WEIRD HISTORY
Ida Wood, who lived for decades as a recluse in a New York City hotel, would have taken her secrets to the grave—if her sister hadn’t gotten there first. Herald Square circa 1907, when Ida Wood first moved into the Herald Square Hotel. …
Adolf Hitler and Paul von Hindenburg, Potsdam, 1933 – By Jeffrey Herf – Jeffrey Herf is Distinguished University Professor of Modern European History at the University of Maryland, College Park. His works on German history and Nazi Germany include The Jewish Enemy: Nazi Propaganda …
The KGB ‘played the game as if they were immensely impressed by his personality’, Yuri Shvets, a key source for a new book, tells the Guardian. Donald Trump’s election win in 2016 was welcomed by Moscow. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images – By David …
James Morone is a professor at Brown University. His most recent book, published this Fall, is The Republic of Wrath: How American Politics Turned Tribal from George Washington to Donald Trump (Basic Books). – By James A. Morone 2021 Jan 24 – President …
– By Megan Marples, CNN Updated 2021 Jan 19 – Bioluminescent insects have long fascinated scientists, but little is known about how these animals got their light abilities. A 99-million-year-old beetle recently discovered by researchers, however, unlocks a piece of the evolutionary puzzle, …
Paleontologists discovered the fossilized remains of a 98 million-year-old titanosaur in Neuquén Province in Argentina’s northwest Patagonia. – By Amy Woodyatt, CNN 2021 Jan 19 – Experts have uncovered the remains of a gigantic dinosaur in Argentina, and believe it could be one …
That siege was just one battle in a decades-long assault on democracy, funded by billionaire donors and corporate interests. A window at the US Capitol building broken by supporters of US President Donald Trump. Photograph: Dmitry Kirsanov/TASS – By Brendan O’Connor 2021 Jan …
Father Coughlin’s bully pulpit. Fotosearch/Getty Images – By William (Bill) Kovarik, Professor of Communication, Radford University 2021 Jan 15 – In speeches filled with hatred and falsehoods, a public figure attacks his enemies and calls for marches on Washington. Then, after one particularly …
Credit: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images – Written by Amber Nicole Alston, CNN 2021 Jan 08 – Few accessories have lived as complicated a life as the headscarf. The versatile fabric has been chosen by and impressed upon people for political, religious and practical purposes …
The bizarre sanitarium staple that became a spreadable obsession. Veteran food critic Florence Fabricant has called peanut butter “the pâté of childhood.” (Dan Saelinger) – By Kate Wheeling Smithsonian Magazine 2021 Jan/Feb – North Americans weren’t the first to grind peanuts—the Inca beat …
