5 People Changed World During Quarantine
Hi!
Here is your weekly dose of “Everything Strange,” literally a list of everything strange happening around us. So let’s start with
Today's Strange History (April 25, 2020)
America: Exactly 513 years ago, today in 1507 German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller first used the name 'America' on his world map "Universalis Cosmographia".
Guillotine: In 1792, the guillotine was first used in France to execute highwayman Nicolas Pelletier.
The execution took place at 3:30 pm. Pelletier was led to the scaffolding wearing a red shirt. A large crowd was already there waiting, eager to see the novel invention at work. The guillotine, which was also red in color, had been previously fully prepared. Within seconds, the guillotine and Pelletier were positioned correctly, and Pelletier was decapitated.
The crowd, however, was dissatisfied with the guillotine. They felt it was too swift and "clinically effective" to provide proper entertainment, as compared to previous execution methods, such as hanging, death-by-sword, or breaking at the wheel. The public even called out "Bring back our wooden gallows!"
Spanish-American War: In 1898, United States declared state of war on Spain effective from 21st April as the US Congress declared that the war de facto existed since 21st, the day the blockade of Cuba had begun.
License Plate: In 1901, New York became the 1st US state requiring automobile license plates ($1 fee)
Raising Flag over Reichstag: Today in 1945 Soviet forces completed their encirclement of Berlin, cutting off all access points west of the German capital; last holding point of the Nazis.
Though remember that this photograph is significantly altered by the Soviets for propaganda purposes with additional smoke added for dramatic effect and multiple wristwatches were removed from the lower soldier's wrist, as they would imply that he had been looting.
Solar Battery: In 1954, Bell Labs announced the 1st solar battery made from silicon. It was about 6% efficiency. Today that is just above 25%.
Inventor & Murderer: 2 years ago today in 2018, Danish inventor Peter Madsen was found guilty of killing and desecrating the body of journalist Kim Wall aboard a submarine. According to the Danish police, the submarine was deliberately sunk, contradicting Madsen's explanation regarding a technical fault. Later he was sentenced to life imprisonment.
A documentary - Into The Deep was planned for Netflix distribution. After a controversy arose, where participants claimed they did not give their consent to appear with their name and image, Netflix put it on hold. Just 3 days ago, Netflix announced they withdrew from the deal.
Strange Case of the day - 5 People Who Changed The World During Quarantine
1. Giovanni Boccaccio
Giovanni Boccaccio was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist.
In 1348, when the bubonic plague hit Florence, he was personally affected and both his father and stepmother succumbed to it. He survived the outbreak by fleeing the city and hiding out in the Tuscan countryside. During this period, he wrote The Decameron, a collection of novellas framed as stories a group of friends tell each other while quarantined inside a villa during the plague.
2. Thomas Nashe
Thomas Nashe was an Elizabethan playwright, poet, satirist, and a significant pamphleteer who gained fame around the same time as William Shakespeare.
In 1592, when the bubonic plague hit London, Nashe fled to the English countryside to avoid infection. This was the same time he wrote Summers' Last Will and Testament, a play that reflects his experiences living through the pandemic. Later some of the passages of this play became world-famous, one such passage:
Adieu, farewell earths blisse,
This world uncertaine is,
Fond are lifes lustful joyes,
Death proves them all but toyes,
None from his darts can flye;
I am sick, I must dye:
Lord, have mercy on us.
3. Issac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton, the famous English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, theologian, and author who is widely recognized as one of the most influential scientists of all time and as a key figure in the scientific revolution, changed the world during his quarantine years.
Yes, it's not just you, Newton was quarantined too. 355 years ago, in 1665 when Newton was in his early 20s, one of the last major outbreaks of the bubonic plague started. Classes at Cambridge University were canceled for approximately 2 years, so Newton went to his family estate roughly 60 miles away to continue his studies there. During his year in quarantine, he produced some of his best works - writing the papers that would become early calculus and developing his theories on optics while playing with prisms in his bedroom. This was also the time when he got the idea about the theory of gravity.
4. William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare the famous English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist, created miracles during his quarantine.
In the early 17th century, Shakespeare was an actor and shareholder with The King’s Men theater troupe when the bubonic plague forced London theaters to close. After weeks, when the death toll exceeded 30, public playhouses were shut down. This paralyzed the theater industry for much of 1606 when the plague returned to the city. After suddenly finding himself without a steady job and lots of free time, Shakespeare got to writing. He composed King Lear, Macbeth, and Antony and Cleopatra - which later became some of the best creations in his lifetime.
5. Edvard Munch
Edvard Munch was a Norwegian painter. His best known work, The Scream, has become one of the most iconic images of world art.
Around the beginning of 1919, while living in Norway he contracted the Spanish flu - a pandemic during that time. But instead of becoming one of its many victims, Munch lived to continue making art. As soon as he felt physically capable, he gathered his painting supplies and began capturing his physical state. Self-Portrait with the Spanish Flu shows him with thinning hair and a gaunt face sitting in front of his sickbed. Later these were recognized as some of the most famous paintings in world history.
Note: MentalFloss also covered this topic in one of their articles.
So let me know how you are spending your quarantine? And as always, please give me feedback on Twitter. What do you want more or less of? Other suggestions? Let me know! Just send a tweet to @StrangeButTrue_
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