Or if you want to see more, and in person, The Dorothy and Artie McFerrin collection at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences, is one of the largest private collections in the US and includes 3 eggs and a trove of exquisite cigarette cases and accessories. (6/6)

If you’re interested in reading more about the sensory prompts to tobacco use and the many types of cases and tobacco accessories (ashtrays, tinder cords, etc.) available for the large, smoking population in turn of the century Russia, check out my essay. (5/6)

With luxurious closures, slick surfaces, and sumptuous decoration, cases also prompted smokers to light up - either by exciting sensory delight, reminding smokers of their habit while sitting in a pocket or on a desk, or being seen by others as part of the social rituals of smoking. (4/6)

Cases protected smokes before packs of heavier cardboard or with protective cellophane developed and functioned as social signifiers. Fabergé cases provided a signal to other smokers of their status either for their cost or design — presentation cases were a regular gift from the tsar. (3/6)

Pre-revolutionary designers produced cases in metal, stone and wood decorated with platinum, encrusted with jewels, or encased in brilliant enamels. They are perhaps the most widely produced items from Russia’s House of Fabergé and were a frequent gift to, and from, the heavy smoking tsar. (2/6)

One-time payments to Russian men disabled by the war are not enough to address the life-long financial and social difficulties they face - all issues that will impact future parenthood. The serious answer to the demographic crisis is stopping the war. (4/4)

Researchers are resurrecting Soviet-era techniques to build death tolls from newspaper reports, but there are clear signs of the war’s effects on Russian health. In addition to excess death, the war is wounding Russian men at record highs requiring opening new hospitals to accommodate them. (3/4)

For decades, smoking, drinking, and accidental deaths from men led Russia’s demographic problems - but then Putin started his disastrous war in Ukraine - a crime against their population that is also culling Russia’s own young men.
(2/4)

In Russian language forums I saw ресторан more than гастроном, but pilots can be a creative lot when it comes to pet names for planes.