Centuries before TikTok, this 1579 bestseller gave readers their daily dose of ‘brain rot’
The Conversation · 9 Nov 2026

Centuries before TikTok, this 1579 bestseller gave readers their daily dose of ‘brain rot’

First you are shown a new hack to keep wine from spoiling. Then a dog lovingly devoted to its owner. Immediately in tow there are methods to repair broken glass and remove acne, a tip for weight loss, a cake recipe and an astrological reading of your future. But this is not your TikTok or Instagram feed – it’s the contents of a book written nearly four-and-a-half centuries ago. The English writer Thomas Lupton’s book A Thousand Notable Things was first published in 1579.


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