Mishmash facts about Poland and Poles

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Edited by: pawian Sep 27, 11, 18:42 #1

I invite you to contribute to a new thread. Tell us about things which you consider curious, interesting, amusing, unusual or unknown.

Let`s learn what real Poland is like!

One limitation though!!! Each poster who provides a new curiosity should include a photo/picture/image to illustrate what he/she is talking about.

Fact posts without an image will be mercilessly reported to admins and randomised.

Posts including pure commentary needn`t display any images.

I warned you.

Thank you for your attention, gentlemen and gentlewomen.

Did you know that you can win 50 million zlotys in the lottery tonight or the nearest future?

http://www.tvn24.pl/-1,1718818,0,1,tak-wyglada-50-mln-zl--co-bys-z-nim i-zrobil,wiadomosc.html

Are you going to take part?
But did you know that winning so much money can seriously damage your mental health in the long run?

teflcatThreads: 6 Posts: 1,071 Joined: May 29, 11 ♂	Sep 27, 11, 18:50 #2
But did you know that winning so much money can seriously damage your mental health in the long run? I am willing to suffer. It is considered unlucky to shake hands across a threshold. Girls drip candle wax through the hole in a key and then interpret the shapes the wax makes in order to foretell the future (on St Andrew's night). Poles don't cross their fingers; they hide their thumbs.

a.k.	Sep 27, 11, 19:19 #3
...many Poles don't eat meat on Friday. ...they buy alcohols for gifts.

WroclawThreads: 77 Posts: 7,404 Joined: Apr 1, 06 ♂ [Moderator]	Sep 27, 11, 19:28 #4
The OP has asked that posters provide photographs to accompany posts. Please follow the directions mentioned by the OP, otherwise your post could well end up in the bin.

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Edited by: boletus Sep 27, 11, 19:35 #5

I only write this message here because I like the attached picture: look how much trust this Canadian Paratrooper puts into her Polish instructor, who is adjusting her parachute. This picture is 50% scaled - the full scale pictures are here: http://polska-zbrojna.pl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id= 13464:dragon-11-wystartowa&catid=50:wojska-ldowe&Itemid=165.

This is a part of Dragon 11 military exercise in Drawsko - with about 7000 soldiers taking part, including soldiers from USA (a company of airborne), Canada (a platoon of airborne), Germany and Great Britain. The Canadians will be attached to the 2 Company, 18 bpd, from Bielsko-Biała.

The challenge is that the guests from overseas will perform the task using Polish parachutes, weapons and communication equipment. From 9 to 23 September 2011 they went through intensive theoretical and practical training, including familiarization with Polish chutes and jumping procedures. The Canadians are skilled jumpers so they had no difficulty with the acquisition of new skills, despite considerable differences in equipment and landing procedures.

They initially trained at Błędowska Desert, jumping from CASA C-295M and C-130 Hercules. The combined Polish-Canadian company made about 550 jumps, before moving into Drawsko Training Ground.

Canadian paratroopers in Poland

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Edited by: pawian Sep 27, 11, 19:46 #6

=Wroclaw]The OP has asked that posters provide photographs to accompany posts.

Please follow the directions mentioned by the OP, otherwise your post could well end up in the bin.

Thank you, Wrocław. Yes, that is my intention, because I strongly believe in the saying: One photo is worth 1000 words.

Please, guys, try to find photos to illustrate your curiosities. They are really available on the Net. If you can`t, other members and I will try to lend a hand.

E.g.,

telfcat
It is considered unlucky to shake hands across a threshold.

Girls drip candle wax through the hole in a key and then interpret the shapes the wax makes in order to foretell the future (on St Andrew's night).

Poles don't cross their fingers; they hide their thumbs.

What do you mean? This?

=boletus]despite considerable differences in equipment and landing procedures.

About 10-15 years ago I heard that Western paratroopers open their chutes at much higher altitude that Polish ones. What do you know about it?

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Edited by: Des Essientes Sep 27, 11, 19:55 #7

Polish photographer exposes nascent micro-mini-skirt fashion trend.

