5 December 2016 – what’s the story behind door number five?
December 5, 2016
From bathroom scales to fat squirrels! Only fooling you! Yesterday we reminded you about work we did for The One Show on bathroom scales. Today we recall the story about an urban gym being created for portly squirrels at the University of Nottingham. It was eventually unveiled as an April Fool. The University of Nottingham …
23 December: Wintry scenes and watery landscapes
December 23, 2011
While severe winters are relatively unusual in the UK, last winter’s dramatic cold weather reminded us how lucky we’ve been in recent years. The e-Advent calendar blog has already featured Victorian ice-skaters on the River Trent from one particularly cold winter and today’s entry is inspired by this photograph of the River Idle in Nottinghamshire. …
12 December: Short-eared snow owl in a snowy landscape
December 12, 2011
This drawing of a short-eared owl is held in the Porter Collection and is from a time when specimens were shot and collected to provide knowledge of different species. Drawn by artist E Neale, the image features in ET Booth’s volume Rough notes on the birds observed during twenty-five years’ shooting and collecting in the …
7 December: Dig for Victory – Grow for Winter as well as Summer
December 7, 2011
This Dig for Victory poster is from the University’s Collection of British World War II propaganda posters and was originally intended to encourage Britons to grow their own vegetables over the winter months – in addition to spring and summer. This was part of a necessary drive for increased self sufficiency and sustainability in the face of …
2 December: Robin red-breast
December 2, 2011
This beautiful illustration of a robin features in one of about 650 ornithological books that form part of the University’s Porter Collection. Out of all the birds in the extensive collection, the robin is by far the most heavily associated with the festive period – but why is that? And why exactly do we put …
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