What the $1 Bill Used To Look Like

Closeup of $1 dollar bill — Credit: Vladyslav Starozhylov/ Alamy Stock Photo

Author Timothy Ott

November 11, 2025

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As the United States entered the turbulent era of the Civil War, the government set aside long-standing concerns about nonmetallic currency and began issuing a series of paper banknotes in 1861. These “Demand Notes” were printed in denominations of $5, $10, and $20 — but not the lone dollar.

The $1 bill finally arrived the following year with the next generation of paper currency, known as United States Notes (or Legal Tender Notes), and the bill has since made up for its delayed arrival by becoming the most common denomination in circulation today.

Of course, that 1862 $1 note — or any dollar bill printed before the mid-20th century — would likely draw a double take from modern eyes, as paper currency has undergone numerous aesthetic changes since the days of the Civil War. Here’s a look at some of the notable designs to grace the sides of the humble dollar over the years.

Credit: National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History

1862 United States Note

Like most paper currency of this period, the first $1 bill incorporated a mishmash of fonts and shapes across a crowded obverse (front), while the back featured a green ink-rendered display of lathework surrounding an inscription of the government’s legal obligation to the note holder. But the most notable highlight may well have been the picture of the serious-looking fellow who is decidedly not George Washington, nor any other easily recognizable statesman, for that matter. The denomination’s first portrait instead went to Salmon P. Chase, who served as secretary of the Treasury and chief justice of the Supreme Court.

1869 United States Note

The 1869 $1 note was a little closer to the contemporary design: George Washington made his first appearance, albeit with a sunnier disposition than the portrait that surfaced later. The central position of his portrait, the font printed beneath him, and the serial numbers located on the lower left and upper right of the bill set the standard for designs to come. Obvious differences include the vignette of Christopher Columbus on the upper left of the obverse, and a lathework-heavy reverse with the legal obligation wording pushed off-center. Additionally, this eye-catching bill featured various blue, green, and red tints, inspiring its "Rainbow Note" nickname.

Photo credit: National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History

1886 Silver Certificate

The U.S. Treasury began issuing silver-backed paper certificates in denominations of $10 to $1,000 in 1878, before the first $1 silver certificate appeared in 1886. With it came the face of Martha Washington, the first woman to appear as the primary portrait on U.S. paper currency (though Pocahontas appeared on an earlier $20 bill as part of a larger scene). The choice of the first U.S. first lady for the note was generally lauded, even if her picture drew mixed reviews, and Mrs. Washington's visage made a return appearance for the 1891 $1 silver certificate.

Credit: Art Collection 3/ Alamy Stock Photo

1896 Silver Certificate

Admired for their elaborate neoclassic designs, 1896 silver certificates are known as the "Educational Series" for scenes that illustrate the best of American industry. The obverse of the $1 certificate showcased the "History Instructing Youth" engraving of a half-reclining woman, one arm around a boy and the other pointing toward Washington, D.C., and an open book. The reverse featured portraits of the first couple, George and Martha Washington. While these bills made a strong visual impression, the copious amount of black ink used to print the front sides caused smudging problems, and bankers complained about an inability to rapidly distinguish between the different denominations, forcing the Treasury to quickly scuttle the series.

1899 Silver Certificate

Designed with the intent of appearing "so distinctive there will be no difficulty in confusing them," according to the Treasury, the 1899 silver certificate avoided the complications that plagued the preceding Educational Series, and its $1 notes endured until being replaced in 1923. While the reverse of this denomination reflected a minimalist aesthetic with its central starlike shape surrounded by an expanse of white space, the obverse featured an eye-catching eagle gripping an American flag, prompting it to be known as the "Black Eagle Note." Additionally, the front included smaller portraits of both Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant, marking a rare occasion that multiple presidents appeared on the same note.

1928 Silver Certificate

The 1928 $1 silver certificate was among the first of the small-size bills that circulated as part of efforts to save money on production costs. By this point, the layout of the obverse looked largely similar to that of the modern dollar bill, with the blue Treasury seal to the left of Washington's portrait among the noticeable discrepancies. But the biggest differences can clearly be found on the reverse, where an unusual-looking light green border and large printed "ONE" prompted the note’s "Funnyback" nickname. The Funnyback layout remained in place for the following series of $1 silver certificates, before President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Cabinet member Henry Wallace teamed up to commission a reverse modeled on the Great Seal of the United States for the 1935 releases.

Credit: Art Directors & TRIP/ Alamy Stock Photo

1963 Federal Reserve Note

While the first Federal Reserve Notes were issued in 1914, it wasn't until 1963 that the $1 denomination appeared among these notes, which now make up the bulk of the paper money in circulation. This version is the dollar as we know it. The bill features an obverse with Washington's stone-faced portrait flanked by the Federal Reserve District seal to the left and Treasury seal on the right, and a reverse marked by the two sides of the Great Seal and the motto "In God We Trust," which was added to paper currency in 1957. While the other major denominations have undergone design changes in recent years, with colors and watermarks added to help deter forgeries, the $1 has remained unchanged since 1963. The bill's low value makes it less likely to be counterfeited and a recurring congressional provision precludes its redesign, ensuring the familiar $1 bill will endure for generations.

6 of the Oldest Selfies

Self-portrait, early 20th century — Credit: Kirn Vintage Stock/ Corbis Historical via Getty Images

Author Tony Dunnell

November 4, 2025

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In 2023, Paris Hilton made the bold claim of having conceived of the selfie. In posts on Instagram and X, she shared photos from 2006 of her posing alongside Britney Spears, claiming, “17 years ago, I invented the selfie.” While it’s unclear whether she was joking or not, what we do know for certain is that the selfie was not invented by Paris Hilton in 2006. In fact, there’s a strong case to be made that the first selfie was taken almost 150 years before Hilton was even born. And the word “selfie” itself was in known use by 2002, and likely even before that.

Here, we take a look at some of the earliest photographs that could be considered selfies, from old daguerreotype self-portraits to Kodak snaps from the turn of the 20th century.

Credit: World History Archive/ Alamy Stock Photo

Robert Cornelius

In 1839, Robert Cornelius stood in front of a makeshift camera in the yard of his family’s gas lighting business in Philadelphia. He took a photo, then stood motionless for 10 to 15 minutes to allow the daguerreotype process sufficient exposure time. The resulting self-portrait — taken using a camera with an opera glass for a lens — shows a ruggedly handsome man with a fashionably upturned collar. It was a great technical achievement, coming just a little more than a decade after French inventor Nicéphore Niépce took “View From the Window at Le Gras,” the world’s oldest surviving photograph. Cornelius’ photo is generally considered the earliest surviving photographic portrait in the world — and, therefore, the first-ever selfie.

