Very few people in recorded history have the distinction of being on the receiving end of a meteorite. In fact, there’s only one person with proof: Anne Hodges, an Alabama woman struck by a football-sized rock from outer space.. and lived to tell the tale. You’d think only someone awfully fortunate could survive an ordealContinue reading “Meet Ann Hodges, the Only Woman Who Ever Got Hit By a Meteorite Survived”
Tag Archives: strange & WTF
The Smallest Shop in London, 1910
London’s best known shops are often the giant department stores which draw in the tourist crowds, but this photo from 1910 shows one of the smallest shops in London. The smallest shop in London, occupied by a cobbler, at 4 Bateman Street, Soho. The shop is six feet long, five feet high and two feetContinue reading “The Smallest Shop in London, 1910”
Ananda Mahidol: The Mysterious Death of a King
Ananda Mahidol, Thailand’s king Rama VIII, died on the 3rd of June, 1946. He was only twenty at the time. A child when he was elected successor to the throne in 1935, he continued to be educated in Switzerland, not visiting Thailand as king until 1938 when he was thirteen. The Japanese invaded Thailand theContinue reading “Ananda Mahidol: The Mysterious Death of a King”
18 Vintage Cast Photos From Tod Browning’s 1932 Cult Classic ‘Freaks’
Freaks has earned its place in history as one of the all-time great cult films, though it wasn’t always beloved. The film was reviled by both critics and audiences upon release in 1932. While it may have been seen as taboo at most had it been released within the past 10 or so years, itsContinue reading “18 Vintage Cast Photos From Tod Browning’s 1932 Cult Classic ‘Freaks’”
“Naughty” French Postcards From the 1920s
Taking erotic pictures and then sending them to your partner seems like something people have always managed to do. In the late 19th century and the early 20th though, taking photographs was not that easy, and exchanging “French Postcards” was that time’s sexting. Most of these postcards were made in France, hence the informal “FrenchContinue reading ““Naughty” French Postcards From the 1920s”
The Isolator: This Insane Anti-Distraction Helmet From 1925 Would Fit Into Any Modern Open Office
Maybe you blame your smartphone or your open office for the fact that you can’t concentrate at work. But distraction isn’t exactly a new problem: In the 1920s, Hugo Gernsback published a design for a creepy-looking helmet that blocks out sound and vision so someone can focus on their work. As a writer, editor andContinue reading “The Isolator: This Insane Anti-Distraction Helmet From 1925 Would Fit Into Any Modern Open Office”
10 Sad and Strange Facts About Victorian Post-Mortem Photography
The invention of the daguerreotype in 1839 made portraiture much more commonplace, as many of those who were unable to afford the commission of a painted portrait could afford to sit for a photography session. This cheaper and quicker method also provided the middle class with a means for memorializing dead loved ones. Post-mortem photographyContinue reading “10 Sad and Strange Facts About Victorian Post-Mortem Photography”
125 Reasons You Could End Up in a Lunatic Asylum in the 19th Century
Reasons for admission into the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia from 1864 to 1889 included laziness, egotism, disappointed love, female disease, mental excitement, cold, snuff, greediness, imaginary female trouble, “gathering in the head,” exposure and quackery, jealousy, religion, asthma, masturbation, and bad habits. Spouses used lunacy laws to rid themselves of their partners andContinue reading “125 Reasons You Could End Up in a Lunatic Asylum in the 19th Century”
A Street Vendor Selling Mummies in Egypt, 1875
Egyptian street vendors have been catering to the whims of tourists since forever, apparently: Selling ancient mummies to wealthy European and American tourists as “tourist souvenirs” was apparently commonplace in Egypt around the nineteenth century. Mummies were readily available from street vendors — such as the one pictured below from 1865 — for tourists toContinue reading “A Street Vendor Selling Mummies in Egypt, 1875”
18 U.S Presidents Who Were Really Strange People
Throughout American’s history, many of the men who ultimately served as president of the United States have had some pretty head-scratching facts attached to their biography. Here now are the very strangest: Abraham Lincoln: Booze Slinger Long before Abraham Lincoln became president or hunted any vampires, he briefly paid the bills by running a combinationContinue reading “18 U.S Presidents Who Were Really Strange People”
