Why So Many Old Paintings Have Dogs Holding Lit Flares In Their Mouths

There's a phenomenon in art history where some paintings feature dogs with lit flares in their mouths. They're not committing arson or leading Indiana Jones through a dark cave... but what are they doing?

By |2024-12-13T07:35:27-05:00August 8, 2022|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

During World War I, Photographers Made A “Human Statue of Liberty” Out Of 18,000 Soldiers

This month in 1918, two photographers took a picture of the Statue of Liberty, formed with help from 18,000 members of the U.S. military.

By |2024-12-06T06:33:37-05:00July 13, 2022|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , |

William Mumler, The Photographer Who Had “Spirits” In His Pictures

Today in 1865, Abraham Lincoln went to Ford's Theater, and we all know how badly that ended. But five years later, William Mumler "photographed" the spirit of Honest Abe comforting his widow Mary Todd Lincoln. Here's the story of Mumler and his very controversial "spirit photography."

By |2024-12-05T07:44:09-05:00April 14, 2022|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

The Highly Photographic Life Of Frederick Douglass

Today is the assumed birth date in 1817 or 1818 of Frederick Douglass, who is known for his powerful writing and speeches, but was also probably the most photographed person of his time.

A Liner Note Detective Wants The World To Know Something About The “London Calling” Cover Photo

The famous cover of The Clash's landmark album "London Calling" was taken on September 21, 1979, according to the liner notes. Except that Dave Marin, a concertgoer who was there when the photo was taken, has a concert stub that says September 20th. And he's spent decades trying to get the world to notice that the album credits are a day off.

NestFlix Is The Internet’s Home For Shows Within Shows

Web developer/creator/artist Lynn Fisher's new project is NestFlix, a website that looks like a streaming service but features the fictional shows and movies that are within real world ones.

By |2024-12-12T21:36:22-05:00August 31, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , |

To Make “The Great Picture,” Artists Turned A Hangar Into A Pinhole Camera

Today in 2006, the largest photograph ever taken was released to the world. It’s known today as The Great Picture: 31 feet tall, 107 feet wide. Here's how it was taken.

By |2024-12-16T10:24:22-05:00July 12, 2021|Categories: Cool Weird Awesome, Podcasts|Tags: , |
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