1. Owlsley Stanley, the Acid King of the 1960s

Stanley was a rather famed clandestine chemist who manufactured large quantities of LSD in the 60’s, provided LSD to the Beatles during the filming of “Magical Mystery Tour”. He also designed the Grateful Dead’s early sound and was the inspiration for the Bear logo (he was known as Bear to his friends). Stanley’s incarceration is lamented in Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1971) as one of the many signs of the death of the 1960s. In addition, he was the subject of Kid Charlemagne by Steely Dan. Quite a character. There is a foundation dedicated to the preservation of βBearβs Sonic Journals,β Owsleyβs archive of more than 1,300 live concert soundboard recordings from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, including recordings by Miles Davis, Johnny Cash, The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Fleetwood Mac, Janis Joplin and more.

Found here. Also, worth a watch.
2. Camelβs Smoking Billboards



For two and a half decades the Camel Cigarette was advertised with two novel billboards that were so clever they easily caught the attention of the passing public. Known as spectaculars, these billboards blew the illusion of a giant smoke ring every four seconds. Steam from a piston-driven diaphragm was forced out of a hole, and this mimicked a person smoking. The spectacular most often photographed was located in New York Cityβs Times Square at 44th Street and Broadway. Some consider this Camel billboard the most famous of all outdoor advertising signs. βReddit.
You may also be interested in this NY Times article βWhen Neon owned the Nightβ.
3. Laundromat Mermaids

By LA based artist Olivia Erlanger, found on The Jealous Curator.
4. The New York Folk Hero who’s been arrested over 30 times for illegally driving public transport

A 58 year old New Yorker called Darius McCollum has been arrested over 30 times for illegally driving New York City public transport. He claims an overwhelming compulsion to do this due to this Asperger’s.
He is currently incarcerated with little chance of release. Read more about the boy who loved trains.
5. Why Was Benjamin Franklinβs Basement Filled With Skeletons?

Repairs on Franklinβs old London house turned up 1,200 pieces of bone from at least 15 people.
βThe most plausible explanation is not mass murder, but an anatomy school run by Benjamin Franklinβs young friend and protege, William Hewson,β said the Guardian.
Full article found on The Smithsonian.
6. Abandoned theatres in the U.S






Photographed by Ben Geier, follow him on Instagram. Found via Present & Correct.
7. A visit to one of the Last Video Stores in Paris with Wes Anderson
8. George Bernard Shaw βs writing hut, built on a turntable so that he could move with the sunlight

He called it βLondonβ so that he could avoid visitors by having staff say βHeβs not here, he is in Londonβ. Nancy Astor once banged on the door, saying βCome out of there, you old fool. Youβve written enough nonsense in your life!β


Shawβs writing hut included βan electric heater, a typewriter, a bunk for Napoleonic naps and a telephone to the house which could be used for emergencies such as lunch: surely everything a writer could need.β
You can visit his home, βShaw Cornerβ, which has been preserved by The National Trust.
9. Your Monday Morning Dream Desk

Space Age desk by Jean Leleu, 1969, found on theΒ Internet Archive.
10. The Cactus Dome

TheΒ Runit Dome, also called βCactus Domeβ or locally βThe Tombβ, is a 115Β m (377Β ft) diameter,Β 46Β cm (18Β in) thick dome of concrete atΒ sea level, encapsulating an estimated 73,000Β m3Β of radioactive debris, including someΒ plutonium-239. The debris stems fromΒ nuclear testsΒ conducted in the Enewetak Atoll by the United States between 1946 and 1958. You can read more about that in βThe Poisoned Paradise Islandβ.
11. How can you find cast-iron buildings in Soho?
12. A full-scale replica of the original Parthenon of Athens β in Nashville

Built in 1897 as part of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition, found on Wikipedia.
13. Movie Trailer of the week