Unidentified Edwardian Woman

One of the most potent weapons in the arsenal of the modern photo-poser is the mirror selfie. But using a mirror to take a photo of yourself is nothing new; it’s been done for well over a century. One of the most famous early selfies was taken by an unnamed Edwardian woman using a Kodak Brownie, a type of box camera first released in 1900. The photo shows the woman standing with her camera in front of a tall mirror. The mystery surrounding her identity only adds to the photo’s appeal. We are left to wonder who she is, and whether it was her who took the photos we can see on shelves to the right of the mirror.

Harold Cazneaux

Harold Cazneaux was a pioneer of photography in Australia, capturing diverse subjects in a huge collection of images spanning the first half of the 20th century. His photos include sweeping landscapes, urban scenes, and intimate portraits, as well as self-portraits. Cazneaux could be considered something of an early adopter when it comes to selfies; his earliest self-portrait was taken in 1904 at the age of 26, and many more followed, including the selfie above, taken in 1937. These weren’t the off-the-cuff selfies we’re accustomed to today — Cazneaux’s compositions were always well considered. “The photographer,” he once wrote, “must be in accordance with all nature’s moods; he must feel the very spirit of the scene if he is to be successful.”

Joseph Byron

If you’re reading this thinking, “Well, these examples aren’t really selfies,” then consider Joseph Byron. Byron specialized in photographing Broadway shows and other stage productions, while also documenting life in New York City. In 1909, he took some self-portraits while standing on the roof of a building on Fifth Avenue — images that very much conform to the modern notion of a selfie, with the camera held in outstretched arms. He also took a group selfie in a similar manner, featuring a handful of his dapper colleagues sporting a fine selection of old-school hats and mustaches.

Credit: History and Art Collection/ Alamy Stock Photo

Grand Duchess Anastasia

Anastasia was the grand duchess of Russia and the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II — the last emperor of Russia. In 1914, when she was 13, she took a handful of self-portraits using a Kodak Brownie box camera and a mirror. The photos, taken in her bedroom at Alexander Palace, were among the first-ever selfies taken by royalty, and could also represent the first teen selfies. Sadly, the images are indelibly tinged with tragedy. Anastasia was killed with other members of her family during the October Revolution of 1917, just a few years after she took the photos.

The Secret History of Area 51

Entrance to Area 51, Nevada — Credit: James Aylott/ Hulton Archive via Getty Images

Author Timothy Ott

November 4, 2025

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Area 51 does not exist. That is, it does not exist under that specific designation, as it’s formally known as the Groom Lake and Homey Airport, part of the Nevada Test and Training Range. And even that information only became public knowledge after nearly 60 years of government denial of clandestine military activity taking place at the base, which is hidden some 85 miles north of Las Vegas in the Mojave Desert.

According to official records, Area 51 has served as the base of operations for the development of aircraft and other technology designed to enhance the capabilities of the U.S. military. And yet, the place has also carved out a distinct identity in popular culture as a hotbed for alien research and communications, as evidenced by the 26% of Americans who believe that crashed alien spaceships are housed there.

The long-standing tradition of secrecy only bolsters the conspiracy theories surrounding the purposes of Area 51. But while it can be difficult to separate truth from myth, enough details have been unearthed to allow inquiring minds to put together some basic facts about this mysterious site.

Photo credit: Image courtesy of the Laughlin Heritage Foundation/ CIA

Area 51 Began as a Training Ground for a New Spy Plane

The story of Area 51 began in 1955 with the CIA’s attempts to find a training ground for the Lockheed Corporation’s U-2 spy plane. A suitable spot was found at Groom Lake, a salt flat located near the northeast corner of the Atomic Energy Commission’s (AEC) Nevada Proving Ground. Upon being incorporated into AEC territory, the site became known by its map designation of Area 51.

In its infancy, Area 51 was a meagerly populated facility consisting of a 5,000-foot-long runway, three aircraft hangars, a few administration buildings, and trailers for employee housing. The sparse accommodations led to the base being sarcastically known by such nicknames as “Paradise Ranch” and “Dreamland.”

With the development of the high-altitude, supersonic A-12 aircraft in the early 1960s, Area 51 underwent major renovations to expand its infrastructure and tighten security. This included the addition of an 8,500-foot-long concrete runway with a 6,000-foot extension onto the lake bed, along with the construction of three new hangars. Additionally, a 60-foot-tall pylon was installed to test the radar-deflecting abilities of a mounted A-12 prototype.

In the late 1960s, the base became a site to analyze a Soviet MiG-21 fighter jet that had wound up in Israeli possession. By evaluating the capabilities of the MiG-21 and training American pilots to counter them, the U.S. military was able to overcome the problems posed by these speedy and highly maneuverable jets during the Vietnam War.

After Area 51 oversight passed from the CIA to the Air Force in 1978, engineers continued to develop stealth technology for the next generation of U.S. fighter jets. The fruit of their labor was the revolutionary F-117A Nighthawk, which proved nearly undetectable to radars upon achieving operating capability in 1983.

Credit: James Aylott/ Hulton Archive via Getty Images

A Man Claimed To Have Seen Alien Ships There

For the first three decades of its existence, Area 51 drew little attention save for the occasional local report of unusual lights and aircraft spotted in its vicinity. But everything changed in 1989, when a man named Bob Lazar delivered a series of interviews to KLAS-TV that introduced this secretive facility to the rest of the world.

Claiming to be a physicist who previously worked in the S-4 section of the base, Lazar insisted that there were nine alien spaceships being stored at the facility as scientists attempted to reverse engineer these technological oddities. He also described the existence of "element 115," which at the time was too heavy to be synthesized on Earth, that was used to power the ships' antigravity propulsion systems.

Lazar's claims were largely discredited (although he still has his believers) after reports surfaced of him seemingly lying about his employment and education history. Nevertheless, the association between Area 51 and extraterrestrial phenomena only grew from there, eventually becoming so widespread that the subject was a plot point for fictional fare such as the 1996 big-screen blockbuster Independence Day and the popular sci-fi TV show The X-Files.

Although the U.S. government continued to officially deny the existence of Area 51, those efforts were offset by lawsuits from former employees alleging health problems stemming from exposure to hazardous waste at the site. In 1995, Bill Clinton introduced a presidential determination that precluded the release of classified information regarding "the United States Air Force's operating location near Groom Lake, Nevada," an action that was annually reapplied through his remaining years in office before being continued by his successor, George W. Bush.

