In the summer of 1993, readers of the Los Angeles Times opened their papers to a startling bit of news–and for once it wasn’t about wildfires, mudslides or Michael Jackson. “Work clothes worn by dad and other unhip people are now all the rage among some youths,” ran the headline. And while the story mentioned…
In 1961, an 18-year-old George Harrison opened a copy of the Liverpool Echo and saw an ad for a used electric guitar. It was a 1957 Gretsch Duo Jet–coal black, more chrome than a Cadillac. The seller, a Cunard crewman, wanted 75 pounds. “I rushed right over to see it,” Harrison would recall years later,…
When European explorers reached the Americas in the 1500s, they brought diseases that Indigenous peoples–to their peril–had no immunity to, including measles, smallpox and influenza. So it’s no small irony that, for their part, Native Americans shared medical knowledge of great benefit to the Europeans, including a certain medicinal plant with a host of curative…
Of the roughly 94,000 U.S. soldiers who became prisoners of war in Germany during World War II, an especially unfortunate several hundred wound up in a camp called Oflag IV-C, better known as Colditz Castle, a 12th-century stone fortress built atop a 250-foot cliff in Saxony. The Germans believed that escape from Colditz was impossible….
For better or worse, just about everything Prince Harry does these days is sure to make the news. So it was no surprise that the blogs and gossip pages began buzzing in March of last year when the Duke of Sussex turned up at the Stockyards Championship Rodeo in Texas. It wasn’t just that he…
In 1933, the United States stumbled into the worst year of the Great Depression. A quarter of the population had no work, millions had no homes, and nearly everyone suffered from hunger. In coastal cities, children scoured the docks in hopes of finding rotten vegetables to eat. Some rural families survived by eating weeds. The…
In February of 1973, The New York Times reported a story out of Texas known as the “$13 war.” It pitted the magisterial Braniff International Airways against a scrappy upstart called Southwest. In essence, Braniff was ticked off because its fares were set by the Civil Aeronautics Board, whereas those of Southwest–which had three planes…
Twenty-five years ago this month, a revolutionary new machine for the home appeared, capable of generating an impressive 1,100 revolutions per minute. Absent any other details, one might venture it’s an exercise bike. Or perhaps a washing machine or a DVD player. It’s none of those things, actually, though the washing machine comes closest. In…
For the last two decades, London’s iconic Phonica Records has been the place for vintage vinyl fans who’ve devoted their weekends to bin diving. But in November 2018, shop visitors had an experience that went well beyond LPs on markdown. -A door at the back of the store opened into a tunnel lit with purple…
In the spirit of gift giving this Mother’s Day, here’s a memorable reflection on the holiday from the pages of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 1944: “Mother’s Day is being desecrated. The telegraph companies with their ready-made greetings, the florists with their high-pressure campaigns and awful prices, and the candy manufacturers have made a racket…
If there’s a single Italian recipe that generations of cooks fuss and disagree over with equal relish, it’s tomato sauce. Do you use fresh tomatoes or canned? Olive oil or butter? Let it simmer for an hour or a day? It always depends. If there’s any agreement among foodies about marinara sauce, it’s probably this:…
There’s a cynical old saying: Hatred breeds excellence. Scoff if you’d like–but not before you hear the story of how that adage created one of America’s best-known holiday gifts: a sturdy little appliance known as Mr. Coffee. Vincent Marotta was a Cleveland real estate man whose business stalled when he couldn’t secure financing. One morning…
According to the National Sleep Foundation, up to 96% of college students report functioning on less than eight hours of sleep per night. During final exams it gets worse, with the average student eking by on a little more than six hours of sleep. While health experts have long warned that pulling all-nighters isn’t good…
Though more than half of Americans were not even alive when it debuted, 1985’s Back to the Future remains one of the most popular movies ever made. Part of the appeal is the time-travel plot (Marty McFly and Doc Brown going back to the 1950s in a scientifically modified DeLorean) and part of it is…
The Definitive Guide to Public Relations Coups–if there were such a book–would surely record a groundbreaking event in 1966. That spring, a publicist from Milton Bradley placed a call to NBC and got a new game called Twister onto The Tonight Show. The episode aired the evening of May 3. With Ed McMahon and fashion…
Two years ago, model and businesswoman Beverly Johnson wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post looking back on some history she had made 46 years earlier. In August 1974, Johnson became the first Black woman to be featured on the cover of Vogue magazine. But Johnson was not in a nostalgic mood. The fashion and…
In the first week of February 2019, R&B singer-songwriter H.E.R. was rushing to get ready for her set at the 61st annual Grammy Awards. Her purple rhinestone jumpsuit was all picked out, but Gabriella Wilson (H.E.R.’s given name) wanted to kick things up a notch. “Me and my stylist decided that the guitar had to…
In September 1945, the U.S. armed forces commenced Operation Magic Carpet, the mass demobilization of American soldiers who’d fought in World War II. Some 20,000 troops a day boarded ships bound for home. In their rucksacks, many of the men carried souvenirs like battle flags, helmets and even grenades. Those who’d fought in Europe frequently…
Four years ago, just before stepping into his new job as a CEO, Dave Allen took his family on a vacation. A few days in, one of Allen’s high school-age daughters asked him what company he’d be running. “Igloo,” he told her. Naturally, she took out her phone and looked it up. Allen still remembers…
To the enduring benefit of cocktail lovers everywhere, Robert J. Cooper was not a man who gave up easily. Fifteen years ago, the 31-year-old approached his father with the idea of creating a liqueur made from elderflowers, a flavorful but fickle ingredient he’d first tasted in a cocktail in London’s storied Hakkasan Chinese restaurant. His…
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
