I can’t believe I’ve been woken up the for this, but here we go.

1. The historian Strabo (64BCE - 24 ACE) described operations on the clitoris

2. Galen (129-126 ACE) called the clitoris “the nymph” in his “on the usefulness of the parts of the body.”

3. Soranus of Ephesus (1st century ACE) also calls it a “nymph” and describes it as “hidden underneath the labia such as young brides hide under their veil.” 4. Other ancient writers who describe the clitoris include, Caelius Aurelianus, Iianus, Albucasis, and Avicenna. They would call it a “nymph,” a “myrtleberry,” or “tongue bag.” The romans called it “landica.”

Wewe Gombel is a female ghost in Javanese folklore. It is said that she kidnaps children and hides them under her breasts.

Thread Wewe Gombel, or “Hantu Kopek" as she’s known in Malaysia, has a complicated legend. It is said that in life, she married the man of her dreams, but they never had children because she was infertile.

July 22nd is the Feast Day of Mary Magdalene in the Christian faith. Much has been made of who Mary was, but she almost certainly wasn’t a sex worker. That story came about in 591, when Pope Gregory I got his Marys muddled.

Thread Mary Magdalene, (who debuts in Luke 8:2) was mixed up with with Mary of Bethany (Luke 10:39), and the anonymous "sinful woman" who washed Jesus's feet in Luke 7:36–50.

Mary Carleton (1642-73) was the most infamous thief & harlot of Port Royal, Jamaica. She was said to be “A stout frigate … or else she never could have endured so many batteries & assaults … she was as common as a barber’s chair: no sooner was one out, but another was in.”
🧵 Mary was born Mary Moders in Canterbury, England - possibly to a fiddler. There is not much that is certain about her life because she was an exceptional bullshit artist. Most of what we know about her was written in jail reports that were designed to shock, or from Mary herself.

This is the legendary burlesque artist & 'vaginiste', Honeysuckle Devine. She was once described as a 'one woman slum', & had one of the most extraordinary acts in the history of burlesque.

Thread Honeysuckle was born Betty Allsup in Rock Island, Illinois in 1938. She was one of 14 children & described her father as a 'hillbilly, banjo-playing lumberjack.'

Today, my all time hero Janis Joplin (1943-70) would have been 80 years old. Here is a thread of Janis quotes to remind you what a goddamn legend she was. “I'm one of those regular weird people.”

This is Cardinal Jean Daniélou (1905-74). He was a French theologian, historian & author of many books on Catholicism & spirituality. He also died of a heart attack in the Parisian home of Sex worker, Mimi Santoni, with a lot of money in his pocket.

Mini thread Cardinal Daniélou was made a Cardinal in 1969 & was a really respected theologian & scholar. To say his death caused some embarrassment to the church is something of an understatement.

I don’t know about you, but where I am is cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey… or is it??

A thread.🥶 🏀 🙊 You may be familiar with the properties origins of the phrase “cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey.” It is said that onboard war ships of yore, cannon balls were piled in a pyramid shape next to the cannons on deck.

The Progress of a Woman of Pleasure, by Richard Newton (1796), shows the trials & tribulations of a woman selling sex in London. Newton died at 21 in 1798, two years after making this illustration.

Thread “Your first step for preferment will be to a great lady in King's Place”. King’s Place was a famous, upmarket brothel run by Charlotte Hayes in Pall Mall. Any woman on the make would go here because Hayes had the wealthiest clients.

Maggie May, by Rod Stewart & Martin Quittenton, was released in 1971 & is an absolute banger. Rolling Stone ranked it at 130 in their list of the '500 Greatest Songs of All Time’. But just who was Maggie May?

Thread The song tells of Stewart’s experience of losing his virginity to an older woman at the 1961 Beaulieu Jazz Festival, but her real name wasn’t Maggie May. Stewart later said he took that name from "an old Liverpudlian song about a prostitute."

In 1922, neighbours heard screams coming from a house in the affluent LA area of Layfette Park. When the police arrived, they found Fred Oesterreich dead & his wife Dolly locked inside in a closet. They were certain Dolly had done it, but they had no idea how.

