The 1939 WJSV Broadcast Day: 19 Hours of Radio That Became an Accidental Time Machine
Experience September 21, 1939 through the 19-hour preserved WJSV broadcast day, from soap operas and baseball to Roosevelt and late-night swing.
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The 1939 WJSV Broadcast Day: 19 Hours of Radio That Became an Accidental Time Machine
Read more: The 1939 WJSV Broadcast Day: 19 Hours of Radio That Became an Accidental Time MachineExperience September 21, 1939 through the 19-hour preserved WJSV broadcast day, from soap operas and baseball to Roosevelt and late-night swing.
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Thomas Stevens Rode Around the World on a Penny-Farthing Because Apparently Bicycling Wasn’t Dangerous Enough Yet
Read more: Thomas Stevens Rode Around the World on a Penny-Farthing Because Apparently Bicycling Wasn’t Dangerous Enough YetThomas Stevens became the first person to circle the globe by bicycle, riding a 50-inch penny-farthing across 13,500 miles of roads, trails, and trouble.
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John Joseph Merlin: The Roller-Skate Pioneer Who Couldn’t Steer, Couldn’t Stop, and Hit a £500 Mirror
Read more: John Joseph Merlin: The Roller-Skate Pioneer Who Couldn’t Steer, Couldn’t Stop, and Hit a £500 MirrorJohn Joseph Merlin pioneered early roller skates, played violin while wearing them, and reportedly crashed into a £500 mirror at a masquerade.
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Kangaroo Feathers: The Australian Military Tradition That Started as a Joke
Read more: Kangaroo Feathers: The Australian Military Tradition That Started as a JokeDiscover the strange history of “kangaroo feathers,” the emu plumes worn by Australian Light Horse soldiers and the military tradition behind the joke.
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The Two Boys Named Leslie Who Grew Up to Become American Icons
Read more: The Two Boys Named Leslie Who Grew Up to Become American IconsTwo boys named Leslie, born 10 years apart, changed their names, and became American icons. Follow their remarkably different lives and see if you can identify them.
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The Priceless JFK Photo Archive That Was Destroyed on September 11
Read more: The Priceless JFK Photo Archive That Was Destroyed on September 11Discover how 40,000 irreplaceable photo negatives of the JFK photo archive stored for safekeeping at the World Trade Center were destroyed on September 11, 2001.
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Ancient Rome’s Urine Tax: Why Vespasian Taxed Pee and Said “Money Doesn’t Stink”
Read more: Ancient Rome’s Urine Tax: Why Vespasian Taxed Pee and Said “Money Doesn’t Stink”Ancient Rome taxed urine because it was valuable to textile workers. Meet Vespasian, the urine tax, and the origin of “money doesn’t stink.”
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How to Write the Commonplace Fun Facts Way: 12 Steps for 12 Years
Read more: How to Write the Commonplace Fun Facts Way: 12 Steps for 12 YearsCelebrate 12 years of Commonplace Fun Facts with a behind-the-scenes look at how to write with curiosity, skepticism, research, and rabbit trails.
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William Painter Invented the Bottle Cap. Did He Also Invent a Train Ejection Seat?
Read more: William Painter Invented the Bottle Cap. Did He Also Invent a Train Ejection Seat?William Painter invented the modern bottle cap in 1892. Explore the crown cork, his unusual patents, and the strange myth of a train ejection seat.
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A Very Special Episode: How 1980s Sitcoms Tried to Save America One Traumatized Child at a Time
Read more: A Very Special Episode: How 1980s Sitcoms Tried to Save America One Traumatized Child at a TimeThe 1980s very special episode turned sitcoms into public-service announcements about drugs, abuse, AIDS, grief, and refrigerator danger.
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The 1896 Automatic Hat-Tipping Device That Made Good Manners Effortless
Read more: The 1896 Automatic Hat-Tipping Device That Made Good Manners EffortlessIn 1896, James C. Boyle patented an automatic hat-tipping device that tipped, spun, and reset itself—and he even planned to put advertising on it.
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Benjamin Franklin’s Rules for Making Oneself a Disagreeable Companion
Read more: Benjamin Franklin’s Rules for Making Oneself a Disagreeable CompanionBenjamin Franklin’s 1750 satire explains how to become a truly disagreeable companion—and why his advice remains painfully relevant today.
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Florenz Ziegfeld, Eddie Cantor, and the Fine Art of Saying Too Much
Read more: Florenz Ziegfeld, Eddie Cantor, and the Fine Art of Saying Too MuchFlorenz Ziegfeld loved elaborate notes. Eddie Cantor preferred brevity. Their clash produced one of Broadway’s funniest lessons in overcommunication.
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10 Unusual Patron Saints and the Surprising Stories Behind Them
Read more: 10 Unusual Patron Saints and the Surprising Stories Behind ThemDiscover the surprising stories behind unusual patron saints associated with television, pilots, dentists, taxi drivers, the Internet, and more.
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London Necropolis Railway: The Victorian Train Where the Dead Rode First Class
Read more: London Necropolis Railway: The Victorian Train Where the Dead Rode First ClassDiscover the London Necropolis Railway, the Victorian funeral train that carried coffins, mourners, and even first-class dead passengers to Brookwood.
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