“No Stairway! Denied!” The Inside Story of Wayne’s World’sMost Unintentionally Complicated Gag. The way you saw it was not the way your parents saw it.
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The Story of the South’s First Black Millionaire. Robert Church was known as the known as the “Boss of Beale Street.”
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This ‘Prison Beauty School’ Is Giving Inmates Hope For The Future. Learning a trade is the biggest weapon against recidivism.
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Playboy is bringing nudes back after a year of expecting people to read it for the articles. But can it ever really join the 21st century?
* How Multitasking Works. You might think you’re getting more done that way, but you’d be mistaken.
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Can You Be Friends With a Bear? Long-distance friends, maybe.
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Don’t look now, but American judges are attacking debtor’s prison. There’s no reason why the poorest people should pay for our justice system.
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How One British Soldier Turned a Parlor Game into ‘Clue.’ It was Mr. Pratt on the front lines with a patent.
22 Small Ways People Say “I Love You.” It’s all in knowing what makes that person happy.
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When Heart Transplant Patients Were Celebrities. Part of Atlas Obscura’s Hearts Week.
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“And why doesn’t Batman dance anymore?” The importance of the Dark Knight’s lighter side.
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5 Sleep-Deprived Disasters. Bad things happen when you don’t get enough shut-eye.
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The people who lived in the marshy French region of Landes once got around the marshy land on stilts, looking after their sheep. Their tradition of stilt walking lives on in illustrations and photographs.
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Oroville’s Evacuation Exposes Some Glaring U.S. Infrastructure Issues. We have thousands of dams just as old and decrepit as the Lake Oroville dam.
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The Lesser-Known History of African-American Cowboys. They made up 25% of the Old West profession, but not in our history books or pop culture.
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11 Secrets to the Perfect Valentine’s Day, Without Breaking the Bank. It’s the thought that counts.
Love winter weather so much that you want to stay in a hotel room made of ice and snow? You’ve got plenty of options. Expect temps that hover somewhere between 24°F and 40°F, beds made of slabs of ice topped with insulated mattresses, animals skins, and arctic sleeping bags—and the promise that it’s probably a lot colder outside. Check out these winter wonderlands.
1. SORRISNIVA IGLOO HOTEL // ALTA, NORWAY
At the winter adventure resort Sorrisniva, you can roam on snowmobiles, boats, and dogsleds, go ice fishing, and even meet reindeer. You can also stay in the complex’s Igloo Hotel. Rebuilt every winter, the hotel offers 26 rooms and four suites decorated with ice sculptures, as well as an ice chapel, an ice bar, and a restaurant not made of ice where you can warm up.
Sorrisniva’s Igloo Hotel is open until April 2.
2. HÔTEL DE GLACE // QUEBEC CITY, CANADA
Hôtel de Glace in Quebec City, Quebec, has been opening their doors for the winter season since 2001. Almost everything in each of the 44 rooms and themed suites—decorated with feature works by ice sculptors—is made of ice and snow, except for the insulated bedding and the lighting. A few suites also include fireplaces and even private spas, and all guests are invited to try out the nighttime outdoor sauna and spa.
Hôtel de Glace will be open until March 26.
3. HOTEL OF ICE // BALEA LAC, ROMANIA
Located near a glacial lake high in the Carpathian Mountains, Romania’s first ice hotel includes 13 rooms made of lake ice mortared with snow, each equipped with a soft mattress and a warm sleeping bag. There are also four igloos, an ice chapel, an ice restaurant, and an ice bar on the premises.
Hotel of Ice is open until June 16.
4. KIRKENES SNOWHOTEL // KIRKENES, NORWAY
Kirkenes Snowhotel has 24 rooms, each decorated with a different theme from Norwegian culture or nature and set at a steady 24.8°F. Overnight stays include transportation to and from Kirkenes, dinner, breakfast, and if you’re lucky, a glimpse of the Northern Lights.
Kirkenes Snowhotel is open until April 20.
