Quotes

William Beckford, heir to Jamaican sugar plantations, who spent 40,000 pounds on his 21st birthday party. 8 year old mozart was brought in to

born in modest circumstances in Havana in 1843, becomes secretary to very wealthy brit John Rylands, inherits 2.6M pounds. Has no learning herself but

And food is placed on the table before the meal. service a la francaise. then became service a la russe, with diners being served

term middle class was coined in 1745; confident, voluble, bankers, lawyers, artists, publishers, designers, merchants, property developers, and “others of generally creative spirit and

Until well into the 19th century, all foods were considered equal; no one had any idea that some foods were better for you than

James Lind, a naval surgeon, conducted an experiment with 12 sailors who had scurvy, given 6 sets of 2 a different diet, consisting of

The whole universe may contain just 20 francium atoms, but they are one of 92 elements that make up life

Ignoring objects that aren’t going to hit me.

According to one estimate, more bricks were laid in Britain in the Victorian period than in all of previous history together. The growth of

In 1856, the problem was unexpectedly—and indeed improbably—solved by an English businessman who knew nothing at all of metallurgy but loved to tinker and