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The Friday Digest 28/11/14

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THP Friday digest

This week's update features the First World War's biggest hospital, the mysterious disappearance of a celebrity preacher and the top ten British sweets. 


Germany sent a telegram to Mexico


* Six unexpected First World War battlegrounds.


Why did Malta become one of the First World War's biggest hospitals?


* Why did Malta become one of the First World War's biggest hospitals?


A period engraving depicting the Angels of Mons


* The myth of the Angels of Mons.


Why was the first German defeat of the First World War in Africa?


* Why was the first German defeat of the First World War in Africa?


What was the real story behind the African Queen?

 

* What was the real story behind the African Queen?  


The watercolour painting "Altes Rathaus" which was supposedly painted by Adolf Hitler, is shown at an auction house in Nuremberg, Germany, 20 November 2014

 

A watercolour thought to be painted by Adolf Hitler has sold at an auction in Germany for €130,000 (£103,000; $161,000).

 

Keith Batey and Mavis Lever 

 

* The incredible life of Mavis Batey.


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* A woolly mammoth skeleton was sold to a private collector for £189,000 this week


ancient-silk-road-cemetery-1

 

A cemetery dating back roughly 1,700 years has been discovered along part of the Silk Road, a series of ancient trade routes that once connected China to the Roman Empire.


War hero Edward Norton led a legendary Everest expedition 90 years ago


* The incredible journey of Edward 'Teddy' Norton on Mount Everest


Lego factory in the 1940s


Has the imagination disappeared from Lego?


Aimee Semple McPherson


* The mysterious disappearance of a celebrity preacher


Scrapbook image of the march to Woodhouse Moor courtesy of Leeds Museums


* Nicola Pullan, Assistant Curator of Social History at Leeds Museums, answers your questions on the Leonora Cohen Suffragette Collection


Photo of a Nestlé Caramac bar taken by me, James Cram, on 24 March 2006. Released into the public domain.

 

* A countdown of the top ten British sweets.


A dictionary open at the word "Internet", viewed through a lens. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictionary#mediaviewer/File:Dictionary_through_lens.JPG


Why dictionaries still matter


Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet: doing literally nothing for us  Photo: REX FEATURES

 

* A study published in the Archives of Sexual Behaviour reported that men are ‘more turned on by history documentaries than by romance’.


Russell Crowe in The Water Diviner

 

* From Braveheart to The Imitation Game, the tradition of Hollywood playing fast and loose with historical fact is ancient.


Chris Riddell love letter library 


* Chris Riddell's love letters to libraries


Gabe Bergado's avatar image By Gabe Bergado  November 21, 2014 SHARE  TWEET They tend to be more empathetic toward others.   It's not news that reading has countless benefits: Poetry stimulates parts of the brain linked to memory and sparks self-reflection; kids who read the Harry Potter books tend to be better people. But what about people who only read newspapers? Or people who scan Twitter all day? Are those readers' brains different from literary junkies who peruse the pages of 19th century fictional classics?   Short answer: Yes — reading enhances connectivity in the brain. But readers of fiction? They're a special breed.   The study: A 2013 Emory University study looked at the brains of fiction readers. Researchers compared the brains of people after they read to the brains of people who didn't read. The brains of the readers — they read Robert Harris' Pompeii over a nine-day period at night — showed more activity in certain areas than those who didn't read.  Specifically, researchers found heightened connectivity in the left temporal cortex, part of the brain typically associated with understanding language. The researchers also found increased connectivity in the central sulcus of the brain, the primary sensory region, which helps the brain visualize movement. When you visualize yourself scoring a touchdown while playing football, you can actually somewhat feel yourself in the action. A similar process happens when you envision yourself as a character in a book: You can take on the emotions they are feeling.   Source: CaptPiper/Flickr It may sound hooey hooey, but it's true: Fiction readers make great friends as they tend to be more aware of others' emotions.   This is further apparent in a 2013 study that investigated emotional transportation, which is how sensitive people are to others' feelings. Researchers calculated emotional transportation by having participants express how a story they read affected them emotionally on a five-point scale — for example, how the main character's success made them feel, and how sorry they felt for the characters.   In the study, empathy was only apparent in the groups of people who read fiction and who were emotionally transported. Meanwhile, those who were not transported demonstrated a decrease in empathy.    Source: brioso/Flickr


* Science shows something surprising about people who still read fiction


Writerly mystique vs. self-exposure - which is better?


Faking it: when book reviews go bad.


* Renowned crime fiction writer, P D James has died.


FT Business Book of the Year Prize

 

What if novels were treated like business books?  


Barbican - i Fagiolini Betrayal competition


* A fantastic competition from the Barbican for all crime fiction lovers ...


Harper puts blue sky between it and the rest

 

This week HarperCollins US announced that it will offer a selection of bestselling titles to customers of the US low-cost airline JetBlue.


 

  Which history and publishing stories have you enjoyed reading this week?


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