History

Sad Jetsons: Depression, Buttonitis and Nostalgia in the World of Tomorrow

All Jane needs to recover from a case of the blues is a little bit of 19th century Americana

March 25, 2013

Postwar Dreams of Flying in Style

The Northrup Flying Wing promised a luxurious experience for the air traveler of tomorrow

March 22, 2013

A Refreshing Take on Fashion Television: A Q&A with L.A. Frock Stars’ Star Doris Raymond

A new series brings high-end style to vintage wear

March 22, 2013

Projection Chic: Jane Jetson Tries on Clothes in the Future

As we move closer to the Jetsonian vision of choosing outfits, privacy has gone out of fashion

March 20, 2013

The Top Ten Most Influential Travel Books

Even before there were armchairs, voracious bookworms traveled the world just by reading

March 19, 2013

A Partial History of Headphones

Modern headphones have their origin in opera houses, military bases and a kitchen table in Utah

March 19, 2013

The Vengeance of Ivarr the Boneless

Did he, and other Vikings, really use a brutal method of ritual execution called the “blood eagle”?

March 18, 2013

The Perils of Wearing Clothes

From toxins in textile dyes to torturous corsets, beauty has a long history of coming at a high cost

March 18, 2013

The Newspaper of Tomorrow: 11 Predictions from Yesteryear

eNewspapers were being developed as far back as the 1930s

March 18, 2013

Is Corned Beef Really Irish?

The rise and fall and rise of the traditional St. Patrick’s Day meal

March 15, 2013

Mid-21st Century Modern: That Jetsons Architecture

The artists and animators working on “The Jetsons” were inspired by the futurist architecture popping up around Los Angeles

March 14, 2013

Why the Department Store Brought Freedom for the Turn of the Century Woman

Harry Selfridge, a London department store owner, may have opened the doors to more than just his retail store when he gave women a chance to power shop

March 13, 2013

Who Really Invented the Smiley Face?

It’s supposedly the 50th anniversary of the original design of the iconic image, but its history since then is surprisingly complex with millions of dollars at stake

March 13, 2013

Hey Vegans! There May Be Fish Bladder in Your Guinness

Isinglass, a gelatine collected from the air-bladders of freshwater fish like the sturgeon, is used in the clarification process of some stouts

March 13, 2013

The Most Audacious Australian Prison Break of 1876

An American whaling ship brought together an oddball crew with a dangerous mission: freeing six Irishmen from a jail in western Australia

March 12, 2013

Did Benjamin Franklin Invent Daylight Saving Time?

The creation of DST is usually credited to George Vernon Hudson, but 100 years earlier, Benjamin Franklin pondered a similar question

March 8, 2013

The Secret Plot to Rescue Napoleon by Submarine

In 1820, one of Britain’s most notorious criminals hatched a plan to rescue the emperor from exile on the Atlantic isle of St Helena — but did he try it?

March 8, 2013

Top Ten Afterlife Journeys of Notable People

Why Beethoven, Galileo, Napoleon and others never truly rested in peace

March 7, 2013

The Aughts: When People Wore Their Causes on Their Sleeves, Literally

It was a decade of Uggs and excess but also styles meant to further the greater good

March 6, 2013

Hot Air Balloon Travel for the Luxury Traveler of the 1800s

Visionary designers of the 19th century believed that the future of air travel depended on elaborate airships

March 5, 2013