#badasses in history

[microcosme11]

This guy is featured on a site called “Badass of the Week.” His story is quite bizarre. Too bad I don’t have time to read it all right now but I know it’s entertaining!

read about him

General Santa Anna of Mexico, “The Napoleon of the West”

[washingtonmarvel]

Trapeze artist, strongwoman, and all around badass Laverie Vallee, stage name Charmion, flexes for the camera in this (colorized) picture from around 1905. Born in 1875 in Sacramento, Charmion was a pioneer. She shocked conservative Victorian/Edwardian men with her daring "Trapeze Disrobing Act" (which was the subject of one of Thomas Edison's first films) and her insanely jacked body. But the ladies loved her, and her performances, which were viewed as practically pornographic by the extreme standards of the time period, were mostly attended by women. Throughout her career, she inspired women to exercise and to free themselves of the restrictions society placed on them. Charmion criticized the prudish attitudes of the time and told women they could be just as strong as men (this was a radical claim for that era, but her own body was the proof). A brilliant woman, she was fluent in six languages and regularly lectured and wrote newspaper articles about fitness. She was the highest-earning performer on the vaudeville circuit for much of her career, sometimes earning as much as $500 per week (equivalent to almost $20,000 today). Charmion was known to curl 70-pound dumbbells as part of her workout regimen and she could walk 12 miles without feeling fatigued. Charmion's biceps reportedly were almost exactly the same size as those of Eugen Sandow, who was widely considered the world's strongest man, and in a friendly sparring match she fought on an equal footing with the then-famous boxer Terry McGovern. She retired in 1912 and lived a quiet life outside the limelight until her death in 1949.

EDIT: I made a second post with some more info about Charmion if anyone's interested:

[earlycuntsets]

you'll have to forgive me. this is history to me

gerard: frankie's mouth was all over my hair. that was like really gross but at the same time it's still kinda hot. yknow what I mean?

audience: 🦗

link

edit: @vriska-serketboard brought up that it also sounds like "frankie's mouth was all over my hand" honestly I can hear both.

show recorded by spaceyraygun 12/18/2002 trocadero theater philadelphia pa

[ashleyeveerson]

Haven't been able to think about anything other than the victorian/edwardian/WW1 twink and his 80's punk almost-boyfriend for a week, send help

[asterrrrion]

It's so funny that The Secret History, a book where everything goes wrong because of the characters' obsession with beauty and aestheticism is Tiktok's favourite book because it's aesthetic though.

Like, all of the characters lie and do very unhealthy things for the sake of beauty and appearances and then the most beauty-obsessed social media ever decides it's its favourite book because it gives picturesque college vibes, which is exactly why Richard joined the Greek class in the first place.

[city-of-ladies]

"In the mid-1700s, a seawoman in Iceland named Björg Einarsdóttir composed a poem teasing men on her boat for their weak rowing:

Do row better my dear man, Fear not to hurt the ocean. Set your shoulders if you can Into harder motion.

Einarsdóttir was not only a talented poet but an excellent fisher. She often caught more fish than other crew members, and people believed that her ability to lure the animals was supernatural. When she was dying, she reportedly passed on this uncanny skill to a farmer by writing a poem about him catching trout.

Her work at sea may seem unusual. After all, fishing is generally considered a man’s job. But recent work by an American researcher, Margaret Willson, suggests that Einarsdóttir was one of hundreds of Icelandic women in the 18th and 19th centuries who braved towering waves and icy waters to catch fish. Willson’s team combed through historical archives and publications to gather examples ranging from a female captain who led crews made up entirely of women, to expectant mothers who rowed late into pregnancy.

The sea “wasn’t a male space,” says Willson, a cultural anthropologist at the University of Washington in Seattle and a former seawoman. “It was not a feminist act in any way for them to go to sea.” It was just part of everyday life."

[musingsofahistorymajor]

Our first teaser for the Six Triple Eight movie was included in Netflix's 2024 upcoming releases promo!!

For those who don't know, the Six Triple Eight is about the 6888th Central Postal Battalion which was the all POC regiment of the Women's Army Corps during World War II. They served in England sorting through the massive backlog of mail that had accumulated. Receiving mail from home was such an important morale boost for the men and high morale wins wars so sorting this mail was a priority. It was a nearly impossible task that the Army predicted would take them years to accomplish but they completed the task in half the time, processing 17 million pieces of mail and sending them to soldiers awaiting news from home. They worked in cold, dirty, dark rat infested aircraft hangars with broken windows. They were so good at their work that the unit was sent to several other areas to do the same thing. The unit was active from 1945 to 1946 and consisted of 855 women under the Command of Major Charity Adams, Captains Mary F. Kearney and Bernice G. Henderson. Their nickname was “Six-Triple Eight" and their motto was “No Mail, Low Morale."

