Monday, October 24, 2011

What is the Symbol for the Russian Ruble?

Also of interest: The double-headed eagle on the ruble was
adopted early on in the Rurik period from the Byzantine
double-headed eagle to symbolize the Rurik rulers' relationship
with the Byzantine royal family, the Paleologues, through
Ivan III's consort, Zoe (Sophie) Paleologue, a Greek princess.

The short answer is there is no official symbol. During the imperial period until about the early reign of Nicholas I around the 1820s, a symbol with the Russian letters "er" (Р) and "u" ( У) was used, pictured at right. It has been replaced with a variety of symbols including R and руб. The Central Bank of Russia has been trying to decide since 2007 on a new design for the symbol and is considering both a P with two lines through it and the symbol below.

This post is adapted largely from Wikipedia. Thank you to Wikipedia, specifically the English-language article on the Russian Ruble for providing so much helpful information.

Imperial Napkin Fold

This one's short but interesting. It deals with out friends the Hapsburgs again but on a much lighter topic. The way napkins are folded at Austrian state events is a closely guarded secret that only two people know who pass it on to someone else before they die. It originated during Hapsburg rule in Austria-Hungary in Vienna and is still used sometimes when foreign dignitaries, for example, dine in Vienna with high-ranking government officials.

The napkin is displayed in a museum to the public and there are pictures and videos of it online. So it's easy for people to see but no one has been able to figure out how to do it. It's my guess that a lot of people have not tried but the secrecy over a napkin just makes you wonder what other juicy secrets they might have regarding the former royal family in Austria! When I have the chance to write more, I'll discuss one secret that another royal family may have that, if true, is far darker...the story of Kaspar Hauser.

I have some more research to finish before I can publish though, and I worked overnight at the restaurant last night so I'm tired and ready to sleep (had a bad day [night?] there too). For now, enjoy this short video of the Hapsburg napkin fold!

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Battles of the World for 1000 Years

A short but very cool video simulating battles in the world over time. See if you recognize periods of war by the increase in frequency of battles. Also see if you recognize any of the names. I know they're small but the more major battles have bigger names. I thought this video was pretty cool.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Succession, Royal Inbreeding, and the Hapsburg Lip

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

  • George I married his first cousin Sophia Dorothea of Celle
  • George I married his third cousin once removed Caroline of Ansbach
  • George IV married his first cousin Caroline of Brunswick
George V sweeps away his German titles.


    Charles II of Spain, the last Spanish Hapsburg




    Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor

    Juan Carlos I of Spain


    The Madness of King George: A Misunderstood King

    George III in his coronation robes.
    His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, George William Frederick (June 4, 1738-January 29, 1820) became King of the Great Britain and Ireland as George III on October 25, 1760 when his grandfather, King George II, died after passing out unceremoniously and unfortunately while using the toilet early in the morning. The former king had lived to the age of 77, longer than any recorded English monarch up to that point. The new monarch was only 22 years old when he took the title King and 23 at his coronation but he had extensive schooling from his tutors and, unlike the previous two British kings of the House of Hanover, spoke English as a first language (instead of German), never visited the Electorate/Kingdom of Hanover in Germany which he became king of eventually, and was wholeheartedly British.

    However, the king had a dreadful problem. He suffered from several episodes of serious physical and mental illness throughout his life that were well-documented thanks to his high station. It is widely believed now that the king had a hematological disease called acute intermittent porphyria (AIP). First of all, unlike other royal afflictions such as mandibular prognathism in the Hapsburg family (more on that another day), porphyria is not the result of marriage between close relatives (inbreeding). Rather, AIP is a hereditary disease that is autosomal dominant, meaning that someone affected by it has a 50% chance of passing it on to each of his children. The disease can lay dormant for one's whole life and often needs a trigger (like a change in medicine, stress, diet, etc.) to bring out an acute attack, explaining why neither of George III's parents had notable symptoms. One of King George's descendants, Prince William of Gloucester (December 18, 1941–August 28, 1972) was diagnosed with variegate porphyria (VP), a similar porphyria with hepatic and cutaneous symptoms and autosomal dominant inheritance pattern.