5. ARCTIC SNOWHOTEL & GLASS IGLOOS // SINETTÄ, FINLAND
Arctic SnowHotel in Sinettä, Finland offers up the choice of staying in a snow hotel decorated with ice sculptures or sleeping in a glass igloo, where you can watch the sky for the appearance of the Aurora Borealis. The hotel even advertises an optional alarm service that will wake you up when the lights appear.
Arctic SnowHotel is open until March 30.
6. ESKIMSKA VAS IGLOO HOTEL // POKLJUKA, SLOVENIA
At Eskimska Vas (Igloo Village) in Pokljuka, Slovenia, visitors take on skiing, sledding, biathlons, igloo-building lessons, and snowshoe hikes. After you work up an appetite, you can dine on traditional Slovenian sausage amongst 44 other guests at the Ice restaurant and hydrate at the Ice bar. And if you’d like to stay the night (and relax in temps that range from 32°F to 39.2°F), you can book accommodations in the Igloo Hotel, which houses two large igloos that accommodate eight people and two smaller igloos for two. The beds are made of snow blocks covered with insulation and sheepskins, and the resort also supplies winter sleeping bags.
7. SNOWVILLAGE // YLLÄSJÄRVI, FINLAND
SnowVillage, a resort in Ylläsjärvi, Finland, offers both standard rooms and suites (with temps between 23°F and 28°F) made of ice as well as nearby bathrooms and emergency beds that are heated. Guests, who all receive a diploma to document their stay, can also venture out on excursions that include snowmobiles, snowshoes, and dogsleds. Right now, artists can register to compete for the chance to decorate one of the rooms at SnowVillage next year.
8. IGLU-DORF // SWITZERLAND
Iglu-Dorf runs igloo villages in seven different locations: Igloo-Village Davos-Klosters, Engelberg, Gstaad, Stockhorn, Zermatt, Zugspitze, and Andorra. It takes over 3000 man-hours to construct each village of igloos, which are all connected via a series of corridors. Each destination offers up different igloo options from individual two-person units to six-person units and multi-room suites. There are even a few warm igloos made of snow with an insulated interior and some that feature private bathrooms. Want to get a little more creative with your accommodations? Guests at the Engelberg and Zermatt can opt to build their own igloos with a guide.
The last Igloo Village in Switzerland will close April 22.
9. LUMILINNA // KEMI, FINLAND
Every year, the LumiLinna (SnowCastle) is rebuilt in Kemi, Finland, a seaside town near the eastern border of Sweden. The structure is home to a hotel, restaurant, and chapel—all constructed from snow and ice made of sea water. The eco-friendly SnowHotel also features works of art carved into the snow walls of each room. Guests can warm up in the heated 24-hour cafe and bathrooms. Visitors to Kemi should also make sure to visit Santa Claus’ seaside office.
The SnowCastle is open until April 1.
10. ICEHOTEL // JUKKASJÄRVI, SWEDEN
ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden (about 124 miles above the Arctic Circle) became the world’s first hotel made of ice in 1989. Originally an art gallery, the structure was transformed into a hotel after a few patrons asked to stay overnight. Since then, the ice hotel has been rebuilt every year. Eventually, warm conventional rooms were added for year-round accommodations.
The complex also includes the new section, Icehotel 365, which is solar-powered and open year-round. Icehotel 365 includes 20 rooms, an ice art gallery, and ice bar. Jukkasjärvi experiences 100 days of round-the-clock sun in the summer, allowing for enough power to keep the ice standing until cold weather returns.
The winners of the 2017 Grammy Awards. And in case you’re wondering, here’s what they wore.
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Watch incredible sky dancers perform at the 2017 Wind Games. The extreme sport of indoor skydiving has become a real art form.
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Why Did Medieval Artists Give Elephants Trunks That Look Like Trumpets? Was it just because they looked cool that way?
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How Scientists Collected a Piece of the Sun. Brought here by the spacecraft Genesis, it’s now stored in Houston.
