The Story of the Cardiff Giant, the Greatest Hoax in American History

The Cardiff Giant was one of the most famous hoaxes in American history. It was a 10-foot-tall (3.0 m), 3,000 pound purported “petrified man” uncovered on October 16, 1869, by workers digging a well behind the barn of William C. “Stub” Newell in Cardiff, New York. He covered the giant with a tent and itContinue reading “The Story of the Cardiff Giant, the Greatest Hoax in American History”

Amazing Photos of Calamity Jane in the Late 19th Century

“In fact I was at all times along with the men,” Martha Cannary Burke records in her brief 1896 autobiographical pamphlet, “when there was excitement or adventure to be had.” The words are straightforward and plain, like the rest of her narrative, with little room left for rhetorical flourish. This is probably due to theContinue reading “Amazing Photos of Calamity Jane in the Late 19th Century”

In 1948, Burlesque Dancer Stacy “Stormy” Lawrence Did a Surprise Striptease for the Students at Louisiana State University

The event was actually a school run event in front of a field house on campus of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. One of the students came up with this stunt because he wanted to generate a campus prank story since he was running for student body president. This same student also was atContinue reading “In 1948, Burlesque Dancer Stacy “Stormy” Lawrence Did a Surprise Striptease for the Students at Louisiana State University”

Inside the Bradbury Building, the Oldest Commercial Building in Downtown Los Angeles

The Bradbury Building is an architectural landmark in downtown Los Angeles, California. Built in 1893, the five-story office building is best known for its extraordinary skylit atrium of access walkways, stairs and elevators, and their ornate ironwork. The building was commissioned by Los Angeles gold-mining millionaire Lewis L. Bradbury (1823 – 1892) and constructed byContinue reading “Inside the Bradbury Building, the Oldest Commercial Building in Downtown Los Angeles”

50 Amazing Vintage Photos From the 1950s Volume 10

The 1950s (pronounced nineteen-fifties; commonly abbreviated as the “Fifties” or the ” ’50s”) (among other variants) was a decade that began on January 1, 1950, and ended on December 31, 1959. Throughout the decade, the world continued its recovery from World War II, aided by the post-World War II economic expansion. The period also sawContinue reading “50 Amazing Vintage Photos From the 1950s Volume 10”

The Story of Baba Anujka, the World’s Oldest Serial Killer

Known variously as the Banat Witch or the Witch of Vladimirovac, but best known as Baba Anujka, Ana di Pištonja was an accomplished amateur chemist and a convicted killer from the village of Vladimirovac, Yugoslavia (in Serbia). She poisoned at least 50 people and possibly as many as 150 in the late 19th and earlyContinue reading “The Story of Baba Anujka, the World’s Oldest Serial Killer”

60 Vintage Photos of the Anglo-Egyptian Army in Sudan During the Battle of Omdurman on 2 September 1898

The Battle of Omdurman was fought during the Anglo-Egyptian conquest of Sudan between a British–Egyptian expeditionary force commanded by British Commander-in-Chief (sirdar) major general Horatio Herbert Kitchener and a Sudanese army of the Mahdist Islamic State, led by Abdullah al-Taashi, the successor to the self-proclaimed Mahdi, Muhammad Ahmad. The battle took place on 2 SeptemberContinue reading “60 Vintage Photos of the Anglo-Egyptian Army in Sudan During the Battle of Omdurman on 2 September 1898”

African American Children in the Civil War Through Amazing Photos

The Civil War touched the lives of children in both similar and vastly different ways. The Civil War molded children’s lives as adults and shaped their attitudes, opinions, and prejudices that would pass from generation to generation. The children of the Civil War shared enthusiasm for the war, were burdened with greater responsibilities, and enduredContinue reading “African American Children in the Civil War Through Amazing Photos”

74 Vintage Photographs of Bristol, England During World War Two

Bristol is a city and county in South West England. The district has the 10th-largest population in England. The city borders North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, with the cities of Bath and Gloucester to the south-east and north-east, respectively. Bristol was heavily damaged by Luftwaffe raids during World War II; about 1,300 people living orContinue reading “74 Vintage Photographs of Bristol, England During World War Two”