    Prince William suffered from porphyria too.
    An attack of acute intermittent porphyria is manifested by a wide range of symptoms. The actual cause of the attack is the absence of an enzyme, porphobilinogen deaminase, that converts a chemical called a porphyrin into heme, a component of hemoglobin, the iron-based chemical in red blood cells that carries oxygen around the body. Porphyrins are toxic to the body in high doses and attacks occur when stress, diet, or something else causes the body to not be able to filter the excess porphyrins. Pain is severe and most often located in the abdomen and the hands and feet (peripheral neuropathy). Often pain needs to be treated with IV morphine or other equally strong narcotics. Insomnia is common. Nausea, vomiting, constipation, and diarrhea all can occur. Muscle weakness, seizures, headaches, forgetfulness and confusion are often the neurological symptoms. The heart races and tachycardia (high heart rate) and hypertension (high blood pressure) are not uncommon even when an attack is not occurring. Psychiatric problems can occur and can sometimes be the only manifestation of the disease. Often individuals afflicted with porphyria are simply depressed and have anxiety issues but in more severe attacks serious cases of paranoia and psychosis can occur. Finally, AIP is often marked by a distinct purple color in urine and stool during an attack, hence it's name which is related to the Greek word for "purple" (a book about George III's porphyria is titled Purple Secret). There can often be other symptoms. There is no cure and the treatment is usually just of symptoms. One medicine, called Panhematin is available to treat the cause of porphyria but requires an IV and is difficult to find as most hospital pharmacies do not carry it and only one company in the United States makes it. Other than Panhematin, IV glucose (sugar) is used sometimes because carbohydrates are known to help stop attacks. Opiates are used for pain, phenothiazines are used for nausea, and benzodiazepines are, very cautiously, used for seizures. Barbiturates and many other drugs are known to be porphyrogenic, i.e., trigger attacks of AIP. Arsenic, now known to be poisonous in any individual, is one of the most dangerous substances to ingest for someone with any porphyria. In 2003, samples of George III's hair and wigs were analyzed and arsenic was found in them, most likely a medication given to him for his illness that in a cruel twist of fate actually made his condition worse.

    George III is often remembered as "Mad King George." In fact, the playwright Alan Bennett wrote a play called The Madness of George III in 1991 which was adapted as a movie, The Madness of King George in 1994.The play and movie focus on the unfortunate king's mental illness rather than his successful military campaigns during the Napoleonic Wars and his warm welcome of the United States to the international scene after the defeat of Britain in the American War of Independence. Rather, he is also remember often as the king who lost the American colonies (the United States was founded during his reign). Some bloggers have even asserted that if it weren't for porphyria, the United States wouldn't exist and we'd all be drinking tea and singing God Save the Queen today (presumably on the assumption that the king was crazy due to the disease and mishandled the colonies and the war).

     However, a lot of scholarship now has a more positive outlook on George III's reign, the longest in British history up to that point. Let us try to look at George III like unbiased historians rather than Americans who are most familiar with the king as the despot who ruled with "absolute tyranny" to whom the Declaration of Independence was addressed. George III was actually quick to respect the United States as a new country, welcoming John Adams as the de facto ambassador from the US (his title was Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of St. James's). John Adams did not stay at the court for long, however. According to US Department of State Historians, John Adams "became so frustrated with the cool reception [from George III's court] that he closed the legation in 1788 and the post remained vacant for four years."

    It seems from his dealings with the infant United States that King George III was in fact a rather honorable man. He also enjoyed some simple pleasures. Sometimes remembered as "Farmer George," the King had somewhat of a green thumb, liked to tend to his garden, and was very interested in agriculture in general. He loved spending time at what is now called the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew. He was also a skilled equestrian.