Photo credit: Image courtesy of the National Security Archives

The Base Was Finally Acknowledged With the Declassification of CIA Documents

In August 2013, following a Freedom of Information Act request filed in 2005, the government finally acknowledged the existence of Area 51 by declassifying a series of CIA documents that detailed the history of the U-2 and A-12 programs developed at the Nevada base. During the annual Kennedy Center Honors that December, Barack Obama became the first U.S. president to use the term "Area 51" in a public setting.

The base returned to headlines in summer 2019, when college student Matty Roberts launched the "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us" Facebook event. Although some 2 million people confirmed they would attend, prompting local authorities to plan extra security measures, only a few thousand participants arrived at the nearby town of Rachel for the three-day event in September.

Although its cloak of invisibility has been lifted, Area 51 continues to function in much the same manner as before, with only a privileged few employees privy to the technological breakthroughs underway within its heavily guarded perimeter. And while reports of government investigations of unidentified aircraft occasionally push into the crowded news cycle, it may be decades — if ever — before any legitimate connections between this secretive facility and little green men from other worlds are revealed.

Why Do We Knock on Wood?

Man knocking on wood — Credit: Michael Haegele/ The Image Bank via Getty Images

Author Bess Lovejoy

November 4, 2025

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If you’ve ever said something like, “The car has been working perfectly all year — knock on wood,” and then rapped your knuckles on the nearest wooden surface, you’re in good company. Across much of the English-speaking world, this simple gesture is a charm against misfortune, a way to avoid tempting fate. Americans typically say “knock on wood,” while Britons prefer “touch wood.” Either way, the impulse is the same: to protect good luck, or to keep a hopeful statement from backfiring. But where does this mysterious superstition come from?

Credit: Print Collector/ Hulton Archive via Getty Images

The Tree Spirit Theory

One of the most common explanations for the custom of knocking on wood points to ancient pagan beliefs, particularly among Celtic peoples. Trees — especially oak, ash, and hazel — were once considered sacred, believed to be inhabited by spirits or minor gods. Knocking on a tree trunk might have been a way to rouse these spirits and ask for protection, or to thank them for a stroke of good fortune. Another variation holds that people knocked on trees to chase away evil forces lurking in the wood, or to prevent those spirits from overhearing boasts and punishing the speaker’s hubris.

This idea fits neatly with what we know about ancient tree worship. Sacred groves once dotted the landscape of Europe and other parts of the world, serving as meeting points between humans and the divine. Trees symbolized the structure of the cosmos — roots in the underworld, branches in the heavens — and were thought to house powerful spirits.

In this light, touching or knocking on wood might seem like a lingering echo of those early spiritual traditions. But there’s a problem with that idea: No direct evidence connects those ancient practices to our modern superstition. Indeed, there’s a silence of more than a thousand years between the Christianization of Europe and the first written reference to touching wood.

Credit: Heritage Images/ Hulton Archive via Getty Images

The Wood of the Cross

Another explanation for knocking on wood situates the custom within Christian belief. Because the cross on which Jesus was crucified was made of wood, some have suggested that touching or knocking on wood invokes his protection. The gesture would thus serve as a small, everyday reminder of divine safeguarding — a miniature act of faith disguised as habit.

As comforting as this story sounds, folklorists note that it, too, rests on speculation. If the practice had genuinely Christian origins, it would likely appear in medieval writings or sermons, but no such references exist. Instead, the first recorded mention of “touch wood” appears in 1805. That’s long after both the supposed age of tree spirits and the early Christian church.

Playground Games

The relatively late appearance of the first reference to tradition provides an important clue. According to folklorists Jacqueline Simpson and Steve Roud, the earliest known use of touching wood as a superstition comes from a children’s chasing game mentioned in R. Anderson’s Ballads in the Cumberland Dialect (1805). In games such as “tiggy touchwood,” players were safe from being tagged as long as they touched something wooden — a door, a fence, a tree. It was, quite literally, a gesture of protection.

Roud believes the link between this playground rule and the later superstition is more than coincidence. In his book The Lore of the Playground, he writes: “Given that the game was concerned with ‘protection,’ and was well known to adults as well as children, it is almost certainly the origin of our modern superstitious practice of saying, ‘Touch wood.’ The claim that the latter goes back to when we believed in tree spirits is complete nonsense.”

Oxford’s Dictionary of English Folklore agrees. Its editors found no trace of the custom before the 19th century, dismissing the tree spirit and Christian cross theories as romantic inventions. They note that the expression seems to have evolved alongside similar protective phrases such as “touch iron” or “cold iron,” which date back slightly earlier. In these games and sayings, touching a material — whether wood or metal — created a temporary zone of safety. Over time, the action detached from the game and entered everyday speech.

Credit: Experienced Skins/ Dex Image via Getty Images

A Popular Idiom

By the late 19th century, “touch wood” had become a widespread English idiom, often used by people who didn’t actually carry out the gesture. The American form, “knock on wood,” followed soon after, perhaps adapting the phrase to a more physical action. Today, the superstition has spread around the globe. In Turkey, people knock twice on wood and tug one earlobe to fend off bad luck; in Italy, the equivalent phrase is “touch iron.” Even those who claim not to be superstitious often find their hand reaching for the nearest table, doorframe, or desk after making a hopeful remark.

The endurance of the habit may say less about ancient religion and more about human psychology. Whether we imagine spirits in trees or not, it feels good to do something — however small — to protect a fragile piece of luck. Knocking on wood offers a tiny illusion of control in a world full of chance.

Credit: Harold M. Lambert/ Archive Photos via Getty Images

The Sound of Safety

In the end, “knock on wood” likely has less to do with druidic groves or sacred crosses than with a game of tag played two centuries ago. What began as a child’s rule of protection — touch wood and you’re safe — grew into a ritual for adults offering a comforting gesture that bridges hope and superstition. Even if its ancient roots are more imagined than real, the impulse behind it endures: to shield ourselves, however briefly, from the whims of fate.

The Curious History of the Piggy Bank

Piggy Bank, circa 1950 — Credit: Harold M. Lambert/ Archive Photos via Getty Images

Author Bess Lovejoy

November 4, 2025

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If you’ve ever dropped spare change into a rotund, smiling, ceramic pig, you may have wondered: Why a pig? The idea of putting coins inside a chubby farm animal may seem whimsical, but the story of how pigs became the symbol of savings reaches back further than you might expect — and the real explanation busts a common myth that’s been circulating since the 1990s.

Pigs as the Original Savings Account

Before there were coin jars, there were pigs — real ones. In modest households across Europe, pigs were literal stores of value. A piglet bought in spring could be fattened on kitchen scraps and garden waste and, come winter, would provide both food and money. As the Bank of Canada Museum puts it, “A pig — a real one — is an excellent store of value.” In many rural communities, a family’s pig was essentially its bank: a source of meat, trade goods, or emergency cash. This value was collected by slaughtering the pig, just like how you might break a piggy bank to access the coins it stores.

