
Battleax
Surmatra
Texas Girl
Castoria
Pitcher
Samuel Pitcher
Hyannis
Massachusetts
Co Utzan
Centaur Company
Chas. H. Fletcher
New York City
the Railway
Weyler
The
Tribune
Thea
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!