A study by literature scholar and archivist Jolie Braun, drawing on three memoirs, examines women who sold books door-to-door across the rural US in the late 1800s, before public libraries were widespread. These agents took orders from sample copies and later delivered Bibles, manuals, biographies and fiction, including works by Ulysses S. Grant and Mark Twain, some of which sold hundreds of thousands of copies via subscription publishing. One bookseller, Annie Nelles Dumond, wrote in 1868 about entering the trade after being abandoned by two husbands, and about wearing a mourning bonnet to conceal her past while working across Illinois and Indiana.
daily.jstor.org
· 2026-09-21
The Public Domain Review has republished a piece on Dr. Julius Neubronner, a German apothecary who patented a miniature camera harness for carrier pigeons in the early 20th century. The device automatically snapped aerial photographs as the birds flew, producing some of the earliest examples of aerial photography.
publicdomainreview.org
· 2026-09-15
Montech's Century II Gold 850W is an ATX 3.1/PCIe 5.1 power supply built on an XWY half-bridge LLC platform, offering Cybenetics ETA Platinum efficiency at both 115V and 230V. It ships with a native 12V-2x6 cable, a Zero-RPM fan mode, and a ten-year warranty, retailing for around $90.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-09-07
Researchers from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences excavated a 5th-century burial jar containing the skeletal remains of a young man, along with two knives placed inside. The unusual burial method has left the team puzzled about the circumstances of his death and interment.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-09-03
A technical explainer examines the internal workings of the coaster brake, a rear-hub braking system that has been used on bicycles for more than 100 years. The piece breaks down the mechanical components and physics that allow pedaling backward to engage stopping power without external levers or cables.
dougbarnesauthor.com
· 2026-08-29
Archaeologists excavating a cemetery in Poland uncovered the skeleton of a woman, nicknamed Zosia, buried with a sickle placed across her throat and a padlock fastened to her toe. Researchers say these were deliberate protective measures meant to prevent the deceased from rising as a vampire or revenant.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-08-28
GoKawiil