This down-to-earth connection between pigs and thrift helps explain why the animal became a symbol of savings in many cultures. In Germanic folklore, pigs represent luck and plenty. Someone who’s had a stroke of good fortune is said to have Schwein gehabt — literally, “got pig.” Even today, New Year’s Eve in parts of Europe is celebrated with marzipan or chocolate candies known as “lucky pigs.” It was likely German immigrants, with their own Sparschwein (“saving pig”), who carried this fond association to the United States around the start of the 20th century.

Credit: Sepia Times/ Universal Images Group via Getty Images

The Myth of the Orange Clay

Still, if you’ve spent time online or read one of the many popular history books on the origins of everyday things, you’ve probably heard another story. There’s a common myth that claims that the word “piggy” comes from pygg, an orange clay supposedly used in the Middle Ages in Western Europe to make cheap household dishes, pots, and jars. The story goes that people would drop their spare coins into jars made of pygg. Centuries later, when the word pygg was forgotten but the sound remained, potters began shaping money jars like pigs — a pun that stuck.

It’s a clever tale, but one with no historical basis. On his website, etymologist Michael Quinion calls it “false in every particular.” No record exists of pygg clay, orange or otherwise, except for in modern retellings of the piggy bank story, and there’s no evidence that medieval English people called their coin jars pygg banks. The myth seems to have spread from a 1989 popular-knowledge book and was amplified by chain emails and blogs in the early days of the internet. Like a good fable, it endures because it’s simple and funny — not because it’s true.

Credit: Universal History Archive/ Universal Images Group via Getty Images

When “Pig” Meant Pottery

It’s possible that there’s a link between pigs and money that does have to do with language, however. In Scotland and northern England, the word “pig” referred to all sorts of earthenware vessels — pitchers, jars, and pots — as far back as the 15th century. (The word was occasionally spelled pygg as a variant, but had nothing to do with a particular kind of clay.) It’s not clear where this meaning of “pig” came from, but it might have been influenced by the roundness of some of the objects, or perhaps from the older word piggin (a small pail).

By the late 1700s in Scotland, pirly pigs — money banks with a slot for coins — were in use. The word pirly may come from pyrl, meaning “to poke,” as in poking coins into the slot. But this use of “pig” referred to the class of earthenware vessel to which it belonged, and the banks were not shaped like the animal.

The Birth of the Pig Bank

What we now call “piggy banks” didn’t always have such a cutesy name. Initially, they were just called “pig banks.” The earliest known reference to a “pig bank” appears in an 1898 Jersey Journal item. There’s a similar example from the Oregonian in 1900: “The latest novelty — The Pig Bank. You have to kill the pig to get the money — 25¢ each.” That phrasing — “kill the pig” — wasn’t just cute marketing; it described the design. These early pig banks had no removable stopper, so the only way to retrieve your coins was to smash the vessel open. Inconvenient, yes, but it encouraged thrift and discouraged theft.

The word “piggy bank” doesn’t appear on record until about a decade later, in a 1913 issue of The Dietetic and Hygienic Gazette. By then, the coin-storing pig had become a fixture in children’s rooms, a charming mix of toy and moral lesson on the value of saving. The first mention of a “piggy bank” in the millions of newspapers preserved by the Library of Congress’ “Chronicling America” website comes in 1914, in a column called “Sleepy Time Stories” that ran in a New Jersey newspaper. It describes a child being promised a quarter in a piggy bank if she can figure out how to lure her brother away from some toy trains.

Coin-Holding Pigs Around the World

The idea of putting coins into pigs isn’t unique to the U.S. or Europe. Long before American kids were dropping nickels into smiling porcelain pigs, people elsewhere had similar ideas. Archaeologists have uncovered terracotta pig-shaped money boxes from roughly 14th-century Java called celengans, after the Javanese word for “pig.” These centuries-old “piggy banks” are thought to have been used to store Chinese copper coins and symbolized prosperity. However, this tradition is unlikely to have influenced the piggy banks of today — and it might just be another example of the symbolic power of the pig across cultures.

Credit: H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock/ Archive Photos via Getty Images

Why the Pig Endures

The piggy bank, then, isn’t the product of a simple pun on pygg. While the precise origins are unclear, they may involve a confluence of linguistic quirks, cultural symbolism, and practical farming economics. Real pigs fattened a family’s fortune; clay pigs protected coins until the time came to “harvest” them. German Sparschwein crossed the Atlantic, and by the early 20th century, American “pig banks” had become “piggy banks” — icons of thrift that still survive in kids’ rooms and bank commercials. Even today, the pig remains the mascot of saving, whether in ceramic, plastic, or app form.

Why Do People Have Such Big Foreheads in Old Paintings?

“Portrait of a Lady” painting, circa 1460 — Credit: Fine Art/ Corbis Historical via Getty Images

Author Tony Dunnell

November 4, 2025

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Europe’s Renaissance period spanned the 14th through 17th centuries, forming a bridge between the Middle Ages and the modern era. It was marked by cultural, artistic, and intellectual developments, as well as a surge of interest in classical scholarship and values.

During this influential time, the arts flourished, and names such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Botticelli were forever etched into history — along with, as it happens, the surprisingly large foreheads that many Renaissance paintings depicted.

If you’ve ever examined the portraits from this era, you may have noticed a strange preponderance of spacious brows, especially in depictions of women. Examples abound, whether it be Rogier van der Weyden’s “Portrait of a Lady,” Petrus Christus’ “Portrait of a Young Girl,” or the numerous portraits of aristocratic women painted by Jan van Eyck. For a modern audience, it’s quite a peculiar look. So what exactly was going on here?

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Beauty Ideals During the Renaissance

The large foreheads seen in many Renaissance works of art were not simply creative exaggerations or anatomical quirks — they were deliberate reflections of the beauty standards at the time. During the Renaissance, a high, broad forehead was considered a hallmark of feminine beauty, virtue, and intelligence — with the extended brow possibly suggesting a larger brain. The look also gave an almost babylike appearance to people’s faces, perhaps a deliberate effort to capture the era’s values of purity and innocence.

It’s impossible to say precisely when, where, or even why this fashion trend emerged, but it was likely influenced by literature, and particularly poetry. In the 14th century, the Italian poet Petrarch wrote more than 300 sonnets to his beloved, Laura, in which he at times comments on her beautiful forehead (“that sweet face, that hair, that brow”). And in the “General Prologue” of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, written between 1387 and 1400, the author’s description of a nun is very similar to the typical beauty standards of the Renaissance:

Very seemly her pleated wimple was;
Her nose was fine; her eyes were grey as glass;
Her mouth was small and therewith soft and red;
But certainly her forehead was fairly spread;
It was almost a full span broad, I own.

