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The roots of vegetable politics

By Carys Brown (@HistoryCarys) Boris Johnson’s declaration last week that Brexit ‘can be good for carrots too’ caused a mixture of despair, mild amusement, and utter confusion. For those trying to get their heads around Britain’s Brexit-based future, this was hardly the ‘clarity’ they demanded. What few registered, however, was that Johnson had unwittingly tapped into a…
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Daydreaming in Linoleum: Postwar Advertisements and Domestic Fictions

By Kate Schneider Every era has material nova that signal the newness of the present age. In the 1930s, it was the shine of early plastics such as Bakelite and celluloid that made them attractive modern surfaces. But in the 1950s and 1960s, domestic daydreams about ideal homes were played out in the medium of…
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6. The New Mrs Lee’s Cookbook (1974/2004)

By Charmaine Au-Yeung (@steamedbaos) Nasi lemak, fish ball noodles, roti, and Hainanese chicken rice walk onto a table. This diversity of Malaysian, Chinese, and Indian offerings is the bread-and-butter of Singaporean eating culture, which primarily takes place in hawker centres: indoor food markets. Indeed, when people talk about Singapore, food is all they ever talk…
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Gold – Using Cake to Crown Family Members

by Tiéphaine Thomason (@teaphaine) This is the third post in a three-part series for the Doing History Advent Calendar on the history of the senses and the gifts of the Magi. Gold is the last of the gifts presented by the Magi. It is often associated with Melchior (and on occasion, Gaspard). The verse associated…
