Michelle Laughran
@misciel.bsky.social
Avid historian of Venice, medicine/epidemics/plague, fashion/cosmetics & social/cultural history (she/her)
Today in WaPo… Dead soldiers’ teeth reveal diseases that doomed Napoleon’s army: “This new study reinforces how impossible the whole enterprise was; in a time before railroads and antibiotics, the invasion [of Russia] was doomed before it even began.” archive.today/EoayR
archive.today
October 24, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Today in WaPo… Dead soldiers’ teeth reveal diseases that doomed Napoleon’s army: “This new study reinforces how impossible the whole enterprise was; in a time before railroads and antibiotics, the invasion [of Russia] was doomed before it even began.” archive.today/EoayR
Today's award for a clever book title goes to... 😄
September 25, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Today's award for a clever book title goes to... 😄
#TIL that “few know that the genius behind [Topps “Wacky Cards” stickers] was none other than Art Spiegelman--the Pulitzer Prize--winning graphic novelist who created Maus.” 😲
bookshop.org/p/books/wack...
bookshop.org/p/books/wack...
Wacky Packages
Check out Wacky Packages - <p><b>Take a fun look back at Quacker Oats, Blisterine, and more classic packaging parodies--plus an interview with creator Art Spiegelman!</b></p><p>Known affectionately am...
bookshop.org
August 31, 2025 at 8:12 PM
#TIL that “few know that the genius behind [Topps “Wacky Cards” stickers] was none other than Art Spiegelman--the Pulitzer Prize--winning graphic novelist who created Maus.” 😲
bookshop.org/p/books/wack...
bookshop.org/p/books/wack...
A lovely little mini-documentary on the replacing of the last HORSE elevators in NYC 🐴
laughingsquid.com/last-ride-in...
laughingsquid.com/last-ride-in...
New York City Resident Takes One Last Ride in a Horse Elevator Originally Built in 1887
A woman who lives in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City took her very last ride in her building's 19th century horse elevator.
laughingsquid.com
August 24, 2025 at 5:14 PM
A lovely little mini-documentary on the replacing of the last HORSE elevators in NYC 🐴
laughingsquid.com/last-ride-in...
laughingsquid.com/last-ride-in...
@austinkleon.bsky.social
I’ve been a longtime fan of your newsletter, but I’m unsubscribing from all Substacks… Please move yours off Substack! 🙏
leavesubstack.com
I’ve been a longtime fan of your newsletter, but I’m unsubscribing from all Substacks… Please move yours off Substack! 🙏
leavesubstack.com
You Should Probably Leave Substack
You should probably leave Substack. Here’s why and how.
leavesubstack.com
August 14, 2025 at 11:29 PM
@austinkleon.bsky.social
I’ve been a longtime fan of your newsletter, but I’m unsubscribing from all Substacks… Please move yours off Substack! 🙏
leavesubstack.com
I’ve been a longtime fan of your newsletter, but I’m unsubscribing from all Substacks… Please move yours off Substack! 🙏
leavesubstack.com
#TIL: Herbert Hoover was a mining geologist who — together with his wife Lou Hoover, the first woman to earn a geology degree from Stanford — created the definitive English translation of “De Re Metallica,” a sixteenth-century text about mining and metallurgy.
www.neatorama.com/2025/08/09/H...
www.neatorama.com/2025/08/09/H...
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 th...
www.neatorama.com
August 9, 2025 at 4:57 PM
#TIL: Herbert Hoover was a mining geologist who — together with his wife Lou Hoover, the first woman to earn a geology degree from Stanford — created the definitive English translation of “De Re Metallica,” a sixteenth-century text about mining and metallurgy.
www.neatorama.com/2025/08/09/H...
www.neatorama.com/2025/08/09/H...
BTW, if you want to save energy/water — or if for other reasons you like to limit AI — on some platforms like DuckDuckGo you can go to settings & turn automatic AI off. And if you want an easy way to use Google w/out AI — and even get its old style of results — try
udm14.org!
udm14.org!