A “wimple” was a cloth head-covering common in the Middle Ages. In this case, it didn’t cover the nun’s forehead, which Chaucer describes in positive terms as being almost a span wide — a span being a unit of length measuring the distance from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the little finger, typically about 9 inches.

Poetic influences such as these may have popularized the notion, at least in aristocratic circles, that a large forehead was a thing of beauty. It was certainly a well-established look during the Renaissance, as documented in Italian writer and poet Agnolo Firenzuola’s 16th-century work On the Beauty of Women. He suggests, “The forehead must be broad, that is, wide, high, fair, and serene. Many people prefer the height, which is measured from the hairline to the edge of the eyebrows and the nose, to be a third of the face.”

Credit: Peter van Evert/ Alamy Stock Photo

Forehead Plucking

The majority of Renaissance women were not blessed with a naturally large forehead, a fact that made forehead plucking a common practice. Women would often pluck their forehead hairs for a higher hairline; other methods included rubbing the hairline with a rough stone or burning off the hair with quicklime.

If that seems extreme, other hair-removal methods were entirely bizarre. Around 1500, the Italian noblewoman Caterina Sforza produced a manuscript called Gli Experimenti in which she details more than 400 cosmetic, medicinal, and alchemical recipes, including one for forehead hair removal. The recipe recommends tying a cloth bathed in a mixture of egg whites and mastic gum powder to the forehead, and then leaving it overnight. After a handful of applications, bat blood and fine lead powder were applied to prevent hair growing back.

Many other depilatory treatments such as this existed specifically targeting the top of the forehead — one of which involved rotten beef and powdered maggots. Most of these procedures would have been uncomfortable and time-consuming, and yet people, especially among the aristocracy, were very much committed to these beauty rituals. And while it’s entirely likely that Renaissance artists may have exaggerated certain foreheads out of simple flattery, their paintings documented the actual beauty standards of the time.

10 Defunct Fast-Food Restaurants That People Used To Love

Shuttered Burger Chef in Cincinnati — Credit: John Rodriguez/ Alamy Stock Photo

Author Kristina Wright

October 29, 2025

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There’s something timeless about fast food: the neon-lit parking lots, the scent of grilled burgers and deep-fried chicken, the thrill of unwrapping something hot and delicious. The experience is as satisfying today as it was 50 years ago.

Americans’ love affair with fast food began with White Castle, the first chain fast-food restaurant, founded in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas. Famous for its small “slider” burgers, standardized production, and spotless kitchens, White Castle created the template for fast food as we know it — and it’s still going strong today, with 345 locations across the U.S.

A few decades later, McDonald’s took the concept nationwide, opening its first franchised restaurant in 1955. Today, Mickey D’s operates more than 13,000 U.S. locations and 28,000 internationally, serving billions of burgers, fries, and shakes in more than 100 countries. Along the way, dozens of other fast-food chains emerged, but not all stood the test of time.

From burger empires to roast beef innovators and seafood specialists, here are 10 defunct fast-food restaurants that once ruled the roadsides and mall food courts before disappearing (or nearly so). How many of these vintage chains have you visited?

Burger Chef

At its peak in the 1970s, Burger Chef was one of America’s largest fast-food chains, boasting more than 1,200 locations across 38 states. Founded in 1958, it earned a loyal following for its flame-broiled burgers, creative advertising, and its Funmeal, a kids’ combo that debuted before McDonald’s introduced the Happy Meal.

The chain’s reputation took a hit after a tragic incident in 1978 in which four employees disappeared in an unsolved murder. This tragedy, combined with growing competition from Burger King and McDonald’s and some corporate missteps, caused the chain’s decline, and it was eventually sold to Hardee’s in 1982.

Red Barn

With more than 3,000 locations across 19 states and several countries, Red Barn was once a major player in the fast-food landscape. Established in Ohio in 1961, this beloved dining spot was memorable for its barn-shaped buildings and its jingle, “When the hungries hit / Hit the Red Barn.” The chain pioneered salad bars and self-service beverage stations long before they became industry standards, and it introduced the cartoon characters Chicken Hungry, Big Fish Hungry, and Hamburger Hungry.

Despite it being one of the first chains to have a self-serve salad bar and introducing a double-decker burger (Big Barney) years before the McDonald’s Big Mac, corporate mergers and rising competition in the 1970s led to Red Barn’s bankruptcy in 1986.

Burger Queen/Druther’s

Burger Queen was founded in 1956 in Winter Haven, Florida — two years after Burger King’s debut — serving burgers, fries, milkshakes, and later, fried chicken, breakfast, and salad bar items. At its peak, the chain had more than 200 U.S. locations and a cartoon mascot, Queenie Bee, introduced in 1971.

But legal battles with Burger King and Dairy Queen complicated growth, and the chain rebranded as Druther’s in 1980 to better reflect its broader menu. After forming an equity partnership with Dairy Queen in the late 1980s, most Druther’s locations became Dairy Queen franchises, leaving only one independent Druther’s in Campbellsville, Kentucky.

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Arthur Treacher’s Fish & Chips

Founded in 1969 in Columbus, Ohio, this restaurant was named after English actor Arthur Treacher and capitalized on the British pop culture craze with its fast-food take on fish and chips. At its height, the chain had 826 locations across the U.S., many featuring something that hadn’t been seen before in the fast-food world: a baked potato bar.

Unfortunately for the chain, the 1970s “Cod War” between the U.K. and Iceland sent fish prices soaring, while changing consumer tastes and declining interest in fried seafood further hurt profits. By the late 1980s, most locations had closed or been rebranded. Today, only three stand-alone Arthur Treacher’s restaurants remain.

Henry’s Hamburgers

Launched by Bresler’s Ice Cream Company in 1954 in Chicago, Henry’s Hamburgers once rivaled McDonald’s, with more than 200 locations across 35 states. Known for its “10 burgers for a dollar” deal, as well as 15-cent burgers, 10-cent fries, and colorful signage, it was a family favorite during the fast-food boom.

But inconsistent franchise oversight, failure to modernize for drive-thru trends, and declining sales doomed the brand by the mid-1970s. Today, a single Henry’s remains in Benton Harbor, Michigan — and has offered drive-thru service since 1988.

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Rax Roast Beef

Founded in 1967 in Springfield, Ohio, Rax Roast Beef quickly became a formidable rival to Arby’s — expanding to more than 500 locations across 38 states by the mid-1980s. Known for its roast beef sandwiches and buffet-style salad bars, Rax aimed to elevate fast food with upscale decor and a diverse menu.

