accidental ambience

As wood passes through the floodplain, it collides with and remakes the shore. Some becomes anchored there, trapping silt and seeds. As new vegetation takes root, deer mice, voles, shrews, and chipmunks move in for the harvest. Weasels, minks, and hawks make meals of them and fertilize the soil. Wood that drifts into estuaries becomes perches for hungry bald eagles and herons; rafts for weary cormorants, pelicans, and seals; and nurseries for herring eggs.

Firefighter Uniform

Japan

c.1900

Edo (now Tokyo) in the 17th century had some massive problems. The city had only become the official capital in 1603. Before the 16th century, it had been an inconsequental fishing town. After becoming the capital, the city boomed and population more or less exploded.

The numbers I could find are the following:

1640: 400′000 residents

1693: 800′000 residents

1721: 1′100′000 residents

All in all, Edo became a massive, sprawling city in a very short amount of time. All kinds of people came to Edo, from poor women that were literally sold into prostiution by their parents to the leaders of the country.

The rapid population growth wasn’t the only problem the city faced, however. Some other factors include:

Building material: Most houses were built almost entirely out of wood, which, surprise, burns easily.

Building structures: Houses were often built in rows, with narrow streets in between, perfect for the quick spread of fire

Weather: Constant strong winds, especially in the winter and in spring, helped along with that, too

Arson: Yes, people literally set fires in the hope that they would manage to loot something valuable in the process. These people were often from the lower strata of society, showing that not all was well in Edo. (In short: being poor sucks massively.) Sometime merchants just wanted to destroy their rival’s business, though. Burn that fucker to the ground, or something like that.

Due to these factors, the city experienced 49 large fires between 1601 and 1867, and over a thousand smaller fires. Which means there were approximately 7 smaller fires a year, as well as one massive fire every five years… not great odds if you just wanna do your thing in the big city. The largest fire in 1657 killed around 100′000 people, which was, if you look at the numbers up there, probably around a quarter of the population.

While the shogun quickly commanded the creation of a firefighting force to prevent the burning of his buildings, he was less concerned about the rest of the city. It took until the 18th century (I think somewhere in the 1720s) until he finally ordered the creation of a city-wide firefighting force that protected people from fires and put them out.

In short, because of the frequency of the fires, this was a massively important job.

(Above: Fireman in gear. Take note of the fire hook. These hooks were standard gear for any firefighter, and usually used to destroy buildings to prevent the spread of a fire.)

(Above: Firemen at work. The lanterns and the matoi they are carrying are symbols to identify the “department”.)

And I don’t know, but it seems like an universal rule that important people like to show off, or maybe it’s just a side-effect of running into rapidly-spreading fires, but at some point, they started the tradition of “ladder climbing.” It’s now part of a yearly ceremony that takes place just after new years, but the exact origin of this tradition is unclear.

(Above: We have no time for your foolish safety measures. Get on our level. Hahahaha.)

Anyway, what they do every year in this ceremony is this:

One or more dudes climb a straight ladder that’s only secured with the fire hooks of their colleagues on the ground (you can see them do that in the image), and on top of that ladder they perform various acrobatic feats to show off their awesome firefighting skills (not really). Now if you say this is obviously a print and does not depict reality at all, let me direct you towards some newer technology:

(Above: AAAAH.)

And the tradition lives on until today:

(Above: You can also clearly see this goddamn ladder is not secured at all, other than with the fire hooks. You can only hope none of your colleagues are planning to murder you.)

And if you want to see the entire thing in movement:

In this video, you can see some very nice close-ups of the ladder and the way it’s being secured by the fire hooks. The best stunts come towards the end. Here you can see three dudes on the ladder, and here’s a video of a woman doing the stunts.

Leslie Kantor, VP of Education at Planned Parenthood Federation of America

source

Hubble’s Bubbles in the Tarantula Nebula

These are called Retro Mops (website here), and they’re pugs bred specifically to be longer-legged, leaner, with smaller eyes, longer muzzles, and more open nostrils. And while the project is still a work in progress, it’s heading in the right direction. 

This new breed type started in Germany, and developed from the selective breeding of purebred pugs with longer muzzles and a longer legged frame.

From the website: 

“We want to prove that a pug does not have to be short of breath and phlegmatic, but a very sporty and docile family and companion dog”

And there’s also the Old English Bulldog, which is a muscular and athletic bulldog that can actually clean itself, mate, and give birth on its own (something that mainstream Bulldogs cannot do)

This should be the goal of EVERY pug breeder and owner, to have a healthy dog that doesn’t struggle to breathe and walk.

I’m sure you’re a pug or bulldog lover, which is why you’re so eager to defend them, but you’re not helping these dogs out by ignoring the problems in the breed. This is not a “little problem”, it’s a HUGE issue that’s killing dogs, and it’s prefectly preventable if pugs were outcrossed to have longer muzzles and wider nostrils.

Just look at the difference and tell me you’re not horrified:

As long as people stay blind to these issues, nothing will change. Which is why I’m saying this here so at least some people will see that there IS an alternative, and that wheezing pugs and bulldogs are not cute. When the public realizes the difference, the demand for these mutants will stop and more healthy, longer-lived alternatives will replace them.