I'm so excited for this film, you have no idea. An entire movie completely focused on telling the story of women. And not just women, black women! It's so exciting! And it looks fantastic just from this short teaser. I know the historical consultant of the show personally and she knows WAC history better than anyone and it definitely shows. The uniforms are pretty perfect. The only mistake I've seen so far, which is in a behind the scenes photo, is the utility bag (their purse) is on the wrong side. But that's a nit picky complaint from me I can overlook. But even the shots are so good!! They're recreating at least one original image I can think of. Which is so cool. God I'm so excited!!!!

Here are some original images of the 6888

[english-history-trip]

The embroidered chemise of St. Balthild, an 7th century Anglo-Saxon noblewoman sold into slavery in the house of Frankish king Clovis II, who eventually married her, making her queen of Neustria and Burgundy, and later queen-regent for her three sons. Balthild used her position to abolish Christian slave-trading in her kingdom, as well as buying many slaves to free them.

She established several religious institutions, including the abbeys of Chelles and Corbie, which became renowned as centers of learning in Medieval Europe. She retired to Chelles during the reign of her third son, Theodoric III, and died in 680; she would be canonized some 200 years later.

The chemise may have been embroidered by Balthild herself in her time at the abbey; the designs mimic the jewels she would have worn as queen, but embroidered in silk rather than gold thread, with the garment itself made of plain linen.

During the French Revolution, Chelles Abbey hid its relics in a nearby church, where they weren't discovered until 1983. Among them were Balthild's chemise, along with the remains of the queen herself; her burial garments weren't as well-preserved, but did include a silken girdle woven in striking scarlet and gold.

[terranovathemust]

Let's face it, the second season with the two of them would have been cool. 😍

[iloveacronix]

Boutta go sleep cuz my brain be lacking neurons rn but guys PLEASE hear me out

Supportive brothers for life. Also taggin the historyshipping queen @kyokittymeow

[gingerlilys]

“I want a story where the villain is the main character”

Megamind

“I want a story where the villain defeats the hero”

Megamind

“I want a story where the hero says fuck it and just gives up”

MEGAMIND

“I want a story where the villain gets the girl”

MEGAMIND. YOU WANT MEGAMIND.

[leveragehunters]

I was going through my great grandfather's memoirs (born 3 March 1880) and came across this part, which feels eerily similar to our current times:

Our biggest handicap was the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918. With men off sick we were lucky to have 50 staff. Some would come back and more would go off. I was off two weeks myself. There were many deaths in the city.   The war was over and the men were returning from France. We were working a fifty hour week. With the men returning, the trend was to repress wages and frown on a reduction of working hours. My responsibility had been increased so as I was next to the superintendent. This was fine, except my wages were the same as the day I started. They said, "You are doing a good job, but with the men returning that is all we can pay you." There was general upset. The returned men were dissatisfied with the wages offered, not only with our company and the warehouse business, but with what was being offered in general.

He then goes on to explain how they met with the Trade and Labour Council to form a union and present their demands (which were union recognition, basic wage of $180.00 a month, an eight hour day in a year's time, and a two year contract), but it all went to hell because of spies reporting back to the bosses and scabs who refused to honour the strike.

After the second day they flooded back like sheep. At Ashdown the travellers and buyers worked the warehouse without interruption of service. The strike was a washout. I was out of a job!

The night before the strike was scheduled to start the bosses even resorted to the closest they had to social media 105 years ago.

The Evening paper carried an advertisement, by all companies concerned, advising that all employees absent from work for three days, would be discharged.

(The memoirs are 180 typed pages, so I may post more bits as they catch my eye)

[euryleli]

I like the idea of will byers carrying a gun in s5 not because I think he would enjoy it/it would be badass, but because the ANGST and the exploration of the abuse lonnie put will through is really important to me

I need it to be addressed!!

[inquisitor-apologist]

All the problems in the Mandalorian could’ve been solved if Sabine had kept the Darksaber

[todayinhiphophistory]

Today in Hip Hop History:

Joey Badass was born January 20, 1995

[george-weasleys-girl]