Table showing cost of items in the 14th C., and the equivalent value in eels. The table has 3 columns: "You want to buy", "It Costs", and "But in eels?" The table shows you that: 2 doz. eggs costs 1d, or 6 eels A gallon of the best ale costs 1.25d or 8 eels 1 sheep costs 1s 5d, or 106 eels 1 cow costs 9s 5d, or 706 eels A 2-story cottage costs £2, or 3,000 eels The d. here means penny, from the latin "denarius." There were 12 d. to a shilling (s), and 20 shillings to a pound (£). As far as I know, no one was buying cottages with eels. This is more to give you a sense of relative costs. But wouldn't it be interesting if you could buy a house with eels? This chart leaves unanswered the question: "What about the next-best ale?" and suggests and entire spectrum of ale gradations. Which makes good sense, of course. But also, you certainly wouldn't want to spend your eels on inferior ale!

You've probably been wondering: "How many eels is a cottage worth in 14th C. England?"

This is a reasonable question. I get it. And happily, I'm here to help! I included a chart showing this kind of equivalence in an article I wrote for HistoryExtra , but here's an excerpt!
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Disney Promises ‘Star Wars’ Fans A New Era Of Blind Stabs At What They Seemed To Like Before BURBANK, CA—Hinting at an exciting new phase for the beloved franchise, the Walt Disney Co. released a statement Friday promising Star Wars fans a new era of blind stabs at what they seemed to like be...

“Fans of the rich world George Lucas created can expect a consistent output of wildly varying guesses at what might appeal to them,” said Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro

Here's a heterodox political opinion for you: no one wants to change the flag, so as a compromise, we add Puerto Rico and DC as states, merge the Dakotas, and revert Wyoming to territory status

Heard a new one of these I fully believe that the Kash Patel men's hockey thing was orchestrated because someone high up was pissed off about Heated Rivalry and wanted to make hockey chud-coded again

JRR Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings as a side project while brainstorming a list of cool names for defense contractors

Pope Leo in address to World of Culture: “The problem does not lie in knowledge, but in its deviation toward an intelligence that no longer seeks to correspond to reality, but to bend it to its own measures, judging it according to the convenience of those who claim to know.”

Publishers Marketplace Deal Report LEVEL UP FOR ROMANCE! By Gita Jackson Imprint: Mira Aftermath co-owner Gita Jackson's LEVEL UP FOR ROMANCE!, a debut LitRPG romance in which an overworked game developer is transported to the cozy town featured in the farming simulator she's creating and falls for the town's snarky bartender-a character who wasn't even supposed to be romanceable -as she's forced to confront the fact that her career in the gaming industry wasn't what she thought it was going to be and figure out how to get back home, to Emma Cole at Mira, in an exclusive submission, by Alex Land at Mad Woman Literary Agency (world). Fiction: Romance April 21, 2026

Hello. I’m writing a novel. @editrixemma.bsky.social @alexbrownwrites.bsky.social

Fractures Emerge Between GOP’s Pro-Pedophilia, Extremely Pro-Pedophilia Wings

We gotta jettison this Woke 1.0 stuff ASAP

The plots of two of the most popular games/television shows of the last ten years (The Witcher/The Last of Us) are about a gruff male protagonist caring for a young girl in a (mostly) unproblematic way!

This is true, but it's very important to remember that it is also where airplanes live

Gonna spend the next two years spamming every elected Dem about the concept of "damnatio memoriae." Chisel his name off every inscription. Build over the various Trump Towers like they're Nero's Golden House. Remove him from physical memory, not to forget but as a sign of disrespect to the man.

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A young reporter discovers a mysterious trove of data that exposes a global surveillance empire In a major investigation, a young reporter uncovers a powerful technology used to spy on thousands of people across the world.

We uncovered a vast surveillance empire whose untraceable tech has been used to target people in more than 100 countries, including the US. It has operated under the radar for decades.

Until now.

Yeah but it looks dumb as hell

I think if you say stuff like this you should have to be specific about which cultures you think are bad and the criteria that you make that judgement by

what is the charge. what crime has been done

It’s inaccurate to say Mario is brave and Luigi is cowardly

Luigi is afraid of death, so he runs away from danger. Mario is afraid of living, so he runs towards death. Both brothers are cowards in their own way

ZOHRAN: “TBH, I don’t think too much about how Republicans portray me. The power of an ideology is judged in the worth of its delivery— to be told a city-run grocery store is implausible but $500 MILLION/day to kill ppl in Iran & Lebanon is necessary speaks to a broken politics.”

A bat. Big ears, beautiful wings… the whole nine yards

It is International Bat Appreciation Day. Please take some time to appreciate a bat

A Man and His Meat Boy kibble went viral. Here, John Paul Brammer explains why you'll have to pry his dry, loose meat from his cold, dead hands.

In my latest for Playboy, I wrote about meat, masculinity, and "boy kibble," the trend of men eating a pack of unseasoned ground beef for dinner. I argue it's the perfect meal to illustrate the isolation and nihilism in our ultra-capitalist system www.playboy.com/read/lifesty...

A martini glass with a faint yellow liquid in it, and a gooey, slimy, cheesy coating around the rim. On top is a large toothpick with alternating olives and jumbo pasta shells. In the background are two boxes of Velveeta and a cocktail shaker

The Veltini (2022-2022): A martini made with Velveeta-infused vodka, olive brine, and vermouth. It was topped with Velveeta-stuffed olives and jumbo shells & cheese on a toothpick, and finished with a Velveeta coating on the rim. Served exclusively at the BLT Steakhouse chain

Yes absolutely

I'm not sure I can pick a favorite either but I do enjoy saying Pachycephalaosaurus

Real heads know that velociraptors were small and feathered and not scary, true dromeaosaurid enthusiasts know Utahraptor's where it's at

This is a catastrophe. We are losing the ancient texts!

Are you a believer in ghosts, my friend?

Please remember that every good take and well-executed argument you've seen from Tucker Carlson on Israel is an already-established leftwing position. Don't be "surprised to be agreeing with Tucker Carlson!", he's merely agreeing with us.

An ad featuring a hand holding up a small slice of pizza. The copy reads "Introducing Zappetites. Proof that kids can make it on their own", next to images of cheeseburgers, chicken nuggets, potato skins, hot dogs, and a microwave

Oscar Mayer Zappetites (1987-circa 1993): A line of frozen, snack-sized foods, such as cheeseburgers, pizza, chicken nuggets, potato skins, and more. This was Oscar Mayer's attempt to join the rapidly growing late-80's market for quick/easy microwavable snacks and meals targeting latch-key kids

This is not a threat, it's a statement of fact