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Sep 27, 11, 20:01 #8

This isn't the original photo that I took a few years ago (can't find it) but if you go to Błonie just west of Warsaw and look in a field (on the Grodzisk road, just up from the old Hala Mera factory) standing in a field you will see something very like this. It was a present to the government from a foreign prince which for some reason can't be put with the other ones in the zoo. It looks incongruous but happy enough.

gumishuThreads: 17 Posts: 3,943 Joined: Apr 6, 09 ♂	Edited by: gumishu Sep 27, 11, 20:08 #9
Thank you, Wrocław. Yes, that is my intention, because I strongly believe in the saying: One photo is worth 1000 words. one photo can also completely falsify the greater picture - so actually it's pretty moron - sorry putting a picture of pouring wax on water through a hole in the key - like you can't imagine how it's done - you know what that is - a waste of server space

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Edited by: pawian Sep 27, 11, 20:08 #10

=JonnyM]This isn't the original photo that I took a few years ago (can't find it) but if you go to Błonie just west of Warsaw and look in a field (on the Grodzisk road, just up from the old Hala Mera factory) standing in a field you will see something very like this. It was a present to the government from a foreign prince which for some reason can't be put with the other ones in the zoo. It looks incongruous but happy enough.

Wow, I saw camels in people`s gardens, but an elephant is really curious.

Is he/she gay or hetero?

=gumishu]one photo can also completely falsify the greater picture - so actually it's pretty moron - sorry

You must be ill in the head tonight. :):):):)

Now imagine a post like that without that picture attached:

=Des Essientes]Polish photographer exposes nascent micro-mini-skirt fashion trend.

=gumishu] like you can't imagine how it's done -

No, some people are deficient in imagination. This thread is for them too. Why do you want to limit their right to proper perception?

=gumishu]ou know what that is - a waste of server space

Rubbish in my case. I never use PF servers.

What`s wrong, gumishu? I thought you are really smart and you realise obvious things. :):):):) Was I mistaken?

JonnyMThreads: 16 Posts: 4,487 Joined: Mar 9, 11 ♂	Edited by: JonnyM Sep 27, 11, 20:18 #11
Is he/she gay or hetero? I don't know but he/she is surrounded by a herd of Shetland ponies so could be a zoophile. Hard to know if they make the elephant look bigger or the elephant makes the ponies look smaller...

pawianThreads: 90 Posts: 5,395 Joined: May 30, 08 ♂	Sep 27, 11, 20:23 #12
=a.k.]...many Poles don't eat meat on Friday. Religious doctrine suggests fish for Friday. =a.k.]...they buy alcohols for gifts. Chopin, for example.

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Sep 27, 11, 20:23 #13

=gumishu]one photo can also completely falsify the greater picture - so actually it's pretty moron - sorry

You must be ill in the head tonight. :):):):)

Now imagine a post like that without that picture attached:

=Des Essientes]Polish photographer exposes nascent micro-mini-skirt fashion trend.

one can deliberately make one such photo using a model - and then make a news of it - while in reality there would be no such trend - go figure - you ever heard of a man eater beaver who devoured a male dwarf porn star?? - http://gawker.com/5839596/gordon-ramsays-porn-dwarf-double-eaten-by-ba dger - plenty of pics there, he??

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Edited by: pawian Sep 27, 11, 20:34 #14

=JonnyM]I don't know but he/she is surrounded by a herd of Shetland ponies so could be a zoophile.

I asked because since 2009 or so, whenever an elephant is mentioned, Poles try to find out its sexual preferences. That case was famous worldwide.

(Reuters) - A Polish politician has criticized his local zoo for acquiring a "gay" elephant named Ninio who prefers male companions and will probably not procreate, local media reported on Friday.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2009/04/10/us-poland-elephant-idUKTRE539 10M20090410

=gumishu]one can deliberately make one such photo using a model - and then make a news of it - while in reality there would be no such trend - go figure - you ever heard of a man eater beaver who devoured a male dwarf porn star?? - http://gawker.com/5839596/gordon-ramsays-porn-dwarf-double-eaten-by-ba dger - plenty of pics there, he??

I can see you are in the mood for a fight.

I am not. I let the steam off on Telfcat in an abusive PM to him. :):):):)

What I can say is: I don`t really get what you want or expect and why. But if you don`t like it, why don`t you just get lost from this thread? :):):):)

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Edited by: gumishu Sep 27, 11, 20:42 #15

About 10-15 years ago I heard that Western paratroopers open their chutes at much higher altitude that Polish ones. What do you know about it?

