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A Neigh in the Life
On April 3, 2024 by ElyseEver since humans domesticated horses thousands of years ago, they’ve been our faithful companions, pulling our carriages, plowing our fields and kindly not throwing off small children placed on their backs for photo ops (thanks, Oreo!). However, it’s not all work and no horseplay. If the early 20th-century newspapers are to be believed, horses were
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Clip of the Week: March 20, 2024
On March 20, 2024 by ElyseAnd you thought losing the ring was the worst way the best man could ruin the wedding: An Essex clergyman has adopted a novel form of punishment for kissing. While a wedding was in progress the two principals rose from the chancel steps, where they had been kneeling, to advance to the rails of the
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How to Make a Citizen’s Arrest
On January 10, 2024 by ElyseWe’ve all been there: the guy sitting next to you on the bus isn’t wearing deodorant; you’re rushing to check out at the store, but there’s a Karen in front of you; or my personal hell, someone is walking too slowly on the sidewalk ahead of you. Who you gonna call? Not the Ghostbusters—you’ll have
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Clip of the Week: November 1, 2023
On November 1, 2023 by ElyseIt never hurts to ask: William Walsh, a pensioner, and the oldest living veteran of the [American] Civil War, wrote to Congress saying that his consumption of tobacco was increasing with his years. He said that he was utterly unable to gratify his desire for smoking unless he received an additional twelve dollars monthly. The
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Mind Your Manners
On October 18, 2023 by Elyse“Manners easily and rapidly mature into morals,” the politician Horace Mann is said to have declared. While the stories below suggest otherwise, there’s no denying that good manners can make all the difference in just about any situation. If you follow the etiquette you (hopefully) learned in preschool, you’ll go far—into the judicial system, that
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The Un-Odyssey
On September 20, 2023 by ElyseWhat would’ve happened if, after the Trojan War, Odysseus had simply given up and not made the long, perilous journey home? The answer might lie in an anecdote from Scotland. . . Some short time ago, in one of the villages on the Firth of Forth, lived a lady whose husband had long before gone
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Clip of the Week: August 23, 2023
On August 23, 2023 by ElyseTalk about a claim to flame. Folks, we have another world record: The other day, for the tenth time in his life, Joseph Maski, 103 years old, believed to be the oldest person in Chicago, was rescued from a fire which threatened to destroy the building in which he lived, at No. 8961, Superior Avenue,
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Clip of the Week: July 12, 2023
On July 12, 2023 by ElyseForget hats, sunglasses and knee watches—the summer accessory you didn’t know you need is a poison-detecting guinea pig carrying case: Travellers through America are advised to carry guinea pigs with them to test the quality of any liquor offered them. The animal should be allowed to lap up a few drops of the fluid and
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Crêpe and Punishcake
On June 28, 2023 by ElyseWhat’s better for defending your home than an assault rifle? Why, a-syrup rifle, of course! A Paris message says: An elderly lady, Mme. Mouillebois, was engaged in frying pancakes in her rooms in the Rue de la Maison Blance on Saturday, when she was alarmed by hearing the door of her flat open. A man