Circus Girl University, Class of ’52
Did you know that there are currently two collegiate circuses in the United States that have year-round…
Category Obscure history
The Rotting Underwater Ballroom of a Victorian Bernie Madoff
Beneath the lake of a once lavish Victorian estate built by a flamboyant mining tycoon,…
Borrow an East London Time Capsule House
At number 4 Princelet Street in East London, there is an 18th century yellow brick…
Whiskey Flavoured Toothpaste, 1955
By the time Don Poynter was a college student, he had already created his company…
That time the Paris Metro was Segregated by a Class System
Today I pulled up an old New York Times article reporting the news that Paris’ subway…
The 1920s College Kids and the Fur “Pimp Coat” Craze
Man has worn fur since he was living in a cave, but there’s something about…
Kangaroo Bathtime at a New York City Madhouse
Anyone who has a pet knows that bathtime can be a rather tricky affair. But after…
That Time Barbie Actively Encouraged Starvation Dieting
Playing with dolls that have a weight-loss complex doesn’t particularly spell out ‘fun’ for me, but…
The Shoreditch Live Animal Market, 1946
Once upon a time, you could purchase a lion cub on the streets of Shoreditch.…
The Moving Houses of San Francisco
It’s moving day for MessyNessyChic. Today we’re carrying furniture up the winding Parisian staircase, unpacking boxes…
Beauty School Dropout
Today, the internet bus driver is dropping us off at the Helena Rubinstein beauty school,…
All Aboard the Mortuary Railway (and other Secrets of Sydney)
A sparkling harbor, surfers, beaches, possibly kangaroos and the like tend to pop up when you…