Isometric sketch of a sauna stove made by master builder Heinrich Schickhardt in connection with the construction of a sauna in Stuttgart in 1616. Above the arches (A) there is space for the stone packing, on which water can be poured from the bathroom onto the stones through the openings (B). However, this stove is without the characteristic half-walls along the side walls, which are found in southern German saunas and in Næstved. After Tuchen 2003, p. 311
academia.edu/9791712/Badstu… Yes I'm doing some random research and this is now a thread of what I find.

Nordic bathhouse, 1555.
Oven in middle, vat with water next to it, pipe bring the water to a basin, chap rinsing twigs for a thrashing, chap drinking from horn while enjoying cupping therapy.

Just so you know, if you see this guy in a video, the odds are high that you're about to be told something iffy.
Dr. Roy Casagranda is all over social media but his research abilities leave a little to be desired.
In short: street sewers were mostly for rain & other liquids, generally not serious icky waste.
They generally didn't throw their human waste out of the windows.
They made sure to keep their wells and water sources as free from pollution as they could.
Cholera wasn't a huge problem in Europe till the 19th century.
They drank lots of water, drank beer because it's more nutritious, tastier & more fun.
The alcohol level was very very low, so they weren't drunk all the time.
Medieval people washed, bathed, used soap, did laundry and tried to smell nice because they were terrified of bad smells.
They wore linen under their woollen clothing so they weren't always itching, also some wool was quite fine and smooth.
fakehistoryhunter.net/2019/09/10/med… How about another one of his "lectures".
Yeah, no, again.
fakehistoryhunter.net/2021/12/03/coc…

Let's review another youtube video by The Infographics Show, yes that lot again... they have 14 million subscribers.
This one is called:
How Did Bubonic Plague (Black Death) Actually End?
It was seen by almost 5 million people...
Can you see the first error already? Yes, of course.
The plague doctor with the bird beak mask wasn't around during the Black Death.

Found another gem on the Dutch real estate website Funda, but it also made me angry because modern people have done modern stuff to it and somehow that's not a reason to put them in jail apperantly.
Weird.
Anyway, MEDIEVAL house!
Sort of.
funda.nl/detail/koop/wo… So although altered many times, it originally was built in the 14th century.
What do you reckon, are those tiles old?
The ceiling is gorgeous but the decor and that weird glass wall... ew.

I was asked about this tweet, were these genuine 1970s-1980s adverts for what appears to be date-rape drugs?
Research thread time.

https://x.com/an_average_bear/status/1839318139928195298

I found several examples online but most of them mention no source, publication date or any other details that make the examples trustworthy, some claim to be from Penthouse.
They do appear genuine though.

One of the many things we think are weird/gross about the middle ages is the idea of people sharing their homes with animals, especially cattle.
But is this true?
Did they really have cows & sheep walking around their living room?
Let's research.
A thread. I regularly hear this being mentioned as just another bit of evidence of how dirty & backwards medieval people were and that it's no wonder they got all those diseases, were covered in filth all the time, etc.
Especially this image is often used, it's nice but is it accurate?

Yeah google, that's how it's done...
Yeah Musk, decent accuracy...
AHEM.

#vikingsdidnthavehornsontheirhelmets Just in case you need a reminder:

Let's look at an old painting together, see what we can learn from it.
This time a naughty one; a brothel scene from 1537 by the Brunswick Monogrammist, an anonymous Netherlandish painter.
Such an improper subject, so you better not check out this thread, look away now. A bit more about the artist:


We start with the birdcage by the door, the cage symbolises proper love, the bird a woman.
So a woman 'caged' by love is protected but a bird outside the cage is free.
This bird is locked, the door shut. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brunswick…

A few days ago I complained about a Guardian article using a bad photo from a film in an article about Joan Clarke, a Bletchley Park code breaker, but... something much worse might have happened...
I don't think this photo they used is of Joan... @TeaKayB pointed this out to me and I was stunned, surely not, that would be extraordinary sloppy.
So I looked into it, of course.

Game review!

I tried 'Aviators', a short game about the Polish air crews in the RAF during WW2.
A subject I care a lot about and I think deserves more attention.

Oh btw, the game is FREE on steam!
store.steampowered.com/app/2626910/Av…
Here's the trailer:

https://x.com/dev_Chronospace/status/1791064118268481830

Time to look at another photo album in my collection, a tiny one this time with one picture on each page, showing us the adventures of some Dutch girl scouts in the early 1930s. Croenssen ? Winter '32.
No idea what that means.

This Friday the game 'Manor Lord' is coming out, it's a medieval city builder that I've made a modest contribution to as a historical consultant and beta tester for.
I've been very excited about it for a long time and I'm not the only one, it's creating quite a buzz and has ended up on a lot of wishlists.
What I love about it most is that it tries to depict the middle ages in an accurate way, behind the scenes historians, experts & history addicts have been debating the tiniest details.
I think the result is one of the most historically accurate medieval games I've ever played.

#Manorlords So let's have a sneak peek at it shall we?

First, here's an official video:

Sigh.
An account with half a million followers just tweeted that long debunked 'life in the 1500s' nonsense, 2.2 million people have seen it.
So here we go again...

These phrases are much more recent:
wordorigins.org/big-list-entri…
Facts she says.

Thread of some of the countless fun illustrations in this amazing medieval copy of 'Romance of Alexander'.
Full book here:


We start with this naked chap with nuns in a wheelbarrow.
Don't ask me what it means. digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/ae9f6c…
Nuns & monks playing baseball?
Put everyone in a habit, that would make sports more interesting to watch.

Recently I spotted a little holiday photo album for sale, usually I'm not interested in them because such photos are generally a bit boring, but I spotted a tiny detail that told me the album was very interesting.
Yes, that V sign.
Let's check the album out together.

Photo 🧵! The album starts in Dresden, April 10th 1941.
Less then 4 years after the photo was taken this church would be a ruin.


The Dresden Zwinger, a palatial complex with gardens.
Also a ruin just a few years later.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dresden_C…
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwinger_%…

NEW MEDIEVAL LEGO SET!!
But is it historically accurate?
Let's take a closer look and be annoying about details, shall we? At fight sight it looks awesome and I want it and I want to play with it and feel 8 again.
Shuttup, I can do what I want, you're not my mum.

I love the buildings and the way they created thatch roofs.

But... what is that I see there in the corner?

I love old wallpaper sample books, they're quite the treasure trove for set designers, researchers, historians, etc.
So let's look at a few I recently bought, Belgian, 1930s.
It starts nice and calm but then... Nothing shocking here.
But yes, the first book is all textured paper, you can stroke it and it's lovely.

Well, I've seen 'Napoleon' and here's my review.
It's going to be a long one full of complaining about details and of course with tons of spoilers.
You've been warned.

🧵 As usual, I start with the trailer:

Portraits of French resistance fighters during the 2nd World War.
Taken by Izis Bidermanas, a Jewish photographer who had been tortured by the Nazis but set free by the resistance who he then joined.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Izis_Bide…

Su Nuraxi (Barumini) in winter.
A late Bronze Age Italian settlement with fortifications and a Nuraghe.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Su_Nuraxi…
Some details:

Here it finally is, my review of 'Kingdom Come Deliverance', some of you have been asking me to review this game for ages!

For some background, here is the wikipedia page;
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_C…
And here's the trailer;