Strange Anatomy by Stanley Keleman

more weirdness HERE

Illuminated Skeletons

See more HERE

Female Beauty Standards, Bodily Fluids, and Glitter

See this stuff by artist Hannah Altman:

FACTS ABOUT BLOOD

High Heels for Wartime Domination

"When the soldier stood up in his stirrups, the heel helped him to secure his stance so that he could shoot his bow and arrow more effectively."

In the muddy, rutted streets of 17th Century Europe, these new shoes had no utility value whatsoever - but that was the point. "One of the best ways that status can be conveyed is through impracticality."

- Elizabeth Semmelhack of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto quoted in this article.

Nautilus

A wonderful collection of weird and wonderful largely medical objects:

http://www.thenautilus.it/

Moulage of a child with dyptheria

Mechanical owl hunting decoy

Perfume dispenser

How to Become a Byzantine Princess

Justinian and Theodora are the Posh&Becks of the Byzantine Empire. But not many people know how Theodora--a low-born lady--caught Justinian's eye. Well, it involved a little party trick she does with her lady parts:

"Often, even in the theater, in the sight of all the people, she removed her costume and stood nude in their midst, except for a girdle about the groin: not that she was abashed at revealing that, too, to the audience, but because there was a law against appearing altogether naked on the stage, without at least this much of a fig-leaf. Covered thus with a ribbon, she would sink down to the stage floor and recline on her back. Slaves to whom the duty was entrusted would then scatter grains of barley from above into the calyx of this passion flower, whence geese, trained for the purpose, would next pick the grains one by one with their bills and eat. When she rose, it was not with a blush, but she seemed rather to glory in the performance. For she was not only impudent herself, but endeavored to make everybody else as audacious. Often when she was alone with other actors, she would undress in their midst and arch her back provocatively, advertising like a peacock both to those who had experience of her and to those who had not yet had that privilege her trained suppleness."

From The Secret History of Procopius, trans Richard Atwater, 1927, p. 102-103

Leda and the Swan by Francois Boucher

Vesalius card game

CONNECTING ANIMAL AND FEMALE ANATOMIES

Sexy Northern Mannerism

Impossible bodies by Hendrick Goltzius and his student Joachim Wtewael [Oot-vayl]:

Mars and Venus Surprised by Vulcan, Getty Museum, c. 1601-1610

Mars and Venus Surprised by Vulcan, Mauritshuis, 1601

I have seen both of these in person and there are much smaller than you would expect. They are also incredibly vibrant because rather than painting on wood, he painted on copper, which better preserves the original color. 

Goltzius, Without Bacchus and Ceres, Venus Would Freeze (Sine Cerere et Libero friget Venus), c. 1600-1603

Also something that should be seen in person. Goltzius is known for having done engravings (e.g. below). Here, is is experimenting with pen and oil paint, creating the sinuous lines as if they were made by engraving. The oil is used to add color and highlights, washing most of the painting in blue to give it the feeling of freezing and allowing the warm glow of the fire to stand out. Venus's protruding nipples are echoed by her pearl necklace and she wakes up, giving and receiving various caresses--as the grapes touch her nipple, she strokes Cupid's wing and lightly touches Ceres's shoulder. 

Here are some details to show the cross-hatching:

More prints by Goltzius:

http://www.graphicmedicine.org/

A Little History of the Vagina, and Why Not to Fumigate it

Great article, as usual, by Helen King:

Floating wombs and fumigation – why Gwyneth Paltrow has ‘steam douching’ all wrong

Exchange Rates

Roman brothel tokens

The front shows the sex act, the back how much it costs: 

Also known as spintriae

Josef Mattersberger (1754-1825), influenced by Dürer