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Aqua Tofana: The 17th Century Husband Killer

Sometime in the summer of 1791, or perhaps even earlier, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart fell ill. His biographer, Franz Niemetschek, described him as pale and melancholy. Despite his declining health, Mozart remained dedicated to his work, focusing on completing his Requiem. He even conducted the premiere of The Magic Flute on 30 September. However, by late November, his condition worsened dramatically. He became bedridden, suffering from swelling, pain, and persistent vomiting. Around two weeks later, on 5 December, he died at his home in Vienna.

The cause of Mozart’s death has been the subject of much speculation and debate. With few eyewitness accounts and no thorough medical examination, researchers have proposed various possibilities, including streptococcal infection, rheumatic fever, kidney failure, and even poisoning. Mozart himself was deeply troubled by his deteriorating health and feared he was being poisoned. “I feel definitely,” he confided to his wife, Constanze, “that I will not last much longer; I am sure I have been poisoned. I cannot rid myself of this idea.”

“Death Comes to the Banquet Table” by Giovanni Martinelli, circa 1635.

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Chandu Numerology Pada April 01, 2025 Komentar

Hating Henry Symeonis: An Oxford University Tradition

Travel

The University of Oxford—one of the oldest continuously operating universities in the world—has a wealth of traditions, which is unsurprising given its long history. Some, like "trashing," where students have their uniforms doused in confetti and foam after their final exam, are relatively modern, dating back only about 50 years. Others stretch back centuries, their origins obscured by time. Some traditions are so ancient and mysterious that even the University itself has no record of their beginnings. The Bodleian Library’s Archives and Manuscripts blog discusses about one such mystery: the curious case of Henry Symeonis.

The Bodleian Library, the main research library of the University of Oxford, and one of the oldest libraries in Europe. Photo credit: Deposit Photos

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Chandu Numerology Pada March 21, 2025 Komentar

Danish Protest Pig

Travel

This pig with a reddish-brown coat and a prominent white stripe might not look very remarkable, but during the late 19th century, it became a symbol of protest among Danish farmers.

For a long, long time, the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein were at the heart of a long-standing dispute. These areas were caught between Denmark and the German-speaking world, and neither states could decide who should rule the two regions. Schleswig was historically tied to Denmark, while Holstein was part of the German-speaking Holy Roman Empire. Over time, both regions ended up being ruled together, even though they technically belonged to different countries.

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Chandu Numerology Pada March 12, 2025 Komentar

Smile of Silla: The Ancient Artifact That Inspired LG’s Logo

Travel

Like all business and corporations, LG—the South Korean multinational conglomerate, best known for their electronic products and household appliances—takes pride in its logo.

“Full of personality, our smiling logo signals humanity and intelligence. We always use it with confidence. It's what makes us feel uniquely LG,” the company declares on its corporate website.

The familiar ruby-red logo, featuring a playful face, has adorned televisions, refrigerators, microwave ovens, washing machines, and air conditioners for decades. According to LG, its design is inspired by an ancient artifact known as the “Smile of Silla,” which dates back to the Silla Dynasty (57 BCE–935 CE). This artifact is an ornamental roof-end tile called sumaksae, which is typically round in shape to fit the curved tiles at the edges of traditional Korean roofs or walls. While such tiles often feature lotus patterns, the smiling design is exceptionally rare—indeed, it is the only known example from the Silla period.

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Chandu Numerology Pada March 05, 2025 Komentar

Étienne Léopold Trouvelot: Ecological Villain And Astronomy Artist

Travel

Étienne Léopold Trouvelot left behind two legacies. One deserves admiration and respect, while the other earns him contempt and criticism.

As an amateur French entomologist, his most infamous mistake was introducing the spongy moth to North America, an invasive species that continues to wreak havoc on forests to this day. Fortunately, Trouvelot was also an artist and astronomer, whose mastery of both the paintbrush and the telescope resulted in thousands of stunning astronomical illustrations. His depictions of the cosmos were among the most accurate of their time. It is through these works that Trouvelot remains esteemed, even as history struggles to overlook his ecological misstep.

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Chandu Numerology Pada March 01, 2025 Komentar

James Tilly Matthews And The Air Loom

Travel

James Tilly Matthews was delusional. He believed that secret gangs of people were operating across London, using a bizarre machine called the "Air Loom" to control his thoughts and those of others from a distance. According to Matthews, this device emitted "magnetic fluids" to manipulate minds and was being wielded by spies to influence political decisions.

Matthews’ paranoia, as a modern psychiatrist would say, is a textbook case of schizophrenia—a mental disorder that affects 24 million people worldwide, yet has a remarkably short recorded history. Unlike depression and mania, which are recognizable in ancient texts, schizophrenia-like disorders only began appearing in psychiatric literature in the past two hundred years. This could mean that either the disease is a recent manifestation that was largely unknown in earlier times, or that it existed but lumped together with more general concepts of madness. What makes Matthews’ case unique is that he lived in the late 18th century, and an entire book was written detailing his delusions. This makes Matthews the first fully documented case of schizophrenia.

The Air Loom. Illustration by James Tilly Matthews