    George III in 1820, the year he died.
    However, with regards to the king's disease acute intermittent porphyria, George III suffered attacks often. His most notable episodes occurred in the early 1780s, 1804, and 1810. He was immensely popular in 1810 but his deteriorating condition caused parliament to pass the Regency Act of 1811, officially titled the "Care of King During his Illness, etc. Act of 1811," of which this year is the 200th anniversary. The law passed control of the monarchy to his son, the future King George IV.

    Suffering all the typical symptoms of AIP, the king also was almost totally blind and in chronic pain. It is rumored that he would speak for hours on end about nothing and sometimes would wander around nearly or entirely naked. He never learned of the death of his son Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, Queen Victoria's father. He never knew that he was proclaimed King of Hanover and the Electorate of Hanover was elevated to a Kingdom. He died with his favorite son, Prince Frederick, the Duke of York, by his side on January 29, 1820 around 8:30 PM, in incredible pain, grief-stricken over the death of his youngest and favorite daughter Princess Amelia, and most likely conscious but psychotic until the bitter end. If ever there was a "tyrant" that one can feel sympathy for, it is the misunderstood King George III.

    As a side note, I have a particularly strong interest in George III and porphyria. My grandmother suffered from acute intermittent porphyria and it is likely that my mother, my sister, and I all have inherited it. For more information on porphyria, or to help promote awareness of the rare but serious hematological disease, check out the American Porphyria Foundation and learn about the different porphyrias to become more aware. Here's an interesting tidbit to pique your interest: porphyria is sometimes cited as a cause or contributor to vampire and werewolf myths.

    One Minute to Midnight

    October 22 is an important day in Cold War Era history. On October 15, 1962 pictures from US spy planes were given to President John F. Kennedy that showed Soviet-built missiles based in Cuba, a volatile country with a revolutionary communist government just a short distance from Florida.

    The U2 Spy Plane image of Soviet missiles in Cuba
     On October 22, the president announced in an extraordinarily important speech that marked a climax in Cold War tensions that the US had identified the medium-range missile being built in Cuba and that our government would not tolerate such a violation of the Monroe Doctrine. He stated that any nuclear action by the Soviets in Cuba, regardless of the target of the attack, would be considered an attack on the United States and instituted a naval blockade against Cuba. The president was lauded for his strong, no-nonsense, courageous positioning and handling of the crisis in his speech when the world was on the brink of nuclear war.

    The phrase "one minute to midnight" is thrown around a lot when people talk about the Cuban missile crisis. It is a reference to the Doomsday Clock, a index published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists by the University of Chicago that measures how close the world is to all-out nuclear war (midnight). The Cuban missile crisis certainly brought the world close to nuclear war, but neither the United States nor the USSR wanted to engage in a nuclear world war over the island nation of Cuba.

    So, contrary to popular belief, the clock remained at 7 minutes to midnight during the entire Cuban missile affair. The clock has never landed on one minute to midnight, in fact. The closest the clock ever got was two minutes to midnight in 1953 when the United States and the USSR both tested nuclear bombs within a short time frame and the nuclear arms race really took off.

    Graph of the Doomsday Clock's Minutes to Midnight.

    The Cuban missile crisis ended on October 28, 1962, to the relief of the entire world, when Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev announced that the Soviet Union planned to dismantle the missile sites in Cuba. A strategic victory was won for the United States, the Monroe Doctrine, and President Kennedy while a proverbial victory was won for reason, logic, and humanity as a whole. The human race had, at least for the moment, avoided the promises of mutual assured destruction in a nuclear war between the superpowers, a phrase fittingly made into an acronym: MAD.


    Hi everyone! My name is Mike. I am a history buff and spend a lot of time reading articles online and in print about different historical figures, events, peoples, etc. and I always want to share them with someone. I decided to make a blog to share short synopses of historical topics as often as I can. I have bachelor of arts degrees in economics and history and while I have studied all different histories, the subjects I know most about are German and Russian history, especially during both countries' imperial periods, WWI, and WWII.

    I'm just getting started with blogging so excuse me for making any mistakes...I'm learning as I do this project.