John Farrier's Blog Posts

Pank-a-Squith: The Women's Suffrage Board Game

Women secured the right to vote in the United Kingdom is 1918 after an activist movement overcame popular and political opposition. Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith, the occupant of Number 10 from 1908 to 1916, was an opponent of the movement. Feminist leader Emmaline Pankhurst was ultimately victorious in a February 1918 act which extended the franchise to men over 21 and women over 30.

Pank-a-Squith was a pro-suffrage board game published in 1909 in which players acted as Panks (Pankhurst) to overcome the resistance of Squiths (Asquith). Hanson's Auctioneers sold the copy photographed above. You can download and print out your own copy here courtesy of Johns Hopkins University Libraries.

-via Women's Art


Body of Scientist Missing in Antarctica Found after 65 Years

Dennis "Tink" Bell was a scientist who served in the British Antarctic Survey. The Guardian reports that in 1959, he fell into a crevasse on King George Island, which is just north of the Antarctic Peninsula, during a mission. His companions were unable to pull him out and he died.

In January, shifting ice exposed Bell's well-preserved body, which was found by Polish explorers. DNA testing compared those remains with surviving siblings and confirmed the identity of the body.

The Antarctic Monument, an organization that honors British explorers who died exploring the Antarctic, notes that Bell was noted for his great sense of humor. He's the man on the left in the photo engaging in playful tomfoolery to the amusement of his colleagues.

-via Glenn Reynolds


New App Lets You Invite Complete Strangers to Your Wedding

Katia Lekarski loves to attend weddings, but doesn't get invited to as many as she'd like. Figuring that there are other people like her, she created the app Invitin. This app allows people to invite strangers on the internet to attend their weddings in exchange for ticketing fees. The Guardian explains that couples can sell these tickets to defray the costs of their special events.

There is a screening process. Guests must abide by a dress code and event organizers can vet them by their profiles prior to approval. But it is otherwise a straightforward process to attending a wedding.

-via Dave Barry | Photo: outreachr on Wikimedia Commons


Life-Size Horse Lamp

Do you need a bit more light in your workspace? This lamp and provide a simple and practical solution. The Swedish design firm Front, which consists of Sofia Lagerkvist and Anna Lindgren, created this lamp for the furnishings and furniture store Moooi.

It's part of a series of animal-themed lamps that the designers say you will "fall in love with at first sight, or hate forever." Well, I'm in love with the idea of a 7-foot tall horse lamp in my home.

-via Toxel


Check Out This Cute Shrimp Purse

Redditor /u/Pavelcraftleather is a Romanian master leatherworker who produces unique leather products, notably masks, helmets, and bags from overstock material, and sells them at Atom Leather.

I'm especially taken with this beautifully formed purse that resembles a shrimp. The whirling lines and the forms they create are a delight to the eye.


Adult Chuck E. Cheese Fans Are Called "Chuckheads"

The Hustle interviewed a few Chuckheads--adults who loved visiting Chuck E. Cheese restaurants as children and relish those experiences to this day. They collect memorabilia and artifacts from the company's history and document the history of this icon of their childhoods. One of them, Damon Breland, operates an appointment-only museum with many of the original animatronics for which Chuck E. Cheese used to be famous.

How does the private equity firm that owns Chuck E. Cheese feel about Chuckheads? It's an uneasy relationship. The Chuckheads want to maintain the traditional style and activities of the restaurants, whereas the owners want to modernize. But the company has agreed to maintain six Chuck E. Cheese restaurants according to the folkways that Chuckheads appreciate.

-via Dave Barry | Photo: Damon Breland


How to Sleep at Airports

I recently had to spend the night at the Dallas Love Field airport due to weather-related flight delays. This was not a pleasant experience, although I have seen worse airports at which to spend the night.

What was notable during that evening and morning was that several travelers were remarkably well prepared for the experience. They camped out on padded benches and had blankets, pillows, face masks, and noise-canceling earmuffs. Because these items were not standardized, I think they were unlikely to have been provided by the airport; these were personal possessions that had been thoughtfully packed for just such an event.

Perhaps these prudent travels were familiar with Sleeping in Airports, a website dedicated to providing information about this experience. The site provides tips and reviews for different airports, as well as provides suggestions about how to sleep effectively.

One such tip is to rent a car...and then just go to sleep in it without driving it anywhere.

-via Book of Joe | Photo: Flickr user Oakley Originals used under Creative Commons license


Rhode Island Is the Only State That Celebrates V-J Day

On August 10, 1945, after deciding that two atomic bombs was enough, the Japanese government, using rather obtuse language, indicated a willingness to surrender. On August 14, Japan formally expressed this sentiment to the United States through Swiss intermediaries. On August 15, Emperor Hirohito made his first public radio broadcast to inform his people of the surrender. The actual ceremony would take place on board the USS Missouri on September 2.

