Darwin’s Creepiest Experiment Brought Back To Life
Charles Darwin liked to freak out his friends—for science. Guests visiting the famed naturalist in 1868 were shown a set of “ghoulish” photos of a guy being prodded in the face with an electrical current. Darwin then asked his guests-cum-guinea pigs to describe the emotion displayed in each photo. Was the subject happy? Sorrowful? Cheeky? Darwin hoped to determine what universal core emotions exist (if any) and what culturally modified variations branch from them. The result was Darwin’s book The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. Interesting, sure, but not the best science: The Victorian-era crowdsourcing experiment lacked consistent materials, a control group, and enough test subjects—he had only 24.
Fortunately, the University of Cambridge’s Darwin Correspondence Project picks up where Darwin left off. It has re-created his study online using the same images, taken by French physiologist Benjamin Duchenne. Yes, they look like yearbook portraits from a sanitorium. But more than 18,000 participants’ evaluations have now been tallied, and the project may actually yield defendable results. And they include a dimension Darwin didn’t intend. “There are different emotional vocabularies and repertoires in different periods,” says Cambridge research associate Paul White. For example, whereas Darwin’s posse perceived the conveyed emotion in one image as “hardness,” today’s majority describes it as “bored”—a word that in the 1800s only described what you might have done to a piece of wood. Emotions, it turns out, vary not only cross-culturally but also cross-historically. You might say they’ve evolved.
Wonderful poster designs for Captain America and Thor by Allie, check out here tumblr and more of her work on at brocreate.tumblr.com
I’m not sure if these images are photoshopped, but you know what I’m sure isn’t Photoshopped?
They’re so bad I can hardly contain my glee.
I think the Germans call that schadenfreude.
sir-brandoneminia-of-scarborough:
mein fuhrer more like mein fashionista
The world must know of this photoset.
what am i looking at
the most horrifying zettai ryouiki in the world
(Source: onkelspeer, via obsessivefetisha)
Victorian Era Fangirl Guide: Bizarre Victorian fact of the day...
One of the first books on the subject of dieting was written in 1864 by an undertaker named William Banting. Banting’s family firm had organised the funerals of several famous figures including the Duke of Wellington and Prince Albert. William had struggled with obesity for much of his life and at the age of 65 began a diet which was based on limiting portions and cutting down on carbohydrates. The diet proved incredibly successful and Banting shared his experience in his booklet ‘A Letter on Corpulence’. The publication was an instant success and remained popular throughout the 19th century. Even into the 1920s people on diets would say they were “banting”.
![tuesday-johnson:
ca. 1870’s [portrait of a gentleman with goggles or spectacles], Plumb & Loomis
via Ebay](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvyqdvKDim1qa51rdo1_250.jpg)
Postcard series by Ruth Claxton
The mannequins at the Store of the Imagination wear desirable, if mismatched items. The one in the main window dons a Victorian-inspired leather shrug ($130), a hipster ugly Christmas sweater tee ($20), and vintage swim trunks, which were probably worn by somebody else ($40).
