Dr Anton Howes In the north, where estuaries aren't always where they were most useful, the coble was born. A flat bottom to run up the beach and sit level at high tide, and a sharp bow to run back out thru the surf

Suddenly struck me that all of Britain's historically most significant ports are situated, not on mere rivers, but on estuaries - London, Bristol, Liverpool, Glasgow, Leith, Hull, Belfast. I think the Tyne may also have been wider up to Newcastle too?

It means that if you time…

This is one of the most amazing educational resources I’ve seen:

A history of steam-powered technology predating the invention of the steam engine, from the 3rd century BC to the 19th century AD

Complete with interactive models of major inventions, simple enough that my 3 year…

It falls to us to turn it around

Anyone here able to read Swedish and be able to do some translation work on a quick turnaround?

Today I learned that in the 1630s the opposite of 'starboard' [i.e. to turn a ship to the right] was not 'port', but 'larboard'.
There was, however, already the term 'port'. But instead of meaning to turn left, it meant to turn right by 180 degrees, to face the other way!

via…

1630s Delft apparently had speed-dating

That’s a buy, from me. Early Modern monetary history VERY underrated.

A woman's secret recipe from 1748, on how to make 'delectable' wine from Smyrna raisins:

How could you tell, in Kent, whether there might be a cherry orchard nearby? In the eighteenth century, apparently by the smell of rotting bird carcasses, because dead rooks, crows, jackdaws and magpies - the main pests - were hung among the branches of the trees.

POV: you're building appliances in the early 1900s, or a steamfitter installing central heating in homes for the first time. It must have been so meaningful pulling your fellow citizens out of misery.

One thing I've noticed in a lot of accounts by foreigners visiting Britain in the 1740s-80s is an obsession with keeping houses clean. This one from 1748 is striking for mentioning door mats between every INTERNAL door.

Most recommended reading. The history of steam engines, simple language but complete in details that matter, with interactive animations.
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