I have heard that Russian paras jump at very low altitudes (like 300 m) - consider the losses the German paratroopers have taken during the landing on Crete - maybe it was the same in all Warsaw Pact militaries

=gumishu]ou know what that is - a waste of server space

Rubbish in my case. I never use PF servers.

ok, I never realised this

Des EssientesThreads: 11 Posts: 2,318 Joined: Feb 6, 10 ♂ [Suspended]	Edited by: Des Essientes Sep 27, 11, 20:46 #16
one can deliberately make one such photo using a model That photo was taken on the street. A model was not used. I tried to post another less close-up shot showing the street scene around her, but it was denied for some reason. I will try again with this post. Denied again. I don't understand why.

gumishuThreads: 17 Posts: 3,943 Joined: Apr 6, 09 ♂	Sep 27, 11, 20:47 #17
That photo was taken on the street. A model was not used. I tried to post another less close-up shot showing the street scene around her, but it was denied for some reason. I will try again with this post. I'm not telling your story is not true - I'm telling people can still make up such stories

pawianThreads: 90 Posts: 5,395 Joined: May 30, 08 ♂	Sep 27, 11, 20:53 #18
=gumishu] I'm not telling your story is not true - I'm telling people can still make up such stories It is for us to decide, don`t you think? Abstaining from posting here on the basis of alleged false intentions of the poster or photographer is just ridiculous. And now Des. What do you mean by: Polish photographer exposes nascent micro-mini-skirt fashion trend. Can you elaborate?

pawianThreads: 90 Posts: 5,395 Joined: May 30, 08 ♂	Edited by: pawian Sep 27, 11, 21:03 #19
=delphiandomine]American takes photographs of women on the street without their permission". That`s not so bad, after all. We all do. :):):) But many questions come to my mind: Was it taken in Poland? Which Polish photographer is meant? Do Polish women consider them trendy? Who designed them - a Pole? Who, the fack, should be credited with all that mess?

pgtxThreads: 49 Posts: 6,327 Joined: Feb 14, 09 MEMBER ♀	Sep 27, 11, 21:10 #20
I understand that men get easily distracted by a piece of... a skirt. But, Get back to the topic, please.

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Edited by: boletus Sep 27, 11, 21:15 #21

About 10-15 years ago I heard that Western paratroopers open their chutes at much higher altitude that Polish ones. What do you know about it?

I am sorry, I missed your question. I do not know anything about the case you describe, but I guess there is not much difference between them nowadays.

There are three basic types of jumps from an aircraft: LALO (Low Altitude Low Opening), HAHO (High Altitude High Opening), and HALO (High Altitude Low opening).

LALO is a standard technique, using round canopy chutes.

HAHO and HALO require masks and special clothing to survive.

HAHO use square parachutes. They glide up to 80 km.

HALO (also known as Military Free Fall [MFF]) - about 95% of their fall is free fall. The parachutes are being opened at 300-600 m.

Both GROM and 1st Komando Regiment train HAHO and HALO. I do not know what techniques is being used in 18 airborne brigade, but the pictures I pointed above show two types of chutes in action: with round canopy and the square ones.

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Sep 27, 11, 21:26 #22

In 1573 Poland enacted complete freedom of religion and the seals of the szlachta on the parchment proclaiming this freedom make it look alot like the shaggy aegis of Athena, and this is appropriate because this freedom, like the goddess herself, sprung from the brain, while the rest of Europe remained mired in bloody religious strife sprung from the bowels.

gumishuThreads: 17 Posts: 3,943 Joined: Apr 6, 09 ♂	Sep 27, 11, 21:27 #23
well I actually read some Viktor Suvorov now on the internet and one can read there that the Specnaz often jump from as low as 100 m (sounds quite terrible to me)

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Sep 27, 11, 21:31 #24

In 1573 Poland enacted complete freedom of religion and the seals of the szlachta on the parchment proclaiming this freedom make it look alot like the shaggy aegis of Athena, and this is appropriate because this freedom, like the goddess herself, sprung from the brain, while the rest of Europe remained mired in bloody religious strife sprung from the bowels.

Such a shame that Poland ceased to practice it from 1919 onwards, isn't it?

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Sep 28, 11, 17:28 #25

The codex in question, known as the ‘Krasiński manuscript’, ‘Manu-script No. 52’, ‘Kras.’ or ‘Kras 52’, is made up of two different parts joined together by a much later binding.
(...)
The second part (sets XVI-XVIII, i.e. leaves 173-205) consists of 36 polyphonic compositions from the first half of the 15th century. These three musical sets are extremely valuable for they are among the oldest treasures of Polish polyphonic music.

Among them are seven (of the nine known) works of the Polish composer Mikołaj of Radom: two cycles Gloria-Credo, Magnificat in which the Burgundian fauxbourdon is used, and two ballades.
(...)
The reproduced first page of the musical part of the codex (leaf 173r) features the beginning of a hymn in honour of Krakow, Cracovia civitas (1426), written by Stanisław Ciołek to music composed by an unknown master, perhaps Mikołaj of Radom.

Both image and description come from "More Precious Than Gold" - Treasures of the Polish National Library. You can find its PDF version on internet. I used my local copy for this info.

