Brutkey

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George Orwell called for a new way of thinking about science

In October 1945, George Orwell responded to a letter from Mr J. Stewart Cook in the leftwing weekly newspaper Tribune calling for more science education.

By Robert Colls

https://theconversation.com/george-orwell-called-for-a-new-way-of-thinking-about-science-274447

Science education at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=science+%2Beducation

#books #education #science

Picture of George Orwell which appears in an old accreditation for the Branch of the National Union of Journalists (BNUJ). The black and white portrait shows Orwell with his characteristic thin mustache, intense gaze, and slightly disheveled dark hair, likely taken during his years as a journalist and writer in the 1940s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Orwell#/media/File:George_Orwell_press_photo.jpg
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More Peanuts, Fewer Peanut Allergies | Encyclopaedia Britannica

Research shows that early introduction to allergens, like peanuts, may help reduce allergies.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/KLmr4MdE3K4

#science #food

Peanuts in the shell.
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Garden muse

Renaissance man and polymath Leonardo da Vinci was deeply interested in botany; many of his better-known works include signs of his careful examination of plants.

Top 10 Leonardo Drawings in the Royal Collection:
https://www.rct.uk/collection/stories/leonardo-in-the-royal-collection/top-10-leonardo-drawings-in-the-royal-collection?utm_source=Knowable+Magazine&utm_campaign=c402de6df9-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2026_01_27_08_48&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_150f6a5cbe-c402de6df9-546465172

Da Vinci at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/1629

#books #botany

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) A star-of-Bethlehem, woode anemone and spurge c.1506-12 The focus of this drawing is a clump of star-of-Bethlehem (Ornithogalum umbellatum L.), whose swirling leaves are seen in the studies for the kneeling Leda and in most copies of the painting, where it softens the edge of the rock on which the swan stands (the same device is seen by the infant Baptist’s legs in the St Anne cartoon, of a similar date). Flanking the star-of-Bethlehem is wood anemone (Anemone nemorosa L.), and below is sun spurge (Euphorbia helioscopia L.) with details of its seedheads. Although the star-of-Bethlehem is somewhat stylised, the blades of grass growing untidily among and behind the anemones suggest that Leonardo observed these plants in the wild. Melzi's number 130. Provenance Bequeathed to Francesco Melzi; from whose heirs purchased by Pompeo Leoni, c.1582-90; Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel, by 1630; probably acquired by Charles II; Royal Collection by 1690 https://col.rct.uk/sites/default/files/collection-online/4/f/755905-1526312430.jpg?_ga=2.13689712.670852902.1770025817-1950293379.1770025817
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Jack Kerouac’s 37 metre-long, first draft scroll of On the Road to be auctioned

The draft – one of the Beat Generation’s defining artefacts – will be part of a wider sale of pieces from the Jim Irsay Collection at Christie’s in March

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/jan/30/jack-kerouac-on-the-road-first-draft-scroll-to-be-auctioned

Naval Reserve Enlistment photograph of Jack Kerouac

#books #literature

Naval Reserve Enlistment photograph of Jack Kerouac.- picryl.com. He standing in front of a height chart. (He is 5'9".) At the bottom of the photo is his enlistment number.
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The Explorer Who Faked His Way Through the Hajj

Englishman Richard Burton wore several disguises, ranging from merchant to doctor to pilgrim in the holy city of Mecca.

By Kayla Johnson

https://daily.jstor.org/the-explorer-who-faked-his-way-through-the-hajj/?utm_source=mcae&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=jstordaily_01302026

Richard Burton at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/898

#books #literature #history

Portrait of Captain Richard Burton, British explorer, army officer, orientalist writer and scholar, c. 1863, by Ernest Edwards, from vintage albumen print in the publication Portraits of Men of Eminence in Literature, Science, and Art, with Biographical Memoirs, Edwards, Ernest, and Lovell Reeve, State Library of New South Wales, DSM/920.042/P Burton is dressed in Middle Eastern/Ottoman attire: Fez or tarbush (traditional cap) Flowing robes and kaftan Sash around the waist Dagger visible at his waist Oriental setting: Seated on cushions with draped fabric and tent-like backdrop His characteristic intense gaze and prominent mustache A pose suggesting his famous ability to "pass" as a native in various cultures https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Edwards_Richard_Burton_1864_slnsw.jpg/960px-Edwards_Richard_Burton_1864_slnsw.jpg
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How an Enslaved Gardener Transformed the Pecan Into a Cash Crop