&udm=14 | the search engine Konami code
A quick way to get an AI-free search without any extra work.
udm14.org
July 23, 2025 at 12:49 PM
BTW, if you want to save energy/water — or if for other reasons you like to limit AI — on some platforms like DuckDuckGo you can go to settings & turn automatic AI off. And if you want an easy way to use Google w/out AI — and even get its old style of results — try
udm14.org!
udm14.org!
So… I was looking for a recipe for microwaved “baked” apples without added sugar. After a regular web search came up empty, I turned to @claudeai.bsky.social, and it came through… So, I’m sharing the bounty! 🍎
July 23, 2025 at 11:46 AM
So… I was looking for a recipe for microwaved “baked” apples without added sugar. After a regular web search came up empty, I turned to @claudeai.bsky.social, and it came through… So, I’m sharing the bounty! 🍎
My music tastes are varied, so I hadn’t quite realized that Coldplay had gained the same reputation that ABBA had back in the ‘80s: thoroughly enjoyable pop music that’s simultaneously just a little bit cringe
July 23, 2025 at 11:38 AM
My music tastes are varied, so I hadn’t quite realized that Coldplay had gained the same reputation that ABBA had back in the ‘80s: thoroughly enjoyable pop music that’s simultaneously just a little bit cringe
I have a theory that Italian café napkins are some of the least absorbant substances on earth just to keep people from taking wads of them to use at home. 🤔
July 2, 2025 at 7:49 AM
I have a theory that Italian café napkins are some of the least absorbant substances on earth just to keep people from taking wads of them to use at home. 🤔
Another step in cracking a culinary mystery: “Ancient DNA Unlocks the Secret Recipe of Roman Fish Sauce”!
gizmodo.com/ancient-dna-...
gizmodo.com/ancient-dna-...
Ancient DNA Unlocks the Secret Recipe of Roman Fish Sauce
Roman salting plants processed fish so thoroughly that researchers struggle to identify the species once used in ancient condiments.
gizmodo.com
July 2, 2025 at 7:33 AM
Another step in cracking a culinary mystery: “Ancient DNA Unlocks the Secret Recipe of Roman Fish Sauce”!
gizmodo.com/ancient-dna-...
gizmodo.com/ancient-dna-...
FREE book of the month from U of Chicago Press: “The Frankenstein of 1790 and Other Lost Chapters from Revolutionary France”
press.uchicago.edu/books/freeEb...
press.uchicago.edu/books/freeEb...
July 1, 2025 at 2:05 PM
FREE book of the month from U of Chicago Press: “The Frankenstein of 1790 and Other Lost Chapters from Revolutionary France”
press.uchicago.edu/books/freeEb...
press.uchicago.edu/books/freeEb...
Untouched 7th c. B.C. Etruscan tomb found – The History Blog
www.thehistoryblog.com
June 30, 2025 at 9:44 AM
A brand new article on Architectural Digest about the dangers confronting Venice for which I was interviewed…
www.architecturaldigest.com/story/is-ven...
www.architecturaldigest.com/story/is-ven...
Is Venice Sinking? Here’s What You Need to Know About the Floating City
Overtourism and climate change pose significant threats to this feat of Italian architecture
www.architecturaldigest.com
June 18, 2025 at 8:43 AM
A brand new article on Architectural Digest about the dangers confronting Venice for which I was interviewed…
www.architecturaldigest.com/story/is-ven...
www.architecturaldigest.com/story/is-ven...
Since the Pocket app is going away I'm rediscovering some interesting links, like the 1626 book "Vox Piscis," the publication of a ms that had apparently been discovered in the belly of a codfish.
You can read it for yourself at archive.org/details/bim_... ! 🐟
You can read it for yourself at archive.org/details/bim_... ! 🐟
June 4, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Since the Pocket app is going away I'm rediscovering some interesting links, like the 1626 book "Vox Piscis," the publication of a ms that had apparently been discovered in the belly of a codfish.
