Category Archives: History

Victor Hugo on Sewage

Posted on August 2, 2021 by odeboyz

Violating every rule of narrative, Hugo interrupts the climax of his great novel Les Misérables (1862) to hector the reader for fifteen pages about the Parisian sewer system. The city’s sewers discharged vast quantities of excrement into rivers, which carried … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Health, History, Literature | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Immigration: Conservative Hypocrisy 1903, 1938, 2021

Posted on July 29, 2021 by odeboyz

1903 IMMIGRATION OF DESTITUTE ALIENS. HC Deb 26 February 1903 vol 118 cc938-77 Sir Howard Vincent (Conservative)1 In the first place, I should like to say most emphatically that this motion has nothing whatever to do with any religious question. … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, History, Philosophy, Politics | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Coco Chanel: Nazi Collaborator

Posted on July 26, 2021 by odeboyz

Chanel1 had always had a series of influential lovers of various nationalities, so it was natural that during the German occupation the lover should be German: Baron Hans Günther von Dincklage, a diplomat with intelligence connections. After the war, Chanel, … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Paris, War | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Assassination as policy: a few examples

Posted on July 19, 2021 by odeboyz

“In the thousand years the Roman empire survived in Constantinople, 65 out of its 107 emperors were assassinated. In Venice in the 15th and 16th centuries 200 assassinations were plotted for foreign policy reasons…Other than probably the CIA, Israel’s intelligence … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Politics | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Two Barbaric Sentencing Regimes: England, 1723 and California, 1994

Posted on July 15, 2021 by odeboyz

Background Barbaric sentencing and moral panics are linked. “A moral panic is a widespread feeling of fear, often an irrational one, that some evil person or thing threatens the values, interests, or well-being of a community or society.”1 The events … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Politics, Prison | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

An Italian economic boycott, 1848

Posted on July 12, 2021 by odeboyz

….the inhabitants of Milan, under Austrian rule, followed the principle of the Boston Tea Party by giving up smoking in order to stop the Austrians obtaining revenue from a tax on tobacco. Richard Evans The pursuit of power p189

Posted in Economics, History, Politics | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Winston Churchill advocates the ‘United States of Europe’

Posted on July 7, 2021 by odeboyz

With this plea for a United States of Europe, Churchill was one of the first to advocate European integration to prevent the atrocities of two world wars from ever happening again, calling for the creation of a Council of Europe … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Politics, War | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Wrong Answer

Posted on June 21, 2021 by odeboyz

Emperor Augustus was touring his Empire and noticed a man who looked so similar that he could have been his brother. Intrigued he asked: “Did your mother work in the Imperial Palace?” “No, Your Highness. But my father did.”

Posted in History, Humour | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Winston Churchill mocks Clement Attlee – who got the last laugh

Posted on June 10, 2021 by odeboyz

Churchill mocked his wartime deputy prime minister, Clement Attlee, on many occasions: (1) “An empty taxi arrived at 10 Downing Street, and when the door was opened, Attlee got out.” (2) “He is a modest man with much to be … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Politics | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

London and the Great Plague, 1665: Plague Pits

Posted on June 10, 2021 by odeboyz

Records state that plague deaths in London and the suburbs crept up over the summer from 2,000 people per week to over 7,000 per week in September. These figures are likely to be a considerable underestimate. Many of the sextons … Continue reading →

Posted in Health, History, statistics | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment