Category: Culture
Ohio Movie Censors Decided Long Kisses Had to Go
In 1913, Ohio movie censors faced a pressing moral question: how long was too long for a kiss on screen? A quick stolen kiss might…
Grieving Mother Digs Up Son’s Bones and Flees Into the Woods
Some grief does not stay buried. In France, a destitute woman named Alice Gillet became so overcome by the thought of losing her dead son…
Queen Victoria Was Too Busy to Pose, So the Painter Used a Dressmaker’s Dummy
Queen Victoria Was Too Busy to Pose, So the Painter Used a Dressmaker’s Dummy Painting a queen sounds glamorous, but for the artist, it could…
Teen Girl Arrested After Saying “Damn” to Atlantic City Beach Censor
In 1923, Atlantic City’s beaches were watched by more than lifeguards. Beach censors patrolled the sand, enforcing rules of modesty and proper conduct, right down…
Pennsylvania Woman Tied Up, Covered in Molasses and Feathers by Four Women
In the early 1900s, “whitecap” attacks were acts of vigilante intimidation, often carried out by groups who believed they had the right to punish or…
San Francisco Judge Backs Handshake Marriage
A judge was asked to decide whether a marriage could begin with nothing more than a handshake back in 1915 San Francisco. Frank Wells said…
D.C. Children Warned Not to Drink From Horse Troughs
In the summer of 1907, Washington, D.C. officials faced a public health problem that seems almost unthinkable today: children drinking from horse troughs in the…
Wilkes-Barre Mayor Says Jazz and Frankfurters Are Ruining America
In the roaring twenties, few cultural trends spread faster or stirred more controversy than jazz. To its fans, the new music was exciting and full…
Doctor Claims Jazz Life Is Breaking Women
In 1924, jazz was more than music. To its critics, it was a symbol of everything fast, restless, and dangerous about modern life. The dances…
Wilmington Workhouse Prisoner Gets 40 Lashes
At the Newcastle County Workhouse in Wilmington, Delaware, James Dudley Major, also known as Earl White, was fastened to the whipping post and given 40…