For the United States and the other Allied powers, August 15 is accepted as Victory over Japan Day. As the last major belligerent surrendered, it was the end of the war and thus a time of great celebration.

WPRI News notes that V-J Day is not a federal holiday. In fact, only the State of Rhode Island designates it as an official holiday--a decision made in 1948. Although Arkansas has celebrated V-J Day in the past, it dropped the holiday in 1975.

Rhode Island marks this great victory on the second Monday of August, which is today.

-via Kiel James Patrick | Photo: Victor Jorgensen/US Navy


Klingon Barbie Cosplay

The annual Star Trek convention in Las Vegas is ending today. Many Trekkies have gathered at the Rio Las Vegas hotel to meet their favorite stars, buy merchandise, and, most importantly, dress as their favorite characters.

Cosplayer Michelle Hughes attended as Klingon version of Barbie. Hot pink replaces the traditional black and grey and her bat'leth is especially sparkly. I like the floofy grips.

Photo: Brian K. Nguyen


Check Out This Gorgeous Swedish Outhouse

The best thing about reddit is that there's a subreddit for everything.* There's even a subreddit dedicated to outhouses.

While browsing it, I came across this post about a lovely outhouse in Sweden, or, as they say in Swedish, "utedass."

Continue reading

Herbert and Lou Hoover, Master Latin Translators of Metallica

Herbert Hoover was a highly accomplished mining engineer, businessman, and humanitarian before he had the bad luck to be inaugurated as President of the United States shortly before the outbreak of the Great Depression. He then had a long post-Presidential career, living all the way until 1964. 

Hoover married well. Lou Henry Hoover, First Lady of the United States, met her future husband while they were students at Stanford University. She had a sharp mind and became the first woman to graduate from that institution with a degree in geology.

Lady Hoover was a polyglot and, like her husband, had an education in the Latin language. Together, they translated De Re Metallica, a historically important Sixteenth Century Latin text by Georg Bauer about mining and metallurgy. After several years of labor, Herbert and Lou Hoover created the first English translation of the work, making use of their expertise of both geology and Latin. It remains the definitive English translation to this day. 


You Can Drink a Ketchup-Flavored Smoothie

Since 1876, the Heinz company has advocated for its products in creative ways. Last year, the firm offered a Barbie-flavored sauce inspired by the Barbie movie.

Now, the company is pushing the limits of what would normally be considered food. Heinz has teamed up with Smoothie King to offer, for a limited time, ketchup-flavored smoothies. USA Today says that it contains Acai sorbet, apple juice, strawberries, raspberries, and, of course, tomatoes. Selected Smoothie King restaurants in Atlanta, New York City, Denver, Miami, and New Jersey will offer it.

Should this smoothie be made sweet or savory? I don't normally associate tomatoes with sweetness.

-via Dave Barry


Growing Industry: Fake Indian Weddings

Indian weddings can be grand, glorious spectacles that are a delight to attend, even if you don't know the couple getting hitched. BBC reports that they're so much fun that some entertainment venues are throwing fake weddings and selling tickets to people who like a good wedding party.

At the center of this trend is the sangeet--a music and dance party traditionally held before the actual wedding. This is what people enjoy, whether or not there's a couple getting married. 2,000 people attended a recent staged sangeet in Bengaluru. It was so popular and financially successful that similar events are now being planned across the country.

-via Marginal Revolution | Photo: 8Club


Pomeranian Chases Bear out of House

I'm not that surprised. My Pomeranian barks at everyone and everything (including me, even though she's known me her entire life) and has no idea that she's actually small and ill-suited for combat.

Global News reports that Scout, a Pomeranian, lives in black bear country in West Vancouver, British Columbia. When a bear entered the home through an open door, Scout sent the bear scurrying for its life out of the home and then off the property. All six pounds of fury ran at the bear as fast as his feet could carry him in pursuit of the intruding bear.

-via NEXTA


The Danes Call This a French Hot Dog

The X account Sports Scran shares this photo from a soccer stadium in Nuuk, Greenland. That chilly island is currently under Danish rule, so it's not surprisng that Danish foods can be found there. 

Scandi Baking tells us that, in Denmark, a Fransk hot dog begins with a roll that is hollowed out. It is then filled with sauces and a sausage is then stuffed inside.

Do the French have something they call a Danish hot dog? I can't find out information on the topic. But there is a hot dog variety is is commonly called a "sausage wagon." It's an open-faced hot dog with pickles and a remoulade sauce.


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Profile for John Farrier

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