Her name was Virginia Clemm, and she was his cousin. When Poe, age 27, married her, she was just 13. How and why they wed is the strangest of Poe’s grim tales. Continue reading
Category Archives: History
Can you solve these 19th-century math problems?
This is one of the easiest: “On Monday, I sold 3/7 of my pears; on Tuesday, I sold 16 more than 1/2 of the remainder, and had 20 pears left. How many had I at first?” Continue reading
The strange, dystopian history of She-Ra
In the early 1980s, Mattel needed a new kind of Barbie. Sword-Slinger Barbie. They wound up with more than they bargained for. Continue reading
For royalty only: the most exclusive newsletter of all time
You might assume it was about politics, sensitive geopolitical tensions, or international espionage. You couldn’t be more wrong. Continue reading
Catherine the Great’s shockingly expensive hobby
It wasn’t clothing. Or art. Or even jewelry. Continue reading
The biggest myths about the most famous nail polish of all time
A deep dive into the history of the one and only Vamp. Continue reading
Your old photo album might be worth millions
It all depends on whose photos are inside. This one contains some of the rarest pictures of all time. Continue reading
Could you survive in the most crowded place on Earth?
Today the most overcrowded place on the planet is Manila, the capital of the Philippines, where the population density is estimated to be 107,560 per square mile. But it doesn’t hold a candle to the most densely packed place of all time, Kowloon Walled City. Continue reading
