M.J. Rose

We think an entire novel could be written around such an intriguing object!

Thou’rt poisoned with that book

from the delightful blog: Shakespeare’s England: Everyday Life In Seventeenth Century England

“I wanted to share this fascinating object which I stumbled upon on Friday. It is a bible dating to 1600 which contains a secret arsenal of poison. Given its nature, one might assume it was used by travelling assassins, or kept hidden in the library of a large house to dispatch unwanted guests. It was for auction at the Hermann Historica auction house in Germany, and is described, in translation, as follows:

Original book cover in 1600 with finely embossed parchment-related covers. Close book intact, the pages glued to a solid block, and cut out rectangular. Inside, finely crafted device with eleven different sized drawers and an open compartment. The individual drawers with colored paper glued on, the front frame and knobs flame strips of silver and ebonised wood. Handwritten paper labels with the Latin names for various poisonous plants…”

Click here to visit the original post at Shakespeare’s England, Everyday Life In Seventeenth Century England. (Several more beautiful photos of this object are to be found.)

A version of Dante’s hellish vision, captured on camera in all its morbid beauty…

(Images: Nick Brandt)

Deadly lake turns animals into statues

by Rowan Hooper

“ACCORDING to Dante, the Styx is not just a river but a vast, deathly swamp filling the entire fifth circle of hell. Perhaps the staff of New Scientist will see it when our time comes but, until then, Lake Natron in northern Tanzania does a pretty good job of illustrating Dante’s vision.

Unless you are an alkaline tilapia (Alcolapia alcalica) – an extremophile fish adapted to the harsh conditions – it is not the best place to live. Temperatures in the lake can reach 60 °C, and its alkalinity is between pH 9 and pH 10.5.

The lake takes its name from natron, a naturally occurring compound made mainly of sodium carbonate, with a bit of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) thrown in. Here, this has come from volcanic ash, accumulated from the Great Rift valley. Animals that become immersed in the water die and are calcified…”

For the rest click here.

A decades long meditation so deep that you are mistaken for dead. The word for this state of being is “tukdam”.

Images of Rip Van Winkle come to mind…

Monk in Mongolia ‘not dead’, say Buddhists
The monk was found wrapped in traditional Buddhist robes

“A mummified monk found preserved in Mongolia last week has been baffling and astounding those who uncovered him.

Senior Buddhists say the monk, found sitting in the lotus position, is in a deep meditative trance and not dead.

Forensic examinations are under way on the remains, found wrapped in cattle skins in north-central Mongolia.

Scientists have yet to determine how the monk is so well preserved, though some think Mongolia’s cold weather could be the reason.

But Dr Barry Kerzin, a physician to Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, told the Siberian Times that the monk was in a rare state of meditation called “tukdam”…”

For the rest, click here.

On the same note, here is a story about a Hindu guru who may or may not be dead.