Arts & Culture
Who Is Sadie Hawkins — And Why Is a Dance Named After Her?
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Article
The Sadie Hawkins dance is a familiar tradition to most Americans, best known for the custom of girls asking boys to the dance instead of the other way around. In a world where women run businesses, lead governments, and head nearly half of U.S. households, setting aside one special night for girls to take the lead can feel unnecessary and outdated. Still, the story behind Sadie Hawkins herself offers a fascinating window into Depression-era America and the surprising ways popular culture can shape real-life traditions for generations. Mind you, Sadie Hawkins wasn’t a real person. ...Read More
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Arts & CultureFact3William Shakespeare invented the name Jessica.
William Shakespeare wrote dozens of plays — at least 36, by most counts — and coined nearly as many phrases that are still in use. We wouldn’t call things we…
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Arts & CultureArticle8The Most Expensive Object Ever Stolen
Theft has long been a part of the human experience. Examples of its prevalence can even be found in ancient mythology: Prometheus stole fire from the gods; Odysseus and Diomedes…
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Arts & CultureFact3There was a ‘wheelbarrow craze’ in the 19th century.
The first thing you need to know in order to understand Victorian England’s “wheelbarrow craze” is that pedestrianism, or competitive walking, was all the rage in the U.S. and U.K.…
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Arts & CultureArticle15What Was the First Museum?
The roots of museums reach back thousands of years. From Mesopotamian princesses to Renaissance aristocrats, humans have long been drawn to collect, preserve, and display the material traces of their…