Completorium Republica, http://completorium.republika.pl/c_mikola.htm , has a page devoted to works of Mikołaj of Radom. You can listen to his haunting compositions there. Unfortunately they are just in midi format, so the glory of the organ music is really lost there. Some time ago I converted his Credo and Magnificat into the multi-instrumental versions - just for the fun of it - and they sound exceptionally well.

Musical manuscript ‘Kras. 52’.
Miscellanea teologica. Manuscript in Latin.
Second quarter of the 15th century.
Black mensural notation. Paper, 30.4x22 cm,
206 lvs. 19/20th century binding.
Call No.: rps III 8054

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Edited by: boletus Sep 30, 11, 08:06 #26

Is this portrait a lost Leonardo?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/sep/27/lost-leonardo-da-vi nci-portrait?newsfeed=true#

This portrait of Bianca, La Bella Principessa, an illegitimate 13 years old daughter of Ludovico Sforza, a great patron of Leonardo da Vinci was recognized by the Christie auction house as a 19th-century pastiche by an unknown German hand and sold in 1998 for £11,400.

This year, Martin Kemp, emeritus professor of art history at Oxford University, has identified the drawing as a missing sheet from a 15th-century vellum volume devoted to Sforzas, which is in possession of National Library in Warsaw.

Recalling the moment they opened the volume, Kemp says: "Yes, lo and behold, we could identify that there was a page clearly removed. The stitch-holes matched, the vellum matched. It is indeed 1496, it is indeed Bianca and indeed for her marriage

If he is correct the portriat could fetch £100m as a Leonardo. There is an opposition to the claim, especially from Christie, who is fighting off a compensation claim by Jeanne Marchig, on whose behalf they had sold it.

La Bella Principessa torn out from a vellum volume in National Library, Poland

pawianThreads: 90 Posts: 5,395 Joined: May 30, 08 ♂	Sep 30, 11, 23:22 #27
=boletus]who is fighting off a compensation claim by Jeanne Marchig, on whose behalf they had sold it. 11 thousand instead of 100 million? I imagine how she feels. But money doesn`t bring happiness. :):):)

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Edited by: boletus Oct 1, 11, 16:25 #28

On your next visit to New York do not forget to see the Metropolitan Museum of Arts. Last time I was there I concentrated on their collection of Impressionists and brought home a bunch of lovely reproductions.

The museum has quite sizeable collection of things related to Poland - I googled 491 items in their catalogue. This includes books, engravings, photographs, decorative arts, sashes, tankards, etc. Not all items have images available in the catalogue. I am presenting just few of them here.

Bona Sforza (1493-1557), Queen of Poland
Cameo by Giovanni Jacopo Caraglio (Italian, Parma or Verona ca. 1500/1505–1565 Krakow (?))
http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/120008368

Ceremony of the Contract of Marriage between Vladislas IV, King of Poland, and Louise Marie Gonzaga, Princess of Mantua, at Fontainebleau
Etching by Abraham Bosse (French, Tours 1602–1676 Paris)
http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/90054309

Tadeus Langier, Zakopane
Gelatin silver print by Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz (Polish, 1885–1939)
http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/190039741

Shaffron Belonging to an Armor of Duke Nikolaus "the Black" Radziwill
Steel, brass, gold. paint by Kunz (Konrad) Lochner (German, Nuremberg, 1510–1567)
http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/40004874

Backplate and Hoguine (Rump Defense)
(for Jerzy Herkules Radziwiłł)
Steel, embossed, etched, and gilt by Kolman Helmschmid (German, Augsburg, 1471–1532)
http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/40001082

Kozioł, bagpipe
Wood, brass, horn, goatskin
Late 19c. Poland
http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/180014418

Backplate and Hoguine (Rump Defense) (for Jerzy Herkules Radziwiłł)

Kozioł - Polish backpipe

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Oct 3, 11, 23:54 #29

Brave deed on Kolyma
How a student of Vilnius Noble Institute exiled to Siberia for taking part in the Polish uprising became the outstanding Russian scientist
By Mykola KHRIIENKO, Republic Yakutia, photos provided by the author
http://www.day.kiev.ua/216591

Grave of Jan Czerski in Kolymskoye, Arctic Circle

pawianThreads: 90 Posts: 5,395 Joined: May 30, 08 ♂	Oct 4, 11, 00:03 #30
Did you know there are about 29.000 priests in Poland? (24.000 public and 5000 monks) Their average earnings depend on the location: Countryside priest - about 2000-3000 PLN. Urban priest - 3000-5000. http://www.strefabiznesu.pomorska.pl/artykul/ile-zarabiaja-polscy-ksie za-68325.html

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