Wednesday links

The Battle of Borodino, on which War and Peace and the 1812 Overture are based, took place on September 7, 1812.

Star Trek at 50: The theme song has lyrics. 

Watch M.C. Escher Make His Final Artistic Creation in this 1971 Documentary.

Political maps of the United States from 1850 and 1880.

The Weird Tale Behind Ice Cream Truck Jingles.

10 Long Lost Beasts Of The Old World.

ICYMI, Tuesday's links are here, and include a history of chairs, 1950s-era rules for college women, a gallery of hermit crabs wearing garbage as shells, and why we evolved to poop in the same place as our friends.