Author: megneal

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India’s Kama Sutra Provided Instructions for Reeling in Lovers

The Greeks and Romans weren't the only ancients to encourage the common use of love-inducing ingredients. The Kama Sutra, composed in North India around the third century BCE, is famed as an erotic how-to manual, but also includes instructions for how to win over a mate. One such entry describes how a man who plays a reed pipe treated with the juices of various plants could ignite the passions of his love interest.

The Islamic cultures that flourished in the Middle East and Africa devised their own methods of romantic inducements culled from local specialties. The 11th-century physician and philosopher Ibn Sina (known in the West as Avicenna) wrote of a love brew composed of honey, pepper, and ginger.

Honey was also a prime ingredient cited in Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Nefzawi's The Perfumed Garden, a 15th-century Arabic erotic manual. One fail-proof recipe for summoning a lover, according to Nefzawi, involved heating purified honey with onion juices, before adding water and pounded chickpeas. The resulting broth was to be taken in small doses, just before going to bed, during a spell of cold weather.

Things Took a Turn Toward the Bizarre in the Middle Ages

The European Middle Ages marked a culmination of centuries of potion-making on the continent. Easily found in marketplaces, these philtres included many traditional plants and foods, but also crossed into the realm of the bizarre by incorporating human and animal body parts and fluids.

The 13th-century German polymath Albertus Magnus, known as Doctor Universalis, wrote of one such recipe: "If thou wilt that a woman bee not visious nor desire men, take the private members of a Woolfe, and the haires which doe grow on the cheekes or eyebrowes of him, and the haires which bee under his beard, and burne it all, and give it to her to drinke, when she knoweth not, and she shal desire no other man."

By the Elizabethan era in late-16th-century England, William Shakespeare was among those who dramatized the appeal of love potions among the populace. One such spell appears to comedic effect in A Midsummer Night's Dream, when petals are laid on the eyes of the sleeping fairy queen Titania, enchanting her to fall in love with the hapless weaver Nick Bottom.

Yet love potions remained very much in existence beyond the fictional realm of the stage and printed page. King Louis XIV of France, who was known to partake in pleasures of the flesh at the Palace of Versailles, was famously administered such mind-warping tonics by a cunning mistress, Madame de Montespan. Supplied by alleged sorceress Catherine Monvoisin, Montespan treated the Sun King's meat and wine with mixtures made of "blood, bones, intestines, along with parts of toads and bats," binding Louis XIV to her wiles long enough to produce seven children.

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Future Drugs May Replace Archaic Potions

While many cultures continue to rely on local dishes designed to stimulate amorous feelings, the old-fashioned love potion comprised of roots and hairs and crafted to win over a longed-for mate primarily endures among the tropes of popular culture. "Love Potion No. 9" was a hit song for the Clovers in 1959, as well as the title of a 1992 Sandra Bullock film. And Harry Potter fans might recall that the dreaded Lord Voldemort's parents were brought together by a philtre.

Of course, pharmaceuticals serve as something of a replacement for these traditional mixtures, from the libidinous inducements of Viagra to the warm and fuzzy feelings ignited by MDMA. Along those lines, scientists have teased the unveiling of new drugs that trigger the release of the "love hormone" oxytocin among affection-seeking users.

The difference is that these stimulants would be geared toward couples who are looking to rekindle a spark, as opposed to the old (and problematic) method of eliminating the autonomy of a would-be lover. It remains to be seen how effective such doses would be, but given the long history of love potions as a remedy for unrequited lovers, it’s a good bet that people will be willing to find out.

The Greatest April Fools’ Pranks in History

April Fool's Day, early 1950s — Credit: Gene Lester/ Archive Photos via Getty Images

Author Timothy Ott

March 27, 2025

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No one knows for sure when the concept of April Fools’ Day originated. It may have sprung from the Roman spring festival of Hilaria, a time of merriment and mischief-making when even local magistrates were subject to ridicule. Another possible starting point was the Catholic Church-decreed shift of the new year from the end of March to January in 1582, with those who continued to celebrate the old date derided as “April fools.”