However, a misguided rebrand featuring the controversial “Mr. Delicious” mascot and an expanded menu that included pizza and Chinese food led to confusion and declining sales. Bankruptcy filings and ownership changes followed, and by the 1990s, most locations had closed. Today, only six Rax restaurants remain: one in Illinois, one in Kentucky, and four in Ohio.

Sandy’s

Sandy’s got its start in 1958 in Peoria, Illinois, when a group of local entrepreneurs were denied a McDonald’s franchise. With Scottish-themed branding, a tartan-clad mascot named Sandy, and signature items such as the “Big Scot” burger, the chain emphasized thrift, speed, and friendly service. At its height, Sandy’s boasted more than 240 locations across 20 states.

In 1972, the chain merged with Hardee’s, and by 1979, the Sandy’s name was phased out — though a few independent franchises carried the brand into the 1980s under names such as Zandy’s and Bucky’s.

Wetson’s

Wetson’s, founded in Levittown, New York, in 1959, grew into a regional hamburger chain with 72 locations at its peak in the 1960s and early 1970s. The brand was known for its budget pricing, the “Big W” signature sandwich, and clown mascots named Wetty and Sonny — plus slogans such as “Look for the Orange Circles.”

As national chains such as McDonald’s and Burger King expanded into the New York market, though, Wetson’s steadily lost ground. By the mid-1970s, it had merged with Nathan’s Famous — after which most Wetson’s locations were closed or rebranded.

D’Lites

Promising healthier fast-food options, D’Lites offered lower-calorie burgers, diet shakes, and other healthier takes on drive-thru favorites long before wellness culture went mainstream. After the first location opened in Norcross, Georgia, in 1978, the chain rode the early ’80s fitness craze to expand rapidly, reaching more than 100 locations across 19 states.

Overexpansion and high costs eventually led to bankruptcy in 1986. By 1987, most locations were either closed or acquired and converted into Hardee’s locations, as Hardee’s sought to grow quickly in the same regions. Short-lived though it was, D’Lites helped pioneer the idea that fast food could be healthier.

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Pup ’n’ Taco

Founded in 1956 as a drive-in stand in Pasadena, California, Pup ’n’ Taco served an unusual but much-loved menu of hot dogs, tacos, burgers, pastrami sandwiches, and tostadas. The first fast-food restaurant officially named Pup ’n’ Taco opened in Pasadena in 1965, and at its peak the chain had 108 locations, mostly in Southern California and also in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

In 1984, Taco Bell (then part of PepsiCo) acquired 99 of the Pup ’n’ Taco locations, largely for their real estate, which effectively ended the chain. A few stores in New Mexico survived the deal under the name Pop ’n’ Taco, two of which lasted until 2013.

The Biggest Movie the Year You Were Born

“Star Wars: Episode IV,” 1977 — Credit: Allstar Picture Library Limited/ Alamy Stock Photo

Author Kristina Wright

October 29, 2025

Love it?144

There’s nothing quite like the magic of movies to capture a moment in time. Every era of American history has its unforgettable films that stayed with us, and looking back at the biggest movies of each decade gives us a chance to remember the stories, stars, and cultural moments that defined generations.

This list spotlights the films that topped the domestic box office in the U.S. and Canada from the 1920s to the 2020s, revealing what audiences lined up to see each year. Because many movies continued to earn through long theatrical runs and later rereleases, each title on the list reflects the top-earning film in the year it was released. And while reliable box-office tracking dates back only to 1977, earlier titles on the list are based on the best available studio records and industry estimates.

So grab your popcorn, settle in, and take a trip through more than a century of movie history to rediscover the biggest film the year you were born.

Credit: George Rinhart/ Corbis Historical via Getty Images

1920s

The 1920s cemented Hollywood’s status as the world’s movie capital and transformed film into the decade’s defining form of entertainment. Audiences loved films such as The Ten Commandments and The Big Parade, while matinee idols including Douglas Fairbanks, Rudolph Valentino, and Clara Bow captured the glamour and energy of the Jazz Age. By decade’s end, cinema itself was transformed — 1927’s The Jazz Singer introduced synchronized sound, marking the birth of the “talkie” and forever changing the way audiences experienced the movies.

1920 – Way Down East
1921 – The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
1922 – Robin Hood
1923 – The Ten Commandments
1924 – The Sea Hawk
1925 – The Big Parade
1926 – What Price Glory?
1927 – The Jazz Singer
1928 – The Singing Fool
1929 – The Broadway Melody

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1930s

Hollywood’s golden age on display in the 1930s as audiences flocked to theaters to escape the harsh realities of the Great Depression. Grand musicals, screwball comedies, and sweeping historical epics provided the glamour and adventure people craved. Walt Disney revolutionized animation with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, while Gone With the Wind closed the decade as a record-breaking movie phenomenon.

1930 – Whoopee!
1931 – City Lights
1932 – Shanghai Express
1933 – King Kong
1934 – It Happened One Night
1935 – Mutiny on the Bounty
1936 – San Francisco
1937 – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
1938 – Alexander’s Ragtime Band
1939 – Gone With the Wind

1940s

Shaped by World War II and its aftermath, the 1940s saw Hollywood balance patriotism, hope, and realism. Wartime dramas such as Sergeant York rallied the home front, while postwar hits such as The Best Years of Our Lives explored the challenges of returning home. The Hollywood studio system reached its height, turning out polished stars and prestige pictures that defined midcentury American film.

1940 – Boom Town
1941 – Sergeant York
1942 – Mrs. Miniver
1943 – For Whom the Bell Tolls
1944 – Going My Way
1945 – The Bells of St. Mary’s
1946 – The Best Years of Our Lives
1947 – Forever Amber
1948 – The Red Shoes
1949 – Samson and Delilah

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1950s

The 1950s were a decade of reinvention that brought sweeping change to Hollywood as studios battled the rise of television. Epic spectacles such as The Ten Commandments (a loose remake of the 1923 silent film) and Ben-Hur drew audiences back to theaters, while innovations such as Cinerama and CinemaScope made movies bigger and more immersive than ever.

1950 – Cinderella
1951 – Quo Vadis
1952 – The Greatest Show on Earth
1953 – Peter Pan
1954 – White Christmas
1955 – Lady and the Tramp
1956 – The Ten Commandments
1957 – The Bridge on the River Kwai
1958 – South Pacific
1959 – Ben-Hur

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1960s

The 1960s bridged Hollywood’s golden age and a bold new era of filmmaking. Movies including The Sound of Music and Cleopatra carried on Old Hollywood’s grandeur, even as films such as The Graduate captured a younger generation’s restless spirit. Tradition and rebellion shared the screen, signaling the cultural and creative shift that would give rise to New Hollywood.

