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Christmas Don’ts
On December 25, 2024 by Elyse♪ You better watch out,You better not cry,Better not pout,I’m telling you why:History is coming to town. ♪ These days, it’s not hard to make Santa’s “nice list,” especially with a spy, er, elf always looking over your shoulder. But in centuries past, the holiday season could bring worse fates than coal in your stocking.
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Everything You Never Wanted to Know about Ghosts
On October 30, 2024 by Elyse‘Tis the season for ghost stories, out-of-work spirits and erm, haunted gates. But what do we really know about ghosts, other than they’re friendly, can be trapped in glorified vacuum cleaners and occasionally dance with their still-living partners? Ghosts like their pints as much as the rest of us. All ghosts, according to the [Encyclopedia
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Say Ahhh
On March 6, 2024 by ElyseAn estimated 3% of the population suffers from dentophobia, a crippling fear of going to the dentist. Given some of the instruments pictured below, it’s not hard to see why. However, if you want a sparking smile, regular visits to the dentist are a necessary evil. Since the always accurate internet declares that today is
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Clip of the Week: February 7, 2024
On February 7, 2024 by ElyseThey say love is blind, but try telling that to the millions of single (and not-so-single) people on dating apps. In an era when getting a date for Valentine’s Day or any other day is purportedly easier than ever with thousands of potential partners at our fingertips, it can all feel a little superficial. Back
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Clip of the Week: December 27, 2023
On December 27, 2023 by ElyseGreetings from the future! This week, I’m blogging from The Land Down Under and preparing to ring in 2024 a few hours earlier than normal. Along with the usual champagne, dancing and hat ticklers, I’m celebrating with killer spiders, fish and snakes, copious amounts of vegemite and inexplicably, haunted church bells: A practical joker at
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Clip of the Week: December 13, 2023
On December 13, 2023 by ElyseThis year, Santa Claus is all about saving the environment. Instead of giving naughty children polluting coal—and delivering it with exploitative reindeer labor—he’s now sending sustainable, all-organic gifts through the postal system: Here is a regulation that forbids live animals being sent through the post, but in spite of that many curious Christmas gifts in
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Romeo Gone Wrong
On February 8, 2023 by ElyseIt’s that time of year again: cliché greeting cards, overpriced supermarket chocolate and for Second Glance History readers, cringeworthy tales of all the ways love can turn sour. History teaches us that all it takes is a misplaced coffin, one small yawn at your wedding or a passing resemblance to your mother, and you might
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Clip of the Week: December 28, 2022
On December 28, 2022 by ElyseFirst, they banned dancing (multiple times). Then, they banned alcohol and hat ticklers. Now, not even kissing is allowed?!? It is an annual custom to hold a “social” on Boxing Night. This year the new minister, the Rev. Moffatt Gautrey, decided that the kissing game which had formerly been allowed at the social should not
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Clip of the Week: December 14, 2022
On December 14, 2022 by ElyseA peculiarity about holiday shopping is that a good part of it is always put off until the day or two before Christmas or even till Christmas eve, when there is a grand rush on the stores, and everything is sold and bought in confusion. – The Morning News, December 15, 1895 If you, like