The Accidental Death of Vincent Van Goh
On December 23, 1888, Vincent Van Gogh famously cut off his own ear and reportedly gave it to a prostitute. A year and a half later he died a short while after a suicide attempt. Or was it an accident?
Author: Uncle John
3 Modern Christmas Tales
Here’s a trio of recent Christmas stories that will help you get into the spirit of the season.
Operators Are Standing By: A Look Back at Time Life Books
Back in the day, Time Life made a killing by shipping lightly educational book series to households all around the world. How many of these weird book collections do you remember? The Civil War Time Life launched their book division in the early ‘60s. The books were high quality, featured top notch photography and illustrations, […]
7 Facts About F. Scott Fitzgerald
75 years ago today, F. Scott Fitzgerald died at age 44. Today he’s most famous for The Great Gatsby, a book not widely appreciated in his lifetime…which was difficult to say the least. Fitzgerald became an overnight sensation in 1920 with This Side of Paradise, a huge hit novel about post World War I youth […]
3 Weird Fast Food Flops
Much like customers at a fast food joint, these menu items came…and left. In September 2013, McDonald’s introduced Mighty Wings—breaded bone-in chicken wings. It seemed a natural fit for the fast food behemoth, but it ended up being one of the chain’s most costly mistakes. After purchasing 50 million pounds of chicken wings from poultry […]
Never Let Go of These 6 ‘Titanic’ Facts
Titanic was released to theaters on December 19, 1997. It went on to become the highest-grossing film of all time…which nobody saw coming. Titanic was originally set for release in July 1997, but as the date approached, Paramount Pictures pushed it back to Christmas 1997. The movie, which cost $200 million to make, was very […]
5 Facts About Miss Universe
Unfortunately, only Earth women compete in the Miss Universe pageant, which will take place on December 20. In 2002, billionaire Donald Trump bought 50 percent of the Miss Universe Organization, and co-owner NBC broadcast the annual event. (This TV partnership soon led to Trump’s NBC reality show The Apprentice.) After Trump made comments about […]
Three Horrifying Hotels
Bed and breakfast…or dead and breakfast? Omni Parker House (Boston) It was founded in 1855 by Harvey Parker, who still likes to check in on the guests and make sure that they’re enjoying themselves, even though he died in 1884. And the ghost that inhabits room 303 served as the inspiration for 1408, a Stephen […]
The World’s Most Valuable ‘Star Wars’ Collectibles
Do you have any of these items stashed away in your garage or attic? If so, you could be in for a big pay day. A 1977 “early bird” store display As you may already know, Kenner wasn’t prepared for the popularity of A New Hope and had to resort to sending customers cardboard […]
4 Music Stars Who Used to Write Commercial Jingles
Musicians have to pay the bills, too, and before rock stardom arrives, many have made a quick buck writing TV or radio commercial jingles. Barry Manilow The soft rock superstar got his start backing up Bette Midler in the 1970s, but before that, he wrote dozens of commercial jingles that have gotten stuck in your […]
Long Live the Tiki Bar!
Polynesian-themed bars were once incredibly popular but they fell out of favor in the ‘80s. Now they’re in the middle of a revival. Trader Sam’s The Disney theme parks helped further bring Polynesian culture to America with the Enchanted Tiki Room, a long-running attraction that features animatronic idols and chattering robotic birds. Disneyland and Disney […]
The Great GPS Treasure Hunt
Have you ever wanted to go on a treasure hunt? Does trying to reach a random location sound like a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon? Then you may want to try geocaching . The concept is simple. After jotting down coordinates via a website or logging onto an app with their smartphones, geocachers […]
Another Championship for the L.A. Clippers
Players are traded in sports all the time, but here’s the story of a time when owners traded entire teams. Even a casual basketball fan would tell you that the most storied team in the NBA is the Boston Celtics, and the one with the most woeful history (until recently) was the Los Angeles Clippers. […]
The Star Wars “Early Bird” Certificate
It’s well known that collectible toys are worth more when they’re still in the package. In 1977, the package was all some Star Wars toy seekers could get. In the mid-’70s, Mego Toys was the a big player in action figure—essentially dolls marketed to boys modeled after characters from movies and TV. Big sellers for […]
Your Dumb ‘Star Wars’ News Roundup
Star Wars fans all around the world are eagerly awaiting the theatrical release of The Force Awakens. Here’s how various movie theaters and media outlets have helped keep them distracted until it opens on December 18th. Starbnb Airbnb allows users to rent out private homes instead of hotel rooms. Starbnb is a Star Wars-themed parody […]
Whatever Happened to These Best New Artist Winners?
The Grammy for Best New Artist is famously “cursed.” It isn’t—for every Milli Vanilli, there’s a Beatles or Adele. But whatever became of these more obscure winners of the prize? Peter Nero (1962) While most winners of the award have been pop and rock singers, Nero was a pianist, pops conductor, and orchestral composer. While […]
It’s Hanukkah Harry!
In much of the Western world, Santa “brings” presents to children on Christmas. What about Jewish kids? No such fanciful legend—parents give gifts during Hanukkah. Enough was enough, thought the writers of Saturday Night Live in the ‘80s. Hanukkah Harry first appeared on SNL in 1989. In one of the episode’s sketches, Santa Claus (Phil […]
Why is That Elf on the Shelf?
This Christmas tradition is only about a decade old. In 2004, inspiration struck for Carol Aebersold and her daughter, Chanda Bell. For years, their family had enjoyed a Christmas tradition that involved placing a toy elf named Frisbee on a shelf to keep an eye on their kids during the holidays. Kids were told the […]
