13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. DXXXV)

1. The McTrain: The Rise and Fall of McDonald’s Ambitious Plan to Conquer the Railroads As Mickey D’s found out the hard way, running a stationary restaurant is one thing, and operating one that crosses a country daily is something completely different. Read the full article on The Drive. 2. Archaeologists uncover ancient street food…

MessyNessy’s 20 Greatest Hits of 2020

Remember last year when we imagined we might be entering some kind of roaring 20s revival of the Jazz Age? And instead all we got was the dumpster fire that is 2020? For a small editorial business with an emphasis on travel and exploration, it was a sink or swim moment for MessyNessyChic. And as…

A Brief Compendium of Forgotten Christmas Specials

This Christmas is surely all about finding comfort where we can, and for many, that means looking back on old times. For me, it started with the discovery of a Dolly Parton Christmas special buried in the archives of Youtube, which got me wondering. Sure, there’s the infamous ‘so-bad-it’s-good’ Star Wars Special of ’78, but…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. DXXXIV)

1. The Victorian Kitchen Garden A highly recommended British television series produced in 1987 following the recreation of an abandoned kitchen garden from the Victorian era. More episodes (it’s a 13 part series) found here. 2. Sand Art from the 19th Century Deaf from the age of six, Andrew Clemens (1857–1894) was a sand artist from Dubuque, Iowa…

A Beginner’s Guide to Italian Ghost Towns Selling Houses for €1

It’s been a rough few years, but it’s also been a time for re-evaluating our lives and dreaming “out of the box”. Back in 2015, we caught wind of the first Italian towns to adopt the appealing concept of giving away or selling abandoned houses for the symbolic price of 1 euro, in a bid to…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. DXXXIII)

1. This A Frame Airbnb Cabin in the pines Leavenworth, Washington —a former logging town reborn as a Bavarian village. Found on Airbnb. 2. These excellent tree ornaments By Cody Foster. 3. The Romance of Paper “Cobwebs” Among the many works on paper in The Met’s Department of Drawings and Prints is a large collection of historic…

Hunting for Harold Lloyd’s Legendary Christmas Ornaments

Harold Lloyd probably isn’t a name that rings many bells in the 21st century, but spoiler – he’s one of the most influential film comedians of the silent era, making up the the first trio of the silver screen’s laugh-makers, alongside Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. With his signature straw boater and round horn-rimmed glasses,…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. DXXXII)

1. The Ruins of the ‘Versailles of the Caribbean’ Built in 1813, once known in Europe as the ‘Versailles of the Caribbean’, Haiti’s Sans-Souci Palace – meaning ‘Carefree’ – was the largest commissioned in the Kingdom of Haiti by Henri Christophe I (a key leader in the Haitian Revolution and the only monarch of the Kingdom of Haiti).…

Revisiting a Podcast: “Americans in Paris”

If you’ve ever lived in Paris or had notions of living in or travelling to Paris, a twenty year-old podcast episode from This American Life is essential listening. For the program’s 25th anniversary, producers dug up the episode for rediscovery, and as the author of book called Don’t be a Tourist in Paris, the podcast…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. DXXXI)

1. A “Wee House” that sits on Loch Shin in the Highlands Also known as Broons Hoose, as legend goes: it was built on Loch Shin near Lairg in 1824 by poacher Jock Broon who was gifted land by a local laird in return for being taught how to distil whisky. Broon is said to…