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Why You Should Never Kiss a Toad. He won’t turn into a prince, and you might be poisoned.
* Rio’s Olympic venues, six months later. It didn’t take long for them to fall into ruin.
* Is Snapchat the next tech titan? With 161 million daily users, it’s the perfect time to go public.
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The Time Cats Delivered the Mail in Belgium. They weren’t very good at it.
As the 2017 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show gets ready to kick off this weekend, let’s take a step back into its history to see the prestigious dog show’s earliest, most groundbreaking, and interesting Best in Show winners.
1. 1907 – 1909: CH. WARREN REMEDY
The Westminster Kennel Club held its first dog show in 1877, but did not introduce the Best in Show award until 1907. The first winner of Best in Show was a female smooth-coated fox terrier named Warren Remedy. Ch. (Champion) Warren Remedy went on to win the title again in 1908 and 1909, too. To date, she is the only dog to have won Westminster’s Best in Show three years in a row. The legendary terrier also won a slew of awards at other shows, and her death in 1912 rated a notice in The New York Times [PDF].
2. 1910: CH. SABINE RAREBIT
Sabine Rarebit was the first male dog to win Best in Show at Westminster, in 1910. Like Warren Remedy, he was a smooth-coated fox terrier, and fans of the breed were surprised when he defeated the previous champion. It was a year of upsets, as several dogs that were expected to win their categories did not, and accusations of poor judging were heard at the show. According to The New York Times [PDF], a fight between two dogs that year led to a brawl when many other dogs joined in:
“The counting of the damage showed the wolf hound minus one of his teeth and the St. Bernard with a mouth that was badly torn. One woman who pressed into the crowd surrounding the fighting animals fainted and was carried into the ring near where the dogs had their fight. The most disappointed person in the Garden was a small boy, who repeatedly called to ‘let ’em fight it out.'”
3. 1911: CH. TICKLE EM JOCK
The 1911 Best in Show winner was the male Scottish terrier Tickle Em Jock. Andrew Albright of New Jersey purchased the dog from a London butcher for about $15, and paid a little more for proof of his pedigree [PDF]. Other exhibitors at the show grumbled that Tickle Em Jock wasn’t even a good example of his breed, much less deserving of Best in Show. The little dog displayed his rough beginnings later that year by biting a judge right after winning Best in Breed at another show [PDF].
4. 1918: CH. HAYMARKET FAULTLESS
The first bull terrier and the first Canadian dog to win Best in Show at Westminster was Haymarket Faultless. The road to the title was not easy, as the two judges were split and stubbornly holding out for their personal favorites: Haymarket Faultless and a Pekingese named Phantom of Ashcroft. Eventually the judging referee, who was a terrier expert, broke the tie. Haymarket Faultless was the favorite to win Best in Show for the next several years, but he was passed over for other dogs.
5. 1921: CH. MIDKIFF SEDUCTIVE
Midkiff Seductive was the first cocker spaniel to win Best in Show at Westminster. In a bizarre repeat of the 1918 decision [PDF], the two judges were split between two finalists—the female black-and-white cocker spaniel and Phantom of Ashcroft, the same Pekingese who almost beat Haymarket Faultless three years earlier. The judging referee once again stepped in to break the tie, and awarded Best in Show to the spaniel [PDF].
6. 1929: LAUND LOYALTY OF BELLHAVEN
Laund Loyalty of Bellhaven was the youngest dog to ever win Westminster’s Best in Show, at exactly nine months old. Only one other puppy under a year old has ever won the title (Daro of Maridor in 1938). He is also the only collie to have won the title so far, and in 1929, that meant first competing against the other 120 or so collies entered that year.
However, Laund Loyalty of Bellhaven never competed in another show after that first big win. Florence Ilch, owner of Bellhaven Collies, claimed the champion collie was the target of death threats. She even claimed that the champion she called Don had been blinded by an acid attack. While some of the threats were documented and attacks against show dogs were not unheard of, there was no veterinary report corroborating the blinding claim.
