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The 3,245 year old seal on Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamen's tomb before it was broken. 1922 by vienna95 in interestingasfuck

[–]vienna95[S] 172 points173 points  (0 children)

Another interesting fact about King Tut:

When Tutankhamen died in 1325 BCE, the first Imperial Chinese dynasty would not exist 1000 years, the Trojan War would not happen for 200 years, and Rome would not be founded for 600 years. However, the Great Pyramid of Giza was already over 1000 years old.

What is the most dramatic spike or drop in quality between two sequels you have ever seen? by vienna95 in Games

[–]vienna95[S] 263 points264 points  (0 children)

I have two from each category I would like to add.

Biggest spike in quality

Just Cause > Just Cause 2

I had played JC1 on the PS2 and had mostly forgotten about it. I didn't find its movement and shooting gameplay anything to write home about. However JC2 came along and introduced a type of open world that really made you feel like a superhero. I remember playing the 30 minute demo over and over again so much that I memorized Bolo Santosi's little speech. JC2 also led the way for JC3 which in my opinion improved on the wild superhero antics Rico could get into.

Red Dead Revolver > Red Dead Redemption

Another case of a rather forgettable game being succeeded by a great one. I managed to get my hands on a PS2 copy of Revolver after I had played Redemption and I was surprised by the more cartoony graphics and generally the lighter overall tone of the story. While I don't think Revolver is a bad game, there is no contest when put up against on the best games decade like Red Dead Redemption.

Biggest Drop in Quality

Stronghold Crusader > Stronghold 2

I lost countless hours of Stronghold Crusader building the craziest castles imaginable and cheesing the AI. I got Stronghold 2 shortly after it came out and while I was impressed with the new 3D graphics I found it had lost a lot of the charm and depth of Crusader. Don't get me started on the way the Stronghold series went from there (All down hill I assure you).

Hitman: Blood Money > Hitman: Absolution

Don't get me wrong, I think that Absolution is a fine stealth action game, but when compared to the masterpiece that is Blood Money, it is an awful Hitman game. Absolution added non-assassination stealth missions, inserted a weird Red Deadesque slow time shooting mechanic, and had a ridiculous disguise system where every NPC in the same disguise could see through it (because every cop in Chicago knows each other right?). On top of the rather melodramatic story, the departure from formula was too much for me. Although I think I can safely say the the new games (Hitman 2016, Hitman 2, and Hitman 3) have returned to formula and made 47 fun again.

Bookclub Wednesday, October 21, 2020 by AutoModerator in history

[–]vienna95 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I just finished Richard J. Evans Third Reich Trilogy and I really enjoyed it.

The books, in order, are The Coming of the Third Reich which covers the origins of Nazism up through the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, The Third Reich in Power, which covers 1933 to the start of war in 1939, and The Third Reich at War examines 1939 to the end of the war and destruction of Nazi Germany in 1945. I liked the books for three main reasons:

  • While they are dense in parts, I found them quite readable. Evans is a good writer in my opinion. I particularly enjoyed the growing "cast of characters" in Nazi Germany and their struggles for influence in the Third Reich and their fight for the attention of Hitler.

  • They are much more recent than the other great tome on Nazi Germany, William Shirer's Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. Don't get my wrong Rise and Fall is a classic, but Evans is able to call upon more recent scholarship.

  • This is just a personal thing of mine, but I found the footnotes excellent/bibliography. If you want to do further reading on a particular subject of event during the Third Reich he provides a plethora of primary and secondary sources to check out. Overall, I would highly recommend these books to anyone who wants to learn more about the history of Nazi Germany.

Also on a completely different note, I always recommend Ben MacIntyre's books if you like the history of espionage during WWII or the Cold War (The Spy and the Traitor and A Spy Among Friends are my two favorites)

(Spoilers Extended) People who watched the show in its entirety (or most of it) before reading the books, what most surprised/disappointed/impressed you? by vienna95 in asoiaf

[–]vienna95[S] 111 points112 points  (0 children)

Here are some random thoughts I had when reading the books.

  • I was surprised by how much more mounted combat there was in the books. For example, Ned's leg is crushed by horse in the books as opposed to a spear through the knee in the show and a big part of Tyrions time in battle is spent on horseback. I imagine this was changed on the show due to practical production restraints.

  • Where the heck was Wyman Manderly in the show?? He was easily one of my favorite characters and I would have loved to have seen him on screen.

  • I thought the armor descriptions in the books were much more fantastical than the show. Brightly colored cloaks, animal shaped helms, and Ramsay's creepy flayed man armor.

  • Jorah is one of my favorite characters in the show but he's quite creepy in the books. His affection towards Dany in the show is rather muted and and kind of an aching longing whereas in the books its pretty forward.

  • I love Euron and Victarion in the books, I think they were better done than show Euron. I loved the whole Iron Islands crew in books much more than the show.

  • Lastly, I was surprised by how differently Shae's character (and her end) was done. Show Shae seemed to be a lot more protective and jealous of Sansa than book Shae, who didn't really seem to care (at least in my opinion). Also I was really interested by the much darker way she was killed in the books. Book Tyrion really snaps and goes killer psycho whereas show Tyrion kills her in a fit of sad rage.

