The posture, garb, and idea of the Statue of Liberty was based off the Colossus of Rhodes (a statue of Helios that is widely considered as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World). The statue was made around BC 285, and was 107 feet high.
The sketches and illustrations of the statue are really badass.
In many of the depictions, in order to enter the city, you have to go under the spread legs of the statue and look up at a giant perineum.
Priapus was a minor fertility god in Greek mythology. He was well known for having a permanent erection. In this picture, he is casually weighing a bag of gold against his penis.
I don’t really need to say anything else.
The first U.S. President ever to be photographed was John Quincy Adams. Although he wasn’t actually President at the time.
I bet he was President by the time the old-timey camera finished taking the picture.
Stendhal Syndrome is an illness where the affected individual feels confused or light-headed to the point of fainting or even hallucinating upon seeing beautiful artwork. The syndrome is named after a French author Henri-Marie Beyle, who used Stendhal as a pseudonym. He apparently witnessed the phenomenon when he was visiting Italian art museums. Judging by the portrait of Stendhal, I doubt he caused any fainting. In fact, if Stendhal did feel light-headed, it’s probably because his giant noggin was being supported by that atrocious chinstrap.
I’m sorry for tearing into Stendhal so much. I have nothing against him. I’m just jealous that I don’t have a syndrome named after me.
In the United States, the AWWA and the NFPA recommend painting the top of fire hydrants different colors depending on the available flow of water. I did not look up what those acronyms stand for, but I trust them. Anyway, from strongest water flow to weakest, the colors go from light blue, green, orange, and red. If you live in a neighborhood with a fire hydrant that has a light blue bonnet, congrats! You are a badass!
In Middle English, the word pygg referred to a type of clay used in pottery. People often kept their money in jars made out of this clay. They were called “pygg jars.” Eventually this evolved into “pig bank,” and finally “piggy bank.” I remember seeing in cartoons people breaking their piggy banks open with a hammer to get the money. I always questioned the thinking behind that decision—-you’re going to spend all your money buying a new piggy bank. A vicious, irrational cycle.
The first Olympics were the 1896 Summer Games in Athens, Greece. The event was organized by Pierre de Coubertin, a French aristocrat and historian. I found this interesting and hilarious: Hungarian Alfred Hajos was the first Olympic champion in swimming, AND he later became the first of two Olympians to win a medal in both athletic and artistic competition. Yes, Hajos won the silver medal in architecture in 1924. I kid you not. Between 1912 and 1948, there were sport-inspired art competitions in five categories: architecture, literature, music, painting, and sculpture. Luckily the art contests were abandoned before the Olympics were widely televised because we wouldn’t have TiVo to fast-forward through 75 hours of a guy writing a book.
Boulevard du Temple taken by Louis Daguerre in 1838 is the first photograph of a person. If you look closely, you can see a man standing on the street corner in the bottom left quadrant of the image. Because the exposure time was 10 minutes, the traffic was moving too quickly to appear on film, while the man was standing still getting his shoes shined long enough to make history. I am a firm supporter of “seeing is believing.” Therefore, I believe that this man is not only the first on camera, but also the first human being ever.
Lisa Gherardini has one of the most recognizable faces in the world. In the 16th century, her husband hired some schmo named Leonardo da Vinci to paint a portrait of her (he better have got some good Renaissance-style lovin’ for this romantic gift). Not much is known about Lisa Gherardini (also known as Lisa del Giocondo), but most history indicates she lived a pretty normal, middle-class life with her aging husband and six children. In 1911, Mona Lisa was stolen from the walls of the Louvre by one of the museum’s employees, Vincenzo Peruggia. Peruggia was a hardcore Italian patriot, and believed the painting belonged in Italy. One Sunday, he swiped the painting, hid it in his little artist’s smock, and walked out. For two years Mona Lisa rested in a trunk in Peruggia’s apartment (chick magnet). He finally tried to sell it to an Italian museum and was quickly busted. In Italy, he was regarded as a sort of patriotic hero, and only received a few months in jail. Later, he served in the Italian army during World War I. After that, he got hitched, and went back to France and opened up a paint store. What!? So, the man who fought for Italy in WWI, stole one of France’s most prized icons in the name of Italian nationalism and pretty much got out of it without any punishment, decides to open up a paint store in France? Clearly, Mr. Peruggia’s testicles were enormous. Much bigger than his brain.
