Status Updates From The Brilliant History of Co...

I found 'Fabric' and 'Jewels' by Victoria Finlay to be very engaging reads, so when I saw my library had her coffee table book, I picked it up. The charming humor translates here, too.

How did the cave painters reach the tops of the caves?
Also I did not know most insects's blood is pale yellow

"Pompeian red" was popular in the 18th century. "But red ocher is actually a dehydrated form of yellow ocher, meaning that extreme heat, say, from a volcanic eruption, could drive off the water in yellow ocher and turn it red. In 2011 scientists ... presented a paper suggesting that up to half of the 246 apparently red ocher walls in Pompeii & nearby Herculaneum were actually yellow ocher before the volcano erupted."

The history of Prussian Blue is so cool. Leads to the beginning of photography. Also interesting things about pot ash (potassium!)