What the hokey-pokey and cornucopia have to do with ice cream.
Plus other cool things people wrote, photographed, and recorded.
The history of the ice cream cone
— FOOD / HISTORY
The ice cream cone is ubiquitous in the 21st century, but where did this humble edible container come from? The 1904 World Fair in St. Louis, Missouri. Who invented the cone as we know it today? That’s a little more complicated to know for sure. Robert Moss takes us through the history of the cone, from ice cream sandwiches to patents and lawsuits more than a century ago.
Writing in a different era (not so long ago)
— TECHNOLOGY
The first Apple computer I remember using was the iMac G3 about 18 years ago. It came in a rainbow of colours from strawberry to indigo to grape. It was large and clunky and bore little physical resemblance to its descendants.
A computer was a tool for work, and diversion too, but it was not the best or only way to write a letter or to fritter away an hour. Computing was an accompaniment to life, rather than the sieve through which all ideas and activities must filter.
Writer Ian Bogost powered up an even earlier version of the Mac to experience the distraction-free environment today’s computers don’t afford us. It’s a lovely reminder that while we might like them, we don’t need all the bells and whistles. And maybe simplifying our digital workflow would do us all some good.
Marmite and Madness
— PHOTOGRAPHY / MUSIC
If you follow Kerstin Rodgers’s social media or blog, you’ll see gorgeous photos of food and travel (I’m a sucker for a good croissant). What you may not know is that Kerstin is a renowned music photographer, famous for shooting London’s punk scene and everyone from Amy Winehouse to Herbie Hancock. Benjamin Pineros interviewed Kerstin for Feature Shoot, and it is an absolute treat.
Home on the Tennis Court
— PEOPLE
Our identity is often tied to our nationality. “Where are you from?” is a common question asked when meeting someone new. But for some people, like Vesna Jaksic Lowe, the answer isn’t so simple.
There is no box for a Croat born in Serbia while it was Yugoslavia, who has a Canadian passport but lives in the United States. I don’t fit in — in a box or a country.
Vesna writes about moving from Dubrovnik to Toronto as a teenager and finding comfort in a part of her identity that moved with her—her love for tennis.
Climate Changing the Past
— CLIMATE / HISTORY
We can learn so much about human behaviour by studying history. Ruins and discoveries of past civilisations allow archaeologists and historians to learn how our ancestors lived. As the world marches for protecting the planet, Lapham’s Quarterly takes a look at how climate change is already affecting those remnants of history that still survive. From wood-eating shipworms in Norway to flesh-eating bacteria in Chile, the future is bleak for the past.
Pop Zombie
— MUSIC
Post Malone had one of the best songs of 2018 with Sunflower. He’s back with the incredibly catchy Circles and its rather bizarre video featuring medieval knights, zombies, and Goth Rapunzel.
The power of imagination and storytelling.
— BOOKS
Robert Dinsdale’s The Toymakers is a story about magic, imagination, and memories, encased in a plot about love, grief, and sibling rivalry. The titular toymakers are Jekabs Godman (also known as Papa Jack) and his sons, Kaspar and Emil, owners of Papa Jack’s Emporium, the most magical toy shop in pre-World War I London. When fifteen-year-old Cathy Wray sees an ad seeking shop hands at Papa Jack’s, she boards a train to London and leaves her family behind. Pregnant and alone, Cathy finds her way to the Emporium, unaware of how her life will forever be altered once she steps through its doors.
Once upon a time, all of us, no matter what we've grown up to do or who we've grown up to be, were little boys and girls, happy with nothing more than bouncing a ball against a wall.
From wind-up soldiers that fight long wars to paper trees and the two World Wars (sorry, I couldn’t resist), there are many different stories and relationships to explore within the Emporium’s walls. The Toymakers isn’t perfect—far from it. And it’s much darker than you would imagine a book set in a toy shop to be. About two-thirds of the way in it takes a turn that’s disturbing, to say the least. But it’s a beautifully written, insightful exploration of human behaviour and relationships set in a fairytale world.
Ice cream cone photo by Capri23auto on Pixabay
The Toymakers cover at by Laura Barrett for Ebury Publishing (Penguin Books)
Thanks for reading! I’m Shivani, a writer & editor, caffeine addict, and runner who loves tacos and has no hand-eye co-ordination. You can find me on Twitter at @wordsbyshivani.
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