Recursive art
The Droste effect describes art that contains itself. The name comes from a brand of Dutch cocoa – the label contained a picture of the tin and the label (which contained a picture of the tin) – but the effect dates back much further.
Category: Religion & belief
Ghost money
In Chinese ancestor worship, it is traditional to burn offerings that look like bank notes and other goods in order to give the deceased spending money and wealth in the afterlife.
The mayor and the lion
John Gayer, a 17th century Lord Mayor of London, had a close encounter with a lion while working in Syria. He prayed, the lion left, and he gratefully endowed a sermon to be given every year thereafter.
Best, middle, centred, balanced
The Arabic word Wasat (or Wasatiyyah) refers to the Islamic concept of moderation, described as “best, middle, centred, balanced.” The concept is described in multiple passages in the Quran and Ḥadīth.
The Skeleton Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant church modelled on pseudo-military lines. It was founded in Victorian London and often protested about the evils of alcohol. And another army arose to fight them.
Jazz harp
When most people think of jazz they don’t think of the harp. But in the 1960s and 70s Alice Coltrane recorded two dozen albums of jazz with the harp in a central role.
The monks’ elixir
According to tradition, a military marshal in the court of Henry IV of France presented some Carthusian monks with an alchemical manuscript for an elixir of long life. You can still buy the resulting concoction today.
Illustrated book of demons
Jacques Collin de Plancy’s 1818 book Dictionnaire Infernal contained a list of demons, part of a long tradition of grimoires and demonology texts. What made it stand out were the illustrations.
The Dead Sea treasure map
One of the Dead Sea Scrolls is a treasure map.
Jesus’ junk
Traditionally, the bodily remains of saints are venerated as relics. But Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, which means no bodily remains… er, remain. Except for one.
The Generalist Academy 