Category: Culture
Before Weather Apps, Some Families Watched a Frog Climb a Ladder
Long before modern forecasts were available at the touch of a button, some households in Germany and Switzerland looked to a small green tree frog…
Old Nevada Justice Sent Saloon Thief Walking Into the Desert
In the rough mining camps of northern Nevada, justice did not always wait for a courtroom. In 1908, a man known as “Doc” Phelan was…
Florida Officials Consider Bringing Back the Lash in Prison Camps
In 1925, Florida prison officials were openly discussing whether to bring back one of the state’s most brutal punishments: the lash. Only two years earlier,…
Prohibition Agents Attacked With Bottles During Hell’s Kitchen Raid
Prohibition agents found a hostile welcome in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen in July 1922. When three Federal officers entered Gentilly’s Cafe on Eighth Avenue, they…
1919 Barbecue Boss Shared His Massive Pit Recipe for Feeding 1,000 People
In 1919, Chattanooga’s Charlie Willingham was known as a man who understood barbecue on a grand scale. To Willingham, pit barbecue was not a quick…
Fourth of July Barbecue Turns Deadly After Family Eats Poisoned Meat
A Fourth of July family reunion near Garfield, Georgia, turned into a mass poisoning in 1912 after dozens of relatives became violently ill from barbecued…
1907 Household Hacks Used Spools, Bottles, and Broomsticks to Save the Day
Long before convenience stores, overnight delivery, and endless household gadgets, home makers often had to solve small domestic emergencies with whatever was already close at…
Chicago Heiress Took Vows of Silence Hoping to Cure Her Deaf Brother
Mary Holway had wealth, youth, and a comfortable place in Chicago society. Then, at twenty-five, she gave it all up. Before the altar of a…
The Unsung Operators Behind the Knickerbocker Theatre Rescue
When the roof of Washington’s Knickerbocker Theatre collapsed under the weight of heavy snow, the first alarm came through an ordinary telephone call. A man…
“Hello Girls” Stayed at Their Switchboards While Disaster Closed In
Before emergency alerts, automated warnings, and instant messages, disaster news often passed through the hands of a telephone operator. They were known as “hello girls,”…
