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Category / How to start a subculture

Berlin’s Curious 1920s Polar Bear Craze

Once upon a meme, Germany had its own precursor to the internet’s LOLcat – in the form of a life-sized fake polar bear. As the story goes, some time in the early 1920s, two (actual) polar bears arrived at the Berlin Zoo and became the talk of the town. Families came from all over the…

This Abandoned School became his Personal Mansion (but you’re invited)

Okay, this probably sounds creepier than it really is. In Japan’s Iya Valley, considered one of the country’s most beautiful but unexplored regions, a remote elementary school was abandoned for nearly a decade, before Yohei Aoki came along and made it his home. Since 2017, the former office worker has also been welcoming off-beat travellers…

Found Snapshots of a Secret 1960s Drag Resort in the Catskills

If you were to journey to Jewett, NY today, you would find yet another semi-abandoned white hamlet, deep in the hillside, ramshackle and in need of a facelift. Nothing out of the ordinary to the naked eye, but delve further into this particular dwelling’s history and you’ll discover that it was here, almost 60 years…

Want to Explore NYC’s Most Secret Spaces? Join the Club

I‘m wondering how many New Yorkers know about the greatest club in their city. Like many of your reading, I’m the kind of city kid that likes to look under the surface of my urban landscape, open doors I’m not supposed to and see inside spaces you need a special key for. The New York Adventure Club has…

These Fabulous Vintage Japanese Slot Machines are a Collector’s Dream

I‘ve just recently discovered the world of vintage Pachinko machines and my new interest is dangerously close to turning into something “I absolutely have to start collecting right now”. For those that, like me just a few days ago, had never heard of “pachinko” before, prepare to be dazzled by a far more fabulous, Japanese version of the…

Cover Girls of the Anti-Apartheid

Once described as the “Hollywood of Black South Africa”, in 1951, Sophiatown, Johannesburg was one of the last surviving multiracial neighbourhoods of Apartheid and a symbol of resistance against a racist regime. It was here where the writers of DRUM magazine found their beat and South Africa’s Black celebrities and entertainment found their spotlight. It’s…

You’re invited to an Otherworldly Dinner Party

This seemingly infinite white table emerging from the ocean waves stopped me in my internet-scouring tracks today. I had to know. Is this real? And if so, how do I get invited? The origin of the photo was not cited but it didn’t take me long to track down its source and discover that not only is this otherworldly…

Stepping back in Time to a Jazz Age Lawn Party

Can you imagine anything more delightful than sailing from Manhattan, and heading for an uninhabited island filled with the ghostly remnants of a deserted army base; and once there, to step back in time to an authentic lawn party from the Jazz Age ? To dress in white linens, sip exquisite cocktails, and dance the…

The Complicated Rise and Fall of Udoli, an Unsung Subculture of Black Fashion History

Black women have been at the forefront of many cultural trends throughout the centuries, from hoop earrings worn by ancient Nubian civilisations and 80s disco divas alike, to streetwear trends pioneered by R&B and Hip Hop artists of the 90s. There is one unsung fashion subculture however, which never quite took off with mainstream consumers…

The Curious Youtubers Building Fantasy Pools and Secret Temples By Hand

Youtube can be a weird and wonderful place. Let’s see, there’s the Oposom lady (the undisputed queen of Youtube in our opinion), the folk singing Kardashians of Eastern Europe and a guy who takes us around dead malls and motels on our lunch break – although perhaps you’d be more into watching Italian grandmothers making…

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