1. Billy Burke (aka Glinda the Good Witch) was the Original Fashion Influencer
Before the runway there was Broadway. And before fashion influencers there was Billie Burke. And before she was Glinda the Good Witch, Billy Burke was the original fashion influencer.
Burke was a stage actress in the early 1900s at a time when Broadway was *the stage* to showcase new fashions. Unlike today, actors had to bring their own costumes.
Burke’s stunning looks, personal style, and fashionable wardrobe made her stand out.
Quickly, Burke’s images were reproduced in newspapers, fashion magazines, and on postcards.
Droves of adoring young women flocked to the theater to see Burke, imitating her clothes and hairstyle and following her advice on beauty routines. Department stores sold “Billie Burke Dresses,” and she lent her image to a variety of products like skin care, soap, and nail polish.
Learn more about Billy with fashion historian Keren Ben-Horin, curational scholar for NY History.
2. This French mother-daughter “slow design studio” making some pretty rad lamps & one off objects
Mattina Moderna is based in Nice. Check out their Instagram and their website.
3. A Pretty Cool Book about America’s Kitschiest Hotels
If you’re a fan of Messy Nessy Chic, you’ll no doubt be a little obsessed with this book, created by the super cool couple that tours America in search of the weirdest most wonderful hotels and vlogs about it. (If you haven’t checked out their Youtube channel, prepare to lose an entire day).
Their excellent book is now available to pre-order and keep up with their fabulous discoveries on Instagram.
4. Banana boots
Updated from a kind reader: The Scottish comedian & actor Billy Connolly wore a pair in the 1970s, which became so famous they’re now in the People’s Palace museum in Glasgow.
Found via Present & Correct (scan source).
5. When Salvador Dalí Gave a Lecture at the Sorbonne & Arrived in a Rolls Royce Full of Cauliflower (1955)
Found via Open Culture
6. Things that might be Missing from your job description
If you’re working in an office, here are some of the checklist items that might have been omitted:
- Add energy to every conversation
- Ask why
- Find obsolete things on your task list and remove them
- Treat customers better than they expect
- Offer to help co-workers before they ask
- Feed the plants
- Leave things more organized than you found them
- Invent a moment of silliness
- Highlight good work from your peers
- Find other great employees to join the team
- Cut costs
- Help invent a new product or service that people really want
- Get smarter at your job through training or books
- Encourage curiosity
- Surface and highlight difficult decisions
- Figure out what didn’t work
- Organize the bookshelf
- Start a club
- Tell a joke at no one’s expense
- Smile a lot.
Found on Seth’s blog via Swiss Miss.
7. Uruk in Sumeria, modern day Southern Iraq, considered the first civilised city in the world 6500-4000 BC, re-discovered in 1849
Abandoned c. 700 AD. Learn more in Wikipedia.
8. Neom, the linear mega city currently under construction in Saudi Arabia
The city’s plans include multiple regions, including a floating industrial complex, global trade hub, tourist resorts and a linear city powered by renewable energy sources. It was launched by Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman.
Found on Reddit.
9. Under construction for at least 50 years with thousands of workers. Probably a massive secret bunker hidden under a mountain.
Even after the fall of the Soviet Union the Russian government spent massive amounts of money on the construction of the Mount Yamantau Complex, baffling western observers.
A Russian journalist who hiked through the surrounding forest to investigate the sign described a massive hole in the ground surrounded by machinery workers and even a helipad.
The site is far away from major roads or rail lines and has no landing strip which has led some to theorize it is connected to nearby cities by underground tunnels allowing people and equipment to enter the site secretly. Over the years the russian government has claimed that the site is simply a mine and other times refused to comment on it.
Another possibility is that the sire contains Russian national treasures, as the site may extend to 400 square miles it would be bigger than needed for a simple command bunker. Finally some speculate that the sight could be Russia’s area 51, a reasearch facility for chemical and biological weapons hidden from american spy satillites.
Learn more on Youtube.
10. The mysterious house with a door that opens onto a cliff
The most popular (internet) theory is that the door of this historical house was part of a stable where horses were originally kept. The door made it easy to shovel out the manure.
The Queen Anne style house built in 1891 in Santa Cruz, California is called the Golden Gate Villa. Here it is on Street View.
Found on Reddit.
11. Lake Como’s Perfect Umbrella Tree
At the Villa del Balbianello in Lake Como, there’s an impressive holm oak, known as the umbrella tree. Once a year two gardeners climb up into its crown on ladders, and for two weeks they prune the tree like a skirt as they meticulously trim it into shape. Several movies were shot here including Star Wars (Attack of the Clones) and Casino Royal
Villa del Balbianello also happens to be one of the most amazing villas you can visit on Lake Como. A Franciscan monastery had existed on the tip of the peninsula of Dosso d’Avedo since the 13th century but was long abandoned and only recovered in recent centuries.
It’s run by Italy’s National Trust.
12. These 15th-century murals were covered up for centuries (because they gave someone a headache during the Renaissance)
These 15th-century murals in Eltz Castle looks pretty fresh, right? That’s because some hater during the Renaissance disliked the paintings so much they whitewashed over them, ironically preserving them until they were rediscovered in the 19th century.
You can visit Eltz Castle in Germany by the way. Found via Unreliable Narrators.
13. NYC’s Hidden Treehouse in an East Village Community Garden
