Post

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

More from @Culture_Crit

Culture Critic

@Culture_Crit

Jul 24

Reminder that Argentina was once as rich as the US and Buenos Aires was "the Paris of South America".

So what happened?

Here's how it looked — and what it teaches us... (thread) 🧵

At the turn of the 20th century, Argentina was as rich as the U.S. per capita, GDP grew 6% annually, and its beach resorts looked like this.

4 million Europeans flocked there during its Belle Époque — dreaming of being "as rich as an Argentine".

It owed its wealth to its exports (beef and wheat mainly). These peaked at ~4% of all global trade in the 1920s, and Argentina was still as rich as much of Europe as late as 1950.

Read 17 tweets

Culture Critic

@Culture_Crit

Jul 22

In your opinion, when did architecture peak?

According to the 7 principles of architecture, there is only one correct answer... 🧵

The answer is Gothic — according to Victorian philosopher John Ruskin. He put forward 7 "lamps" required to lift architecture to its highest form.

But they're not precise rules or ratios. They're 7 moral virtues applied to architecture...

First is sacrifice. Buildings must have visible proof of the love and dedication that went into them.

Today, we generally produce the largest result for the least cost, shaving any "unnecessary" detail or material from the design...

Read 15 tweets

Culture Critic

@Culture_Crit

Jul 19

Why did past societies build so much "useless" beauty everywhere — and why did we stop?

It might be a measure of a culture's health... (thread) 🧵

Street lights are seen by everyone. But what about things hardly seen at all, like fittings on the sides of doors?

This was the kind of thing Victorian society cared about — but why?

The mantra of the 20th century was to say that ornamentation has no purpose, so get rid of it.

But ornaments assign ordinary things meaning. They speak to the tradition or craft that produced it...

Read 15 tweets

Culture Critic

@Culture_Crit

Jul 16

When Julius Caesar was assassinated, it wasn't by a lone attacker — it was a group of his rivals in the Senate.

Why? Because they feared his growing popularity with the common people.

Here's how it unfolded on March 15, 44 BC... (thread) 🧵

In 44 BC, Caesar was on a dramatic rise in popularity and power.

He had just put an end to the civil wars, defeated his rival Pompey, and showered Rome in military glory — expanding the Republic across Gaul and beyond (yellow areas).

He was also a beloved populist: he distributed land to the poor, forgave debt burdens, and expanded the Senate for greater participation.

But to his political rivals, it seemed he was on a trajectory to kingship...

Read 18 tweets

Culture Critic

@Culture_Crit

Jul 15

Heaven is made up of 9 levels.

700 years ago, a poet described what it's like to climb them — and what kind of person lands at each level.

Here's what he finds at the very top... (thread) 🧵

In 1321, Alighieri Dante imagined a journey through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. It's one of the most imaginative stories ever told.

He travels right to the bottom of Hell and describes each of its 9 levels...

Why? Because to journey upward in life, you must first descend into the depths of your own soul.

At the very bottom, the bitterly cold point furthest from God's grace, is Satan — trapped in a frozen lake of his own tears...

Read 22 tweets

Culture Critic

@Culture_Crit

Jul 12

In 1963, a man noticed his chickens disappearing through a hole in his basement.

He knocked through the wall, revealing what is hard to believe: a 20,000-person city, deep below ground.

It was built by Christians over 1,000 years ago... (thread) 🧵

He had stumbled across what was then the largest underground city ever found, near the town of Derinkuyu, in Turkey's Cappadocia region.

But what on earth was it for?

Christianity in Cappadocia is as ancient as it gets. Paul the Apostle himself established one of the first Christian communities here in the 1st century.

By the 4th century, Cappadocia's bishops played a major role in the Byzantine Empire.

Read 18 tweets

Share this page!

Enter URL or ID to Unroll

Culture Critic

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

More from @Culture_Crit

Culture Critic

Culture Critic

Culture Critic

Culture Critic

Culture Critic

Culture Critic

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Send Email!