A list of curious facts

One: Romans greatly cherished their dogs—far more than their fellow humans. Unlike slaves their beloved pets received lavish tombstones. Like Aeolis below—whose epitaph reads: “Aeolidis tumulum festivae cerne catellae, quam dolui inmodice raptam mihi praepete fato.” (Behold the tomb of Aeolis, the cheerful little dog, whose loss to fleeting fate pained me beyond measure.)

The great Roman poet Martial even wrote an epigram for his friend Publius’ favourite pooch Issa:

Issa is naughtier than the sparrow of Catullus. Issa is purer than the kiss of a dove. Issa is more seductive than all the girls. Issa is more precious than Indian diamonds. Issa is the darling of Publius, his tiny puppy.

There’s plenty more over-the-top epitaphs over at LittleThings and Petrified Muse. Mosaic Art Source has a lovely collection of ancient dog murals.

Two: A new study has found that Barbie’s feet have gone from arched to flat over the decades. The reason: She has increasingly become a working woman—with a variety of careers. Hundred percent of the early glam dolls had “equinus foot posture”—for the past four years only 40% do. You can see how much Barbie’s arches have relaxed over time below:

In essence, Barbie picks her footwear like the average woman today—heels when she’s all dressed up and flats when she’s working. Reminder: In the movie, Barbie realises there is something terribly “wrong” with her when her feet are no longer arched—a sign of her emerging personhood (see clip below). (New York Times)

Three: Did you know that a company in Dehradun supplied the armour for ‘Game of Thrones’, its spinoff ‘House of the Dragon’, ‘The Hobbit’, ‘Assassin's Creed’ and more? Appropriately called Lord of Battles, it manufactures and exports medieval armour, weapons and other accessories to the US, the UK, Australia and Russia. The company now has a global footprint—with a number of subsidiaries in the US. You can see Kit Harrington in his ‘Game of Thrones’ gear below. (Cosmopolitan, USA Today)

Bonus fact: Seals pat their wonderfully fat bellies to “show off their physique”—as this excellent video explains (yes, we were looking for a shameless excuse to share it).