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Category / How to start a subculture

You Are Invited to a Harlem Rent Party Circa 1944

The weekend is fast approaching, we’re looking forward to letting our hair down, maybe go dancing, listen to some music and have a glass or two. In early 20th century Harlem, New York, these cards would have been your ticket to a good time. They advertise what was known as “Harlem rent parties”, a social phenomenon…

The Forgotten Houseboat Hotels of Kashmir

There was a time when these floating hotels that have rested on the lakes of Kashmir since the 1800s, were host to movie stars, artists, writers, famous musicians and wealthy western travellers searching for inspiration and tranquility. Lou Reed left a letter in the guestbook after his stay of one of the houseboats called Buckingham Palace,…

How to Make an American Anti-Hero

They crusaded with horns sprouting from their heads, and rifles slung across their backs. Legend has it they decreed the virtues of the Holy Bible in one hand, and a torch in the other. They were known as the “Bald Knobbers,” and for a period of time in the lawless Ozark Mountains of a post-Civil…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. 681)

1. Pasta in Bed Pasta-inspired bedsheets, unfortunately only available in the AI-universe for the moment. Created by Paul Octavius. Check out his salad sheets here. 2. This blog with excellent commentary on McMansions Discover McMansion Hell. 3. The Napoleon Dynamite opening titles Found via Present & Correct. 4. How did Disney hide the developer of…

A Gourmet Dinner on the London Underground

The average commuting Londoner spends up to 75 minutes a day on the Tube. Convincing one to get back on the Underground for dinner would probably seem like a terrible idea, but we’re not talking about a late night bacon butty and a bag of crisps to chomp on the last train home. No, we’re…

Investigating Brooklyn’s 156-Year-Old Secret Society for Black Women

MacDonough Street looks much the same as any street in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood; long and leafy and residential, with historic townhouses neatly arranged in rows, punctuated by the occasional larger building. But one of those larger buildings – 87 MacDonough Street – stands out. Although today its windows are boarded, you can see the grandeur…

Here’s What We Know About the Hundred Mile-Long Linear City they’re Building in the Desert

The opportunity to design and build an entire city from scratch sounds like the dream of every child (and child at heart) in possession of a Lego set and an imagination, and this is exactly what NEOM, the team behind The Line, a new sci-fi city currently underway in Saudi Arabia and set to be…

The French Castles, Literally Fit for a Pigeon

They might easily be mistaken for playhouses fit for a princess, like Marie Antoinette’s little hamlet houses at Versailles, but these pint-sized castles dotted around France were in fact designed for a much smaller tenant– one with wings to be precise… You might vaguely recognise the mini-castle pictured above, which has been cleverly re-imagined by photoshop and…

Wild Card Destination du Jour: Southern Indiana’s Failed Utopia

What put Southern Indiana on our radar? Mysterious utopian experiments and end-of-the-world 19th century religious cults of course! The beautiful historic town called New Harmony was once home to a esoteric doomsday group of German pioneers called the Harmonists, who had a taste for quirky architecture and kooky modern ideas like equal rights and free…

A Brief Compendium of Secret-ish Oddball Clubs and Societies

Clubs – organized groups of individuals sharing common interests or goals – have existed for centuries. The concept can be traced back to ancient times when people gathered for mutual support, sharing knowledge, and communal activities. They reflect our innate human desire for a sense of belonging, collaboration and shared experiences, but also, the allure…

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