#historysisco

Came across the show Journeys to the End of the World on @historyhit The episode The Lost Buddhas of Afghanistan talk about the Buddhas of Bamiyan that dated back to roughly 550-650 AD. Sadly these statues were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001.

The voyage taken by host and photojournalist David Adams @davidadamsfilms to get to the statues is amazing. If you can watch it, do so.

#JourneysToTheEndOfTheWorld #BuddhasOfBamiyan #LostBuddhasOfAfghanistan #Afghanistan #MiddleEasternHistory #BuddhistHistory #ReligiousHistory #Buddhism #History #Historia #Histoire #Geschichte #تاریخ #HistorySisco

https://www.instagram.com/p/CdUmB_oORiz/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Today’s #UrbanExploration post concerns the building known as the Piano Factory aka the Sohmer & Co. Piano factory building on Vernon Boulevard and 31st Avenue in Astoria, New York.

Built in 1866, the building was built in the Romanesque Revival style with a two sided clock tower corner and a copper trimmed mansard roof. 

The building was the home of the Sohmer & Co. Piano factory for over a decade. In 1982 the company moved its operations to Ivoryton, Connecticut. For the next couple of decades, the building’s ownership changed hands multiple times. In 2007 the building earned landmark status number 2172 courtesy of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. The building is now a residential building.

#UrbExNYC #SohmerAndCompany #SohmerAndCompanyPianoFactory #ThePianoFactory #ArchitecturalHistory #EngineeringHistory #NewYorkHistory #NYHistory #NYCHistory #AstoriaHistory #QueensHistory #AmericanHistory #USHistory #History #Historia #Histoire #Geschichte #HistorySisco

https://www.instagram.com/p/CdJTBlUun8u/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

I came across this documentary on @netflix and was immediately hooked with the following statement in the beginning:

“This is a true story about fake art. Names have not been changed to protect the innocent as some are not that innocent.”

This is going to be a fun watch.

#MadeYouLook #FakeArt #ArtHistory #20th Century Art #AmericanArt #ModernArt #History #Historia #Histoire #Geschichte #HistorySisco

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc8gvyquJFu/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

I’m watching some interesting history programming on @historyhit including the program Africa: Written Out of History which is hosted by Historian Luke Pepera @lukepepera

The program is very informative concerning slavery, history and eugenics. Especially in the attempts to scrub the effects and influence of Africans from the world record. I look forward to learning more of the work by Luke Pepera.

#Africa #AfricanHistory #Slavery #Eugenics #BritishHistory #BritishColonialHistory #History #Historia #Histoire #Geschichte #HistorySisco

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc6z-U5O0D-/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

My wife is on a deep binge watch of Little House of the Prairie. In one episode, Charles Ingalls (Michael Landon) goes to the post office to get his mail. In his mail he gets a mail order catalogue.

I say out loud “The toilet paper has arrived.” To which my wife answers “Been watching Shrek lately?” Now if you aren’t sure of the reference, in the opening to Shrek, he’s reading the fairy tale book to which he states “What a load of crap.” He rips off a few pages and when done he steps out of the outhouse. We are left with the idea that he wiped himself with the ripped pages. Now you might be thinking, what does this have to do with a mail order catalogue from Little House on the Prairie. Read on.

The Sears Roebuck and Co. Catalogue was popular in the U.S. during the late 19th century. In terms to its link with toilet paper? The article Toilet Paper – The History ‘Behind’ It by Steve Silberman from the Plumber.com dated August 1, 2015 states the following:

The material of choice among colonial America was corn cobs. When daily newspapers became commonplace in the 1700’s, paper became the material of choice (I guess that one could say that Gutenberg’s printing press caused the toilet paper revolution)…In the late 19th century, the Sears catalog became popular in rural America. People simply hung it up on a nail and had a free supply of 100’s of pages of absorbent, uncoated paper. Corn cobs were still holding as a strong second place contender, however. Use of the Sears catalog declined in the 1930’s due to the fact that they started printing on glossy, clay-coated paper. Many people complained to Sears about this glossy paper (Can you imagine writing a letter to Sears: Dear Sir, I want to register a complaint about your new glossy catalog paper. It is no longer soft and absorbent…)

So it would seem that once Charles was done perusing the catalogue, the book would be recycled as toilet paper or kindling for the fireplace.

Whatcha think. Agree? Disagree? Let me know.

