“The Old Man and the Pool”: After Ava Gardner went for a swim at his Havana house, Ernest Hemingway issued an unusual edict
War Plan Red: In a hypothetical war between the United States and Britain approved in 1930, the first step was to attack Canada
The Alfred Jewel: One of the most dazzling and mysterious treasures from Anglo-Saxon period, found in a field in 17th century
Treacle, crushed emeralds, bloodletting, bathing in urine: Wacko cures and medical procedures from the past
That time a strange man accepted the Oscar for the Best Supporting Actress in 1937 meant for Alice Brady
The inspiration for Leonard Cohen’s “So Long, Marianne” was a beautiful woman he met on a Greek island
The cold-blooded Cocaine Godmother of Colombia invented the motorcycle drive-by shooting that killed her
The real “Sound of Music”: Moody Maria married a man 25 years her senior, the family lost their wealth before WWII, and she sold her autobiography to Hollywood for $9,000
Not being Italian was no obstacle to James Caan, who portrayed Sonny in “The Godfather,” winning “Italian of the Year”–twice
Simon & Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinson,” originally titled “Mrs. Roosevelt” as a tribute to Eleanor Roosevelt, was reworked for “The Graduate”
