Tag: history

  • Spanish Silver

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    Brendan Barry
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    A few weeks back now the Economist posted a graphic about the link between lead, silver, and the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. But not in the way you probably think. Instead, they graph the appearance of lead deposits in the glaciers of Greenland. For the full explanation you should read the short…

  • Triple Decker Sandwiches

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    Brendan Barry
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    I am working from home today, which likely means finding a little cafe or sandwich shop for lunch. And that is the only reason I am sharing this post from xkcd. Credit for the piece goes to Randall Munroe.

  • Data Displays

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    Brendan Barry
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    This past weekend I saw the film Darkest Hour with one of my mates. The film focuses on Winston Churchill at the very beginning of his term as prime minister. Coincidentally I was walking through some of the very rooms and corridors depicted in the film—and rather accurately I should say—just one week prior. One…

  • The Sinking of the Vasa

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    Brendan Barry
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    In 1628, Sweden launched one of its largest and most powerful warships not just in Sweden, but in all of Europe. She was to participate in the wars with Poland and Lithuania as Sweden sought to expand her growing empire. After two years of construction in Stockholm’s naval yard she set sail into a calm…

  • Below Stockholm’s Streets

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    Brendan Barry
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    I survived my holidays and hopefully you did as well. My holiday included a two-week trip to Stockholm, Copenhagen, London, and York. Over the next few weeks, you can expect to see posts with graphics and diagrams that I captured whilst on holiday. Today’s post is about a rather large piece from the Medieval Museum…

  • What Does Your Name Mean? (Country-level Edition)

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    Brendan Barry
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    Shoutout to my very good friend Jonathan Fairman for passing this one along. Browsing the internets, I often find these little adverts saying something about “10 Things You Didn’t Know About Your Name” or “10 Things Your Name Says About You”. They grab my attention because, as you all know, genealogy is kind of a…

  • Gowanus, Brooklyn

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    Brendan Barry
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    This past weekend I was reading an article in the New York Times about how a diary from the 19th century may indicate a plot in Gowanus Brooklyn destined for development may contain an old slave burial ground. You may recall how this author’s hobbies include genealogy and family history—how I would love to find…

  • Why the Civil War?

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    Brendan Barry
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    Yesterday, President Trump asked why there had been no discussion about the causes of the Civil War. No, that is not a joke. Well, Mr. President, turns out that there has been quite a bit of discussion over the last few years. And the broad consensus? Note the above, with the darker shaded counties representing those…

  • Climate Change

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    Brendan Barry
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    So this is the last Friday before the election next Tuesday. Normally I reserve Fridays for less serious topics. And often xkcd does a great job covering that for me. But because of the election, I want today’s to be a bit more serious. Thankfully, we still have xkcd for that. The screenshot above gets to…

  • The History and Future of Data Visualisation

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    Brendan Barry
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    From time to time in my job I hear the desire or want for more different types of charts. But in this piece by Nick Brown over on Medium, we can see that there are really only a few key forms and some are already terrible—here’s looking at you, pie charts. How new are some…