History
A look at life in the not-so-distant (but it sure seems like it!) past. World population: 3.9 billion (2014: about 7.2 billion) Average life expectancy in the U.S.: 71.4 (2014: 78.7) Average annual income: $12,900 (minimum wage: $1.60 per hour) Average cost of a… Television: Movies: Sports: Music: News: Science News: Deaths: Bruce Lee, Bobby […]
Here are some pint-sized facts about the world’s most famous pint-sized sex therapist. Karola Ruth Siegel (Westheimer is her married name) was born into an Orthodox Jewish family in Germany in 1928. At age 12, Ruth was sent to safety at an orphanage in Switzerland. She never saw her family again; her parents are believed to […]
Unlike Santa Claus, who (legend has it) lives at the North Pole, works alongside reindeer and elves and tends to be pretty jolly, the Saint Nicholas who delivers gifts to Austria and a few other European countries employs a much nastier seasonal helper.
The two Santas that deliver gifts to well behaved kids in France are pretty weird. One of them also has a very crazy sidekick.
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?
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 […]
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 […]
Today is the 35th anniversary of the assassination of John Lennon. But instead of dwelling on that tragedy, let’s take a look at Lennon’s wife and partner, conceptual artist Yoko Ono. In 1966, Ono mounted a show in the Indica Gallery in London. John Lennon opted to attend, and he got to get in early—VIPs […]
Leonardo DiCaprio will play this fearless frontiersman in the upcoming film The Revenant. Here’s how his adventures back in the 19th century helped turn him into a legend. It’s difficult to separate fact from fiction when it comes to his many adventures. In 1806, 26-year-old Glass was reportedly kidnapped by the crew of pirate captain […]
Here are a few really weird news stories…that could only have happened in Canada.
Lots of spectators + huge balloons + autumn weather = the potential for calamity.
Historian Samuel Eliot Morison says that “more bunk has been written about Pilgrims than any other subjects except Columbus and John Paul Jones.” After reading this, maybe you’ll agree.
Some say that Batman is the world’s greatest detective but this Victorian star of stage and screen (and plenty of books too) gives the Dark Knight a run for his money. Holmes was created by English author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who once studied to become an eye doctor. While in medical school at the […]
Did you see lots of colorful skull cookies and people running around in skeleton makeup yesterday? That’s because it was the Day of the Dead.
This landmark publication was once an institution that gave rise to an entire generation of America’s most famous comedians.
Think there are a lot of candidates in this presidential primary season? Well, there are, but get a load of the fascinating group of people running in 1980.
Stuff has gotten much, much bigger in the past 100 years.
Here are four odd stories from the halls of U.S. state legislatures.
