World’s Strangest

As a big Beatles fan, I sure wish I was there 46 years ago when the Fab Four appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time. Since we haven’t quite worked out that whole time travel thing yet, I’ll have to content myself (and you!) with trivia. 1. Although appearing on Sullivan was [...]

There was a fascinating article in the New York Times the other day about violence in the Philippines and its thriving karaoke culture — and the deadly problems that can crop up when it comes to Frank Sinatra. In fact, it’s one Sinatra song in particular that seems to be the cause of so much [...]

German photographer Josef Schulz traveled across the U.S., taking pictures of highway signs. He then photoshopped out the text, leaving only the shapes and colors. The series is called “Sign Out.” Can you guess what company the sign represents? More at the link. Link via Fast Company

What happens when the bison at the Museum of Natural History get dusty? Photographer Richard Barnes has traveled the U.S. photographing museum dioramas undergoing repair and maintenance, and his photos have been made into a book, Animal Logic, that was published last fall. Do his photos, which emphasize the distinction between nature and artifice, increase or [...]

You know him as the man who sang “White Christmas” and co-starred in a slew of movies with Bob Hope, but what don’t you know about Bing Crosby? Here are five facts that might surprise you. 1. He Got His Name from a Comic Strip The entertainer was born Harry Lillis Crosby, which doesn’t have quite [...]

1. Laika. You might have heard of little Laika, the first animal to enter the final frontier. Not much was known about space at the time – we weren’t even sure if humans could withstand entry beyond a certain point. So poor Laika the 11-pound stray dog was sent to test that out aboard Sputnik [...]

This January brought the 35th annual Winter Fancy Food Show to San Francisco. Held each year at the Moscone Center in SF, the enormous event highlights just about anything you could put in your mouth. It’s like Comic-Con for foodies, the kind of place where the makers of the “world’s best salt water taffy” rub [...]

Everyone has their weird phobias. Me, I hate clowns and people wearing costumes or masks that cover their faces (which is weird, considering how much I love Disney World). But compared to these 10 celebrity phobias, my fears are pretty normal. 1. Billy Bob Thornton hates antiques so much he refuses to stay in a [...]

It all started with an insult. During Andrew Jackson’s 1828 presidential campaign, his political opponents labeled him a “jackass.” Stubborn as he was, Jackson co-opted the insult and began putting a donkey on his election posters. For the rest of his career and even into his retirement, newspapers and cartoonists continued to represent Jackson either [...]

Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” is 165 years old this week. That’s not bad for a bird with a life expectancy of 40 years (that’s in captivity, if you’re interested – 15 years is the longest a tagged raven has ever lived in the wild). We’ll say Happy Birthday to the morbid black bird by [...]