1960 – Spartacus
1961 – West Side Story
1962 – The Longest Day
1963 – Cleopatra
1964 – Mary Poppins
1965 – The Sound of Music
1966 – Hawaii
1967 – The Graduate
1968 – Funny Girl
1969 – Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

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1970s

The 1970s reinvented Hollywood and gave birth to the modern blockbuster. With The Godfather, Jaws, and Star Wars, visionary directors such as Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas proved that artistic vision and audience appeal could go hand in hand. From Rocky’s underdog triumph to Grease’s nostalgic musicality, audiences embraced movies that blended grit, hope, and spectacle — laying the foundation for the franchises that still dominate cinema today.

1970 – Love Story
1971 – Fiddler on the Roof
1972 – The Godfather
1973 – The Exorcist
1974 – Blazing Saddles
1975 – Jaws
1976 – Rocky
1977 – Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
1978 – Grease
1979 – Kramer vs. Kramer

1980s

The 1980s cemented Hollywood’s blockbuster era, driven by bigger budgets, dazzling special effects, and unforgettable soundtracks. Franchises such as Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Back to the Future dominated theaters, while hits including Ghostbusters and Top Gun captured the decade’s high-energy style.

1980 – Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back
1981 – Raiders of the Lost Ark
1982 – E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
1983 – Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi
1984 – Ghostbusters
1985 – Back to the Future
1986 – Top Gun
1987 – Three Men and a Baby
1988 – Rain Man
1989 – Batman

1990s

The 1990s saw the rise of CGI take blockbuster spectacle to a whole new level. Jurassic Park and Titanic shattered box-office records, while Disney’s renaissance reached new heights with Aladdin and The Lion King. The decade also marked the birth of fully computer-animated features with Toy Story and cemented event filmmaking (movies capturing real-life events) as a cultural phenomenon, blending cutting-edge technology with emotional storytelling.

1990 – Home Alone
1991 – Terminator 2: Judgment Day
1992 – Aladdin
1993 – Jurassic Park
1994 – The Lion King
1995 – Toy Story
1996 – Independence Day
1997 – Titanic
1998 – Saving Private Ryan
1999 – Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace

Credit: Entertainment Pictures/ Alamy Stock Photo

2000s

The 2000s were defined by sprawling franchises, fantasy worlds, and technological leaps in filmmaking. Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and Pirates of the Caribbean drew devoted audiences, while Spider-Man and The Dark Knight signaled the rise of the modern superhero era. Avatar pushed the boundaries of visual effects and 3D cinema, and animated hits such as Shrek 2 captivated viewers of all ages.

2000 – How the Grinch Stole Christmas
2001 – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
2002 – Spider-Man
2003 – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2004 – Shrek 2
2005 – Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
2006 – Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
2007 – Spider-Man 3
2008 – The Dark Knight
2009 – Avatar

2010s

The 2010s were a decade of cinematic universes and blockbuster dominance as streaming and digital distribution began reshaping how audiences accessed films. Marvel redefined franchise filmmaking with The Avengers, Black Panther, and Avengers: Endgame, while legacy franchises such as Star Wars proved they could still break records.

2010 – Toy Story 3
2011 – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
2012 – The Avengers
2013 – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
2014 – American Sniper
2015 – Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens
2016 – Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
2017 – Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi
2018 – Black Panther
2019 – Avengers: Endgame

2020s

The 2020s began amid major disruption as the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered theaters and delayed movie releases. As audiences returned, films such as Spider-Man: No Way Home, Top Gun: Maverick, and Barbie showcased the enduring appeal of big-screen nostalgia. The decade continues to evolve, with streaming, hybrid releases, and changing audience habits likely shaping the future of cinema.

2020 – Bad Boys for Life
2021 – Spider-Man: No Way Home
2022 – Top Gun: Maverick
2023 – Barbie
2024 – Inside Out 2

What Did Medieval Knights Actually Do?

Two knights dueling, 15th century — Credit: Universal History Archive/ Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Author Timothy Ott

October 29, 2025

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Medieval knights, those armed and armored men (or in some rare cases, women) on horseback, thrived throughout Europe in the days before kings depended on standing armies to enforce their sovereignty. Renowned for their martial prowess and romanticized for their adherence to the moral code of chivalry, these warriors have been celebrated in fiction and the public imagination since the days when they were still an active fighting force.

And yet, like the modern-day movie star or professional athlete, these extolled individuals lived a life that was less glamorous than perception would have us believe. While there were indeed times when a knight would graciously woo a fair maiden or toast to a resounding battlefield victory with fellow soldiers, their hours were often occupied by more mundane activities. Here’s a taste of what everyday life was like for knights in the Middle Ages.

Military Service

As part of the medieval feudal system, knights often received a plot of land (known as a fief) from a king or another powerful noble in exchange for a period of military service, typically lasting 40 days out of a year. Such service might have required the knight to ride into a pitched battle, where they would attack enemies with a broadsword, lance, or mace. A knight might also have taken part in the siege of a castle or fortified town, or in a raid intended to destroy enemy villages and crops.

Despite the glory that could be attained from battlefield exploits, some knights ducked this service by paying a fee known as scutage. This arrangement worked out well for both sides; a busy knight could avoid having to leave behind their family and affairs, while their lord could use the money to hire mercenaries who were more enthusiastic about fighting.

Administrative and Legal Tasks

Along with armed protection, a knight was often required to provide civil and administrative duties to their lord. As explained in A Chronicle History of Knights, this may have entailed supplying political or military advice, witnessing the signing of documents, or serving as an ambassador.

A knight might also have served as a judge in a lord’s court or handled judicial responsibilities themselves by mediating disputes between the serfs under their watch and meting out punishment.

Battle

Like modern professional athletes, knights had to keep in fighting shape to prepare for the call to battle. As such, they regularly partook in drills to sharpen skills involving weaponry and horsemanship. Training equipment included the pell, a sturdy wooden post that withstood sword strikes, and the quintain, a rotating horizontal arm that served as a target for a thrusted lance. Additionally, activities such as wrestling and grappling helped knights keep their muscles strong and prepare for up-close personal combat.

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Tournaments

Another means for demonstrating battle-ready skills came via participation in a tournament. These popular exhibitions typically featured knights competing in two main events. In the joust, two knights rode toward each other on horseback, each seeking to knock their opponent to the ground with a lance. In the melee, participants split into two teams and attacked each other in a massive brawl, with blunted weapons and designated neutral zones being the only real differences between these mock skirmishes and the real ones.

A strong performance could result in a financial windfall for a knight, in the form of the armor, horse, and a ransom from the opponent "captured" in a melee. A low-ranking knight could also impress one of the powerful nobles in attendance and wind up with a more prominent station in life. Conversely, an unsuccessful knight could lose a lot of money or sustain a serious injury in these exhibitions.

