Tuesday links

Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, was born on May 22, 1859

Exercise for Women in the early 19th Century

What to do if you find yourself choking -- and no one's around.

1927 documentary on how to dial a telephone.

Gallery of photos from the Halifax explosion - the naval accident that erased an entire city in Canada.

Remembering the ‘Knocker-Ups’ Hired to Wake Workers With Pea Shooters.

ICYMI, Monday's links are here, and include the invention of the baby carrot, phrases commonly used today that come from obsolete technologies, a device used to resuscitate canaries in coal mines, Ziploc bag engineering, and the guy who makes the world’s best paper airplanes.

Thursday links

It's the anniversary of the battle of Baltimore, inspiration for the Star-Spangled Banner.

Creepy Soviet-era playground sculptures.

An eyewitness look at the 1917 Halifax Explosion.

September 14, 1861 was The Night of the Flaming Ballerinas.

Why There’s A West Virginia.

Getting to Know Whale Vaginas in 7 Steps.

ICYMI, Tuesday's links are here, and include H.L. Mencken's birthday, 1950 information tests to try on your children, jay-walking and the fight for the streets, and why elephant brains, which have three times as neurons as ours, don't perform better than ours.