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Category / Off-Beat & Little Known

How Navajo Code Talkers of World War II Saved the Day

When it came to winning WWII, there was one particularly powerful tool used by the USA. Their secret weapon? The rich, complex language of the Navajo people, which became an invaluable code used by soldiers to puzzle even the cleverest of enemy minds… The first 29 Code Talkers were sworn in at Fort Wingate, New…

Old Hollywood’s Playground Island

Ah, the joys of an island vacation. Feet in the sand, a piña colada in hand and…a herd of buffalo by the palms? On a small island off the coast of L.A., a curious population of non-native buffalo has been thriving since 1924, when they were brought over for a silent Hollywood film– and left there to save…

They Built a Life-Sized Stunt Double of Paris

Remember when French authorities built a miniature version of Paris to save the city from Nazi bomb-fire? Well, it wouldn’t be the last time the City of Lights required a stunt double. The second time, however, was under much cheerier circumstances: the filming of the Leos Carax’s cult ’90s French film, Les Amants du Pont-Neuf. Initially, Carax…

The Town with a Subculture of Secret Tiny Doors

In Ann Arbor, Michigan, a series of what is known as ‘fairy doors’, began popping up around the area in 2005, built into buildings, shops and restaurants and quickly acquired a cult following. Father and children’s book author, Jonathan B. Wright, believed to be behind the installation of the whimsical tiny portals, is kind of…

England’s Secret Historic Hotel Network

I don’t know what’s more astonishing– discovering so many spectacular historic buildings where ordinary people can actually spend the night, or the fact that most of them won’t cost me more than £20 per person a night … OR that it took me so long to discover the Landmark Trust. Hiding in the shadows of the mainstream…

The Abandoned Secret Cinema of the Sinai Desert

As if the auditorium had risen from the sands of the Sinai itself, an abandoned cinema lies in waiting for an audience that never came. A movie-worthy mirage, you’d be easily forgiven for not trusting your eyes upon stumbling such a surreal sight in the heat of the dusty Egyptian desert. This extraordinary outdoor cinema was…

They Put What, Where? Weird Beauty Hacks of Yesteryear

According to fashion legend Diana Vreeland, “the only real elegance is in the mind; if you’ve got that, the rest really comes from it,” and we tend to agree. Of course, aesthetic cultural standards have fluctuated from generation to generation (and icon to icon) for the better, and for the worse. Sometimes beauty, fashion, and…

Steve Jobs’ Nerdy Dating Show with Bill Gates

A large part of Steve Jobs’ genius was the way in which he made new technologies not only exciting, but relatable. “Apple and Jobs fundamentally changed advertising,” said former Jobs employee, Bill Cleary, to Forbes. Watching Jobs in action at one of his many, legendary keynote (or “Stevenote,” as they were soon dubbed) speeches was like…

He Spent 20 Years in the Desert Carving a Village of Dolls

Welcome to Possum Trot, California. Human population: 2. Doll population: 80. For decades, its human residents were Calvin Black and his wife Ruby, who moved out to the Mojave Desert in 1953, bought some land off of Ghost town rd. (an actual road that still exists), and proclaimed it “Possum Trot.” Over the course of…

Don’t Call Her the Dragon Lady: Hollywood’s First Chinese American Star

Wong Liu Tsong was born on Los Angeles’ Flower Street in 1905 – a rather befitting location for a gal whose Cantonese name meant “frosted yellow willow.” Most U.S. moviegoers, however, would get to know her under a more American moniker: Anna May Wong, the “Dragon Lady” of Hollywood. Wong was just your average California girl…

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