3-min Friday Newsletter
#23 - Cultural Shot.
Good morning from sunny/rainy Scotland. I hope your week was fabulous, and that the weekend is even better…
Here’s your Good-luck Friday quiz: *Who, when asked what she wore to bed, answered: “A few drops of Chanel No. 5”?
(answer at the end)
Today you’ll find:
🚀 Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and NASA.
🍅 Bloody Mary, cheers, Queen.
👨🏻🎨 Picasso, the guy who paints like a child.
🗿The Habsburg Jaw.
🚀 Maybe Armstrong made it to space, or maybe he didn’t. But Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart certainly did!
In 1977, aboard Voyager 1 and 2, NASA launched the Golden Record, a time capsule containing sounds and images of Earth—including music—hoping it could be found by extraterrestrial life and, thus, establish contact.
Here’s what we sent:
Beethoven, Fifth Symphony, First Movement
Mozart, The Magic Flute, Queen of the Night aria
No pop, no rock, no heavy metal (thank god), no rap, etc.
How lovely to think that aliens might come looking for Bach—and find Bad Bunny instead.
But the most interesting thing is the record’s cover. How do you explain how to play it to someone who doesn’t know human language or symbols?
🍅 Bloody Mary—cocktail and Queen
The cocktail? Tomato juice, vodka, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, lemon, pepper, and ice. A classic brunch cure-all. And, who knows, maybe the drink is now better known than the Queen.
Mary Tudor was Queen of England for five years (1553–1558). She was the daughter of Henry VIII and inherited a Protestant country, but she was a devout Catholic deeply affected by her father’s split from Rome.
She wanted to reinstall Catholicism in England, and when persuasion didn’t work, she turned to persecution: nearly 300 Protestants were burned at the stake.
The people of England gave her the nickname “Bloody Mary.”
As for the drink’s name was possibly inspired by her bloody reign—but some say it’s named after a waitress who worked in a bar in Paris.
👨🏻🎨 Picasso “paints like a child” — but does he? (Here’s a work you’ve never seen before).
It’s easy to think of Picasso’s work as childish and, in some way, easy to do — which might suggest that he is not as talented as people take him to be.
But here’s something that might change your mind:
At age 13, he took the entrance exam for Barcelona’s School of Fine Arts. Instead of the usual month to complete the drawings, he finished in a day! They admitted him immediately.
At 15, he painted this:
🗿The Habsburg Jaw.
The Habsburgs were one of Europe’s most powerful royal families, ruling over Austria, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, and more for centuries.
Through strategic marriages (sometimes very close ones), they consolidated power, but also their gene pool, resulting in the famous Habsburg Jaw.
The condition (prognathism) made their lower jaw stick out, creating an unmistakable profile.
Charles II was the last Habsburg ruler in Spain. When he died without heir (he was so deformed that he couldn’t do the job), the Spanish Habsburg dynasty ended.
So next time you’re in a museum and spot a royal with a jaw: that’s a Habsburg!
That was all; I hope you enjoyed it. Cheers!
*Remember to click the links (words in red) for hidden jewels.
Oh, yes, here’s the answer: