~openculture | Bookmarks (186)
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An Architectural Tour of Sagrada Família, Antoni Gaudí’s Audacious Cathedral That’s Been Under Construction for 142 Years
In less than a year and a half, the centenary of Antoni Gaudí’s death will be...
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An Animated Introduction to the Rosetta Stone, and How It Unlocked Our Understanding of Egyptian Hieroglyphs
In 1799, Napoleon’s army encountered a curious artifact in Egypt, a black stone that featured writing...
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An Introduction to the Astrolabe, the Medieval Smartphone
Image by Anders Sandberg, via Wikimedia Commons Asked to imagine the character of everyday life in...
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The Book of Colour Concepts: A New 800-Page Celebration of Color Theory, Including Works by Newton, Goethe, and Hilma af Klint
The Book of Colour Concepts will soon be published by Taschen in a multilingual edition, containing...
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The Founder of the Red Cross Creates a Diagram of the Apocalypse (1887)
History remembers Henry Dunant (1828–1910) for two things–being the co-founder of the Red Cross movement and...
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Coursera Offers $100 Off of Coursera Plus (Until March 31), Giving You Unlimited Access to Courses & Certificates
A heads up on a deal: Between now and March 31, 2024, Coursera is offering a...
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The 15 Greatest Documentaries of All Time: Explore Films by Werner Herzog, Errol Morris & More
There are two kinds of people in this world: those who recognize the phrase “corny dialogue...
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6,000 Years of History Visualized in a 23-Foot-Long Timeline of World History, Created in 1871
A beautiful early example of visualizing the flow of history, Sebastian C. Adams’ Synchronological Chart of Universal...
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Vincent Van Gogh’s Final Painting: Discover Tree Roots, the Last Creative Act of the Dutch Painter (1890)
The story of Vincent van Gogh’s life tends to be defined by his psychological condition and...
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Salvador Dalí’s Surreal Cutlery Set from 1957
In 1957, Salvador Dalí created a tableware set consisting of 1) a four-tooth fork with a...
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When François Truffaut Made a Film Adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 (1966)
The protagonist of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is a “fireman” tasked with incinerating what few books...
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How Engineers Straightened the Leaning Tower of Pisa
?si=WxyK2XAukThVTpa7 Construction on the Tower of Pisa first began in the year 1173. By 1178, the...
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Benedict Cumberbatch Reads Alexei Navalny’s Final Letter: “Victory Is Inevitable. We Must Not Give Up”
Above, actor Benedict Cumberbatch reads the final letter written by Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader...
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The Getty Makes Nearly 88,000 Art Images Free to Use However You Like
Since the J. Paul Getty Museum launched its Open Content program back in 2013, we’ve been...
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Behold Soviet Animations of Ray Bradbury Stories
Sergei Bondarchuk directed an 8‑hour film adaptation of War and Peace (1966–67), which ended up winning...
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How Humanity Got Hooked on Coffee: An Animated History
Few of us grow up drinking coffee, but once we start drinking it, even fewer of...
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Frank Herbert Explains the Origins of Dune (1969)
Dune: Part Two has been playing in theaters for less than a week, but that’s more...
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Almost 500 Etchings by Rembrandt Now Free Online, Courtesy of the Morgan Library & Museum
Seventeenth-century Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn may have more name recognition than nearly any other European...
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Hear Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” Performed in Classical Latin
By the early nineteen-nineties, at least in the United States, Latin instruction in schools wasn’t what...
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The Decimal Point Is 150 Years Older Than We Thought, Emerging in Renaissance Italy
Historians have long thought that the decimal point first came into use in 1593, when the...
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The Puzzle of Docudramas — Pretty Much Pop: A Culture Podcast #167
When we’ve already heard about someone’s personal scandal in the news, do we need to...
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The Most Beautiful Shots in Cinema History: Scenes from 100+ Films
If you’re an even mildly enthusiastic filmgoer, these two short compilations from The Solomon Society will...
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Keith Richards Performs “I’m Waiting For The Man”: A New Tribute to Lou Reed
“To me, Lou stood out. The real deal! Something important to American music and to ALL...
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How Jane Austen Changed Fiction Forever
Though Jane Austen hasn’t published a novel since 1817 — with her death that same year...