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History

An Illustrated Guide to Recognizing Insane People from 1883

By Emily Temple on

How can you tell if someone is suffering from idiocy? Or perhaps has an acute case of chronic mania? Why, from their appearance, of course. Or so suggests the 1883 manual Types of Insanity: an Illustrated Guide in the Physical Diagnosis of Mental Disease, by Allan McLane Hamilton, M.D., which we recently spotted over at Retronaut. After the jump, see if you can spot yourself among the plates, and you may just come out feeling a little thankful for how far mental health treatment has come. … Read More

History

The Love Stories of 10 Intellectual Power Couples

By Alison Nastasi on

Unmarried, radical, and leaders of a postwar philosophical movement, Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir defined the power couple for a new generation. The early feminist author of The Second Sex and the French existentialist philosopher were partners in work and wisdom, even though they often kept very separate lives. Our friends at Open Culture introduced us to a video that shows footage of the prominent twentieth-century thinkers in a 1968 documentary filmed at Sartre’s Montparnasse apartment. It’s a rare and intimate glimpse into their private lives. The website also quotes Louis Menand in The New Yorker, in an excerpt that defines the essence of Sartre and Beauvoir’s relationship: “They were a powerful couple, with independent lives, who met in cafés, where they wrote their books and saw their friends at separate tables… but who maintained a kind of soul marriage.” With romantic intrigue on the brain, we surveyed history for other famous power couples that embodied the same shared sophistication, cultured appeal, and keen intellect. … Read More

History

The Worst Dictators You’ve (Probably!) Never Heard Of

By Caroline Stanley on

Herod. Hitler. Hussein. History is full of notorious baddies — and those are just the H’s we can think of off the top of our heads. We asked Gilbert Alter-Gilbert, author of the newly-published The Desktop Digest of Despots & Dictators: An A-Z of Tyranny, to compile a list of the worst of the worst for us, focusing on the names that the average person wouldn’t have heard of before now. We think you’ll be amazed and/or horrified by what he came up with. Enjoy! … Read More

History

Awesome Infographic: Anatomy of a Turducken

By Caroline Stanley on

According to famed food writer Calvin Trillin, the origins of turducken can be traced to Hebert’s Specialty Meats in Maurice, Louisiana, which started selling the seasonal dish to its customers in the mid ’80s, but as far back as Roman times, people were roasting birds inside of other birds. In fact, in the early 19th century, gastronomist Grimod de La Reynièr presented his recipe for rôti sans pareil (“roast without equal”), a Russian nesting doll of a dish that involves stuffing a bustard with a turkey, a goose, a pheasant, a chicken, a duck, a guinea fowl, a teal, a woodcock, a partridge, a plover, a lapwing, a quail, a thrush, a lark, an ortolan bunting, and a garden warbler. Learn more about the history of turducken — and grab some tips on how to cook one of these frankenbirds — with the handy infographic after the jump! … Read More

History

Amusing Vintage Photographs of Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloons

By Jennifer Lewis on

Happy Thanksgiving week, folks! Will you be watching the Macy’s parade on Thursday? If so, you might want to check out these fascinating old photos and remember a time when lip syncing pop stars were nil and creepy balloons were aplenty. The parade debuted in 1924 as the “Macy’s Christmas Parade,” featuring Macy’s employees in lively costumes and animals from the Central Park Zoo. In 1927, the very first balloon was thrown into the mix, and the rest is history. Did you know that they used to set the balloons free, and whoever found a deflated one could mail it back to Macy’s in exchange for a gift? Crazy stuff. Anyway, check out our selection of vintage Thanksgiving Day parade photographs after the jump, then hit the comments to name your favorites. … Read More

History

Incredible, Intricate Maps from the Medieval Era

By Emily Temple on

Maps have been around ever since humans developed the ability to imagine — and the ingenuity to chart — the larger world around them. Of course, the maps that existed in antiquity don’t necessarily look like the ones we’re used to using today (you can’t drop a pin, for one thing), but many of them are incredibly gorgeous, artistic masterpieces as well as tools. We stumbled across this collection of maps from the 11th to the 14th centuries over at Retronaut and plucked out some of the most interesting ones to show you here. Click through to see some of our favorites, and then head here and here for a veritable treasure trove. … Read More

History

The Inspiration Behind Neil Armstrong’s Immortal Words

By Alison Nastasi on

NBC reported yesterday that the modest astronaut who became a global hero after taking “one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind” on the moon in 1969 died yesterday. Neil Armstrong was 82 years old. The mission commander of the Apollo 11 took his historic flight with command module pilot Michael Collins and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin — who tweeted these words after hearing the sad news: “I know I am joined by millions of others in mourning Neil’s passing – a true American hero and the best pilot I ever knew.” The always wonderful Open Culture has published an hour-long BBC documentary about the life and times of the astronaut, which reveals how Armstrong conceived of those famous, poetic words we will always remember him for. Head past the break to find out more. … Read More

History

Listen to the Only Known Recording of Sigmund Freud’s Voice

By Caroline Stanley on

Whether or not you buy into his theories (personally, we’ve always struggled with that whole women as castrated men who lack a strong superego thing), is there anyone who had a greater impact on 20th? century thought than Sigmund Freud? And yet, until today we had no idea what the man even sounded like. Now you too can listen to a recording of Freud that was taken by a BBC radio crew who visited the father of psychoanalysis at his home in Hampstead, North London back in 1938, just months after he fled from Nazi-occupied Austria. Between his heavy accent and the excruciating pain of speaking with mouth cancer, it can be difficult to make out everything that Freud is saying here, so head over to Open Culture if you’d like to read the transcript. … Read More

History

Early-20th Century Boarding School Girls Gone Wild

By Caroline Stanley on

Judging from this footage shot at Coney Island in 1905, school girls haven’t changed all that much in the past hundred years. Even way back then they were still taking forever to get situated in the car, strolling the boardwalk in unwieldy, impossible to navigate groups, playing mean tricks on their unsuspecting chaperone, and happiest when splashing about in the ocean — albeit with full-length dresses on. But you know what has changed? The amusement park rides. They are terrifying. The medieval contraptions that these girls gleefully hop aboard make the Cyclone look like a kiddie coaster. We sincerely hope Miss Knapp’s Select School had their parents sign permission slips. … Read More

History

The World’s Weirdest Weather Predicting Traditions

By Margaret Eby on

Today is Groundhog Day, when loyal citizenry, local mayors, and rookie reporters troop to zoos across the country to eagerly await a midsize rodent’s reaction to the morning weather. Wiarton Willie, Punxsutawney Phil, and Staten Island Chuck will all have their moment in the sun (or cloud cover), and, meteorologic equipment be damned, we might still believe just a little bit that they hold the power in their tiny paws to banish the remaining weeks of wintery doldrums. Groundhog Day is perhaps the weirdest nationally acknowledged day of observance, stemming from a Pennsylvania German tradition in which a badger or bear would perform the groundhog duties. But it’s far from the world’s only piece of bizarre weather predicting lore. From watching a cow tail to gauging the height of wasp nests, these traditions will have you feeling grateful for The Weather Channel. … Read More