A guest column appears on Kennislink every two weeks. The columnist is always a different researcher, who writes from his or her field about the science behind an event in society or from our daily lives. In honor of the Week of the Classics writer Imme Dros has come up with a pen especially for us.
May 5 National Liberation Day. The day that the Netherlands commemorates and celebrates the liberation from the German yoke at the end of the Second World War. But not for the Texel residents. For them, the war only ends on May 20, 1945, when Canadians set foot ashore. The Canadian invasion ends The
The legendary Damascene swords were strong, flexible and never broke. German research shows that in 1200 the Eastern blacksmiths were already using nanotubes to amplify their weapons without knowing it. The crusaders traveled to Jerusalem for it:an unbreakable Saracen sword. The swords of the heath
A pompous orchestra, monotonous acting, endless love scenes, glassy glances to the horizon, and everyone in short skirts. You can wake me up for it! Not because the plot is so strong, or the actors play so well, but because the Hollywood spectacle movies are history in themselves. Antiquity is hip.
Anyone who ever visits the video store has taken a curious look at the porn collection. And then quickly walk on with a red blush, because we dont watch porn. Despite this fleeing behaviour, pornography has an age-old success story. Before we look at this success story, it is important to define wh
It is the first time in history that large-scale archaeological research can be carried out on the site of the former Naval Air Base Valkenburg. Due to its military function, the site was inaccessible for decades. However, the municipality has plans for the redevelopment of the area. And the Malta C
The third Week of the Classics will take place from Wednesday 14 to Sunday 25 April. Time to dive into the Classics again… and choose your favorite Classic. As part of the third Week of the Classics, the History &Archeology editors of Kennislink have once again listed a number of Classics. We invit
Two Dutch economists from the University of Twente and the British Kingston University have deciphered a famous economic model from the eighteenth century. Generations of scientists concluded that François Quesneys Tableau Economique (also known as the zigzag) is wrong, but Prof. Dr. Bert Steenge an
A red rose for your loved one. A romantic candlelight dinner. On February 14 it was Valentines Day again. But where does this tradition actually come from? Long, long ago (in the year 270 AD to be exact) there once lived a Roman. It was a young Roman. His name was Valentine. His job? Priest. He liv
Greek archaeologists have made remarkable discoveries in a mysterious tomb since August. The burial chamber itself has not yet been reached, but the beautiful statues and mosaics indicate that a particularly important figure from the time of Alexander the Great is buried there. The Kasta Tomb (also
The Week of the Classics has just ended, but we are just going to continue… with the book special Ancient History. The History &Archeology editors of Kennislink have once again listed a number of historically oriented books. This time books on themes from Ancient History. We invite you to choose th
Like a young doe, archaeologist Tamar Buikema climbs the mountains to give us a nice view over the excavation site. She gives a tour of the excavation especially for Kennislink. ”We have been digging for about seven weeks now, and are moving towards final work. Another week or two, and the excavatio
The young writer Jacob van Lennep and his friend Dirk van Hoogendorp had just finished their law studies when they took a long walk through the Netherlands in 1823. In their diaries they described what the fatherland was like. Around 1800, many wealthy young people made a cultural trip through Euro
The cabinet is taking action against the many female nudes in our visual culture. The many images of male beauty are apparently no problem. The history of the nude in art shows the same phenomenon. You may have to look a little further, but there are plenty of examples of male sex objects in commer
Strict controls on illegal prostitution, which are now advertised in almost every Dutch city, were absent in seventeenth-century Amsterdam. Although prostitution had been banned in Amsterdam since 1578, it was tolerated in practice. The busiest period for Amsterdam prostitutes was in the summer and
Leendert Springer (1983), Rijksstudio via CC0 students (17) More afraid of a venereal disease than of failing an exam:studying in the nineteenth century was one big party for rich young men. In the nineteenth century, studying was only reserved for a small, privileged group. Around 1850 the number
Street prostitution has been a nuisance for centuries. The solution according to the Rotterdam police:a decoy on the Nieuwe Binnenweg. Prostitution was a well-known phenomenon in the nineteenth century, especially in cities with military barracks. New pay was immediately carried to the ladies of pl
In Taiwan, korfball players under the age of 23 compete for the world title. Today the Netherlands will play the semi-final against Belgium. The previous tournaments always closed the Netherlands as the winner. That is not so surprising:korfball is a Dutch sport. Nico Broekhuysen (1877 – 1958) bec
Due to World AIDS Day on December 1, the condom is in the spotlight. The broken one cannot be broken as a contraceptive. I will never wrap myself in a piece of dead skin to prove that I am alive, wrote the Italian womanizer Casanova (1725-1798) boldly. In his day, condoms were made from animal mate
Teenage girls have been turning to magazines for good advice for at least a hundred years. But as society changes, the topics covered by the magazines have also changed. A few examples. The girls magazine has always been a kind of paper best friend. You could go there for advice. For example, reade
In the year 2020, there is, at least for most, no doubt about how cowardly but at the same time dangerous the Junta of the Colonels (1967-1974) proved to be for the country. However, the research done by News24/7 in the records of the minutes of the Legislative Advisory Committee in the library o
In the fantastic times we live in, with the pandemic having challenged (to the point of shattering) what we knew as normal (or given), what Sotiris Tsiodras wore under his shirt became an issue and was revealed when he went to get the vaccine for Covid-19. First of all, every self-respecting fashio
What medicine for bruises was used by the king of France, Franz I Valois? What could not be missing from the first aid kit of the English monarch Elizabeth I? Of course ... a powdered Egyptian mummy! It is said that the mummy was used for medical purposes for the first time in the 12th century by
Today we have a SPA in every corner of Poland, renowned health resorts, great accommodation facilities, an extensive service sector ... and all this is just waiting for us and our money. It was not so beautiful in the interwar period. Polish resorts were just spreading their wings and slowly gaining