‘Some pumpkins’ is a 19th-century American idiom used for anything great, impressive, or important. In other words, things that are not just small potatoes.

You are all some pumpkins!

In the middle of another heatwave? Get inspired by these 19-th century patented ideas!

H. G. Morrow’s Head Protector, 1889

H. Prevôt’s Improvement in Sun-Stroke Protectors for Head Coverings, 1871

J. Anderson’s Horse Sun-Bonnet 1870 (patent no. 100 000!)

Which one would you get?

Have you sent any Valentine cards, reels, or gifs yet? Maybe consider a popular Victorian way of sending romantic messages – a puzzle purse. Inspired by the early Japanese art of tatogami, a puzzle purse is a piece of paper folded in such a way as to create a small envelope or box. Inside, one can find a secret message, a picture, or even a small gift.

The platypus was a real mystery to the first Europeans who encountered this graceful creature, some even doubted its existence! When Captain John Hunter sent a pelt of the animal to the naturalist George Shaw in 1799, the scientific community was baffled. Shaw named the animal Platypus anatinus, a flatfoot duck, but also expressed his doubts about the authenticity of the bizarre creature, saying that “there might have been practised some arts of deception in its structure.” Other naturalists were equally suspicious that the beast was just a hoax. This was linked to the popularity of fake specimens, such as Feejee mermaids, shown at sideshows.

As the infamous anatomist Robert Knox* explained: “Aware of the monstrous impostures which the artful Chinese had so frequently practised on European adventurers, the scientific felt inclined to class this rare production of nature with eastern mermaids and other works of art.” Knox also had a chance to perform a thorough dissection of a platypus and published a series of articles about its anatomy.

Big thanks to @skull.slinger (IG) for becoming a star adventurer for VF! Together, we’ll bring more stories about real and mythical beasts of the past.

*Yes, that’s the same Robert Knox who bought bodies from Burke and Hare. Expect a lot of stories surrounding resurrectionists this year as well!

While the Victorians loved sending cute lace-trimmed cards on Valentine’s Day, they didn’t shy away from sending other types of cards to people they wanted to fend off or play a joke on. In such cases, they would send what was known as “vinegar valentines,” which often contained mean poems or caricatures.

One of such cards read:

“To My Valentine
‘Tis a lemon that I hand you and bid you now ‘skidoo,’
Because I love another—there is no chance for you.”

PS. See Nosferatu today if you haven’t yet.