J.B.B's Wunderkammer

*Sadly, it looks like I may never be able to get back into this account in a non-mobile way, but I may still post here from Instagram for the next little while to try and move as many of you lovely followers over to the new blog as possible!

The Bather

Check out our previous posts on LJS 225, the Pope’s Codebook, for more about this fascinating manuscript! In the meanwhile, I am here to tide you over with some fabulous glossy close-ups of fol. 1r.

“The woods gal, that’s what they called me.” Emma Dupree, 1898-1996. Photos by Mary Anne McDonald.

Evening dress designed by Worth for Lady Mary Curzon, 1903

And they will blow your mind.

Here are some gorgeous ones

This is a Victoria Crowned Pigeon [1] found in New Guinea.  Beautiful.

Another Victoria Crested Pigeon [2] I just had to post both pics because this pic is fabulous.

This is the Nicobar pigeon [3].  It is the closest living ancestor to the Dodo bird!

Say hello to the Indian fantail pigeon [4].  WHatttttt

This is a Scandraroon pigeon [5].  This pigeon, and the next few, are champions from the Grand National Pigeon Show.  Which is a thing.

This is a Maltese pigeon [6].  She is so grand and proud.

This is a Crested Saxon Field pigeon [7].  I imagine if pigeons wore shoes, this one would have a hell of a time.

This is a Frillback pigeon [8].  Maybe created by van Gogh.  Art joke.

This is a Pigmy Pouter pigeon [9].  I have no words.

And last but not least, this is an Australian Saddleback Tumbler pigeon [10].  A Tumbler on Tumblr.  That was obvious and [in no way] needed to be said.

There are over 800 breeds of Fancy pigeons!  

The gayest dinosaur to ever live is the black swan (Cygnus altratus).  An estimated 25% of male black swans are homosexual or bisexual, forming pair bonds with other males and stealing the eggs of females to raise as their own.  This is the highest rate of homosexuality among any known dinosaur species; the mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos) has a rate almost as high, with 19% of all males forming homosexual pair bonds.  (Unlike black swans, homosexual mallard ducks seem to be uninterested in raising young.)

The most famous gay dinosaurs are penguins (family Spheniscidae).  Numerous penguins in captivity have formed same-sex pair bonds, and have successfully hatched foster eggs and raised surrogate offspring.  Homosexual behavior among penguins has also been reported in the wild.

Homosexuality is very common in the animal kingdom - perhaps even more than we currently realize, thanks to the various stigmas that discourage its study.  Petter Bøckman, a scientist at the Natural History Museum at the University of Oslo, has said: “No species has been found in which homosexual behavior has not been shown to exist, with the exception of species that never have sex at all.”  As a result, it seems likely that most, if not all, dinosaur species engaged in homosexual activity of some variety or another.