Okay, so like over a thousand years ago B.C. there was this Egyptian sun god named Ra, and he was pretty powerful. You’ve probably heard of him.
There was also a god named Apep or Apophis or something. He was a snake, the god of the underworld in charge of the forces of chaos and evil. The sun god had had enough of Apep‘s assholery and decided to take him out. Ra heard that Apep liked hanging out around a certain sacred sycamore tree.
Ra thought about it for a while, and instead of burning Apep to cinders with his sun god eyes, he decided to turn himself into a cat with a beard and a knife, find the sacred sycamore tree, and kill him. (He forgot that cats don’t have hands, but he ignored that part.)
Apparently Ra cut Apep pretty good, but he didn’t kill him, so he dropped the cat costume, went back to being the sun god and pretended it never happened. I think he was embarrassed.
Under a sacred sycamore the sun god Ra, in the form of a cat, slays the snake Apep (or Apophis), god of the underworld and symbol of the forces of chaos and evil. Detail of a wall painting from the tomb of Inherkhau (TT359).
New Kingdom, 20th Dynasty, ca. 1189-1077 BC. Deir el-Medina, West Thebes.
The Rumjacks‘ “An Irish Pub Song” is “a piss take at the explosion of Irish Pubs in Australia and the bastardisation of a culture.”
From the lyrics posted on the Utoobage:
There’s a county map to go on the wall,
A hurling stick & a shinty ball,
The bric, the brac, the craic & all,
Lets call it an Irish pub.
Caffreys, Harp, Kilkenny on tap, The Guinness pie & that cabbage crap, The ideal wannabee Paddy trap, We’ll call it an Irish pub.
Universal Basic Income: Finland’s experiment (to reduce their 9% unemployment rate by handing out free money) lasted a little over one year. [h/t rightymouse]
She was only 10 years old when that photo was taken, 13 when it was hand-tinted. She was a professional postcard model known as Mary, Jane, or Semolina. Not sure of any of this, but the pic is cool.
No idea how this works, how to steer, how to brake, but it was touted as a safety bicycle for people unable to handle a penny farthing. I’m guessing that if you came to a quick stop, you’d be either thrown face-first onto the pavement, or you’d rock back and forth until your lunch suddenly appeared on your lap. Once you started pedaling, the same rocking thing would happen again with the same result, only messier.
Top 10 GDP By Country 1960-2017 is an interesting graph animation. Russia fell off the map in 1993 and didn’t make the Top 10 for 20 years. China made the list in 1993, and look what they’ve accomplished since then. [Found via here].
“Baby It’s Cold Outside” is a pretty and innocent classic song about flirting, nothing more (despite what the SJWs would have you believe).
Fun Facts To Know And Tell: The USS California, christened in 1908, was sunk in 1918 by a German U-Boat. The USS San Diego, christened in 1914, was sunk in 1918 by the same U-Boat… yet the United States lost only one ship during WWI. Amazing that only six lives were lost. The latest story (with photos and sonar imaging) is here.
