Convicted murderer James W. Rodgers was put in front of a firing squad in Utah in 1960. When asked if he had a last request, he replied, “Bring me a bullet-proof vest.”
Grumbletonian: The Centuries-Old Word for Someone Who Complains About Everything
Long before cable news and social media, the English had a wonderfully descriptive word for people who complained endlessly about politics: grumbletonian. Meet the original political malcontents.
In 1897, the Post Office Sent a Live Cat Through a Tube—Because Progress
In 1897, New York postal officials celebrated their revolutionary underground mail system by sending a live cat through a pneumatic tube. The experiment was declared a success, although nobody thought to ask the cat. Discover the bizarre history of pneumatic mail, the engineering marvel beneath New York City, and why this once-futuristic technology ultimately lost…
Gardyloo! The Scottish Word That Meant You Were About to Have a Very Bad Day
In eighteenth-century Edinburgh, hearing someone shout “Gardyloo!” meant you had seconds to get out of the way. Discover the forgotten Scottish word that warned pedestrians of an unpleasant delivery from the windows above—and why modern plumbing deserves considerably more appreciation.
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