Jobs of the medieval city

Cory Doctorow 10:02 am Tue Feb 7, 2012

Here's a neatly categorized and tantalizing list of medieval urban professions, including the criminal trades.

silk-snatcher – one who steals bonnets

stewsman – probably a brothel keeper – "since the words stew and stewholder both mean a bawd, I'm guessing that a stewsman would be a brothel-keeper as well. Whether bawdry counts as a criminal activity varies at different times and places."

thimblerigger – a professional sharper who runs a thimblerig (a game in which a pea is ostensibly hidden under a thimble and players guess which thimble it is under)

eggler – an egg-merchant

fool

Knifeman – one skilled with a knife; specifically, a soldier trained to disembowel horses

What did people do: in a Medieval City?

(via Kottke)

New Netflix movie about the Chicago 7 trial, starring Sacha Baron Cohen as Abbie Hoffman

In 1968, political activists and Yippies Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, John Froines, and Lee Weiner were charged with conspiracy to incite riots and other… READ THE REST
Aviation museums' "most wanted list" of cool aerospace artifacts lost to history

Aviation historians and museum curators like those at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum go gaga over any photos, correspondence, or curiosities related to Amelia Earhart. And of course… READ THE REST
Roman road maps in the style of the London Underground's

Sasha Trubetskoy made a set of maps of Roman roads depicted in the style of Harry Beck's famous London Underground map. It’s finally done. A subway-style diagram of the major… READ THE REST
Short Post, just one paragraph

Dessert cheesecake wafer bear claw fruitcake. Fruitcake chupa chups donut candy canes marzipan. Apple pie sweet roll tart chocolate cake macaroon marshmallow carrot cake gummi bears sweet. Pastry sugar plum… READ THE REST
Save 50% on a 1-year subscription to Dashlane's premium password manager

We all know vital information about ourselves and our private digital accounts can be compromised by cybercriminals. However, many would be frightened to know just how compromised they and their… READ THE REST
The Bite Helper removes the itch of a mosquito bite in seconds

While mosquitoes have certainly earned their title as the deadliest animal on earth, their impact on most of our lives is usually a lot less consequential. But even though they… READ THE REST