Thread Dolly & Fred were both German immigrants. Fred had done well & owned a successful textiles company in Milwaukee. D&F married young (17 & 20), but, alas, it was not a happy marriage. At least not for Dolly, who had numerous affairs & was not too subtle about it either.

Ok! I have been tagged in this post a few times with the question, “what the actual hell is going on here?” I shall do my best to answer.

Thread

https://twitter.com/WeirdMedieval/status/1566022620604239872

This image of the cat is only part of a much larger image, seen here. It’s part of the Rijksmuseum collect & dates to 1555. We don’t know who did this but there are theories as to why they did it. You can read the museum entry for it here rijksmuseum.nl/nl/collectie/R…

Before antibiotics were STIs were treated by flushing out the bladder & genitals with antiseptics. This is how men were treated for VD during WW1. Below are some VERY graphic images from “Gonorrhea in the male - a practical guide to its treatment” by AL Wolbarst, (1911) VD was a huge problem to all sides fighting in WW1. This treatment would need to be carried out every day for a couple of weeks. This meant the patient was unable to fight. Aside from flu & battle casualties, VD was the biggest cause of lost man power

Ok. Ask and you shall receive. You wanted to know more about Julie d'Aubigny (1670/73–1707). Well, here you go.

Thread.

https://twitter.com/sassy_blake42/status/1556863310154416128

Before we begin, we must acknowledge that teasing out fact from fiction is really tricky. A primary source, for example, is Dictionnaire des théâtres de Paris written 60ys after she died. It makes a lot of claims, but they can’t be found anywhere else.

Remember this one? "Lily the Pink" (1968) by the UK comedy group The Scaffold. This song went to n.1 in the charts & stayed there for 4 weeks. It tells the story of Lily the Pink & her amazing ‘medicinal compound’ that cures all your ills. But just who was Lily the Pink? Thread Lily the Pink is based on the American businesswoman Lydia Pinkham (1819-83) who did indeed invent a medicinal, or vegetable, compound in 1875. Pinkham’s compound was sold as a ‘woman’s tonic’ & was marketed as a cure for menstrual & menopausal symptoms.

I saw this @channel5_tv doc on the victims of Jack the Ripper, called 5 Victims, & assumed it must be hosted by / based on / attributed to @HallieRubenhold who wrote THE FIVE about the victims of JtR. Only it’s not. But this is Hallie’s work. So why the hell isn’t she credited? This is Hallie’s book! It’s her intellectual property. It’s even pretty close to the title of her work! So why isn’t she credited??

Following the Battle of Shiloh of 1862, during the American Civil War, soldiers & medics reported that the men’s wounds glowed in the dark. This is how the mystery of the Angel’s Glow was finally solved.

Thread One of the bloodiest battles in the American civil war was the Battle of Shiloh in 1862, which took place in southwestern Tennessee. It was a truly gruesome battle, with both sides sustaining heavy losses. It left some 23,000 dead or horribly wounded.

Pennyroyal has been used as an abortifacient since the ancient world. It also has been used in love potions, & as a symbol of illicit sexuality. Pennyroyal pills like these were sold in the 19th century to cure “menstrual blockages”, a coded phrase for inducing miscarriage I hate that I now have to put this warning on a tweet like this, but Pennyroyal is extremely toxic and dangerous to health. Please do not consume this.

This is Iris, Messagère des dieux (Iris, Messenger of the Gods), also known as Flying Figure, or Eternal Tunnel, by the French sculptor, Rodin (1840-1917). Here is how she came to be.

Thread In Greek mythology, Iris is the goddess of the rainbow & messenger of the gods. Her name translates to both rainbow & messenger. Rodin cast his Iris some time between 1902 and 1905. Only 7 bronzes were made from the cast during Rodin’s lifetime.

The famous Bayeux tapestry depicts events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. It also shows 93 penises. There are 88 horse penises and 5 human penises. Horse penis

Italian postcard, c.1903. “Fico” is Italian for fig & the feminine “fica” is crude slang for the vulva, akin to ‘Cunt’. This postcard is a Indovinello Doppio (a Riddle). It reads...

(Thread) “I am not really a forbidden fruit but my sister is often forbidden. Perhaps because she has a more delicious flavour although she may not have such pretty features. If you eat me, good appetite to you!”