You can read it for yourself at archive.org/details/bim_... ! 🐟
You can read it for yourself at archive.org/details/bim_... ! 🐟
Wow, I didn‘t realize how much I missed this until now… A programmer has made live, current weather forecasts available in 1990s “Weather Channel”-style, complete with scanlines and cheesy music! Just enter your zip code and enjoy!! ☺️
weatherstar.netbymatt.com
weatherstar.netbymatt.com
WeatherStar 4000+
Web based WeatherStar 4000 simulator that reports current and forecast weather conditions plus a few extras!
weatherstar.netbymatt.com
June 4, 2025 at 10:16 AM
Wow, I didn‘t realize how much I missed this until now… A programmer has made live, current weather forecasts available in 1990s “Weather Channel”-style, complete with scanlines and cheesy music! Just enter your zip code and enjoy!! ☺️
weatherstar.netbymatt.com
weatherstar.netbymatt.com
“What Can I Do?: Volunteer. Donate. Learn. Teach. Invest. Be Heard. In just 3 clicks, answer the most important question & show up the best way u know how, for the causes u care about the most… And it’s free!”
www.whatcanido.earth
HT @densediscovery.bsky.social!
www.whatcanido.earth
HT @densediscovery.bsky.social!
What Can I Do?
The fastest way to take action on what matters. Donate, volunteer, learn, buy, and invest in proven solutions. Search in seconds for free.
www.whatcanido.earth
May 27, 2025 at 1:39 PM
“What Can I Do?: Volunteer. Donate. Learn. Teach. Invest. Be Heard. In just 3 clicks, answer the most important question & show up the best way u know how, for the causes u care about the most… And it’s free!”
www.whatcanido.earth
HT @densediscovery.bsky.social!
www.whatcanido.earth
HT @densediscovery.bsky.social!
The “cyanometer,” for measuring the blueness of the sky, was invented in the 18th century by Horace-Bénédict de Saussure. Turns out that there’s now an app for that at apps.apple.com/us/app/this-...
SO COOL! 🗾
SO COOL! 🗾
May 26, 2025 at 11:26 AM
The “cyanometer,” for measuring the blueness of the sky, was invented in the 18th century by Horace-Bénédict de Saussure. Turns out that there’s now an app for that at apps.apple.com/us/app/this-...
SO COOL! 🗾
SO COOL! 🗾
I rock Awesome Socks day & night! #rockyourawesomesocks @thegooddotstore.bsky.social
May 11, 2025 at 9:02 PM
I rock Awesome Socks day & night! #rockyourawesomesocks @thegooddotstore.bsky.social
Wow! A sixteenth-century mural has been found on Venice’s Grand Canal, near the Rialto Bridge! 😍
www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/72918
www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/72918
16th c. mural found on the Grand Canal – The History Blog
www.thehistoryblog.com
April 15, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Wow! A sixteenth-century mural has been found on Venice’s Grand Canal, near the Rialto Bridge! 😍
www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/72918
www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/72918
In other mindblowing historical news today: “Unprecedented Roman mass grave found under Vienna soccer field” 🤯
www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/72825
www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/72825
April 4, 2025 at 4:40 PM
In other mindblowing historical news today: “Unprecedented Roman mass grave found under Vienna soccer field” 🤯
www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/72825
www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/72825
Holy cow… or she-wolf, as the case may be! A new open-access study of geochemical & Pb isotopes from bronze samples again confirms that that the Lupa Capitolina is not Etruscan or ancient. It’s medieval & dates to 1000-1199 CE! (link.springer.com/article/10.1... via the Past Imperfect newsletter) 😲
April 4, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Holy cow… or she-wolf, as the case may be! A new open-access study of geochemical & Pb isotopes from bronze samples again confirms that that the Lupa Capitolina is not Etruscan or ancient. It’s medieval & dates to 1000-1199 CE! (link.springer.com/article/10.1... via the Past Imperfect newsletter) 😲
@weeklyshowpodcast.bsky.social Hey Jon! I wanted to talk w students about the impact that disappearing media has on writing and studying history, and I wanted to share the story you did on March 17, 2010 about Oscar Romero and the Texas BoE... But ironically it too has disappeared from the internet!
March 16, 2025 at 7:55 PM
@weeklyshowpodcast.bsky.social Hey Jon! I wanted to talk w students about the impact that disappearing media has on writing and studying history, and I wanted to share the story you did on March 17, 2010 about Oscar Romero and the Texas BoE... But ironically it too has disappeared from the internet!