Whether or not you’re a fan of ink, you might be surprised by some of these prominent historical figures who had tattoos.
History
Jelly Babies: The Cannibalistic Candy From Doctor Who
Jelly Babies, the gummy candies shaped like human infants, have been around for over 100 years. Who first made these cannibalistic candies? And why are they in Doctor Who?
Israel: Colonialism, Media, and the Right To Defend Itself
Rising death tolls in Israel and Palestine are in the media spotlight. But how balanced is that media coverage? This analysis explores that question.
Where The Dead Go When They Die: 5 Visions of the Afterlife from Around the World
Where the dead go when they die is a mystery humans have been trying to solve for at least 230,000 years. Here are five theories of the afterlife from around the world.
Dorothy Arzner: Her Films Before and After the Hay’s Codes
Dorothy Arzner was one of the most influential women in early Hollywood. Here are two reviews of films she worked on with strong, feminist themes.
12 Great Books by Indigenous Writers from North America
Indigenous writers have a rich history of weaving narrative, song, and poetry into stories in a way that often defies categorization. Here are 12 books by Indigenous writers from Canada and the United States.
A Review of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in 10 Books
If recent events have left you feeling woefully uninformed about what’s going on in the region, here are 10 books that offer historical and contemporary stories of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The 5 Terrifying Cults You’ve Probably Never Heard Of
Everyone’s heard of Jonestown, Rajneeshpuram, and the Branch Davidians. Here are some equally terrifying cults that you may not be familiar with.
Why Are Black Cats Considered Unlucky?
It’s a widespread tradition that black cats are a sign of bad luck. But did people always believe that? Where did that superstition come from?
The Legend of El Dorado and Lake Guatavita: The Myth That Came True (Kind Of)
Out of all of the expeditions in search of El Dorado, the most successful moment was probably the discovery of Lake Guatavita, near modern-day Bogota, by Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada in 1537.
10 African Novels You Should Check Out Today
African novels are testaments to how diverse, unique, and multifaceted the African continent is. They deal with varying concepts, struggles, resistance, and cultural issues. The vibrancy of older and contemporary African literature cannot be brushed aside. On one hand, you have novels that are a part of ongoing literary experimentations. On the other, you have […]
Sarah Baartman & The Over-Sexualization of Black Bodies
Kim Kardashian, not a stranger to controversy, set out to break the internet in 2014 with a photo splattered over the cover of Paper magazine. Renowned French photographer Jean-Paul Goude, who took the photograph for the cover, created a sensationalist post that looked oddly similar to a popular photo of Sarah “Saartjie” Baartman. Many thought […]
Benin Bronzes: What’s Going On in Western Museums?
In the early scenes of the Marvel blockbuster Black Panther, supervillain Erik Killmonger is seen surveying the African collection at the Museum of Great Britain. Killmonger corrects the exhibition’s patronizing white female curator about the origin of an axe. He says: “It was taken by British soldiers in Benin, but it’s from Wakanda. Don’t trip […]
The Brutal History of The Mau Mau Uprising
The year was 2005. Caroline Elkins, a Harvard Historian, had just come to prominence with a book titled Britain’s Gulag: The Brutal End of Empire in Kenya. The book chronicled the atrocities that the British colonial empire had committed in pre-independence Kenya. It was a tale of systematic violence involving detention camps, heavily patrolled villages, […]
How Did Philip Hamilton Die?
Chances are you know a little something about the family of one Alexander Hamilton. Regarded as one of America’s “founding fathers”, Hamilton’s life and legacy were brought into the spotlight in 2015 with the opening of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s blockbuster musical Hamilton: An American Musical. Based on historian Ron Chernow’s novel Alexander Hamilton, the much-lauded production […]
Clinton Road, New Jersey: The Scariest Road in America
Mark Moran, co-creator of Weird NJ, once described Clinton Road, New Jersey as a “dark highway into people’s innermost fears”. In the 2019 movie Clinton Road, actor Ice-T said about Clinton Road, “Man, that shit is dark, that place is evil. Do not go there.” What is it about this mysterious stretch of pavement through […]