Looks Good on Paper by Dan Collins for May 28, 2024

3-Pliny toilet paper.

Remember he died trying to save Pomponianus.

I thought this recipe I had for libum was from Pliny the Elder, turns out it’s from Cato the Elder

The line kinda Pilinyed out!

I’m sorry, Dan—but the joke about Vesuvius? Too soon, Dan. Too soon.

The “four faces” of Pliny!!!!!!

Pliny Tim……funny!

And there’s Pliny more where that came from.

IIRC my Early European History, basically Greeks and Romans, one of the Plinys witnessed the eruption of Vesuvius from a safe distance. Vesuvius is still considered active. Vesuvius has erupted many times since. It is the only volcano on Europe’s mainland to have erupted in the last hundred years. It is regarded as one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world because 3,000,000 people live near enough to be affected by an eruption, with at least 600,000 in the danger zone. This is the most densely populated volcanic region in the world. Eruptions tend to be violent and explosive; these are known as Plinian eruptions. Mount Vesuvius has erupted many times. Numerous others preceded the eruption in AD 79 in prehistory, including at least three significantly larger; an example is the Avellino eruption around 1800 BC, which engulfed several Bronze Age settlements. Since AD 79, the volcano has also erupted repeatedly, in 172, 203, 222, possibly in 303, 379, 472, 512, 536, 685, 787, around 860, around 900, 968, 991, 999, 1006, 1037, 1049, around 1073, 1139, 1150, and there may have been eruptions in 1270, 1347, and 1500.22 The volcano erupted again in 1631, six times in the 18th century (including 1779 and 1794), eight times in the 19th century (notably in 1872), and in 1906, 1929 and 1944. There have been no eruptions since 1944, and none of the eruptions after AD 79 were as large or destructive as the Pompeian one.The eruptions vary greatly in severity but are characterized by explosive outbursts of the kind dubbed Plinian after Pliny the Younger, a Roman writer who published a detailed description of the AD 79 eruption, including his uncle’s death.24 On occasion, eruptions from Vesuvius have been so large that the whole of southern Europe has been blanketed by ash; in 472 and 1631, Vesuvian ash fell on Constantinople (Istanbul), over 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) away. A few times since 1944. Some of this was borrowed from Wikipedia and other sources.

A few times since 1944, landslides in the crater have raised clouds of ash dust, raising false alarms of an eruption.

Since 1750, seven of the eruptions of Vesuvius have had durations of more than five years; only Mount Etna has had as many long-duration eruptions in the last 270 years. The two most recent eruptions of Vesuvius (1875–1906 and 1913–1944) each lasted more than 30 years.Vesuvius is still regarded as an active volcano, although its current activity produces little more than sulfur-rich steam from vents at the bottom and walls of the crater.Layers of lava, ash, scoria and pumice make up the volcanic peak. Their mineralogy is variable, but generally silica-undersaturated and rich in potassium, with phonolite produced in the more explosive eruptions (e.g. the eruption in 1631 displaying a complete stratigraphic and petrographic description: phonolite was firstly erupted, followed by a tephritic phonolite and finally a phonolitic tephrite).

And that is why when we visited Italy many years ago the Mrs was very nervous anytime we were within 100 km of the mountain.

Boy, what day is this? Why, it’s the beginning of Saturnalia, sir!

That should read “Gods” Mr Collins, after all the Romans were polytheistic .

Dan humor is ancient.