The Middle Ages was the wild west for relic theft. Carrying off saints’ bits was so common in the Middle Ages that they called it “furta sacra” (holy theft). Relic …
In the 19th century, tea drinking was regarded as reckless, uncontrollable and a waste of precious time for poor women in Great Britain and Ireland. The tea habit …
The cult of a bearded female saint called Wilgefortis once nearly rivaled that of the Virgin Mary. Wilgefortis was often depicted as a Portuguese, sometimes septuplet, princess distinguished by …
Special break out of jail free Monopoly sets were sent to prison camps during WWII. Just how involved was Milburn Moneybags? Modded sets of Monopoly were created by …
Douglas Bader, RAF pilot and incorrigible escape artist, literally had his leg handed to him by the German army in WWII. Bad Show Dangling from his damaged plane …
If there ever was an athletic event that should be a movie, it’s the 1904 Olympic Marathon. The “performance enhancing” rat poison and brandy! The runner who stopped for …
In the Great Whiskey Fire of 1875, a crazy cocktail of fire, whiskey and malt liquor flowed down Dublin’s Ardee-street, Chamber-street, Cork-street, and Mill-street. Contemporary illustrations showing the whiskey …
The 13 mischievous troll brothers of Christmas, called the Yule Lads, have thrilled and terrified Icelandic children for hundreds of years. Parents used to torment children with such disturbing …
Barbie’s first career was as a “golddigger, exhibitionist, and floozy” cartoon in the Hamburg tabloid, Bild-Zeitung. While she might have spent most of her time flinging herself at “balding, jowly …
If there’s something weird in space, does anyone know? Paul Quast has published the first space catalogue of every message and artifact humans have beamed up. It’s hard to …
Two bothers, the “Dumb and Dumber” of Spain, tried to sell a fake Goya to a Sheikh, only to be paid in fake money. Back in 2002, they’d been …
Definitely my favorite Medieval trial by ordeal, the Trial by Cake involved swallowing a dry lump of consecrated bread, or “corsned,” without choking, turning pale or shaking. If he …
