This Short-Lived Political Party Embraced Socks With Sandals
The Men’s Dress Reform Party (MDRP) called for liberation from dark, tightly-knit textiles...and had some ties to the eugenics movement.
Why Hot Air Balloons Never Really (Ahem) Took Off
More than two centuries after the invention of ballooning, Steve Fossett became the first person to solo circumnavigate the world in a balloon.
How the Victorians Went Camping
If you’re going camping this summer, will you rough it on a wilderness hike, or relax in a ...
The Illustrious History of the Avocado
Avocados had an important place in Mesoamerican peoples’ diet, mythology, and culture. It’s possible that they were eaten in Mexico 10,000 years ago.
How to Bathe Like a 18th-Century Queen
18th-century bathing was controversial. Some argued bathing was healthy, while others argued it could damage one's health.
The Rise and Fall of Pay Toilets
Vespasian's most useful contribution to history may well have been creation of pay toilets.
Whatever Happened To Piltdown Man?
Piltdown Man was once considered the missing link between apes and humans. What happened?
The Real Story Behind “Johnny Appleseed”
Johnny Appleseed was based on a real person, John Chapman, who was eccentric enough without the legends.
The First Celebrity Chef
Alexis Soyer frequently cooked for royalty and dignitaries, but also displayed a healthy social conscience.
Community Gardens Were All the Rage…in the 1700s
An eighteenth-century precedent for today's community gardens in Sheffield, England.