Stannous Flouride's Book of Truthiness

A review of studies on the health effects of drinking coffee show that moderate coffee drinking (defined as 3-4 cups per day) essentially has a neutral effect on health, or can be mildly beneficial.

Source: Benefits of drinking coffee outweigh risks, review suggests — ScienceDaily

There was nothing used by Daesh* (ISIS) that the Syrian and Russian ordnance disposal specialists were unfamiliar with. But the breadth and detail of the wiring and explosives Daesh placed hidden among the ruins were found to be very sophisticated.

The Daesh plan which was also apparently referenced in a document later recovered from the Museum was dubbed “Erase.” (“Mahaqa” in Arabic). Daesh planned to “Erase” the whole area of our ancient ruins and Daesh hoped to kill at least 1000 Syrian troops who they assumed would be among the ruins when they were detonated.

The dangerous work of clearing the unexploded ordnance was performed by many to date unsung heroes; among them are 100 Syrian and 200 Russian unexploded ordnance specialists and 11 Russian explosive detecting dogs.

Some robots were all deployed as part of the massive around clock bomb clearing operation.

At the end of the intense 30 days of heroic work, which claimed the lives of two soldiers and wounded others, no fewer than 4000 booby-trap bombs were defused and removed from among our cultural heritage ruins at ancient Palmyra.

Experts at Palmyra have recently formed three units specializing in engineering, archeological evaluations and restoration of damage artifacts. As noted above, it is widely believed here that 95% of damage caused by Daesh can and will be restored.

Even a higher percentage can be restored some archeologists working here estimate. And 95% of all the ruins were untouched.

Source: How 100 Syrians, 200 Russians and 11 Dogs Out-Witted ISIS and Saved Palmyra

*Why Isis hates being called Daesh

In his show last week John included this wonderful anthem, wishing it could have been entered in the contest they held to create an official EU Anthem.

Satellite view of the installation of “The Floating Piers”

For sixteen days – June 18 through July 3, 2016 – Italy’s Lake Iseo is being reimagined. 100,000 square meters of shimmering yellow fabric, carried by a modular floating dock system of 220,000 high-density polyethylene cubes, undulate with the movement of the waves as The Floating Piers rise just above the surface.

I found these images of the installation fascinating.

Source: Christo and Jeanne-Claude | Projects | Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Floating Piers, Lake Iseo, Italy

I am to be part of this exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum because of my work as a Haight Ashbury historian. I have just booked my passage for a two-week stay in London.

Yes, I know this is not from the Haight.

How have the finished and unfinished revolutions of the late 1960s changed the way we live today and think about the future?

Exhibit details: V&A · Revolution? Records and Rebels 1966-1970

A WORK IN PROGRESS The architectural data in this section was first researched over twenty-five years ago by the late Anne Bloomfield, and more recently—in depth and with meticulous attention to detail—by Michael Corbett, with whom I worked in 2007-8 on a survey of the Tenderloin for the National Register of Historic Places district nomination. Historical details have been drawn from my own research and personal experience, as well as the painstaking research of friend and fellow historian Peter Field, who each spring and fall gives free historical walking tours of the Tenderloin, which I highly recommend to all.

A friend just turned me on to this amazing history of the Tenderloin. It’s long and very detailed with LOTS of historical photos and images. I’ve only read about half so far but wanted to share it.

Source: The Tenderloin | Up From The Deep

From 7000 BCE to today, at least 19 cities have led the world in population.

Here’s the abridged version of this fascinating chain:

Çatalhöyük led the world with 1,000 people by 7000 BCE.

Tell Brak led the world with 4,000 people by 5000 BCE.

Uruk took the lead with 40,000 people by 3300 BCE.

Memphis took the lead with 35,000 people by 2250 BCE.

Babylon took the lead with 60,000 people in 1770 BCE.

Thebes took the lead with 75,000 people by 1500 BCE.

Nimrud took the lead with 75,000 people by 800 BCE.

Nineveh took the lead with 100,000 people by 700 BCE.

Alexandria took the lead with 150,000 people by 300 BCE.

Rome took the lead with 400,000 people by 100 BCE.

Constantinople led with world with 450,000 people by 500 CE.

Chang’an took the lead with 600,000 people by 600 CE.

Kaifeng took the lead with 1M people by 1000 CE.

Hangzhou took the lead with 1M people by 1200 CE.

Nanjing took the lead with 500,000 people by 1400 CE.

Beijing took the lead with 600,000 people by 1450 CE.

London took the lead with 1.9 million people by 1841.

New York took the lead with 7.8 million people by 1925.

Tokyo took the lead with 15 million people by 1965.

The details are spelled out at this source: The 19 greatest cities in history – Business Insider