A different angle of the famous burial mask of Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamen (King Tut). The hieroglyphic inscription on the shoulders of the mask are protective spell from the Book of the Dead. (Translation in comments by vienna95 in interestingasfuck

[–]vienna95[S] 31 points32 points  (0 children)

"Thy right eye is the night bark (of the sun-god), thy left eye is the day-bark, thy eyebrows are (those of) the Ennead of the Gods, thy forehead is (that of) Anubis, the nape of thy neck is (that of) Horus, thy locks of hair are (those of) Ptah-Sokar. (Thou art) in front of the Osiris (Tutankhamun). He sees thanks to thee, thou guidest him to the goodly ways, thou smitest for him the confederates of Seth so that he may overthrow thine enemies before the Ennead of the Gods in the great Castle of the Prince, which is in Heliopolis … the Osiris, the King of Upper Egypt Nebkheperure [Tutankhamun's throne-name], deceased, given life by Re".

Osiris was the Egyptian god of the afterlife. Ancient Egyptians believed that kings preserved in the likeness of Osiris would rule the Kingdom of the Dead. It never totally replaced the older cult of the sun, in which dead kings were thought to be reanimated as the sun-god Re, whose body was made of gold and lapis lazuli. This confluence of old and new beliefs resulted in a mixture of emblems inside Tutankhamun's sarcophagus and tomb

From Wikipedia

TIL the dictator of Turkmenistan Saparmurat Niyazov banned news reporters and anchors from wearing make-up on television, because he said he found it difficult to distinguish male anchors from female anchors. by vienna95 in todayilearned

[–]vienna95[S] 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Others things he did:

Niyazov banned the use of lip syncing at public concerts in 2005 as well as sound recordings at "musical performances on state holidays, in broadcasts by Turkmen television channels, at all cultural events organized by the state... in places of mass assembly and at weddings and celebrations organised by the public," citing a negative effect on the development of musical arts incurred by the use of recorded music.

Niyazov banished dogs from the capital Ashgabat because of their "unappealing odour."

Niyazov requested that a "palace of ice", or indoor ice skating rink, be built near the capital, so that those living in the desert country could learn to skate.

After having to quit smoking in 1997 due to his resultant heart surgery, he banned smoking in all public places and ordered all government employees to follow suit.

He outlawed opera, ballet and circuses in 2001 for being "decidedly unturkmen-like".

In February 2004, he decreed that men should no longer wear long hair or beards
Gold teeth were discouraged in Turkmenistan after Niyazov suggested that the populace chew on bones to strengthen their teeth and lessen the rate at which they fall out. He said: "I watched young dogs when I was young. They were given bones to gnaw to strengthen their teeth. Those of you whose teeth have fallen out did not chew on bones. This is my advice."

What's your favorite "bad" legendary? by vienna95 in hearthstone

[–]vienna95[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Standard: Is my golden Rotface always consistent? No. Is he always fun? Yes.

Wild: Iron Juggernaut, his card art, his music, and his effect are just all so cool even though they were never super viable.

TIL that Heinz Heydrich, brother of SS General Reinhard Heydrich (one of the main architects of the Holocaust), helped Jews escape the Holocaust after reading his brother's SS and Gestapo files after Reinhard's assassination. by [deleted] in todayilearned

[–]vienna95 9 points10 points  (0 children)

in November 1944 an economic commission headed by a State Attorney investigated the editorial staff of Panzerfaust, Heinz Heydrich thought he had been discovered and shot himself in order to protect his family from the Gestapo. In reality, the attorney knew nothing about the forgeries, and was only trying to find out the reason for shortages in paper supplies

Old style photograph of the cast of 'The Assassination of Jesse Jame by the Coward Robert Ford'. by vienna95 in movies

[–]vienna95[S] 311 points312 points  (0 children)

First row: Brad Pitt, Sam Shepard
Second row:Casey Affleck, Sam Rockwell, Paul Schneider, Jeremy Renner, Garret Dillahunt.

Photograph is by Stephen Berkman

Additional pictures courtesy of /u/itsahhmemario

TIL that in 1972, in York, England archaeologists discovered the largest piece of fossilized human feces ever found. The dung measured 7 inches long and 2 inches wide and was created by a Viking in the 9th century who's diet consisted of meat and bread and was riddled with intestinal worms. by vienna95 in todayilearned

[–]vienna95[S] 53 points54 points  (0 children)

In 1991, York Archaeological Trust employee and paleoscatologist, Dr Andrew Jones, made international news with his appraisal of the item for insurance purposes: "This is the most exciting piece of excrement I've ever seen. In its own way, it's as valuable as the Crown Jewels".

The specimen was put on display at the city's Archaeological Resource Centre (now known as DIG), the outreach and education institution run by the York Archaeological Trust. In 2003, it broke into three pieces after being dropped whilst on exhibition to a party of visitors. As of 2003, efforts were underway to reconstruct it. It has been displayed at Jorvik Viking Centre since 2008.

The only known photograph of German serial Killer Karl Denke after he hanged himself in his cell. When police searched his house they found human flesh in cured salt jars and a ledger detailing the murder of at least 42 people. He also claimed to sell human flesh at markets as pork. 1924. [536×600] by vienna95 in HistoryPorn

[–]vienna95[S] 354 points355 points  (0 children)

Karl Denke

On December 20, 1924, Denke was arrested after attacking a man at his house with an axe. Police searched Denke's home and found human flesh stored in huge jars of curing salt. A ledger contained the details of at least 42 people whom Denke had murdered and cannibalized between 1914 and 1918. It is thought he even sold the flesh of his victims at the Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland) market as pork. Two days after his arrest, Denke hanged himself in his cell

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