Whatever the source, the practice of pulling a prank on April 1 is by now well established across different cultures. And it isn’t simply a matter of the average Joe or Jane zinging their friends with a mild gag — prominent companies have been known to partake in the action on a far larger scale, too. Here are six cases where a well-executed idea blew past the boundaries of the garden-variety April Fools’ Day prank to earn widespread attention.

The Lung-Powered Aviator

In April 1934, The New York Times, the Daily News, and the Chicago Herald & Examiner were among the American newspapers to publish an eye-opening photo of an airborne man wearing skis and clinging to a pair of bulky tubes. The caption explained how the contraption’s pilot was able to power rotors in the tubes by simply blowing into a box, making him the first man to achieve flight with his own body’s energy.

What the editors of these publications didn’t realize was that the picture, distributed by the International News Photos, was from a fabricated story in the April Fools’ edition of the German news magazine Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung. The Americans also missed out on the joke by misspelling the pilot’s name, which was “Koycher” — a play on the German word for wheezing.

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The Great Spaghetti Harvest

In what may have been the first television-based April Fools' prank, the BBC in 1957 decided to have some fun with viewers by way of its investigative series Panorama. Those who turned in to the April 1 episode were greeted by footage of smiling people plucking "spaghetti" from trees, with narrator Richard Dimbleby explaining how it was a banner year for the crop in this Swiss village thanks to the mild winter and the eradication of the pesky spaghetti weevil.

Apparently, spaghetti was still something of a novelty throughout much of the United Kingdom in that time, which explains why the BBC's switchboard was lit up by callers inquiring how to grow their own trees. Meanwhile, those who wrote to the station with that question received the cheeky reply, "Place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best."

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The Gravity-Defying Planetary Alignment

The BBC was up to its April 1 tomfoolery again in 1976, when astronomer Patrick Moore instructed radio listeners to be ready for an extraordinary cosmic event. At 9:47 that morning, Moore explained, Earth would be directly lined up with Jupiter and Pluto (then still a planet) to produce an unusual gravitational pull; those who jumped at the exact moment he directed would find themselves temporarily floating.

The segment was actually a dig at a recently published book called The Jupiter Effect, which cited dubious scientific principles to detail how the eventual alignment of all nine planets would produce terrible earthquakes and the destruction of Los Angeles. Of course, there were an untold number of listeners who took Moore's tongue-in-cheek announcement quite seriously. One caller described how she and 11 friends had all floated around a room together, while another demanded monetary damages for soaring too high and banging his head on the ceiling.

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The Sydney Iceberg

Heading into April Fools' Day 1978, Australian businessman Dick Smith announced that he would tow in an iceberg from Antarctica and carve the frozen mound into cubes that were guaranteed to enhance the flavor of any drink. While he originally intended to haul over a real iceberg, Smith instead settled for a prank in which he draped plastic sheets over a barge and applied a mountain of shaving cream and firefighting foam on top.

On the morning of April 1, Smith had the barge towed into Sydney Harbor, while some 300 of his employees called local radio stations and newspapers to breathlessly describe the "iceberg" bearing down on the city. Even when the hoax was revealed with the onset of rain that washed away the foam, Smith cheerfully kept up the ruse by handing out ice cubes from the barge's beer refrigerator.

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Sports Illustrated’s Sidd Finch

Normally known for his realistic accounts of competing against professional athletes of various sports, writer George Plimpton took a new angle for the April 1, 1985 edition of Sports Illustrated by creating a fictional baseball player. As described in his story "The Curious Case of Sidd Finch," the titular ballplayer was a reclusive 28-year-old Harvard dropout who had been trained by Buddhist monks, was fluent in Sanskrit, and played the French horn. He also could throw a baseball at the unheard-of speed of 168 miles per hour, and as such had earned a secret tryout with the New York Mets.

The Mets went along with the story, allowing players and coaches to be photographed with the middle school art teacher who was posing as Finch. Even though Plimpton hinted at the joke with the first letters of the words in the article's subhead — "He's a pitcher, part yogi and part recluse. Impressively liberated from our opulent life-style, Sidd's deciding about yoga" (spelling out "Happy April Fools' Day") — the well-executed deception reportedly led to other teams contacting the Mets to learn more about this mysterious pitcher.