7. 1935: CH. NUNSOE DUC DE LA TERRACE OF BLAKEEN
The first poodle to win Best in Show at Westminster was a male standard poodle named Nunsoe Duc de la Terrace of Blakeen in 1935. The Swiss-born poodle came close to winning the title at Westminster in 1934, but was defeated by Ch. Flornell Spicy Bit of Halleston. By the next year, Duc had won titles in England, Switzerland, and France, and was able to sweep the field at Westminster.
8. 1937: CH. FLORNELL SPICY PIECE OF HALLESTON
Terriers from Halleston Kennels won numerous awards in the early 20th century, including three wire fox terriers which received Best in Show awards at Westminster. Signal Circuit of Halleston won Westminster’s Best in Show in 1926, Flornell Spicy Bit of Halleston won in 1934, and Flornell Spicy Piece of Halleston was named Best in Show in 1937. The two “spicy” dogs were not related, but of all the Westminster champions, Flornell Spicy Piece of Halleston might just have the best name of all.
9. 1938: DARO OF MARIDOR
Dwight Ellis raised hunting dogs for years before getting into dog shows. In 1936, he purchased the champion English setter Sturdy Max—the advertising face of Sturdy Dog Food—for his Maridor Kennels. Sturdy Max sired a litter that included the setters Dora, Mora, Daro, and Maro. In 1938, Daroof Maridor entered his very first dog show, the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, and at 10 months of age became only the second dog under a year old to win Best in Show. Unfortunately, Daro contracted distemper at the show, and although he survived, Ellis gave up on dog shows after that experience. Daro went on to win several other awards for other kennels.
10. 1939: FERRY V RAUHFELSEN OF GIRALDA
Ferry v Rauhfelsen of Giralda was the first Doberman pinscher to win Best in Show at Westminster. The breed was controversial, and Ferry was no help to its reputation. The judge who awarded him Best in Show could not touch him, and others reported that he was “a rowdy and vicious one.” Still, he won several other championships, and his offspring, while few, won awards as well.
11. 1943: CH. PITTER PATTER OF PIPERSCROFT
It was only in 1933 that miniature poodles become officially recognized in the U.S. as a breed distinct from standard poodles. Pitter Patter of Piperscroft was the first miniature poodle to win Best in Show at Westminster. The cute little dog is also in the running for the best-named dog ever.
“It was abundantly clear to the 11,000 spectators at Madison Square Garden and to the thousands who watched the Westminster Kennel Club show on television last week that the aristocratic Afghan, Ch. Shirkhan of Grandeur, had a marked advantage over his five competitors for best of show. The others walked or trotted, ran or cantered like dogs. Shirkhan moved like a king.”
The next Afghan hound to win Best in Show was Ch. Kabiks The Challenger in 1983, whose pedigree listed Ch. Shirkhan of Grandeur in several places.
15 Popular Comic Book Characters That Started As Jokes. Turns out they were pretty good jokes.
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A Golden Era for Young Readers: The Story Behind Little Golden Books.
Food is a staple of any great public festival, but for some, it’s more that just a feature—it’s the entire point. From Hawaii to New York, we’ve rounded up 12 food festivals that are centered on particular items, products, activities or recipes. If you’ve got a highly specific grub passion, here’s where you can meet up and celebrate with all your fellow foodies.
1. WAIKIKI SPAM JAM
Residents of Hawaii eat more Spam than any other state, so it’s only natural that Hawaiians throw a party for the canned meat. The Waikiki Spam Jam draws crowds of up to 25,000 people for the single day event. This year, several restaurants will be there showing off their unique Spam recipes, and there will be two stages at the ends of Kalakaua Avenue with free entertainment. The event is a fundraiser for the Hawaii Food Bank, and you can donate cans of Spam at the festival. The 2017 Spam Jam will be held on April 29.
