Unhuman Animals
the Salus-Grady Libel Act of 1903
The greatest political cartoonists of the day, vs an easily caricatured governor with no sense of humor.
Categories: Arts & Culture, Entertainment & Media, Series 15
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"Arts & Culture"
Oh, the humanities!
A Palace of the Arts
a visit to the Pennsylvania state capitol
I suppose I should actually show you what George Gray Barnard's sculpture groups for the Pennsylvania State Capitol actually look like, huh?
Categories: Arts & Culture, Supplement
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Cloud Dongs
George Grey Barnard's Pennsylvania Capitol sculpture groups
In August 2023, my cousin Tim and his fiancee Bonnie were getting married in Lancaster. As #7 and I made our travel plans, we realized that even though she has spent a large chunk of her adult life in Pennsylvania she had never visited many of its most famous historic sites. We decided to make […]
Categories: Arts & Culture, Feats of Building & Engineering, Series 14
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Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village
In which #7 and #13 go up to Michigan to see the Dymaxion House.
Categories: Arts & Culture, Feats of Building & Engineering, Supplement
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Fuller Houses
R. Buckminster Fuller and his various Dymaxion Houses
It was a marvel of modern technology that promised to create freedom by liberating the mind... so why aren't you living in one right now?
Categories: Arts & Culture, Feats of Building & Engineering, Series 13
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Christmas Day
a poem by Julia Ann Moore
A special treat: "Christmas Day" by Julia Ann Moore, the Sweet Singer of Michigan, read by the incomparable Eric Leslie.
Categories: Arts & Culture, Bonus Episodes, Least Popular
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The Realest Housewife of Beverly Hills
confidante of kings, movie stars, and mobsters
The Countess di Frasso was the most famous hostess in the world, who threw parties for kings; actors, athletes and aviators; Nazis and mobsters.
Categories: Arts & Culture, Biography, Eccentrics & Prophecies, Entertainment & Media, People & Places, Series 13
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Fruitcake Subculture Conspiracy Revisited
Christmas's most maligned tradition strikes back
Listen up, fruitcake... or, rather, listen up -- fruitcake! Everything you never wanted to know about your least favorite holiday treat.
Categories: Arts & Culture, Series 13, Strange Customs & Superstitions
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Mr. Mumler’s Ghosts
A small gallery of some of William H. Mumler's best spirit photographs. (By which I mean "aesthetically pleasing", not "genuine.")
Categories: Arts & Culture, Footsteps into the Unknown, Hoaxes, Frauds & Forgeries, Supplement
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Mr. Pickle Goes On Tour
oh, the pickle-related places you'll go!
Why yes, of course we've gone out of our way to see the pickle-related sights. Here are a few of our favorites.
Categories: Arts & Culture, Supplement
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Pickle Me This
everything you need to know about pickles
This week #7 drops by to tell us everything we need to know about pickles... and then throw a "pickle party" featuring all sorts of unconventional pickles.
Categories: Arts & Culture, Series 13
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I Started a Joke
the difference between laughing with and laughing at
In 1876 poet Julia Ann Moore was beloved by the people of Grand Rapids, precisely because her poems were so bad. Then she went national.
Categories: Arts & Culture, Biography, Eccentrics & Prophecies, Most Popular, Series 13
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