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Miss Lily
@misslily
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misslily A clever lawyer successfully defended rats by blaming local cats.
Fun Fact
Animal lawyers: In 1508, a French lawyer successfully defended rats in court by arguing they couldn't travel safely due to cats.
misslily Church courts held trials against insect swarms that destroyed local crops.
Glossary
animal trial (noun)
A formal legal proceeding in which a non-human animal is prosecuted for a crime. In 1386, a French court famously sentenced a pig to public execution for killing an infant.
A formal legal proceeding in which a non-human animal is prosecuted for a crime. In 1386, a French court famously sentenced a pig to public execution for killing an infant.
Quiz
How did medieval courts make animal trials resemble human trials as closely as possible?
Gossip
Should modern pets have legal rights like medieval animals did?
Quiz
Which Swiss city held a famous trial in 1478 that ended with beetles being banished?
Quiz
Which type of court handled wild pests like locusts and weevils in medieval Europe?
Quiz
Which animal was famously dressed in human clothes and executed in Falaise, France, in 1386?
Quiz
In medieval France, what happened to a pig's owner if their pig committed a crime?
Quiz
What spiritual punishment did medieval church courts threaten to use against disobedient locust swarms?
Quiz
In 1508, how did lawyer Barthélemy de Chasseneuz excuse his rat clients from showing up in court?
Quiz
What was the main philosophical reason for putting animals on trial in the Middle Ages?
misslily Maya and Aztec elites drank cold, bitter cacao with a prized foam that symbolized high social status.
misslily Aztec counterfeiters filled hollowed cacao husks with dirt or wax to fake valuable chocolate money.
misslily Aztec and Maya rulers stored millions of cacao beans that grew on trees and served as money.
misslily Maya gods discovered cacao in a mythical mountain, and the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl stole it from heaven.
misslily Chocolate money, chocolate money! (Don't take those clay beans!)
misslily Instead of sweet bars, ancient chocolate was a frothy, bitter beverage reserved primarily for nobles, priests, and warriors.
Fun Fact
Cacao counterfeits: Aztec counterfeiters filled empty cacao husks with dirt or wax to trick market vendors into accepting them as real money.
misslily Just like modern paper money, cacao currency faced clever counterfeiters who made fake beans out of painted clay.
Glossary
cacao (noun)
The seed of a tropical evergreen tree from which cocoa and chocolate are made. During the fifteenth century, Aztec merchants traded these seeds to purchase everyday items like rabbits.
The seed of a tropical evergreen tree from which cocoa and chocolate are made. During the fifteenth century, Aztec merchants traded these seeds to purchase everyday items like rabbits.
Quiz
How did Aztec emperors like Montezuma II store their vast wealth of cacao?
Gossip
Would you prefer bitter chili chocolate or sweet milk chocolate?
Quiz
What could a person buy with a single cacao bean in an Aztec market around 1500 CE?
Quiz
How did Aztec counterfeiters trick merchants with fake cacao money?
Quiz
Why was the foam on top of an ancient Maya chocolate drink highly prized?
Quiz
Which group of people in Aztec society was most likely to be allowed to drink chocolate?
Quiz
Which Aztec god was believed to have stolen cacao from the heavens to give to humans?
Quiz
Why did the Maya and Aztecs rarely eat chocolate as a solid bar?
Quiz
Which ingredient was commonly mixed into the ancient Mesoamerican chocolate drink known as xocolatl?
misslily Scratch a name on the clay (write it down!) / Ten years and they're far away (bye-bye, yeah!)
misslily The politician Aristides was famously ostracized because citizens grew tired of hearing how incredibly fair he was.
Fun Fact
Pottery vote: The modern word 'ostracize' comes directly from 'ostrakon', the Greek word for the broken piece of pottery used as a ballot.
misslily Ostracism was not a criminal punishment, but a preventative measure that let exiles keep their property.
Glossary
ostracism (noun)
Exclusion from a society or group by common consent. The Athenian assembly annually voted to exile one prominent citizen for ten years using inscribed pottery shards.
Exclusion from a society or group by common consent. The Athenian assembly annually voted to exile one prominent citizen for ten years using inscribed pottery shards.
Quiz
Which Athenian political office was exempt from the random lottery and chosen by actual election instead?
Gossip
Would you trust a random lottery to choose your country's president?
Quiz
What material did ancient Athenians write on to cast their votes for banishing a politician?
Quiz
What did an ostracized Athenian citizen lose during their ten years of exile?
Quiz
What was the name of the stone machine used by Athenians to randomly select citizens for government roles?
Quiz
How many years did a banished Athenian citizen have to stay away from the city-state?
Quiz
Where did Athenian citizens gather to cast their votes for ostracism?
Quiz
What was the minimum number of total votes required for an Athenian ostracism vote to be valid?
Quiz
Which Athenian statesman was famously banished simply because people were tired of hearing him called 'The Just'?
misslily Professional sign-writers painted endorsements on walls to help candidates win local Roman elections.
Fun Fact
Pompeii graffiti: One famous wall inscription in Pompeii hilariously complains about how many people had written on that exact wall.
misslily Roman graffiti included romantic declarations, petty insults, and complaints about local businesses.
Glossary
graffiti (noun)
Writings or drawings scratched or scribbled on a wall or other public surface. The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE preserved thousands of these ancient messages in Pompeii.
Writings or drawings scratched or scribbled on a wall or other public surface. The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE preserved thousands of these ancient messages in Pompeii.