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

1. The Victorian “Two Penny Hangover”: How the term “hungover” originated At one of the first homeless shelters in London, for two pennies a night people could sleep resting over a rope (they were forbidden from lying down). It was called the “two-penny-hangover” and it may likely be where the term “hungover” originates from. Full…

A Peculiar Ghost is Haunting Europe’s Abandoned Castles

France has over 30,000 castles, and sadly a large number of them are abandoned or at risk. But let’s meet the peculiar ghost on a quest to haunt them through his lens… French photographer and explorer, Jim Carroll, who also goes by the pseudonym “A Peculiar Ghost”, is one of our favourite follows on Instagram. There’s…

Magical & Macabre Spell Ingredients to throw in your Cauldron this Halloween

We’re looking for a most powerful spell this year. Forget the “eye of newt” and “wool of bat” – to get in the spirit of Halloween, we’ve trawled our favourite curio corners of the net to find some alternative oddities to get our cauldrons a’ bubbling this year. In the tradition of rare and macabre…

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

Welcome to your Halloween edition of 13 Things, not for the faint of heart! 1. The French Werewolf Endemic .. A 67-page academic paper on the history of killer lycanthropes or some sort of man-eating wolf exists. The French Werewolf Epidemic (1520-1630) was France’s version of Europe’s witch trials and executions, but with werewolves. For 110 years,…

The Buried African Folklore behind the Pop Culture Zombie

There is a law still in effect in the Haitian criminal code that dates back to 1883, making it illegal to try to turn someone into a zombie. The word “zombie” in fact, comes from “nzambi,” a word that means “spirit” in the voodou religions of Haiti and the African diaspora, but the Haitian zombie…

Making a Miniature World for Marie Antoinette

Let them eat tiny cakes! Just when you think the world of miniatures couldn’t get any more impressive, you stumble upon the exquisite work of June Clinkscales. The Californian miniature artist has the kind of artisanal skills that we might have believed were almost lost to the world – not to mention, she’s working on…

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

1. The Hedgehog Highway That Knits A Village Together With their miniature ramps, stairs and holes cut into fences and stone walls, the gardens of Kirtlington in Oxfordshire are a haven for wildlife … home to the UK’s longest volunteer-run hedgehog highway. It passes through 60 properties in the village, all linked by CD-sized holes…

All You Need is the Opossum Lady (the Undisputed Queen of Youtube)

This picture may not need any explanation. It is arguably perfect as it is. But in these strange and uncertain times, I had an inkling that this might be exactly what we all need. So allow me to formally introduce you to Pearl de Wisdom, aka the Opossum lady. She has been making spiritual opossum…

What We’d Bid on at the Historic Waldorf Astoria Hotel Auction

The Waldorf Astoria became an icon of Manhattan glamour ever since it first opened in 1931. One of New York’s oldest and perhaps grandest of hotels, it closed its doors as we knew it for the last time in the winter of 2017. We were there to say goodbye. Nearly four years later, the Waldorf…

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

1. Wife Selling The custom of Wife selling in England was a way of ending an unsatisfactory marriage by mutual agreement that probably began in the late 17th century, when divorce was a practical impossibility for all but the very wealthiest. After parading his wife with a halter around her neck, arm, or waist, a husband would publicly auction her to the…