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Saturday, April 25, 2020

How Dancing African Pallbearers Became A Worldwide Meme (And Why They’re Partying Like It’s 1349)


Was This The Social Media Of The 1700s?


In 1769, amateur historian James Granger published theBiographical History of England, from Egbert the Great to the Revolution. It was an interactive book, aimed at collectors of printed images—a popular new hobby at the time. TheBiographical History featured portraits of historical figures and blank leaves to let readers take notes referring to their own collections. Soon, collectors went beyond the book’s intended use, instead adding their own portrait collections directly inside. – JSTOR

Why We Have The Makeover Urge From Quarantine

No one has actually studied mass makeovers during a prolonged global pandemic—we’re in uncharted territory here—but people like Christopher Oldstone-Moore think there’s much to glean from personal expressions of the past. – Wired



How Dancing African Pallbearers Became A Worldwide Meme (And Why They’re Partying Like It’s 1349)


No, it’s not a traditional practice, but there are pallbearers in Ghana who (at the bereaved’s request) will execute some slick moves while toting the coffin on their shoulders. The social mediaverse, as it’s wont to do, has turned images of these dancers into a meme — first to make fun of epic fails, now to express coronavirus dread and warn people to stay home and wear masks when out. Writer Dan Schindel makes the case that the choreographed casket carriers are just a 21st-century variant of a meme that goes back to medieval Europe. – Hyperallergic