January 04, 2005
From the desk of Jane Galt:Fun fact of the day
From Encyclopedia Britannica's article on Bulgaria:
On the whole, however, relations with Byzantium were hostile, and the 8th century was marked by a long series of raids and larger campaigns in which the Byzantine forces were usually victorious. Bulgaria recovered under Khan Krum (803–814), who, after annihilating an imperial army, took the skull of Emperor Nicephorus I, lined it with silver, and made it into a drinking cup.
Talk about your Big Gulp . . . Posted by Jane Galt at January 4, 2005 11:28 AM | TrackBack | Technorati inbound links
Reminds me of how on the Simpsons Principal Skinner got fired and one of Nelson’s friends (the bald one IIRC) saw that he was still alive and asked “then whose skull have I been drinking beer out of?”
Posted by: Thorley Winston on January 4, 2005 12:00 PMSo the silver makes it sanitary? Or just watertight?
Both, Bob, though I imagine the Khan was more concerned with watertightness and not having funny tastes than with germs (as, well, he had no idea what they were, anymore than anyone else on Earth in the 9th century).
That and Khans and Emperors and such were all about drinkin' from silver, both because it's a precious metal and because of folk beliefs about it neutralising poison, IIRC.
Posted by: Sigivald on January 4, 2005 03:19 PM"Khan Krum (803–814)"
So he was 11 when he accomplished this feat?
Posted by: mike on January 4, 2005 03:35 PMmike, those are probably his years of rule, not birth & death dates. Just guessing.
Posted by: Michelle Dulak Thomson on January 4, 2005 04:14 PMAnother charming anecdote from the shared history of Bulgaria and the Roman (Byzantine) Empire:
At the battle of Kleidion, 29 July, 1014, Basil II "crushed the Bulgarians and took 14,000 prisoners. Basil was said to have blinded 99 of every 100 of the prisoners, with every 100th man left one eye to guide the rest home. Although probably an exaggeration, this gave Basil his nickname Bulgaroktonus, 'the Bulgar-slayer.'"
[From the Wikipedia article on Basil II, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basil_II]
Just the thing for the sophisticated soul who wants a good beer on his head.
Posted by: M. Scott Eiland on January 4, 2005 08:36 PMGood idea for the President and Bin Laden's skull when we get him.
Posted by: Bob on January 5, 2005 10:52 AMPresident doesn't drink anymore. Let Kerry do it for him.
Posted by: Geoff Matthews on January 5, 2005 02:05 PMI think silver was used because certain poisons would discolor it, thus giving warning to the drinker. I beleieve the Chinese Emperors used silver chopsticks (along with official food tasters) for the same reason.
Posted by: nobody important on January 7, 2005 11:51 AMComments are Closed.