QUEEN VICTORIA ON FILM IN 1900

The Museum of Modern Art in New York City is the owner of 36 reels of film from Biograph film company from the earliest years of that medium.

Among the holdings is an extremely rare bit of moving footage of England's Queen Victoria shot in 1900 (she died in 1901) She is riding in a carriage and using a parasol against the sun.

The shot of the queen is very short, a few seconds. The video below is about 11 minutes. The Victoria footage shows up about three or four times and in between is an interesting overview of the early development of film.

There is more information at Mental Floss.

TOWER OF LONDON'S BABY RAVENS

A couple of weeks ago, four baby raven chicks were born at the Tower of London. The first baby ravens in 30 years.

The ravens' presence traditionally believed to protect The Crown and the tower; a superstition holds that "if the Tower of London ravens are lost or fly away, the Crown will fall and Britain with it.”

With that in mind in these perilous political times, thank goodness for these baby raven chicks.

YOU CAN NOW HAVE YOUR BODY COMPOSTED

Earlier this month, Washington state became the first in the United States to explicitly allow human remains to become compost.

”Washington’s new law, which takes effect in May 2020, will allow bodies to be placed in a receptacle, along with organic material like wood chips and straw, to help speed up the natural transition of human remains into soil. Farmers use a similar process to compost the bodies of livestock.”

Read more at The New York Times and elsewhere around the web.

THE BEE KEEPER OF PARIS

Remember when it was announced a few weeks ago that bees were kept on the roof of Notre Dame Cathedral and they survived the fire. There are more rooftop bees in Paris.

”Audric de Campeau is an urban beekeeper,” says the YouTube page, “who keeps hives on the rooftops of some of Paris’s most famous landmarks: the Musee d’Orsay, the Ecole Militaire, Cordon Bleu, and other iconic sites.

“Accompanied by his dog Filouche, de Campeau works tirelessly to keep his bees happy—and in return, reaps delicious local honey.”

WOMAN ARE HAPPIER WITHOUT CHILDREN OR SPOUSE

With an alert from TGB reader Mary Symmes and according to The Guardian, a new study says women are happier without a husband and children:

”Speaking at the Hay festival on Saturday, Paul Dolan, a professor of behavioural science at the London School of Economics, said the latest evidence showed that the traditional markers used to measure success did not correlate with happiness – particularly marriage and raising children.

“'Married people are happier than other population subgroups, but only when their spouse is in the room when they’re asked how happy they are. When the spouse is not present: fucking miserable,' he said.

There is more detail at The Guardian.

COMPUTER FOILS CAT

This short, short video is really funny. I'm betting you'll watch it more than once. The cat's trying to scratch but his foot is separated by the computer screen.

MEDIEVAL POINTY SHOES – WHY?

As Atlas Obscura explains:

Vanity of the rich. ”In 1463, London outlawed the shoes of its fanciest men. These dapper lords had grown ridiculous in their dapperness, and had taken to ambling streets shod in long, carrot-shaped shoes that tapered to impish tips, some as long as five inches beyond the toe.

“These shoes were called 'crakows' or 'poulaines' (a term also used to refer to the tips alone), and the court of King Edward IV eventually found them offensive enough to pass a sumptuary law prohibiting shoe tips that extended over two inches beyond the toe.”

There are more pictures and information of the pointy-shoe fad at Atlas Obscura.

FROM WASTELAND TO RESTORATION

From the YouTube page:

”Almost 50 years ago, fried chicken tycoon David Bamberger used his fortune to purchase 5,500 acres of overgrazed land in the Texas Hill Country. Planting grasses to soak in rains and fill hillside aquifers, Bamberger devoted the rest of his life to restoring the degraded landscape.

“Today, the land has been restored to its original habitat and boasts enormous biodiversity. Bamberger's model of land stewardship is now being replicated across the region and he is considered to be a visionary in land management and water conservation.”

Take a look. It's beautiful.

VIDEO DOORBELLS AND THE LOCAL CRITTERS

Video doorbells, the TV commercials say, help keep us safe from home predators. Apparently, they also attract the local animal population. (Dear god - I had no idea a bear could open a car door as easily as you or me.)

Interesting Stuff is a weekly listing of short takes and links to web items that have caught my attention; some related to aging and some not, some useful and others just for fun.

You are all encouraged to submit items for inclusion. Just click “Contact” at the top of any Time Goes By page to send them. I'm sorry that I won't have time to acknowledge receipt and there is no guarantee of publication. But when I do include them, you will be credited and I will link to your blog.