Land Management

According to Life of a Medieval Knight, a large chunk of the fief-holding knight's time was devoted to land management. While actual field work was the jurisdiction of the peasant laborers, the knight ensured that crops were planted and harvested on time, that livestock were properly attended to before slaughter, and that income-generating facilities such as mills and bakeries were operating smoothly.

Such oversight was crucial, as a knight depended on a high level of production from their holdings to meet the expenses of their position. By the 15th century, a set of armor cost a quarter of a knight's annual income, while a reliable warhorse could eat up an entire year's worth.

Credit: Art Collection 2/ Alamy Stock Photo

Church

Religion played a prominent role in the life of the knight. Many of these warrior members of the nobility had younger siblings who pursued careers as men and women of faith, and Christianity took an increasingly prominent role in official knight dubbing ceremonies in Europe as the Middle Ages progressed.

In turn, a respectable knight displayed their piety by regularly attending church. Many supported the church by sponsoring feasts and celebrations to mark important Christian holidays such as Christmas or Easter, or by supplying land and funds for infrastructure improvements.

Some knights joined one of the religious military orders, which required followers to adhere to monastic vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Among the better-known orders were the Knights Templar, which formed in the 12th century with the mission of protecting Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem, and the Knights Hospitallers, which surfaced around the same time and was devoted to providing shelter and medical care for travelers.

Recreation

Of course, all work and no play makes a knight a dull boy, and many enjoyed the chance to have some fun when opportunity allowed. One popular form of recreation was hunting, which doubled as a social event with family members, other nobles, and servants joining the efforts to track down wild boar and deer. The hunt also enabled the knight to demonstrate lessons learned in falconry, a favorite pastime of medieval nobility. Carrying a falcon or hawk on a gloved wrist, the owner would send their prized bird in pursuit of smaller prey with the flick of their arm.

Even with the onset of darkness or cold weather, the knight had options. Those seeking to scratch a competitive itch could focus on games of chess or backgammon. Others could enjoy the pleasures of reading, perhaps a tale about a gallant knight of yore such as Lancelot or Gawain, or take in the music and poetry provided by a traveling minstrel.

5 Inventions That Failed Spectacularly

Baby cage, 1936 — Credit: Norman Smith/ Hulton Archive via Getty Images

Author Paul Chang

October 29, 2025

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From the wheel to the light bulb, innovation has played a central role in the story of human civilization. But history’s inventors also left behind a trail of misfires, failures, and downright disasters. Here are five ideas that promised to make life better, safer, or more efficient, but turned out to be spectacular flops.

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Baby Cages

In the early 20th century, crowded cities such as New York and London grappled with widespread tuberculosis. At the time, one common treatment was fresh air, prescribed by figures including the influential pediatrician Luther Emmett Holt. In his 1894 book, The Care and Feeding of Children, Holt wrote that babies exposed to fresh air enjoyed better appetites, brighter cheeks, and improved health.

Enter the baby cage — a wire enclosure fastened to an open window, which allowed apartment dwellers to suspend infants several stories above city streets to “air them out.” The first U.S. patent was granted to Emma Read of Spokane, Washington, in 1922, though the idea had circulated earlier. The baby cage briefly caught on, notably among members of the Chelsea Baby Club in London. Even Eleanor Roosevelt used one for her infant daughter Anna, until a horrified neighbor threatened to call the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Baby cages declined in the second half of the 20th century, largely due to safety concerns.

X-Ray Shoe Fitters

In the 1940s and ’50s, shoe stores across the U.S. offered customers a peek inside their shoes. The shoe-fitting fluoroscope was a wooden box that displayed real-time moving X-ray images of customers’ feet. Invented by Boston physician Jacob Lowe in 1919, the device was originally designed to diagnose foot problems in World War I veterans, and was repurposed for retail use after the war.

Though the X-ray technology was real, the device was essentially a marketing gimmick to help shoe sellers boost sales by lending the fitting process a scientific veneer. But that was the least of the invention’s issues — the fluoroscopes emitted dangerous doses of radiation that far exceeded the maximum safe daily dose. As a result of growing awareness around the dangers of radiation, shoe-fitting fluoroscopes were banned by the late 1950s.

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Thomas Edison’s “Little Monsters”

Even the illustrious Thomas Edison had his flops. In 1890, the inventor unveiled the world’s first talking doll, a technological milestone that combined phonograph technology with the classic toy. The 4-pound, 22-inch doll had a porcelain head, wooden limbs, and a tin torso that housed a miniature phonograph. Turning a crank on the doll’s back played wax recordings of nursery rhymes such as “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and “Jack and Jill.”

Unfortunately, Edison’s dolls didn’t speak so much as screech. Due to the low recording volume, the women voicing the rhymes were required to scream into the recorder, resulting in creepy recordings that upset customers. The dolls were also plagued by durability issues and were prone to breaking. Parents complained, children were terrified, and many of the 2,650 dolls sold were returned. Within weeks, Edison withdrew them from the market, ruefully calling them his “little monsters.” Today, Edison’s “monsters” are considered rare collector’s items and have been displayed at the Smithsonian.

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The Isolator

Science fiction pioneer Hugo Gernsback — founder of Amazing Stories magazine and namesake of the Hugo Awards — was also a prolific inventor. In 1925, he introduced one of his strangest creations: the Isolator, a helmet designed to eliminate distractions and maximize focus.

Made of wood and felt, the helmet completely enclosed the wearer’s head, leaving only narrow slits for vision. After realizing that people became drowsy inside the helmet after 15 minutes, partly due to oxygen deprivation, Gernsback added an oxygen tank connected to the helmet by a tube. He claimed the device was 75% efficient and predicted it would be a “great investment” for anyone in need of focus. Though the Isolator never caught on, its spirit lives on in noise-canceling headphones and focus apps.

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Anti-Bandit Bag

In the 1950s and ’60s, inventors sought clever ways to foil thieves — and few were as dramatic as the Anti-Bandit Bag. One of the most famous versions was debuted by French Canadian inventor John H.T. Rinfret in 1963. Rinfret, inspired by his experience of being robbed, designed a bag with a spring-loaded handle, which enabled the carrier to launch the bag’s contents all over the place in the event of a robbery.

Other anti-bandit bags spewed smoke and dye or triggered shrieking alarms when snatched. One model, aptly named the “Arrestor,” clamped onto the thief’s hand and blasted out three 12-foot telescoping metal rods, preventing the robber’s escape. None of these designs reached mass production, likely due to their unwieldiness, dubious efficacy, and potential to be triggered accidentally.

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