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Hayakawa with his wife Tsuru Aoki and dog "Dynomite", from the 1922 issue of <em>Photoplay</em> magazine.
film

One of the First Hollywood Heartthrobs Was a Smoldering Japanese Actor. What Happened?

Today, there aren't many Asian film hunks. But in 1915, Sessue Hayakawa was among the first sex symbols.
Rachel King December 5, 2016
The children's room at a NYPL branch library.
libraries

Growing Up in a Library Is Exactly As Magical As You'd Imagine

Ronald Clark and his daughter spent years living in one of New York City's branch libraries.
Sarah Laskow December 5, 2016
"I Only Count Your Sunny Hours"
features

Discover the Perfect Sundial Motto to Describe Your Mortality

“This solar shadow is at once the measure of time and the symbol of life.”
Eric Grundhauser December 2, 2016
While not a real psychological illness, book collectors and bibliophiles described "bibliomania" as a medical condition.
libraries

Bibliomania, the Dark Desire For Books That Infected Europe in the 1800s

Book lovers and collectors feared becoming a victim of the pseudo-illness.
Lauren Young December 2, 2016
Yulier Rodriguez decorates Havana's decaying buildings with art.
abandoned

The Haunting Street Art Adorning Havana’s Oldest Buildings

Artist Yulier Rodriguez is filling Cuba's capital with melancholic alien creatures.
Sarah Laskow December 2, 2016
A woodcut depiction of Brother XII preaching.
cults

What Happened To This Cult Leader's Lost Treasure?

The self-styled prophet Brother XII may have left behind $6 million in gold coins.
Spenser Davis December 1, 2016
Large ‘platium’ Gar on display near one of the market’s entrances. A rare mutation causes this pure white coloration.
markets

This Obscure Bangkok Market is Home to a Million-Dollar Collection of Tropical Fish

In the market for rare aquarium fish? Head to Thailand.
Mike Tuccinardi December 1, 2016
The field hospital after the Battle of Savage Station. Lack of doctors and resources meant that medical conditions were often unhygienic.
medicine

How Civil War Soldiers Gave Themselves Syphilis While Trying to Avoid Smallpox

If only someone had warned them not to take a DIY approach.
Mariana Zapata November 30, 2016
A replica of an operational base.
abandoned

There Are Hundreds of Secret Underground WWII Bases Hidden in British Forests

Built to fight a Nazi invasion, they remained unknown for decades.
Sarah Laskow November 30, 2016
Madonna, who has been known to adopt a British accent.
linguistics

Are 'Semester Abroad Accents' Real or Fake?

That suspicious new London lilt may not be as put-on as it seems.
Dan Nosowitz November 29, 2016
The California ground squirrel.
wwi

In 1918, California Drafted Children Into a War On Squirrels

There were over 100,000 casualties.
Dave Gilson November 29, 2016
A wax figure at Mount Vernon, showing George Washington riding Blueskin.
taxidermy

The Strange, Centuries-Old Tradition of Stuffing Dead Horses

Most taxidermied horses are of the battle-hardened variety.
Eliza McGraw November 29, 2016
The legend of the Greenbriar ghost.
ghosts

The Only Case Where the Testimony of a Ghost Was Used to Convict a Murderer

A graphic history of an unsettling 1897 murder case in West Virginia.
Jamison Odone November 29, 2016
A vision of an orca sanctuary?
animals

Building the World's First Retirement Home For Killer Whales

The Whale Sanctuary Project is building a place for old orca performers.
Eric Grundhauser November 28, 2016
A HeroRAT is trained for the smell of TNT, which is hidden inside tea-eggs.
rats

The Best Secret Weapon Against Landmines and Tuberculosis Is a Rat

African giant pouched rats are better mine-sniffers than dogs and faster at TB diagnosis than human doctors.
Elisabeth Waugaman November 28, 2016
Sarah Josepha Hale, circa 1831.
holidays

Read the Original Pitch for Thanksgiving, From the Editress Who Created the Holiday

Sarah Josepha Hale imagined a day of Christian celebration.
Sarah Laskow November 23, 2016
Mabel Stark, photographed in 1931.
animals

The 1920s ‘Circus Girl’ Who Fought Sexism—With Tigers

Animal trainer Mabel Stark challenged expectations about women in entertainment.
Manisha Aggarwal-Schifellite November 23, 2016
A farmer drives his flock of turkeys down a Norfolk road to market, c. 1931.
animals

Back When Your Thanksgiving Dinner Walked Hundreds of Miles to Market

The forgotten history of turkey drives.
Andy Wright November 23, 2016