St. Valentine: In the beginning, there was martyrdom, prison, plague, and a Roman emperor who liked to use his fists
The story of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ is as old as time, though in early versions Beauty’s own family was cold and cruel
Online Plagiarism Tool Catches a Surprising Culprit – William Shakespeare
Pannier: The 18th century wide-hoop undergarment that made it challenging for aristocratic women to fit through doors
In a personal letter, J. R. R. Tolkien vetoed future dealings with Disney, for whom “I have a heartfelt loathing”
Fascinating: Origin stories of the Callanish Stones range from Druid worship or lunar observatory to giants petrified for refusing to become Christian
Nicodemus, Kansas: A mecca for African American families after the Civil War
“Possibly whole crew dead”: The Ourang Medan and the making of a mystery about a vanished ship of corpses
Meowing nuns, biting frenzy, dancing mania, and marauding Irishmen: weird cases of mass hysteria
Hitchcock’s eerie thriller “Rope” was inspired by two Chicago college students who tried to commit the perfect murder, and failed
