World’s Strangest

The internet has embraced the story of Brendon Grimshaw over the past couple of weeks. Grimshaw did what so many dream of doing: he bought an island. He purchased Moyenne Island in the Indian Ocean in 1964 for $20,000, quit his job in 1973 to move there, and spent the past 40 years developing it [...]

If today’s Generation Y and Z-ers accuse us Baby Boomers of being cynical and distrustful, well, I for one blame it all on comic books. How many of us who grew up in the 1960s and early ’70s were lured by those enticing ads promising everything from X-Ray vision to frolicking, crown-wearing sea monkey pets [...]

St. Patrick’s Day has already come and gone this year, but there is a lot more to the Emerald Isle than the supposed World’s Greatest Snake Exterminator. Need some proof? Just check out these vivid vintage pictures of Ireland taken between 1890 and 1900 and organized by county, courtesy of the Library of Congress. County Antrim Glenoe [...]

March is Women’s History Month, because women make history, even when they don’t make the history books. It’s not always easy to find the fascinating females hidden among the archives of those who settled the United States. Whether they are builders, barrier breakers, victims, or criminals, here are five interesting women whose stories were left [...]

Benny’s Bloody Mary Meat Straws are basically Slim Jims hallowed out into straws. It’s a great way to add a little salty, meaty goodness to your bloody Mary and it provides you with a tasty treat afterward, even so, it’s hard to deny that they’re at least a little disgusting. Link

Did your mother ever call you “Typhoid Mary” when she caught you coughing without covering your mouth? Typhoid Mary was a real person, an Irish immigrant  by the name of Mary Mallon who cooked for wealthy New York families, until 1906, when her life took a downward turn. She spent the summer working for the Warren [...]

These awesome sculptures are obviously inspired by toys, yet their style and subject matter would be lost on children. From a Kim Jong-Il potato head to a Virgin Mary shaped jet, Stephen Ives celebrates childhood in a decidedly adult manner. Some look like toy mods, others are sculptures which are styled after plastic toys, and all [...]

Stephanie and her curious two-year-old want to know why we sometimes say “Holy Mackerel!” Unfortunately, the answer is about as clear as the tomato sauce Brits like to douse the fish in. Mackerel image via Shutterstock One thing most experts agree on is that the phrase is a euphemism for Holy Mary. Blurting “Holy Mackerel” instead of [...]

It’s not hard to find Christmas blogs. It is, however, hard to find Christmas blogs that are still active, really dedicated to Christmas, and aren’t trying to sell you something. I’ve found an interesting few for your perusal, although I feel this is only scratching the surface. Mistletunes is dedicated to Christmas music, particularly the rock-and-roll [...]

Albert de Bruijn / Shutterstock.com We all know what happened to President Abraham Lincoln the night he went to watch Our American Cousin at Ford’s Theater. But what you may not know is that he came perilously close to being assassinated eight months before John Wilkes Booth fired those fatal shots. Abe and the Lincoln fam had [...]