Why Are Women Still Fighting for their Chance to Compete in the Tour de France?

It’s 1st July 1903, we’re in Montgeron, a southeastern suburb of Paris positioned in front of the Reveil Matin café on the rue Jean-Jaurès. Excitement is in the air as 60 hopeful male cyclists line up at the starting line, eager to test their stamina in a new competition called the Tour de France. The…

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

1. Diaolou — multi-storey defensive watchtowers of China Found in rural Guangdong, generally made of reinforced concrete, diaolou structures are one of the most spectacular and eclectic examples of fusion between Chinese and Western architecture. Found on Urban Foxxxx via This isn’t Happiness. 2. A Secret garden of mini Italian buildings to be conserved Off…

K-pop Con Artists: A Cautionary Gen Z Tale

If you need a beginner’s introduction to the Gen Z world of K-pop, it’s advisable to do so by removing our rose-tinted glasses first. Over the last ten years, K-pop has become rooted in the Western musical landscape. This is due in large part to the intense fanbase that K-pop idols have managed to amass…

Here’s What a Futurist World’s Fair Looked like Behind the Iron Curtain

The World’s Fairs used to capture the public’s imagination. From the millions who attended such iconic Fairs as the ones held in New York in 1939 and 1964, to the nostalgia they’re viewed with today, the World’s Fairs were places where people could catch glimpses of a futuristic better world; seeing such technological marvels as…

The Endlessly Inspiring DIY World of Maude Smith

I’ve just found another kindred spirit. Someone who understands my deep-rooted Capricorn need to find new uses for old or unwanted things. Maude Smith is the kind of person that will cover her entire kitchen in wine corks, shells and pieces of broken crockery. Rather than re-tiling her bathroom, she’ll meticulously paint every single tile…

America’s “Best Dressed Woman”, the Original Flapper who got the World Dancing Again

You might not know her name, but a century ago, Irene Castle was the household name at the dawn of the Roaring Twenties. Historians consider her to be the first original flapper but in her lifetime, Irene wore many hats: dancer, model, actress, animal activist, and fashion trendsetter. She left an enormous influence on American…

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

1. Wanted: Caretaker to look after uninhabited Scottish island A remote and uninhabited Scottish island near Ullapool with no full-time residents is looking for a resident caretaker to keep the island in shape for visitors this summer. Isle Martin has two beaches, just three properties to stay and in the summer, a micro museum (in…

Baby Farming, A Victorian Horror Story

Even the most sheltered among us have heard horror stories of foster care and adoption, but back before there were arms of government to protect wards of the state, there were orphanages. And before orphanages, there was baby farming. “Baby farming” was a term coined during the Victorian Era to describe the practice of taking…

Before Broadway, Paris had Boulevard du Crime, a Riotous Theatre District Lost in Time

The Boulevard du Crime, a nickname for the Boulevard du Temple in Paris, could not be more of a misnomer. It was never the refuge of thieves or scoundrels but rather in the 19th century, this street was a joyful nocturnal Right Bank hotspot; a 24/7 carnival with a host of cabarets, cafés and most notably…

The Vault

Getting Your Groove Back in New York: A Spring & Summer Guide

New York is finally getting back into the swing of things and as always, we’re here to accompany you with a little inspiration on where to go and what to do. As of May 19th, museums and institutions can opt to open at 100 percent capacity, which is subject to the six-foot social distancing rule in…

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