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The Charlotte History Field Trip
If you drive north on Beatties Ford Road headed towards Huntersvillle, you will eventually come to the intersection of Beatties Ford and McIntyre Avenue: If you look to your left, diagonally across the...
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Misspelling Your Own Name
Around 19,000 years ago, Native Americans started building villages near the confluence of what we now call the Monongahela, Allegheny and Ohio rivers in western Pennsylvania. European explorers...
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The Atlanta Pen
I used to drive past the United States Penitentiary, Atlanta – known as “USP, Atlanta”, ‘the Federal Pen” or just “the Pen” – on a fairly regular basis. But I never gave it much thought. Oh sure… I’d...
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The Great Cheese War of 1935
Kids are funny: they do stupid stuff over and over again until they’re hurt or humiliated, and it’s only then that they learn not to do it again. All of us probably remember being repeatedly told “not...
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The Strangest Riot
When I was a small boy, I was in awe of my mother and grandmothers, particularly because they seemed to know every detail of those Old School social rules. For instance, every Mother’s Day our church...
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Two Classic(al) Stories
In his day, Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706) was a respected and popular composer of “Southern German” baroque music. He left a large body of secular and sacred work, such as this pretty Chaconne in F...
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How Britain Became Great
With the vote for Scottish independence coming very soon, I thought this little tale was timely. In 1707, the parliaments of England and Scotland voted to dissolve themselves and create a new...
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Baseball Stories
Baseball might be my fourth favorite sport, but with the playoffs in full swing (hah!), I thought I’d post a few baseball stories I’ve been saving up. Check out this picture: (photo via National Park...
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Stranger Than Fiction
One of my favorite films is the 1984 “mockumentary” This Is Spinal Tap, which follows a failing English rock band on their final American tour. But while the band is fictitious, many of the scenes in...
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Where It Ended
A couple thousand years ago, the Greek historian Plutarch posed an interesting question. Ships were made of wood at the time, and wood rots when exposed to water. So sailors were forever replacing bits...
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The Two Flags of France
Here’s something you might not know… France has two official flags! You’re probably familiar with this flag, often called the Tricolour or Tricolore in French: (via Wikipedia) But you might have seen...
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Skeuomorphs
Ever wonder why maple syrup bottles often have that tiny, useless handle? Ever wonder why station wagons from the 1960s through the 1980s had that awful fake wood paneling? Both are examples of...
View ArticleTurning a Blind Eye
There are tons of English phrases that have dubious folk origins. “Pig in a poke”, for example, allegedly comes from the medieval practice of selling suckling pigs in burlap bags at markets. Sometimes...
View ArticleThe (Manly) History of Bay Rum
There’s the old saying “everything old is new again”. Which, when it comes to fashion is totally true. Take cologne: when I was in high school in the 80s, Old Spice was the tackiest thing imaginable....
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Outlaws and Vestries
If you follow British politics at all, you’re probably familiar with the State Opening of Parliament. In this, the monarch (currently Queen Elizabeth II) rides in a gilded carriage from Buckingham...
View ArticleCigarettes and Candy (Again)
In this post from 2012, I talked about the strange, interconnected history of several companies that had financial difficulties… that ended up being bought by the companies providing the packaging for...
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