London’s Frosty, Forgotten Tradition of Partying on the Frozen Thames

Daily life could be grim in early modern London. Plague and other diseases seemed to lurk in the shadows. Education was out of reach for most. And the contents–or lack thereof–of your dinner table relied almost entirely on forces of nature beyond your control and which were running amok in a period of global cooling…

The Remains of Maryland-In-Africa

The ruins of Harper, Liberia are as beautiful as they are complicated… In 1833, a group of 2,769 formerly enslaved and and freeborn African Americans settled in the town of Harper on the west coast of Africa. They were part of a new colony called Maryland-in-Africa that sought to “repatriate” free Black Americans throughout the…

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

1. A Secret Underground Staircase outside the Louvre Revealed Spotted by a tourist, this is a hidden tunnel network for emergency. Much of the museum and its stores are underground and they are all connected to a big tunnel that you need to follow to exit safely the facility in case of a fire. The…

Zillow Gone Wild: The Craziest Listings on the Market Right Now

This is more of an appreciation post for the Twitter account “Zillow Gone Wild” than anything else. There is arguably nothing I enjoy more than perusing the insane properties while eating my lunch, from gaudy McMansions to mind-boggling “wait … you can buy that thing?” listings. Step right this way and enter the twilight zone…

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

1. Queen Maud the sportswoman When then Princess Maud of Wales married in 1896, her trousseau (I.E. her new wardrobe) was discussed in detail in the press. Some magazines was surprised by the amount of “sportswear” and the lack of grand robes, especially considering her mother Alexandra being one of the absolute fashion icons of…

America’s Arabian City Explained

The largest collection of Moorish Revival architecture in America and the Western Hemisphere is where you’d least (or maybe most) expect it: Florida. A development project before it’s time, from the vision of 1920s aviation and motorcycling pioneer who was inspired by One Thousand and One Nights, Opa-locka in Miami-Dade County has street names like…

The Wonderful Watercolors of Georgia O’Keeffe

One of the twentieth century’s essential artists, Georgia O’Keeffe needs little introduction. Her name immediately evokes large oil paintings depicting flowers or desert landscapes. O’Keeffe is also known for her paintings of New York City skyscrapers, her marriage to the photographer and art dealer Alfred Stieglitz, and her love affair with the American west. But…

The Many Faces of a Forgotten Androgynous Hero

Who was Claude Cahun? As ambiguous as an empty page, a radical and an indefinable surrealist who traversed social construct; artist, performer, photographer, sculptor, writer, WWII resistance fighter, female, male, other; Claude Cahun was all of these things, or none of these things. As a largely unknown early pioneer of queer culture, Claude found later…

Following in the Footsteps of New York’s First Urban Explorer

We are exploring New York City with an old hand drawn map that bears the mysterious legend, ‘Where Silence Reigns.’ Roughly sketched out over a hundred and twenty years ago, it shows just four streets. Like a pirate’s map of old, it has an ‘X’ marked on it, but this map marks the spot of…

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

1. Teenagers in the Early 19th Century, from a Girl’s Sketchbook In 1815-1818 teenager Christiane Charlotte «Lotte» Elster (1800-1893) depicted various scenes from everyday life. Details like attires, hairstyles, activities and even names has been faithfully added to the pages of her sketchbook, in drawings and watercolours. OK, so proportions might not be perfect, but…