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The Left-Handed Whopper

Burger King proudly bills itself as the home of the Whopper, which makes it fitting that the fast-food chain sprung a whopper of a prank on April Fools' Day in 1998. That day, a full-page advertisement in USA Today trumpeted the launch of the "Left-Handed Whopper," with a helpful diagram showing how BK's signature sandwich was "rotated a full 180 degrees" to ensure a "better grip" and "maximum enjoyment" for lefties. The company's vice president of marketing even described how the product was only being sold in the United States for the time being, but would possibly become available in "other countries with large left-handed populations."

Neither the publication date of the ad nor the head-scratching premise raised red flags among the masses; a follow-up release from Burger King described how thousands of customers had gone to their restaurants to request left-handed Whoppers, with others specifying that they still preferred the right-handed version.

Was Uncle Sam a Real Person?

Uncle Sam Army recruitment poster — Credit: Bettmann via Getty Images

Author Timothy Ott

March 19, 2025

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Even in an age when our eyes are bombarded with viral photos of cats or two-second clips of celebrities, the image of an elderly, bearded Uncle Sam beseeching us to join him remains an iconic visual for the masses.

Of course, the likeness of Uncle Sam easily predates the internet age, and unlike most currently circulating memes, the character stands for something beyond the brief gratification of a giggle, as the visual representation of the United States government.

But while Uncle Sam is a highly recognizable figure, his origins are lesser known. And while it’s natural to wonder if he was based on one of the Founding Fathers or some other influential figure, the answer to that, like the story of the nation itself, is complicated.

“Brother Jonathan” Predated Uncle Sam

Well before the first appearance of Uncle Sam, the personification of the emerging identity of the American colonies took form in other characters.

Two such personas were women. America (or Amérique) was depicted as a primitive queen of the wild New World as far back as the 16th century. She was followed by Columbia, who was popularized in ode during the Revolutionary War by African American poet Phillis Wheatley, and remained a prominent allegorical symbol of the country until the late 19th century.

By the mid-1700s, the British were lampooning the colonists with the uncultured character of Yankee Doodle, best remembered in the song that endures to this day. But while the tune was intended to mock, the chippy colonists adopted Yankee Doodle for their own purposes, even singing the song in battle to antagonize the Redcoats.

Following the war, a new embodiment of the United States took root in the form of Brother Jonathan, a character supposedly based on the Continental Army-supporting Connecticut Governor Jonathan Trumbull. However, for more than a century, “Jonathan” had also been a derogatory term for people opposed to the British monarchy, and the term may have been applied to the rebellious Patriots.

As with Yankee Doodle, the Americans adopted the term for themselves, transforming an initial insult into a source of national pride. Variously portrayed in verse and on stage as a seaman, peddler, or trader, the feisty Brother Jonathan soon regularly appeared in comic form across American publications, typically clad in a long-tailed coat and striped trousers, and often found tangling with John Bull, the corpulent embodiment of Great Britain.

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A Meatpacker Is Credited as the Inspiration for the Symbol

Along with providing plenty of fodder for additional rounds of Brother Jonathan and John Bull illustrations, the War of 1812 provided a business opportunity for an upstate New York resident who fueled the creation myth of Uncle Sam.

In early 1813, a Troy-based meatpacker and brickmaker by the name of Samuel "Uncle Sam" Wilson partnered with a contractor to provide beef and pork to American troops. Wilson's barrels were stamped with "U.S." to signify that they were earmarked for military use. However, the various employees involved in the distribution process joked that the initials stood for Uncle Sam, the nickname of the widely liked meatpacker, and the connection between the moniker and the government spread from there.

This story of Uncle Sam's human origins first appeared in print in 1830, and it was considered canon by the time Congress passed a resolution in 1961 that recognized "'Uncle Sam' Wilson of Troy, New York as the progenitor of America's national symbol of 'Uncle Sam.'"

However, recent research has uncovered use of the term from before Wilson's tenure as a food supplier for the troops. The earliest to date was found in an 1810 journal entry from Navy midshipman Isaac Mayo, who wrote of how "uncle Sam, as they call him, would certainly forever have lost the services of at least one sailor" due to Mayo’s extreme seasickness.

