Month: January 2019
The Middle Ages was the wild west for relic theft. Carrying off saints’ bits was so common in the Middle Ages that they called it “furta sacra” (holy theft). Relic …
In the 19th century, tea drinking was regarded as reckless, uncontrollable and a waste of precious time for poor women in Great Britain and Ireland. The tea habit …
The cult of a bearded female saint called Wilgefortis once nearly rivaled that of the Virgin Mary. Wilgefortis was often depicted as a Portuguese, sometimes septuplet, princess distinguished by …
Special break out of jail free Monopoly sets were sent to prison camps during WWII. Just how involved was Milburn Moneybags? Modded sets of Monopoly were created by …
Douglas Bader, RAF pilot and incorrigible escape artist, literally had his leg handed to him by the German army in WWII. Bad Show Dangling from his damaged plane …
If there ever was an athletic event that should be a movie, it’s the 1904 Olympic Marathon. The “performance enhancing” rat poison and brandy! The runner who stopped for …
In the Great Whiskey Fire of 1875, a crazy cocktail of fire, whiskey and malt liquor flowed down Dublin’s Ardee-street, Chamber-street, Cork-street, and Mill-street. Contemporary illustrations showing the whiskey …
