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Category / Obscure history

The Fake Rooftop Towns of World War II

They were devised by Hollywood set designers, assembled like stage props and “inhabited” by actors, but entertainment was far from the agenda. Photographed taking a sunny stroll down a seemingly suburban avenue called Synthetic Street, these ladies are actually on the rooftop of the B17 Bomber factory in Seattle Washington in 1941, camouflaged by nearly 26 acres of suburban American…

Retro Recipe: Dr. Pepper served Hot?!

Here’s something different for a holiday party– Dr. Pepper, as in the cherry cola, served as a hot beverage! In the 1960s, the soft drink brand made a go of marketing it as some kind of non-alcoholic alternative to mulled wine. Easy to prepare–simply heat Dr Pepper in a saucepan until it steams and pour…

Gas Mask Paradise Island

On an archipelago south of Tokyo, there is a lush paradise-like island where residents must carry gas masks on them at all times. Miyakejima, part of the Izu Islands, is part of an unrestful volcanic chain that has seen six eruptions in the last century, the last in the year 2000 when a mass evacuation…

Postcards from North Korea

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is probably one of the most fascinating places on Earth, mostly because we know so little about what really goes on over there. What we do know is only what they want to show us. I’ve come across these rare archives of retro postcards and what looks like tourist…

Hitler’s Waldo: The German who didn’t give a F**k

Just a photograph of your average Nazi rally in Hitler Germany. Or is it? At the launch of a German army vessel in 1936, attended by Adolf Hitler himself, the crowd was doing their best impression of brainwashed Nazi enthusiasts and saluting Der Fuhrer. But at a closer look, the photograph shows one man who…

French Pacific Island Vanishes (Oops)

When a group of Australian scientists went on a a voyage to study plate tectonics (?) in the Pacific Ocean, the world map indicated that they would be passing an uninhabited island on their way called Sandy Island. When the boat approached the island’s coordinates, the captain prepared all the safety stops to make sure…

Flying Cars and Underwater Croquet: France in the 21st Century

According to some artists’ predictions of the future in the late 19th century, France is way behind. A series of futuristic drawings set in the year 2000 by Jean-Marc Côté and other French artists were published at the turn of the century in France on cigarette boxes and postcards. Two things to note. 1) The…

Meet North Korea’s American Film Star

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il was a known film enthusiast, or what we might call a ‘movie-buff’. He especially loved the kind of movies that portrayed America as the evil imperialist devil– but there weren’t too many of those floating around Hollywood. So to take matters into his own hands, Kim poured a whole load…

The Circus is in Town

A troupe of elephants and a zebra walk down 33rd Street in Manhattan in 1968 to mark the arrival of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. What a sight that would have been. As a great animal lover, the idea of the circus makes me all kinds of uncomfortable. But then again, the things…

Wait, they Hung Out?

As deeply disappointing as it is that someone at TIME Magazine obviously forgot to add Messy Nessy Chic to the list of best blogs of 2012 (sniffle, there’s always next year, eye of the tiger), I’m a good enough sport to recognize a few that made the cut. In particular, my favorite new discovery thanks…

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