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Stories

  • Article

Maladaptive daydreaming, gender myths and me

Can you daydream too much? Excessive daydreamer Laura Grace Simpkins reflects on studies into “maladaptive daydreaming” and asks why so few fellow dreamers seem to be men.

  • Article

The metamorphosis of masturbation

Throughout history, medics and campaigners have tried to stamp out masturbation – but is modern science transforming its reputation?

  • Article

History of condoms from animal to rubber

Come on a journey from the first recorded condoms in the 16th century to the modern female condoms in the 1990s – and everything in between.

  • Article

Building a dream in the garden suburbs

In the late 19th century a ‘garden suburb’ promised a retreat from London’s dirt and crowds. See how this new concept was developed to appeal to the health concerns of the literary classes.

All stories (13)

Images

  • Lourdes, France: the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes: petitions to the Virgin Mary placed in a hollow at the shrine. Photograph, ca. 1937.
  • Saint Wilfred (Wilfrid, Wilfrith) the Younger (of York): he petitions King Cædwalla of Wessex to grant him land, at Selsey, which is granted. Engraving by T. King, 1807.
  • A committee of English Nonconformists of the Commonwealth era receiving petitions from people accused of bestiality (a woman with a dog and a man with a horse); representing the danger that Puritanism might be revived in 1680 and seize power in Great Britain. Engraving after Sir R. Lestrange, 1680.
  • 'The old maids petition'
  • The Miners' Petition from West Bromwich.
  • The House in the Strand from which Manasseh Ben Israel issued his petition to Oliver Cromwell.
  • Textiles: a petition presented on behalf of the descendants of John Kay, for a pension. Coloured lithograph by Nosworthy and Wells after Cardwell, with letterpress, 1846.
  • Textiles: a petition presented on behalf of the descendants of John Kay, for a pension. Coloured lithograph by Nosworthy and Wells after Cardwell, with letterpress, 1846.
  • Terrible tractoration!! A poetical petition against galvanising trumpery, and the Perkinistic Institution. In four cantos : most respectfully addressed to the Royal College of Physicians / By Christopher Caustic.
  • A group of mice and rats is presenting a cat on a pedestal with a petition, while the cat is shown chasing mice in the background. Etching by W. Hollar for a fable by Aesop.
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