2. WINCHESTER BEER CHEESE FESTIVAL
Ah, beer cheese. The spread has somewhat murky origins, but is believed to have appeared around the 1940s at Johnnie Allman’s restaurant in Kentucky. The blend of cheese, beer, and spices is now made by quite a few manufacturers, who converge on Winchester, Kentucky in June for the Winchester Beer Cheese Festival. The event holds a competition for both commercial and amateur beer cheese makers, and there’s other food available, as well as arts and crafts, entertainment, and family activities. The dates for the 2017 Beer Cheese festival have not been announced, but you can keep up with developments on Facebook.
3. RC-MOONPIE FESTIVAL
The Southern tradition of enjoying a Moon Pie with an RC Cola finds its zenith in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, where the RC-MoonPie Festival takes place every year on the third Saturday in June. It began in 1994 when the town (population 405) was trying to find a way to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Moon Pie company. The first festival was such a success that Bell Buckle decided to repeat it every summer. Events include the “who traveled the furthest” contest, a foot race, a parade, royalty coronation, and the ceremonial cutting of the world’s largest Moon Pie. The 2017 RC-MoonPie festival will be held on June 17.
4. WHOOPIE PIE FESTIVAL
Whoopie Pies are a New England treat comprised of two mounds of chocolate cake with a filling of cream, frosting, or marshmallow in the middle. Whoopie Pie is Maine’s official state treat, and the Maine Whoopie Pie Festival in Dover-Foxcroft makes the most of that designation. The signature event is the Whoopie Pie baking competition, but if you’d rather eat than cook, there’s also a Whoopie Pie eating contest, and you can work it all off at the street dance that night. The 2017 Maine Whoopie Pie Festival is scheduled for June 24.
Phelps, New York has long been known for its impressive sauerkraut production, so in 1967, the Chamber of Commerce partnered with Silver Floss Sauerkraut to launch the first Phelps Sauerkraut Weekend. Fifty years later, the annual festival is still going strong, even though the town’s sauerkraut production has diminished. The three-day festival includes a sauerkraut recipe competition, kraut and kraut hot dog eating contests, and a cabbage head decorating contest. The 2017 Phelps Sauerkraut Weekend will be held August 4 through August 6.
6. SACRAMENTO BANANA FESTIVAL
The Sacramento Banana Festival goes, well you know, over everyone’s favorite yellow fruit. Despite the name, the festival is held in nearby Elk Grove, California, as a fundraiser for the National Academic Youth Corps. Food for the 2016 Banana Festival included banana guacamole, banana kabobs, banana ginger pudding, banana tacos, banana sorrel, and more. There’s also a cook-off pitting Sacramento against Oakland, and plenty of entertainment and family activities. Dates for the 2017 festival are not set, but will likely be sometime in August.
7. LIGONIER MARSHMALLOW FESTIVAL
Ligonier, Indiana, inaugurated a festival in 1952 and named it Strawberry Valley Days in honor of local crops. Forty years later it was redesigned to celebrate a very different kind of food item: the marshmallow. (By 1992 the sugar puffs had become one of the town’s biggest industries.) Now the Ligonier Marshmallow Festival is held every Labor Day weekend. Marshmallow-related activities at the festival include marshmallow games, a marshmallow bake-off, photos with the Marshmallow Man, and of course, marshmallows toasted around the fire. To cleanse the palate, there’s even a pizza-eating contest. This year’s Marshmallow Festival will be held September 1 through September 4.
8. LOWER EAST SIDE PICKLE DAY
Manhattan is the place for the annual Lower East Side Pickle Day. For one day in the fall, the Big Apple’s Orchard Street is filled with vendors showing off a wide variety of pickled cucumbers and other vegetables, and salty snacks to go with them. The festival features free entertainment and something called the “home pickling/dancing contest.” We’re not sure if you’re supposed to do both at the same time, but you can find out at the 2017 Pickle Day (the date has not yet been announced).
