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Category / Obscure history

Private Island Complete with an Abandoned “Nazi” Castle for Sale

You know what this island is made for? Childhood adventure stories. Deserted in the turquoise Caribbean sea with a creepy abandoned castle, mermaid caves and mysterious tales of World War II German submarines– it’s Tintin meets Jack Sparrow; a place to let your imagination run riot … for $39,000,000. Darby Island in the Bahamas, part of…

Her Biggest Secret Made Her One of a Kind

The world almost never knew the real Merle Oberon. For the old Hollywood set she circled in, the actress was just another leading lady, a go-to choice for directors of big-budget flicks like The Private Life of Don Juan (1934) and The Dark Angel (1935), for which she received an Oscar nomination. Her charisma was infectious, and she…

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…

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…

Why Your Sandwich Is Banned in Outer Space

John Young was a true pioneer of space exploration: he walked on the moon, orbited it alone, and commanded the very first space shuttle mission. But in 1965, he was also the first man to nearly ruin his illustrious career for smuggling a corned beef sandwich into space. Just three years after joining NASA, Young departed…

The Accidental Time Travel Incident with Marie Antoinette

Everyone can relate to taking a wrong turn on vacation – but few can boast taking a turn back in time to hang with Marie-Antoinette. That is, unless you’re Charlotte Anne Moberly and Eleanor Jourdain. It was 1901, when the two women, both academics hailing from Britain, decided to take a holiday to France and…

Why Paris’ Greatest Art Nouveau Metro Stop Is No More

No one does nostalgia better than Parisians, who just seem to have a real knack for sprinkling eccentric, liveable history into their everyday routine. Case in point? Those luscious Art Nouveau metro stops, or “dragonflies” as they were dubbed by locals at the time of their construction in the 1900s. The green, arabesque forms were…

Morse Code Mine Dancing: A Language Born in the Darkness

Born in the darkness of South African gold mines during Apartheid, “gumboot dancing” sprung from the basic need for exploited miners to communicate in what was a harrowing environment, where they were forbidden to even speak to one another. Workers decided to let their boots do the talking for them, and developed a kind of “morse…

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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