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Not sure if this topic was originally supposed to just be about font(fount?) styles on this forum... going to bring up another subject if that's fine.

You may have heard about "Pope Joan", but how about Kenshin Uesugi?
A warlord during the Sengoku Era, unfortunately now a footnote in the unification of Japan, due to dying at a convenient time for the (in?)famous Nobunaga Oda to roll over Kenshin Uesugi and rival Shingen Takeda's much less competent sons.

But here are some interesting facts about Kenshin Uesugi -

Never married, and not especially interested in women romantically, but got along well with women as friends
Had no children, only adopting sons
Liked romantic poetry. Sure, the samurai were warrior poets to an extent, but not like Kenshin
Never had a beard at a time when beards were common
Described as "beautiful", and having "fair skin", in a way typically reserved for women
Portraits that Kenshin commissioned tended towards feminine symbology, when other warlords like Shingen Takeda and Nobunaga Oda used fire and demons respectively
A "warrior monk", and dressed in a way that would be useful for concealing certain features
Was given special access to the Shogun's harem, which no other man would ever be allowed (including gay men, ruling that conclusion out)
Remains were closely guarded after death. Other Uesugi did not get this treatment
Was known to have "stomach pains" around the same time of the month, every month, preventing riding a horse, and would try to schedule battles around this, even once even being forced to retreat from near victory
Died around that time of the month
Matsudaira Tadaaki, who recorded the events of the Sengoku Era, and who is not known for inaccuracies, detailed the death of Kenshin Uesugi in a way that clearly resembles uterine bleeding caused by cervical cancer


Though it's virtually impossible to prove either way now, one of Japan's most feared warlords of the era may have been a woman all along.

Yeah, it's for any random bits of info that make you go: "Oh, shit, I didn't know that." This fits the bill.

Not sure if this topic was originally supposed to just be about font(fount?) styles on this forum... going to bring up another subject if that's fine.

You may have heard about "Pope Joan", but how about Kenshin Uesugi?
A warlord during the Sengoku Era, unfortunately now a footnote in the unification of Japan, due to dying at a convenient time for the (in?)famous Nobunaga Oda to roll over Kenshin Uesugi and rival Shingen Takeda's much less competent sons.

But here are some interesting facts about Kenshin Uesugi -

Never married, and not especially interested in women romantically, but got along well with women as friends
Had no children, only adopting sons
Liked romantic poetry. Sure, the samurai were warrior poets to an extent, but not like Kenshin
Never had a beard at a time when beards were common
Described as "beautiful", and having "fair skin", in a way typically reserved for women
Portraits that Kenshin commissioned tended towards feminine symbology, when other warlords like Shingen Takeda and Nobunaga Oda used fire and demons respectively
A "warrior monk", and dressed in a way that would be useful for concealing certain features
Was given special access to the Shogun's harem, which no other man would ever be allowed (including gay men, ruling that conclusion out)
Remains were closely guarded after death. Other Uesugi did not get this treatment
Was known to have "stomach pains" around the same time of the month, every month, preventing riding a horse, and would try to schedule battles around this, even once even being forced to retreat from near victory
Died around that time of the month
Matsudaira Tadaaki, who recorded the events of the Sengoku Era, and who is not known for inaccuracies, detailed the death of Kenshin Uesugi in a way that clearly resembles uterine bleeding caused by cervical cancer


Though it's virtually impossible to prove either way now, one of Japan's most feared warlords of the era may have been a woman all along.

If you are curious the way that Kenshin Uesugi died was absolutely disgusting.  He was killed in the morning when he went to the bathroom by a ninja who had been hiding in his latrine/toilet.  Uesugi went to relieve himself in the morning and the ninja thrust his blade right into Uesugi's rear.  The ninja would escape and Uesugi would die from his injuries a few days later.
Takeda had a silly death.  He was leaning over the battlements during a siege to better listen to some flute music being played from the enemy camp when a drunk sniper shot him.

This information came from a book called Midget Ninja & Tactical Laxatives  Bizarre Warfare Through the Ages by Philip Sidnell

Watched this really interesting TED Talk that shows off this website called Dollar Street, which is a compilation of 264 families and their homes in 50 countries around the world and is organized by income. Really goes to show that people around the world are more separated by income than nationality.

Necropost of note, but this is the reason this topic was created.

Exurb1a!

As far as I know, the colour codes are just copied over to the HTML, not interpreted by the board, so which ones work depends on your browser.

Bonus points for those who can spot something interesting.

The whole thing was interesting. Did you have something specific in mind?

.. I must have been on the toilet when that particular ontological memo came round ...

+1

Go to about 8:30, and let it play for a bit. If it reaches 8:45, you've missed it.

Go to about 8:30, and let it play for a bit. If it reaches 8:45, you've missed it.

Look up Jason Padgett.

Mmm. I love me some fractals, hence this month's avatar.

Hi! 

Some of y'all may know that I'm an anthropologist, about to graduate from college. Over the past year or so, I discovered an incredible source for current anthropology news. Sapiens is a website that is catered to anyone, and the general public can learn about our diverse field quite easily.

https://www.sapiens.org/

If you check it out let me know! Which article caught your eye first?