Latest news with #EddieChorepost
The Guardian
7 days ago
- The Guardian
Readers reply: when did people start going on holiday?
When did people start going on holiday? Valentina Otero, Mexico City Send new questions to nq@ Only a privileged few could afford to go on holiday in pre-industrial times (and before the advent of the railways). The earliest known holiday postcard, however, dates back to Roman times. The text, in full, reads: 'Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres. Utinam hic esses.' EddieChorepost People certainly went on holiday during the Roman empire – actually travelling, not just nipping off to your villa on the coast for the summer, as many rich people did – because we've found the souvenirs. There are at least two 'A present from Hadrian's Wall' cups, decorated with names of major forts. SpoilheapSurfer Well, the first to have a holiday was God – according to Genesis, that is. (Not sure which album, though.) If organised holidays are meant, for 'hoi polloi', not the grand tour aristos, then Thomas Cook arranged everything on 5 July 1841 for a group of temperance campaigners to travel the vast distance between Leicester and Loughborough to attend a rally. Apparently, refreshments were included: cakes, but no ale. For cakes and ale, it was necessary to wait until Cook had changed his mind and started taking the great unwashed to Spain; things really started to take off in the 1960s. bricklayersoption The grand tour of European sites, as enjoyed by men of the upper classes as part of the general education, was popular between the 17th and 19th centuries. And I suppose there were pilgrimages and trips to spas before that. nina1414 Pilgrimages were possibly the first holidays available to the middling classes. They were ostensibly journeys to venerate saints, but Chaucer gives a good idea of the jollity involved. Souvenir stamped metal badges have been found in the river in York, thrown into the water as an offering to Saint William. DoraMarr It started with holy days. But there is also the idea of mix and match, for example Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in Mexico. This holiday, celebrated on 1-2 November, blends Aztec traditions of honouring ancestors with the Catholic All Souls' Day. andya2025 Wealthy Egyptians started the tradition of the Nile cruise maybe 3,000 years ago. Sailing the Nile to see the pharaohs' tombs, the temples and the natural wonders was a safe and comfortable way to travel. Throughout history, the wealthy and powerful have found novel ways to demonstrate that they don't need to work. Maybe some bronze age city chieftain decided to conspicuously do nothing for half a moon. PlaceboPidgeon I don't know if it counts, but hop-picking season in Kent was used as a working holiday for a lot of poor Londoners from about the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s. They even ran special trains. haveaperspective My parents moved to Bermondsey in the 1950s when they got married; they were amazed at the mass exodus of families at hop-picking time (they grew up in Devon and only moved due to the lack of well-paid work). Tables, chairs and mattresses were piled on to carts and lorries and taken down to the farms of Kent and East Sussex. Br1ckh1ll The Bank Holiday Act 1871, introduced by John Lubbock, was what introduced the idea of paid days off. It gave bank workers four paid days off and they were known as 'Saint Lubbock's Days'. Rail companies ran cheap day excursions to seaside towns – cheap enough for industrial workers to afford them without holiday pay. LittleBarnSwallow In Britain, the Holidays With Pay Act was passed in 1938, so that's a significant date; you could argue it sparked mass tourism. jno50
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Readers reply: Will humans ever outgrow the nation state?
Will humans ever outgrow the nation state? Pat Spring, Harrogate Send new questions to . Assuming that the entire recorded history of the human race represents a bit of a rough patch, there's every reason to suppose so. EddieChorepost I asked an AI app and got the reply: 'Sorry, I faced some issues … please try again.' HistoricalArtefact People need a sense of belonging. At the start of the first world war, there were many who thought that the proletariats of all nations would realise their common humanity and refuse to go to war; that lasted about 10 minutes until the French working class went to war for France, the Germans for Germany, etc. There are, in every country, groups whose tribal, clan or religious affiliation override allegiance to the nation state and whole nation states where these divisions may cause rupture– Belgium comes to mind. But even if it splits apart those parts will become their own nations. bodfishbiker Humans will be evolved into digital states. Apple and Amazon are the first two in the new atlas of digital states where allegiance will be measured real time with neural link-type implants; it is the natural progression from loyalty cardship, which is the natural progression from passportery. confusedofengland Nation states are already being eroded or usurped by a global corporatocracy that: • influences elections and owns our political class; • prevents action beneficial to humans if it affects the bottom line; • controls wealth and employment; • breeds social disconnection and hyper-consumerism. Democracy as we know it is looking less and less viable as its flaws are weaponised by technology and scientific advances. It's more and more likely that if we survive the next few thousand years, we will become passengers, observers, or even servants to an artificial intelligence network with ideas, goals, and motivations that have nothing to do with what nations or people might want or need. Ivymantled Only if people outgrow the 'us & them' mentality. There is no 'them', we are all 'us'. tonimoroni1 Nationalism is sold to us as a thing that we should be happy about and defend and often even get angry about, even to the point where you will kill. But it only serves defending those who have the money and the power in your country. If everyone who doesn't (but really does) have a stake in this, stood up and said 'nope', what happens then? That's what this question is about. AlGreenie Initially I thought 'nay way', but then I got to thinking about my mate Lee Chesterstreet and his prize leeks. The size of his alliums are something to behold. I think it unlikely that a nation state could outgrow him. LeCorbeau
The Guardian
04-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Readers reply: Will humans ever outgrow the nation state?
Will humans ever outgrow the nation state? Pat Spring, Harrogate Send new questions to nq@ Assuming that the entire recorded history of the human race represents a bit of a rough patch, there's every reason to suppose so. EddieChorepost I asked an AI app and got the reply: 'Sorry, I faced some issues … please try again.' HistoricalArtefact People need a sense of belonging. At the start of the first world war, there were many who thought that the proletariats of all nations would realise their common humanity and refuse to go to war; that lasted about 10 minutes until the French working class went to war for France, the Germans for Germany, etc. There are, in every country, groups whose tribal, clan or religious affiliation override allegiance to the nation state and whole nation states where these divisions may cause rupture– Belgium comes to mind. But even if it splits apart those parts will become their own nations. bodfishbiker Humans will be evolved into digital states. Apple and Amazon are the first two in the new atlas of digital states where allegiance will be measured real time with neural link-type implants; it is the natural progression from loyalty cardship, which is the natural progression from passportery. confusedofengland Nation states are already being eroded or usurped by a global corporatocracy that: influences elections and owns our political class; prevents action beneficial to humans if it affects the bottom line; controls wealth and employment; breeds social disconnection and hyper-consumerism. Democracy as we know it is looking less and less viable as its flaws are weaponised by technology and scientific advances. It's more and more likely that if we survive the next few thousand years, we will become passengers, observers, or even servants to an artificial intelligence network with ideas, goals, and motivations that have nothing to do with what nations or people might want or need. Ivymantled Only if people outgrow the 'us & them' mentality. There is no 'them', we are all 'us'. tonimoroni1 Nationalism is sold to us as a thing that we should be happy about and defend and often even get angry about, even to the point where you will kill. But it only serves defending those who have the money and the power in your country. If everyone who doesn't (but really does) have a stake in this, stood up and said 'nope', what happens then? That's what this question is about. AlGreenie Initially I thought 'nay way', but then I got to thinking about my mate Lee Chesterstreet and his prize leeks. The size of his alliums are something to behold. I think it unlikely that a nation state could outgrow him. LeCorbeau
