Thursday Things : Reading Dracula's Mail Edition
24 August 2023. Vol 5 No 34. By Dan McGirt. #211
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The Pantheon in 1890. Image: Library of Congress, Photochrom Print Collection.
Rome 1890
A Library of Congress archive of photo postcards of Rome from 1890.
I’ve been to Rome a couple of times, but it’s quite something to see the famous sites without the crowds, the 20th/21st century trappings, and Mussolini’s godawful additions to (and demolitions of) the Eternal City.
1890 looks like a good time to have visited Rome.
That’s all I have to say about it.
Photochrom Prints of Rome (Library of Congress)
Rome Comes to Life in Photochrom Color Photos Taken in 1890: The Colosseum, Trevi Fountain & More
Vivid color postcards of Rome circa 1890
These postcards of the ancient landmarks of Rome were produced around 1890 using the Photochrom process, which add precise gradations of artificial color to black and white photos.Invented in the 1880s by an employee of Swiss printing company Orell Gessner Füssli, the Photochrom process was complex and closely guarded. It involved the creation of a lithographic stone from the photo negative, followed by the successive creation of additional litho stones for each tint to be used in the final image. Up to 15 different tinted stones could be involved in the production of a single picture, but the result was remarkably lifelike color at a time when true color photography was still in its infancy.
The Piazza del Popolo. Image: Library of Congress, Photochrom Print Collection via Mashable.
Good call, bad call
One plague of modern life is being forced to listen to other people’s phone conversations in public spaces. You’re on a bus or a train or trying to enjoy a meal in a restaurant and some rude person nearby is loudly declaiming their opinions, problems, hopes, fears, plans, work projects, etc. to their phone. Or to the person on the other end of that call. But also to you.
And to everyone else present.
You have no choice but to listen in, even if you don’t want to hear their private business. Except it isn’t really private anymore if they’re sharing their surgery complications or relationship drama with the whole coffee shop.
Aside from the rudeness, why is it so annoying to overhear someone’s mobile phone conversation?1
This problem is at least as old as cellphones themselves, as this article from 2013 attests:
Why It's So Annoying to Overhear Someone's Cellphone Conversation
The basic reason we're so irritated when we overhear a conversation is because the conversation hijacks our cognitive functions—it's a distraction that we can't do anything about and we can't get away from:
If you only hear one person speaking, you're constantly trying to place that part of the conversation in context," Dr. Galván said. "That's naturally going to draw your attention away from whatever else you're trying to do."
It is also a control thing, Dr. Galván and her colleagues said. When people are trapped next to a one-sided conversation - known nowadays as a "halfalogue" - their anger rises in the same way it does in other situations where they are not free to leave, like waiting for a train.
The other big reason we find this so annoying is because we're drawn to the strangeness of a one-sided conversation. We want to complete that puzzle and figure out what they're talking about. Everything they say is surprising, and you can't predict what's going to happen next. Basically, our brain is drawn to a conversation because it's too strange to tune out.
This explanation seems on point. Think about it: While it is still rude and annoying, isn’t it slightly less annoying overhearing someone’s call if they’re on speakerphone?
I think it is, because then you’re getting both sides of the conversation and your poor brain doesn’t get so cognitively hijacked trying to fill in the blanks.
In any event, person at the next table, my best to your Aunt Marge and I hope her gall bladder surgery goes well.
“Yeah, the whole coffee shop cleared out. I have no idea why.” Photo by Daria Pimkina on Unsplash
Reading Dracula’s Mail
You know who didn’t have to worry about being annoyed by rude cellphone talkers?
Vlad the Impaler.
First, because phones, mobile or otherwise, hadn’t been invented in the 15th century. But even if they had, I’m certain the penalty for irritating the Voivode of Wallachia with your incessant phone yammering would have been …. you guessed it … impalement.
Ah, those were simpler, quieter times.2
In those days, if you wanted to communicate with someone far away, you wrote a letter. And Vlad, it seems, wrote many letters. Letters stained with blood.
Which, honestly, doesn’t surprise me. But the possible source of those bloodstains does.
A team of chemical scientists from the University of Catania, SpringStyle Tech Design Ltd, Romania National Archives and Politecnico di Milano, Via Mancinelli, has found evidence suggesting that Vlad the Impaler, may have suffered from a variety of ailments, including one that could have made the famous prince cry tears mixed with blood. In their paper published in the journal Analytical Chemistry, the group describes their analysis of proteins and peptides from three letters written by Vlad Drăculea and what they learned from them.
Count Vlad Drăculea, also known as Vlad the Impaler, and possible inspiration for the fictional character Dracula, was the ruler of Wallachia during the 15th century. He was known to be a fierce defender of his land. Historians have found evidence suggesting he was responsible for the deaths of as many as 80,000 Ottoman people, many of whom died due to impalement.
You dare talk on you phone in my presence? Off to the stakes!
Anyway, the scientists did some science stuff to analyze chemicals and molecules that may have transferred from Vlad’s hand to letters he wrote. And…
…they found evidence of ciliopathy, a genetic disorder that compromises cell function and organs. They also found evidence of inflammatory disease, likely resulting in problems with the respiratory tract and skin.
Living in a castle lit by smoky torches and lanterns and big spooky candles will do that. Seriously, that can’t be good for your complexion or your lungs.
And they found compounds that suggested the Count also suffered from hemolacria—a condition that causes blood to mix with fluid in the tear ducts, resulting in blood-tinged tears.
So the possible literary inspiration for the most famous fictional vampire of all may have occasionally, possibly, cried tears of blood.
But that is nothing compared the tears to be shed by those who dare to intercept and read the private correspondence of Vlad Tepes!
The penalty is … you guessed it … impalement. Off to the stakes!
“It is rude to read my mail. If tears of blood you want I’ll show you tears of blood!” Image: Public domain, 16th c. via Wikipedia
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Technically, this isn’t limited to mobile phones, but if someone is talking on a landline you’re usually more able to move out of earshot, except perhaps in an office setting or at home. But in those places, you expect your colleagues or cohabitants to be on the phone so it is somehow less of an aggravation. Usually.
Except for the screams of agony of people being impaled, of course.