#LittleHouseonthePrairie #SearsCatalogue #SearsRoebuckAndCompany #ToiletPaper #PersonalHygiene #AmericanHistory #USHistory #History #Historia #Histoire #Geschichte #HistorySisco

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc0m3bNuGnA/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Back to watching Raiders of the Lost Art on @curiositystream

This episode is about the Many Faces of Rembrandt. Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (July 15, 1606 - October 4, 1669) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman and a true master in his craft.

It is believed that he completed 80 self-portraits that reflected what he looked like throughout his life from youth to old age.

#Rembrandt #RembrandtVanRijn #RaidersoftheLostArt #DutchArt #DutchArtHistory #ArtHistory #DutchHistory #History #Historia #Histoire #Geschichte #HistorySisco

https://www.instagram.com/p/CcyMwMIOpXL/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Yesterday the subject of fake coffee came up at the bar. My friend @brooklyn_flag_guy spent some time in Germany and told me about a coffee substitute called Mukkefuck. The term raised some eyebrows and cause the 10-year old version of me to giggle. To find out more about what this is, I went to the Walled-in-Berlin website. Here is what I found out:

“Muckefuck is a non-coffee product intended to imitate coffee. Coffee substitutes are also often chosen by individuals who wish to avoid caffeine or are given to children. Ingredients used in coffee substitutes frequently include almonds, acorn, asparagus, barley, beechnut, beet root, carrot, chicory root, corn, soybeans, cottonseeds, dandelion root, figs, roasted garbanzo beans, okra seeds, persimmon seeds, potato peels, rye, sassafras pits, sweet potato or wheat bran.

Postum, an instant coffee substitute made from roasted wheat bran, wheat and molasses was popular in the United States during World War II when coffee was rationed. Caro and Pero made from roasted barley, malted barley, chicory and rye were popular in Germany for the same reasons. In addition to being a coffee substitute, the term Muckefuck is also used for very weak coffee, which is often referred to as Bluemchenkaffee (flower coffee). ”

The term derives from the French term “mocca faux” (false coffee.)

The Walled-In-Berlin website has a recipe to make your own Mukkefuck.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of coarsely ground bulgur
• 1 cup of coarsely ground corn meal
• ¼ cup molasses.

Process: Combine all ingredients and rub them between your palms until well mixed. Place the mixture on a cookie sheet and brown in a 250°F oven, gently stirring every 20 minutes. Do this until the mix has a rich, dark color. This will take a couple of hours.

Store the mixture in an airtight container. Pour 2 tablespoons of mixture per 1 cup of water into the filter paper of an electric coffee maker. Perk and voila! Your Muckefuck is done. Enjoy!

Its a very interesting product. But I think I’ll stick to my daily cuppa joe.

#Mukkefuck #MochaFaux #FalseCoffee #CoffeeSubstitute #CulinaryHistory #FoodHistory #GermanHistory #History #Historia #Histoire #Geschichte #HistorySisco https://www.instagram.com/p/CcncRjmuvbl/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

I came across an old school coal chute cover for a Bronx Building on 231st Street in the Wakefield section of the Bronx. What was this used for?

Before buildings were heated by gas and oil, coal was used for heating. The coal would be delivered to the building and dumped through to the basement (or the storage area) via the coal chute. The chute would be located on the side of the building.

#CoalChute #Coal #ArchitecturalHistory #EngineeringHistory #Bronx #TheBronx #BronxHistory #History #Historia #Histoire #Geschichte #HistorySisco (at Wakefield)

https://www.instagram.com/p/CcnY2P3uJqs/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Today’s #UrbanExploration post takes us to the Financial District to the building known as 1 Wall Street Court aka the Beaver Building aka the Cocoa Exchange aka to John Wick fans as The Continental Hotel.

The building was designed by Clinton and Russell in the Renaissance Revival style and was completed in 1904. Tenants included the The building served as the headquarters of the Munson Steamship Line Company from 1904 until 1921 and the New York Cocoa Exchange from 1931 to 1972.

The building became a NYC in 1995 by being recognized by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission and was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 2005. In 2006 it was converted to residential condominiums.

#1WallStreetCourt #BeaverBuilding #NewYorkCocoaExchange #JohnWick #TheContinentalHotel #ArchitecturalHistory #EngineeringHistory #NewYorkHistory #NYHistory #NYCHistory #AmericanHistory #USHistory #History #Historia #Histoire #Geschichte #HistorySisco (at 1 Wall Street Court)

https://www.instagram.com/p/CcZF1ncuGuS/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=