So Anaïs Nin Was Also an Electro “DJ”
Anaïs Nin is our favorite breed of artist: the kind who just can’t be bound…
Category Obscure history
America’s Last Snake-handling Cults
I wandered into the weird part of the internet again this morning, through the doors…
Sneaking into the Forbidden City with our Travel Heroine du Jour
“Why isn’t her face on a bank note yet?” is one of several slack-jawed questions you’ll ask yourself when reading about Alexandra David-Neel, the Franco-Belge éxploratrice whose life reads like an Oscar-winning film. She was an opera singer, and an anarchist; a student of philosophy, feminism and (rumoured) seductress of monks. And when she wasn’t meeting in […]
Meet the Neighbourhood Slot Car King & Queen of Brooklyn
They’re kind of Brooklyn’s Romeo and Juliet. He was made of slot car stock, and she was, well, not. At least, that’s what she’ll tell you — but it’s clear that Dolores, who’s one-half of the legendary couple behind Buzz-a-Rama, is a slot car queen. “Oh this whole thing?” she jokes, a boot propped up […]
Meet Benjamin Franklin’s Girlfriends
Sure, on the surface, Benjamin Franklin might have all the sex appeal of a hedgehog, but back in the day, the Founding Father was renowned for an unparalleled charm that not only made him America’s most valuable asset in foreign affairs, but a major hit with the ladies. Especially with French ladies. In 1776, a 70-year-old […]
The Women Who Walked on Wings
Gladys Roy, pictured above on the far wing, is probably the only woman in the…
Why China Keeps Its Pyramids a Secret
It’s 1945, and US Airforce pilot James Gaussman is just trying to focus. He’s flying…
The Canary Girls and the WWI Poisons That Turned Them Yellow
At lunchtime, the women had to be separated in the cafeteria because everything they touched…
How an Untrained Architect Made Oklahoma the Capital of Kitsch
Meet the latest maverick of the architecture world to steal our hearts, Bruce Goff. Lesser known…
Remember When You Could Mail Order an Entire House in a Giant DIY Kit?
Sears was once the largest and most powerful retailer in the United States of America…
Coney Island’s Short-Lived but Utterly Insane Dreamland
There’s no question that New York’s Coney Island is an utterly outrageous place; it’s most known for its freak shows, retro roller coasters, annual hot dog eating contest, and start-of-summer mermaid parade… and that’s all just the tip of the iceberg. It’s hard to believe it, but the wacky Brooklyn neighbourhood today is nothing compared […]
How to Mess with the Nazis: The CIA’s Sabotage Manual for Ordinary Citizens
Trolling the Nazis. Sounds like fun right? During World War II, the OSS, (now the CIA) put out a “Sabotage Field Manual”, which described innovative ways in which ordinary citizens could sabotage America’s enemies by doing a range of disruptive things from starting arguments to starting fires. The OSS Director William J. Donovan recommended that the […]