the mental illness of refusing to submit to slavery

In the annals of medical history, there are few tales as delightfully absurd as drapetomania, the “mental illness” that made running away from slavery a diagnosable condition. Because, you know,…

Samuel Adolphus Cartwright (“the most prominent physician, surgeon, and medical scientist in antebellum Mississippi”)

Samuel Adolphus Cartwright (November 3, 1793 – May 2, 1863) was an American physician who practiced in Mississippi and Louisiana in the antebellum United States. Cartwright is best known as the inventor of the ‘mental illness’ of drapetomania,…

Cochineal

The cochineal (Dactylopius coccus) is a scale insect in the suborder Sternorrhyncha, from which the natural dye carmine is derived. A primarily sessile parasite native to tropical and subtropical South America through North America (Mexico and the Southwest United States), this insect lives…

Polish Cochineal (Porphyrophora polonica)

Polish cochineal (Porphyrophora polonica), also known as Polish carmine scales, is a scale insect formerly used to produce a crimson dye of the same name, colloquially known as “Saint John’s blood”. The larvae of P. polonica are sessile parasites living on the roots of…

Armenian Cochineal (Porphyrophora hamelii)

The Armenian cochineal (Porphyrophora hamelii), also known as the Ararat cochineal or Ararat scale, is a scale insect indigenous to the Ararat plain and Aras (Araks) River valley in the Armenian Highlands and in Turkey. It was formerly used to produce an eponymous crimson carmine dyestuff known in Armenia as vordan karmir (Armenian: ŐžÖ€Ő€ŐĄŐ¶…

Ghouls (and a few other things)

The Ghoul A Monstrous Mashup of Myth and Macabre Meet the ghoul, a creature so delightfully demonic it’ll make you shiver with excitement. Born from the mystical realms of pre-Islamic…

Rule According to Higher Law (Not To Be Confused With Rule of Law)

The rule according to a higher law is a statement which expresses that no law may be enforced by the government unless it conforms with certain universal principles (written or unwritten) of…

BODYSNATCHING THIEVES

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