13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. 687)

1. Truth Windows A traditional feature of strawbale houses is the truth window – a small section of a wall that is left unplastered on the interior, and a frame is used to show the walls are actually made from straw bales for insulation. Truth windows often take on the role of an altar, bringing gratitude for the…

A Comforting, Snackable History of the Lunchbox

Before there were fast-casual restaurants, before there was intermittent fasting, before there were meal-replacement shakes, before it all–there was lunch. And before there were Stanley cups, and before there were insulated coolers, and before there was Tupperware–there were boxes. And one day, someone realized that you could combine these two ancient and venerable institutions, and…

Check into the Bygone Era of Single Ladies Hotels

Picture this: you, an ambitious, career-driven woman wanting to conquer the Big Apple but struggling to find a place to stay. Lodging costs are likely your top concern. Once upon a time not long ago, it wasn’t just about the prices holding you back, but a city-wide policy that prohibited women from checking into hotels…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. 686)

1. Mystery image of the day Having real trouble finding any information at all about this photograph that’s been uploaded onto the internet. Any leads would be appreciated! Found via Tumblr. 2. Something to watch on your Coffee Break: How Humanity Got Hooked on Coffee 3. Stay up all night in the Hidden Library of…

The Mystery of History’s Only Female Pope

According to popular legend, there was once a female Pope – Pope Joan, who reigned for two years between 855 and 857 before coming to a very sticky end. If you’ve never heard of her, it’s hardly surprising as her existence has been questioned for centuries and her name wiped from official history. It seems…

Why is Jacques Griffe not as famous as Dior?

Cast your eye over the creations of Jacques Griffe, and one can’t help but wonder why a designer so acutely gifted doesn’t also boast a couture legacy similar to that of many of his contemporaries. Griffe closed his business in the late 1960s despite earning his reputation as one of the great French couturiers of…

Portraits Found in the Attic: Black Women in the Gilded Age

There is a sizeable gap in the documentation of Black American history. So often, what we see of Black history is limited to slavery and the Civil War or the Harlem Renaissance and the civil rights era. Record of African Americans during the Gilded Age – prospering African Americans – is noticeably lacking, forgotten in the…

13 Things I Found on the Internet (Vol. 685)

1. This must be the place Maydelle, Texas – interesting little backstory on this place here. 2. Hemingway and Dalì’s Venetian Vacation Home A corner of Holland in the Venetian Lagoon, the Casone di Valle Zappa was built between 1923 and 1928 in a thriving fishing, bird watching and hunting area. The charm of the…

How Does a 10 Day Week Sound? The French Tried It For 13 Years

It’s the Year 232, cccording to the French Republican Calendar. If a wine’s vintage is decided by the year the grapes were harvested, wouldn’t it be fitting for France to celebrate the New Year at harvest time? At the turn of the 19th century, that’s just what France did. With the rise of the First…

These Overlooked Fashion Icons were More than Just Pretty Faces

Remember the supermodel-celebrities of the nineties, the ones who wouldn’t get out of bed for under $10 000 a day? Casting a glance a little further back into fashion history, there’s a host of equally noteworthy style muses with diverse achievements in politics, education, literature and entertainment (… mind you, their celebrity romances were rather juicy…