Ancient Romans Once Threatened To Exile Anyone Wearing Pants

One way you could celebrate National No Pants Day today is to put on a Roman toga or tunic, though the ancient Romans actually did a 180 on pants. Here's why they were for them after they were against them. 

By |2024-12-12T21:07:06-05:00May 3, 2024|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , |

A Boycott Against Charles Boycott Gave Us The Word “Boycott”

Today in 1832, the birthday of Charles Boycott, whose name has been used for over a century anytime people decide to deliberately take their business away from a group or a company.

By |2024-12-08T17:17:43-05:00March 12, 2024|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

When Missouri Banned Schools For Black Students, John Berry Meachum Started A School On A Riverboat

Today in 1847, the state of Missouri put a significant obstacle in front of a civil rights activist's efforts to educate Black students in St. Louis. But he found a way around it. 

The Blackwell Family Tree Traces Black History Through Centuries

For Black History Month, the story of the Blackwell Family Tree, a genealogy project that traces on Black family's history back through thousands of people and hundreds of years.

By |2024-12-08T17:04:06-05:00February 15, 2024|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , |

The “Hairy Eagle” Is A Decoration Made Partly With Abraham Lincoln’s Hair

It's Abe Lincoln's birthday, and if you want to see a small bit of the man himself, you could try heading to Syracuse, New York, where there’s a bit of Abe Lincoln’s hair in a very unusual decoration known as the Hairy Eagle. 

The US Rationed Shoes During World War II, So People Made Footwear Out Of Old Firehoses

Today in 1943, the US announced it would start rationing shoes to save rubber and leather for the troops in World War II. People on the home front found ways to make shoes out of alternative materials.

By |2024-12-02T08:52:40-05:00February 7, 2024|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , , |

During Prohibition, Grape Growers Sold “Wine Bricks” To Thirsty Customers

This week in 1920, a federal law enforcing the Constitution's Prohibition Amendment took effect. But there were loopholes, and one of the most clever way to use those loopholes was through something known as the "grape brick" or "wine brick."

By |2025-01-15T07:46:21-05:00January 17, 2024|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , , , |

When Martin Luther King Jr. Won The Nobel Peace Prize, Atlanta Held A Historic Dinner In His Honor

Dr. King's home city gave him a warm welcome after he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, though putting that warm welcome together got complicated. 

People In The “Dirty” Middle Ages Actually Liked To Get Clean

There was a really interesting piece on J-STOR recently that washes away the widespread idea that the Middle Ages in Europe was just unbelievably filthy. Why is it that we think the Middle Ages WAS so dirty?

By |2024-12-05T08:05:04-05:00December 5, 2023|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , |
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