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| Juan van der Hamen, Still Life (detail), 1627 |
"Whosoever eateth two Walnuts, two Figs, twenty leaves of Rew, and one graine of Salt, all stampt and mixte together, fasting: shall bee safe from poyson and Plague that day."
Thomas Lupton, A Thousand Notable Things (1595)This Early Modern energy bar provides the nutrients you need to get through a pestilential and poisonous workday. (As instructed, take this with a grain of salt.)
"Nonaquatic birds bathing themselves are a sign of rain or storm. And a toad washing itself and frogs croaking more than usual signal rain. Likewise the appearance of the lizard which they call "salamander"; and furthermore a green frog singing in a tree signals rain... Likewise, if a tame duck makes its way under the cornice of a house and flaps its wings, this signals rain... If a cooking vessel filled to the brim emits sparks all over it is a sign of rain. Centipedes in large numbers creeping towards the wall are a sign of rain."
Theophrastus of Eresus, On Weather Signs (c. 300 BC)
