How old is mime?
SHORT ANSWER It was NOT debuted in 19th-century France, but by ancient artists in Greece (*mimes shocked face*)
LONG ANSWER “The art of expressing feelings by attitudes and not a means of expressing words through gestures,” was the definition of mime by Marcel Marceau, one of the greatest-ever exponents of the artform. Thanks to mimes like him, and his teacher Étienne Decroux, it is regarded as quintessentially French, and where the look of white face paint, white gloves, stripy T-shirt and black braces comes from.
That was certainly not the style of the original mime artists in ancient Athens. Nor were they performing what is now understood as mime, since they could talk and sing while acting out their scenes. The name ‘mime’ referred to their skills at mimicking people.
The Romans enjoyed this physical theatre, so, in the way the Romans did, they took it and made it their own. It was then during the Renaissance in the 16th century (when fascination with all things classical was at a high) that ancient mime inspired a new entertainment, commedia dell'arte.
Performing troupes took it to France. There, it was taken up with gusto by Jean-Gaspard Deburau, who developed his popular character Pierrot at the Théâtre des Funambules in Paris. He was a seminal inspiration for the French mimes of the 20th century.
What was the blood eagle?
SHORT ANSWER A Viking execution so gruesome that it may not have actually happened
Reader beware: this one is graphic. Even allowing for the Viking reputation for bloodlust,