9. BRIDGEVILLE APPLE-SCRAPPLE FESTIVAL
Scrapple is a Pennsylvania Dutch dish developed as a way of making sure there’s no waste in the hog-butchering process. Pork bits are formed into a loaf with cornmeal and flour, then sliced and pan-fried. The Bridgeville Apple-Scrapple Festival in Delaware celebrates both scrapple and the apple harvest season—with plenty of both available depending on your craving. Events include the Ladies Skillet Toss, Scrapple Chunkin’ Contest, Kids Apple Toss, Invitational Scrapple Sling, and the Home Decorating Contest, in which Bridgeville residents decorate their lawns with the theme of apples and scrapple. The 2017 Apple Scrapple Festival will be held on October 13 and 14.
10. PORTLAND BOURBON & BACON FEST
The Portland Bourbon & Bacon Fest just wrapped up its second annual event, so cured meat and brew-lovers will have to wait until next year to bask in the glow of this delicious celebration. Sponsored by the Oregon Museum of Space and Industry, the event features pork entrees from various local restaurants, drinks from local craft breweries and distilleries, and the freedom to stroll through the museum without children.
11. FELLSMERE FROG LEG FESTIVAL
The Fellsmere Frog Leg Festival is one of the few food festivals taking place in January, since Fellsmere is in perpetually-balmy Florida. The municipal festival raises funds for the city’s parks and recreation needs, especially when it comes to projects and facilities for kids. In addition to contests, entertainment, a car show, and carnival, the main draw is the many frog leg and gator tail dinners served up during the festival. You may have missed this year’s party, but stay tuned: Dates for the 2018 festival should be announced later this year.
Finally, for eaters who are more interested in an experience than any particular food item, there’s the Film Food Festival in New York City. For this twist on a traditional film festival, the selected movies are all about food or feature food in a notable way, and while you watch, you eat the same meals alongside people on the screen. Often, the food in the theater is even cooked by the same chefs as in the film; otherwise, local restaurants are recruited to recreate the dishes. The audience is served when the food appears onscreen. Selections are balanced between dramas, food documentaries, and short films. The 2017 Food Film Festival will be held October 19-22. If you can’t make it, the festival hosts similar events in other locations.
6 Stops on the Hunt for the Holy Grail. The relic might be nowhere at all, but the places in the legend’s history are real.
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Like the CIA and DARPA before them, the FBI will no longer receive FOIA requests by email as of March 1. You’ll have to use fax machines or snail mail.
* Secrets of the Centenarians. They all attribute their longevity to something different, so maybe it is just luck.
* The Rock Springs Massacre. In 1885, the mining community of Rock Springs, Wyoming, exploded in anger over Chinese laborers in the mines, leaving 28 dead.
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The first episode of The Walking Dead may still be the show’s finest hour. Six years later, the series is less than it could be.
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During World War II, the U.S. Saw Italian-Americans as a Threat to Homeland Security. Over half a million came under government restrictions.
* The First Underwater Portrait. The 1899 technology that enabled it was rather dangerous.
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17 Spooky Photos of Philadelphia’s Eastern State Penitentiary. It’s easy to believe the place is haunted.
The Legacy of Invasion of The Body Snatchers. The 1956 movie’s “creeping paranoia and isolation” still gives us chills today.
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5 Physical Problems Doctors Fix With Glue. It beats duct tape hands down.
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15 Things You Didn’t Know AboutSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The 1938 movie changed everything for Disney.
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Demand for tiger products is threatening the wild tiger population. Even farmed tigers contribute to the problem.
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17 People Who Had The Worst Valentine’s Day Ever. Even if yours is disappointing, it should be relatively nice.
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The World’s Smallest Porpoise Inches Closer To Extinction. There Are Now Just 30 Of Them Left.
* The dead-bird detective. Pepper Trail is a criminal forensic ornithologist.
* Periodic Tableware. This was my first post at mental_floss, published ten years ago today.
