The Real Holy Grails: A Brief Compendium of Elaborate Chalices

There is arguably no more iconic, big bling accessory than ye olde goblet (if only we had a dollar for every time someone in Game of Thrones took a saucy sip from a chalice, right?). Because these babies let their materials do the talking, from gilded seashells, precious metals, to glass; eggs, gems, and everything…

Keep Calm and Make Anti-Coronavirus Moonshine for your Hands

The recipe is stupidly simple. We spend a fair amount of time geeking out over post-apocalyptic scenarios here at MessyNessy; there’s an entire category dedicated to “abandoned places” when and if you need it, zombie/ disaster movies are admittedly one of my favourite genres, and I’ve often wondered how I would fare in such scenarios.…

Someone should Buy this Old Captain’s Mansion in NY, before it gets Demolished

History is its own, curious commodity in the United States (where we are notoriously good at razing architectural treasures), and what makes this home – known as “the Turtle House” – so special. A rare pearl nestled in the Hudson Valley, New York, it was constructed in 1822 and just hit the market for the…

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

1. Purse Lost in the 1950s Becomes an Unexpected Time Capsule In 2019, a custodian at the North Canton Middle School was repairing lockers when he discovered a bag wedged behind a piece of detachable metal. Although dusty and dirty, the contents of the purse were well preserved. They belonged to Patti Rumfola who lost the purse…

The First Man to Reach the North Pole was an African American Desk Clerk the World Forgot

“I think I’m the first man to sit on top of the world,” is not something many people can boast, especially if they lead perfectly normal lives, say, working a desk job in the city in relative anonymity. But for many years, that was the truth of Matthew Henson. In 1908, the unsung African American…

And Now, Abandoned Dollhouses for your Inner Demon Child

Forget those twee little dollhouses from your childhood, we’re a tiny bit obsessed with the work of a truly twisted genius. Juli Steel is not your average miniaturist. A self-taught assemblage artist from Texas who goes by the alias of @TwistedCopperForest, like us, Juli has a weak spot for the forgotten and unloved things of…

If We Ever Start a Cult, this is Where We’ll be Sourcing the Outfits

Meet the Fashion Brand for lizards, sexpots, and three-headed babes. The lazily but brilliantly-named “Fashion Brand Company” was founded in 2018 by Penelope Gazin, and has been delivering deliciously irreverent apparel ever since. Like a sweater covered in nipples, or a three collared dress. It’s as if Gazin has vacuumed up the detritus of our…

Someone Reinvented the Futuro House and put it on Airbnb

In 1968, a Finnish architect designed what would become a controversial but iconic example of mid-century architecture, inspired by the post-war futurism and space exploration. The Futuro house was all set for mass production around the world, marketed as the ideal “portable” ski chalet or beach house, promising to change the way we lived. Some…

These Magical Outsider Art Temples Need Our Help

It’s no secret that our favourite art lives on the fringe. So when a reader wrote in with a tip about a temple of Outsider Art in Prenton, England, that needed our help, we dove right in. Known as “Ron’s Place,” the house is a portal into one man’s obsessive love of antiquity (with an…

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

1. One of the last fully functioning former Woolworth’s luncheonettes On Feb. 22, 1879, 141 years ago this weekend, F.W. Woolworth opened his first five-and-dime store, in Utica, New York. At its peak, Woolworth’s would have around 5,000 stores, and become a symbol of America, before the end came in 1997. But the chain has had…