When we think of the history of Australia we often only think of convicts like rapists and murderers from England being banished to the faraway colonies. Did you know that only a very small percentage of the convicts were murderers? The large majority was made up of poor citizens trying to survive by pickpocketing, forgery…
Horrifying & Historic London | 5 tips for an eerie visit to England’s capital
We all know the English capital; the Tower Bridge, the gigantic London Eye, the iconic Houses of Parliament and of course the humble home of the Queen, Buckingham Palace. The city has an incredibly rich history, and contrary to its lovely atmosphere today has also known a dark past. If you were able to time-travel…
Creepy babies, wooden tampons and honourable pirates
There are many things that happened in history that often make us wonder. In Peculiar Pasts I make it my mission to find out the answers to peculiar questions about history. Ranging from random historical oddities to explaining century-old phenomena; after reading these, you’ll definitely have some quirky facts to talk about next time you’re…
William Turner & Romanticism
The forces of nature, unknown territories, a pinch of melancholy and the infinite imagination of the human spirit: these words might just sum up the essence of Romanticism, an important movement in the field of art (but also literature and music) that originated in Europe at the end of the 18th century. William Turner, the…
Conspiracy theories about William Shakespeare
Wiliam Shakespeare: the poet, the actor, the playwright; possibly the greatest writer in the history of the English language. Once during a lecture about language and communication, a professor at the Erasmus University talked about the many different ways Shakespeare’s name has been spelled, even by the man himself. From Shackspeare to Shaksper, consistency has…