Beronda L. Montgomery on the Unsung Contributions of Black and Indigenous People to American Biology

https://lithub.com/how-an-enslaved-gardener-transformed-the-pecan-into-a-cash-crop/?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=campaign&utm_id=01KFTZBCW42TQ28MP0BQPX2FQJ&_kx=3MZUehzXM-41qlWAMPUiuNZadX2p0SByuNf_t0eMLB0.U5D8ER

Botanics at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/bookshelf/115

#books #botanics #biology

Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh.) K.Koch. Multiple leaflets arranged along a central rachis (stem) showing some characteristics Serrated (toothed) margins Lanceolate to oblong shape Prominent venation preserved in the pressing Typical arrangement of 9-13 leaflets on this specimen The brown color is normal for aged herbarium specimens https://www.botanicalcollections.be/#/en/specimen/BR0000024493932
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Xerox and Roll: The Corporate Machine and the Making of Punk

On the 85th anniversary of the first xerographic print, a collection of punk flyers from Cornell University provides an object lesson on (anti-)art in the age of mechanical reproduction.

By: Alex Houston

https://daily.jstor.org/xerox-and-roll-the-corporate-machine-and-the-making-of-punk/

Engineering & Technology at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/bookshelf/671

#art #technology

The Xerox Model D copier, introduced in 1951. The photograph shows: The Xerox Processor Model D machine with its distinctive labeling "REPLACE PLATES HERE" instruction visible at the top The machine's simple, boxy design characteristic of early 1950s office equipment An explanatory placard below describing the machine's history and function https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/oh1541.photos.126771p
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Forgotten, priceless medieval book found in school library

The hermit and mystic Richard Rolles was basically a bestselling author in the Middle Ages.

by Andrew Paul

https://www.popsci.com/science/medieval-book-found-school-library/

Richard Rolle at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/25856

#books #science #archeology

Cover image of the book English prose treatises of Richard Rolle de Hampole :(who died A. D. 1349). https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/en/view/bsb10748408?page=1
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The Alfred Jewel: A 1,100-year-old treasure from England's first king that proclaims 'Alfred ordered me to be made'

https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/the-alfred-jewel-a-1-100-year-old-treasure-from-englands-first-king-that-proclaims-alfred-ordered-me-to-be-made

"The Alfred Jewel: An Historical Essay" at PG:

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/59372

#art #history

The front, enamel and back of the Alfred Jewel. "The jewel measures 2.4 by 1.2 inches (6.2 by 3.1 centimeters). Its design consists of dozens of small cells filled with colorful enamel paste and accented by thin strips of gold. It depicts a person from the mid-thighs up. The Old English inscription in capital letters around the edge of the jewel's bezel connects it to Alfred the Great." - from article "At the base of the jewel, in what looks like the mouth of a dragon or snake, experts have noticed a cylindrical socket. This was likely where the pointer itself was once connected." - from article
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Robert Burns and Mary, Queen of Scots: how the poet shaped the enduring cultural legacy of the executed monarch

The queen was the source of much debate among 18th-century thinkers.

by Kate Kane

https://theconversation.com/robert-burns-and-mary-queen-of-scots-how-the-poet-shaped-the-enduring-cultural-legacy-of-the-executed-monarch-273950?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=The%20Weekender%20-%203653437321&utm_content=The%20Weekender%20-%203653437321+CID_43c6452557555cbd4df21443bb065cc9&utm_source=campaign_monitor_uk

Robert Burns at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/583

#books #literature #poetry

Portrait of Burns by Alexander Nasmyth, 1787, Scottish National Portrait Gallery. This half-length portrait of Burns, framed within an oval, has become the most well-known and widely reproduced image of the famous Scottish poet. Nasmyth's painting, commissioned by the publisher William Creech, was to be engraved for a new edition of Burn's poems. He is shown fashionably dressed against a landscape, evoking his rural background in Alloway, Ayrshire. Burns and Nasmyth had become good friends, having been introduced to one another in Edinburgh by a mutual patron, Patrick Miller of Dalswinton. Nasmyth, pleased to have recorded Burns' likeness convincingly, decided to leave the painting in a slightly unfinished state. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Burns#/media/File:PG_1063Burns_Naysmith.jpg François Clouet - Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-87) Mary wears a pink gown decorated with vertical gold striping and small jeweled embellishments. The bodice is tightly fitted and fastened down the center with a line of pearls or gemstone buttons. A crisp white ruff collar frames her neck. Her sleeves are full and carefully tailored. Her hair is light brown and drawn back smoothly, partially covered by a jeweled headband adorned with pearls. She wears modest jewelry, including a pearl necklace, small earrings, and a ring. Her hands are delicately posed at her waist, fingers gently touching. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary,_Queen_of_Scots#/media/File:Fran%C3%A7ois_Clouet_-_Mary,_Queen_of_Scots_(1542-87)_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg