Florida Man

As longtime readers know, I like to do my research before I board the plane, and my upcoming visit to the Sunshine State is no different. However, instead of focusing on the sights and cuisine, this time around, I’m learning about the locals. Specifically, Florida Man. For the uninitiated, Wikipedia explains Florida Man as “an Read More

Clip of the Week: November 3, 2021

If you’ve memorized all two hours and eight minutes of the movie “Jurassic Park,” are best friends with Chicago’s most famous resident dinosaur and want to make Joseph “My Resume Is Better than Yours” Leidy super jealous, do I have a vacation destination for you: Bone City, they call it—and it is one of the Read More

Meandering around Milwaukee

In my [censored] years on this earth, I’ve been fortunate enough to crisscross continents and fly across oceans. Yet somehow, I’ve never visited Milwaukee, a city practically in my own backyard—until now. As you read this, I’m on my way there and intend to eat however much cheese it takes to become a certified cheesehead. Read More

Americans Abroad

Now that the world is opening up to tourists, I’m spinning a globe, scrolling through TripAdvisor and planning my next jaunt. Rotterdam? Switzerland? Seattle? The possibilities are endless. I’m surely not the only one. However, after more than a year of sitting at home, some of my compatriots might benefit from a refresher on how Read More

Snarky in Seattle

Some people say, “Take a trip and forget your unhappy love affair.” What! Forget it now, only to remember it all the more later on? Never! . . . Better let your heart bleed for several days in succession and then heal itself than to staunch it by a few weeks’ trip somewhere only to Read More

The Hapsburg Anastasia, Part 3

Spoiler alert: Don’t ruin the ending! Read Part 1 and Part 2 first. Read in your best announcer voice: Last time on “The Hapsburg Anastasia,” Alma eloped with 22-year-old Yale University student and coal-and-steel heir Donald Andrews. Buoyed by love and presumably, lots of money, they fled to London to escape his disapproving parents. If Read More

The Hapsburg Anastasia, Part 2

Welcome! If you haven’t yet read Part 1, please don’t spoil the story for yourself—start there!  When we last left our heroine, Alma Vetsera had failed to break her boyfriend out of an asylum, but at least she’d kicked her first husband to the curb. Alma made the most out of her newfound freedom—it helped Read More

The Hapsburg Anastasia, Part 1

Remember Second Glance History’s friend Crown Prince Rudolf, heir apparent to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire? Conspiracy theorists claim that despite what the history books say, the Hapsburg prince didn’t die on January 30, 1889 in a murder-suicide with Baroness Mary Vetsera, his 17-year-old mistress. In fact, they say he left that hunting lodge Read More

Beginner’s Guide to Pickpocketing

From breaking your lease and traveling for free to becoming a juvenile delinquent, Second Glance History is all about helping you use history to make good life choices. Today, I’m pleased to present yet another guide to antisocial behavior: Pickpocketing 101. Pencils out—but best keep your wallets hidden away. Wear a fashionable hat. On arriving Read More

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