Born Of An Atom Bomb

atlasobscura:

All the secrets of human consciousness may be embedded somewhere in the squishy brains nestled in our skulls. This drive to find out what’s hidden in our mental anatomy has resulted in medical specimen collections of brains all over the world. The Wilder Brain Collection in Ithaca, New York, has around 70 brains; the Cushing Brain Collection in New Haven, Connecticut, has around 550. But this is nothing compared to the around 3,300 brains kept at the Brain Museum in Lima.

Curious Fact of the Week: Biggest Brain Collections

ruckawriter:

“Fire for the Gods.” Celebrating the birth of the Hindu god Rama.

Again, from Der Spiegel.

Stills from Altered States (1980)

Director - Ken Russell

Director of Photography - Jordan Cronenweth

everydayafrica:

A lobster and shrimp fisherman busy at work on the Volta River. Photo by Nana Kofi Acquah @nanakofiacquah #ghtog #Ghana #Africa

tanglefootcomic:

All I can say is that I’m sorry.

alexob:

DIY bionics - making kids smile again.

See the joy in Liam’s eyes as he is grasping a ball with his right hand for the first time. By the time this cute fellow grows up, he will have a bionic hand that will be connected to his neural-system and be indistinguishable from his biological body; but for now all Liam cares about is being able to play ball. 

nationalpost:

Man goes undercover as a woman to investigate deep-rooted sexual harassment and abuse in Egypt
Waleed Hammad dressed conservatively for his secret mission into the world of sexual harassment and abuse on the streets of Cairo, donning a long tan skirt and sleeved shirt, and at times covering his head like many Egyptian women.

The 24-year-old actor walked the sidewalks, hidden cameras in tow, for an investigative television report, hoping the broadcast would enlighten national debate about how to combat deep-rooted day-to-day sexual harassment and abuse in this patriarchal society.

As he strolled, Hammad, who wore light makeup to conceal hints of facial hair and accentuate his eyes, was hissed at and verbally abused. In one instance — when he was wearing a head veil — he was taken for a prostitute and offered up to $580 for one night.

“I can go wherever I want, do whatever I want very simply, very easily, very casually,” Hammad said. “For a woman, it boils down to her having to focus on how she breathes while she is walking. It is not just the walk. It is not just the clothes. It is not what she says or how she looks.” As a woman walking down the street, “you have to be in a constant state of alertness.” (AP Photo / Courtesy of Awel el Kheit)

anthropologie:

Via: Tomboy Style

Meet Winston Kemp, Lightning Strike Survivor and Lichtenberg Figure Owner

“…I went outside to save my pumpkins. (I guess it was May 21.) After that, I was going back inside. I just know it struck in our neighbor’s backyard, and it was bright and loud. I didn’t feel anything. I just came back inside like nothing was wrong. Umm…my arm was sore. But I didn’t … I don’t think I saw any marks until 30, 45 … [it was] maybe an hour before I saw the marks…”

unhistorical:

April 12, 1864: The Fort Pillow Massacre takes place.

The battle over Fort Pillow, a fort in Tennessee situated in a strategic position on the Mississippi, ended in its capture by Confederate forces and in a massacre of surrendered black Union troops. African-Americans had been serving in Union regiments since mid-1862, although these regiments were commanded by white officers, and opening military service to African-Americans did not do much to lessen the prejudice and racism that they faced in Northern society. Confederate policy toward these soldiers regarded them not as prisoners of war but as slaves in insurrection, and decreed that captured black soldiers be dealt with accordingly. Captured white officers were tried for “inciting servile insurrection” (for which the punishment was death), and their soldiers were to “be at once delivered over to the executive authorities of the respective States to which they belong, to be dealt with according to the law of said States”. This often involved returning freed/escaped slaves to slavery, although in some cases, Confederate officers chose instead to allow their soldiers to massacre surrendering troops rather than take them prisoner. Thus there always existed a dangerous uncertainty over what treatment black soldiers (and their white officers) might face if they were captured, or if they surrendered in Union uniform.

The Confederate force at Fort Pillow was under the command of Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest, later first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, and they outnumbered the Union soldiers (made up of both black and white men) around 2,000 to 600. Even after the overwhelmed Union troops threw down their guns in surrender, Confederate soldiers indiscriminately slaughtered both black and white soldiers, though black soldiers made up a disproportionately large amount of those killed (which was around half the total force of 600) and a disproportionately small amount of those taken prisoner. An excerpt from a letter “from a naval officer’, reflecting on the aftermath of the battle:

I had some conversation with rebel officers, and they claim that our men would not surrender, and in some few cases they could not control their men, who seemed determined to shoot down every negro soldier, whether he surrendered or not.

In June of that year, Congress passed laws equalizing pay between black and white soldiers; while advocating equal pay, one Massachusetts senator claimed that he believed the Union’s treatment of African-Americans was nearly as bad as that of the Confederate soldiers who had carried out the massacre at Fort Pillow.