If you imagine that in the good old days courtship always involved proper etiquette, courtesy and social mores you would be mistaken.
While combing through the archives of the New York Tribune we came across this article Continue reading
Turning 90 is still considered a feat of longevity and cause for celebration.
But for two Canadian women, Annette Dionne Allard and Cécile Dionne Langlois, turning 90 on May 28 will still be a bittersweet day. Their siblings are dead and much of their early lives were lived under constant scrutiny.
Annette and Cécile, are each one fifth of what were the world’s most famous sisters.
When it was announced that five baby girls were born to Oliva-Édouard and his wife Elzire Dionne on May 28 1934 in rural Callendar, Ontario Canada, the world went into Dionne Quintuplet-mania.
The Dionne’s were the first known set of quintuplets to survive infancy. Continue reading
Why is this snowman so unhappy? Too much snow? Not enough? Too warm? Continue reading
This news photograph showing a skull that might be a prop from a Boris Karloff or Bela Lugosi horror film, are the actual remains of an ancient criminal that were discovered two centuries after his demise.
The news slug explains: Continue reading
About 40 miles north of Portland is the town of Wiscasset Maine. Up until the early 1800s Wiscasset was a center for shipbuilding, fishing and lumber and was the busiest seaport north of Boston. Continue reading
While researching the previous story about traffic signals, there was this unusual story in the New York Daily News of February 16, 1920. Continue reading
Total solar eclipse June 30, 1954 photo: M Waldmeier
Never look directly at an eclipse.
It was one of the things that was drilled into me in grade school. You’ll permanently damage your eyes. You can go blind. As a class we’ll make shoe box eclipse viewers.
Apparently those eclipses happening during my juvenile years were not the same type that will occur in 2024 – a total solar eclipse. Continue reading
Arne Nicolaysen holding life preserver on British ship Surveyor
Reading the story entitled “Man Overboard” about Arne Nicolaysen in Robert Littell’s 1961 book It Takes All Kinds (Reynal & Compnay) you come to the realization that some human beings are incredibly resilient.
Nicolaysen was able to survive an agonizing 29 hours in the ocean without any flotation device, food or water, while sharks kept approaching him. The fact that it was hours before anyone on his ship discovered that Nicolaysen was missing, made his rescue seem even more unlikely. Between 15 – 20 ships passed by without hearing his calls for help or spotting him bobbing up and down in the endless expanse of the ocean.
Nicolaysen’s story is frightening, dramatic and ultimately inspiring. Continue reading
Tampa, FL – Pitcher Bob Purkey of the Cincinnati Reds has another claim to fame besides the 17-11 won lost record he had with the club last year. Here he holds ten baseballs, five in each hand as the team opened spring training with batterymen reporting. photo: UPI Telephoto 2/22/1961
Holding ten baseballs is some sort of accomplishment, but Bob Purkey’s 1961 season would culminate in the Reds reaching the World Series. For the year, the six foot two righty posted 16 wins against 12 losses with a 3.73 ERA. Continue reading
Lake George, NY, Aug 5 – SHORT CIRCUIT
Three-foot high Ruthie Soucek solves her height problem by utilizing the shelf in a telephone booth at Lake George, NY. She is a member of a performing group appearing in this community. – AP Wirephoto 1977
Another slow news day photograph. So if a newspaper had some extra column space to fill, this photo and caption might appear. Unfortunately the photographer is uncredited. Continue reading
