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Get the Party Growing
On November 27, 2024 by ElyseAre you entertaining this season? And do you have vegetables to get rid of? Although these questions may seem unrelated, the historical newspapers have the perfect recipe to squash boredom and turnip the fun. Read on for nutritious party games your friends will talk about for years to come. . . even if they stop
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Clip of the Week: November 13, 2024
On November 13, 2024 by ElyseThis is what happens when you hire Florida Man as your attorney: Attorney William F. Koegler had been acting as special prosecutor in the Miami (Florida) Court of Crimes all the week. Then he changed his role and defended a youth charged with stealing a watch. He ended his speech to the jury with the
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Tabloid Typecasting
On October 16, 2024 by ElyseLongtime Second Glance History readers no doubt remember what happens when Americans go abroad. (Reminder: They get accused of being German spies.) But what does the rest of the world think of Americans back home? While the answer to that question is as varied as the people responding, the results of my unscientific, niche survey of 19th- and
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You Say “Potato,” I Say “Potahto,” Let’s “Pot-duel”
On October 2, 2024 by ElyseThe potato’s many nutritional benefits are common knowledge, but once upon a time, the noble spud did more than simply provide vitamins, minerals and fiber: . . . in a certain district in Kentucky some forty years ago. . . a traveling preacher named Bowman, a strong, muscular man, was conducting a series of religious
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Clip of the Week: August 21, 2024
On August 21, 2024 by ElyseIf the head-scratching stories featured on this blog are any judge, American newspapers from centuries past took full advantage of their right to free expression—especially their freedom to be snarky and petty. But does the First Amendment protect the right to typos? In a Missouri newspaper office, recently, the boy who “makes up” the forms
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How to Host a National Convention
On August 7, 2024 by ElyseSome politicos among you may be looking forward to the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Chicago the way normal people look forward to the Super Bowl (without the entertaining commercials) or a Taylor Swift concert (without the dance moves or costume changes). Preparations have been underway for more than a year, and the festivities (mayhem?)
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How Old Is Too Old?
On July 24, 2024 by ElyseThe United States appears to have settled the question of “how old is too old to run for president,” but what about “how old is too old to vote?” Mrs. Lydia A. Sharpless of Whittier, Cal., 104 years old, is the oldest woman voter in the United States. She was the first woman to register
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Jail Bail Fail
On May 29, 2024 by ElyseWarrior Run, Pennsylvania was piloting an open prison concept before it was cool: Breaking out of jail at Warrior Run to engage a lawyer to defend them at their trial, Joseph Widemsky and John Prolesky made a new record in escapes. After getting out by prying open the bars on their cell door and squeezing
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Clip of the Week: April 17, 2024
On April 17, 2024 by ElyseYou’ve heard of the movie “Death at a Funeral,” but what about “Arrest at a Funeral?” While conducting a funeral in Woodgrane Park Cemetery, Joseph Barker, an undertaker, of Shoreditch, was arrested. Yesterday he was charged at Lambeth with feloniously receiving three pairs of feather plumes and three pairs of horse velvets, well knowing them