Lizzo makes history by playing the Library of Congress’ 200-year-old crystal flute
On Friday 23 September the librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, Lizzo inviting her to play Madison’s 1813 crystal flute, which sits among the library’s collection of flutes – the largest in the world, comprising more than 1,800 flutes. “Like your song they are ‘Good as hell’,” she joked.
Lizzo replied with gusto: “I’m coming Carla! And I’m playing that crystal flute!!!!!”
On 27 September, Lizzo took to the stage with the dazzling historical item, first playing a single note to display its crystal clear tone, before branching out with a trill.
The flute originally belonged to James Madison, America’s fourth President from 1809 to 1817, who wrote The Federalist Papers with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay.
It was one of only two flutes made of crystal, and came from the workshop of Parisian flute-maker, Claude Laurent. According to an engraving on the silver panel that joins the headjoint to the body, the flute was made in 1813, specifically for James Madison.
As Lizzo coined on stage: “History is freaking cool, you guys!”
The Blue People of Kentucky
When it comes to the Fugate family, you may think of the color blue. It’s not every day you get to see a person whose skin color is blue. This makes it easier to understand why people found the Fugate family as an interesting topic. It’s disheartening, but many of the members of the Fugate family remained hidden because of the uniqueness of their situation. You can’t truly blame either side, especially since it sounds almost impossible if you think about it. The possibility of the color blue as a skin tone becoming a hereditary trait feels like a cartoon show. Still, it was an actual situation for the family that was mixed with half-French and half-American. In fact, the Fugate family still exists to this day and their descendants still carry this gene.
The Fugate family has earned many nicknames over time. They’ve been called the Blue People of Kentucky, the Huntsville Subgroup, and the Blue People of Troublesome Creek Kentucky. This is because some members of the family had blue skin. A lot of people had different stories regarding the Fugate family’s skin origin, but the truth is that they have a genetic disease called methemoglobinemia.
Methemoglobinemia (MetHb) can be gained by hereditary means or through the consumption of specific medicines and food. The condition is a side-effect of the overproduction of methemoglobin. This makes oxygen distribution difficult to pass through body tissues, making them blue in color.
Methemoglobinemia in the Fugate family is passed down genetically. In most cases, both parents do not suffer from it, but both carry the gene. That wasn’t the case for Martin Fugate and Elizabeth Smith, as as they clearly have blue skin.
Random Facts
- While children of identical twins are legally first cousins, genetically, they are actually half siblings. I found this one particularly interesting because I have twin daughters.
- Did you know that chocolate can actually protect your teeth against tooth decay?
- And that, 95% of us report washing our hands after using a public toilet....but a study of 8,000 people in big US cities found that the figure was actually closer to 67%? (Gross!)
- Cats happily climb up trees, but do you know why they can't find their way down? Turns out a cat can't climb down headfirst because every claw on its paw points the same way. To get down from a tree, a cat must back down.
- While Neil Armstrong got to be the first to take a step on the moon, Buzz Aldrin managed his own historic first, becoming the first person to urinate on the moon. (Take that, Mr. One Small Step!)
Zorita, the 1940s “Half and Half” Snake-wielding Burlesque Dancer
She was an American burlesque dancer. She was best known for a twenty-minute dance which she performed with two boa constrictors called ‘Elmer and Oscar’
Some of her other unique and subversive numbers:
In another act, she emerges from a giant spiderweb dripping in rhinestones. Dark ‘spider’s hands’ slowly peel off her clothes from the rear. Another one was called ‘The Consummation of the Wedding of the Snake”, where she stripped while holding an 8-foot boa constrictor. She described it as: “A gorgeous young maiden is going to be sold into slavery to an ugly old man. Instead, she dances with a snake, gets bitten, and dies.”
She was also known to walk her snakes on leads in public.
Found on Pinterest. She also has a pretty interesting Wikipedia page.
via Messy Nessy Chic
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)