ahaha omg I’m so glad the idea of someone screaming at people to avoid stepping into faerie rings made you think of me. It does definitely sound like a post I would have made, but I can’t remember if I actually… have made it? Probably.
@vimyvickers linked me to The Worst Object in the British National Maritime Museum’s collection, so I have to now share the pain.
friendly reminder that this exists and is in a museum
It’s relevant, though – lead poisoning from the tinned meat is supposed to have contributed to the disastrously failed expedition:
“The chemical evidence of lead poisoning is almost certainly due to the soldering of the cans that contained the preserved meats. The technology for preparing canned meat was new, having been patented in 1811, and the cans were sealed with a solder of tin and a high lead content. Contaminating the meat immediately adjacent, this solder was the probable cause of the high lead levels found in the bones and hair of the crew. This would have led to anorexia, fatigue and weakness from peripheral neuritis, intestinal colic and psychological manifestations such as anxiety and paranoia. Another suggestion (Martin S, personal communication) is that the poor quality of the canning could have led to botulism.“
I am aware of the context of this object! But it remains a 173 year old chunk of meat, that the museum charmingly describes as “flesh,” proudly mounted to a mahogany plaque. Part of the strange humor of it is due to the historical relevance- the only reason the museum has kept and glorified this particular very very old pork (or possibly beef- the National Maritime Museum does not specify the exact origin of the meat) is its connection to an expedition whose enduring fame comes largely from its tragedy. The world is so enduringly fascinated by this spectacularly unsuccessful expedition that we are willing to extend that fascination to a nearly two century old chunk of meat, and there is something inescapably funny about that.
holy shit I think I nearly just broke a rib trying not to laugh out loud and wake my housemates. thank you so much for telling me this, your dream version of me is scarily accurate.
I Love My Sickle but I do want something with a longer handle…. .… . Fer’s dad got her a machete when he visited and i’m jealous
GET A SCYTHE. Pip. pip a scythe would be the MOST on-brand farm implement you could possibly acquire.
i was looking into this just the other day! i found this video really interesting (although i don’t think the kid should be in the background playing with one tbh): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JD8xZvFRWgk
in the end i’m not sure how much manual weeding is going to be a “thing” since I’ve found a manual push reel mower more challenging than i expected. but yeah. lawn care is an interest right now (if only because i have so much catching up to do!)
cutting weeds/grass with a blade is way easier than a push mower imo! those things are a pain. If you want something longer-handled that requires less leaning over, you might try a grass whip, which is what I used today to cut our lawn! they’re really fun and made me want to get a real scythe
today I learned that arctic hares have been known to occasionally feed on carrion
…every time I learn that an animal I had previously assumed to be an herbivore is not strictly so I’m unsettled all over again. you’d think I’d expect it by now.
yup, and deer, and giraffes (who gnaw on bones for the calcium, the weirdos)! I have now come to expect it of ungulates, in general, but to learn that lagomorphs are also sometimes meat-eating freaks was a heavy blow, I tell you.
aww thank you! I love her description so much, it’s so rare to see the ‘’’’’’love interest’’’’’’ of the male protag described in such a way as makes clear that she is not conventionally attractive. And tbh I just love drawing fun noses. noses are great, the stronger the better.
My Deepest Darkest Secret is that I’m a time-traveling artists’ model. I visited 1860s to pose for Rossetti, got offended when he hit on me in a really creepy way (by comparing me to his dead wife), stole his wombat, and returned to the 21st century, leaving behind only his portraits of me… which were fortunately indistinguishable from his portraits of Fanny Cornforth.
A Pretty Taste for Paradox 
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