It's still plausible that those involved in Wilson's enterprise were responsible for introducing the term to a broader segment of the population, although it's clear that the concept of Uncle Sam already existed in some capacity before the popular meatpacker.

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Cartoonist Thomas Nast Created the Iconic Image of the Character

Whatever his exact origins, Uncle Sam claimed a place in popular culture alongside Brother Jonathan as the 19th century progressed, the two essentially interchangeable as avatars of American interests. However, early versions of Uncle Sam lacked a defined form; he was depicted as both a toddler and an old man, his frame varying from thin to portly, and garb ranging from pajamas to formal wear.

The modern image of the character began solidifying after the Civil War thanks in large part to cartoonist Thomas Nast, who also popularized the contemporary perceptions of Santa Claus as well as the donkey and elephant mascots of America’s dominant political parties. A staunch supporter of Union causes, Nast captured the essence of President Abraham Lincoln by drawing Uncle Sam as a tall, thin, bearded man.

By that point, Uncle Sam had also taken on a more distinct persona as the embodiment of the American government, in contrast with Brother Jonathan’s representation of its industrious citizens. Uncle Sam ultimately eclipsed the older symbol outright before the end of the 19th century, even assuming Jonathan’s standard uniform of striped trousers, long-tailed coat, and top hat.

An Illustrator Used His Own Face for the Famed WWI Recruitment Poster

The final stage of Uncle Sam's evolution came from the drawing pad of James Montgomery Flagg, an American illustrator known for his "Nervy Nat" comic strip and images of curvy pinup girls in the first years of the 20th century.

Tasked with creating the art for a Leslie's Illustrated Weekly cover, Flagg reportedly worked off the "Lord Kitchener Wants You" British military recruitment poster from 1914, substituting Uncle Sam for the British secretary of state for war and using his own face as the model for his character.

Flagg's now-famous depiction of Uncle Sam sternly gazing and pointing at the viewer first appeared on the July 16, 1916, cover of Leslie's, with the heading "What Are You Doing for Preparedness?" By the following spring, the first of some 4 million World War I recruitment posters were printed with the Flagg-as-Uncle Sam image, this time above the words "I Want You for U.S. Army."

This was just one of 46 posters created by Flagg for the U.S. war effort, some of which depicted Uncle Sam as a muscular, superhero-type character. However, the initial recruitment poster proved the most enduring, as it was again used to beef up the military for World War II.

It also provided the best-known depiction of Uncle Sam in his modern form: a more mature version of Brother Jonathan, shaped by the backstory of a hard-working entrepreneur, set in the mold of Abraham Lincoln, and polished with the features of his wartime rebrander to stand out as a quintessentially American icon.

Why Was Turtle Soup Once Considered a Delicacy?

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Author Nicole Villeneuve

March 19, 2025

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From the mid-18th century until the mid-20th century, turtle soup was one of the most luxurious dishes in European and American cuisine. It frequently appeared on the tables of wealthy families and was served at dinners held by prominent politicians. While turtle soup is still considered a delicacy in some parts of the world, it has become all but obsolete in America. But why, exactly, did this dish enjoy more than 200 years as a prized culinary staple?

From Survival Food to Status Symbol

The first Europeans to eat turtle were not aristocrats, but sailors and explorers in the late 17th century. The green sea turtles found in the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean were initially seen as merely suitable sustenance for long journeys at sea. But as Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean islands taught European seafarers more about turtles, the simple food became seen as “exotic” and desirable. It caught the attention of the upper class in Europe, and before long, turtle meat became a coveted luxury on the continent.

By the early 18th century, Britain’s taste for turtle had extended to the American colonies, and while recipes for turtle casseroles and other dishes were prominent in cookbooks from the era, turtle soup was the most popular. Turtle’s delicate, veal-like taste and rich, gelatinous texture made it ideal for slow-simmered broths and stews.

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The Terrapin’s Territory

With demand for turtle soup surging, overfishing quickly became a problem. The Caribbean sea turtle population rapidly began depleting in the early 1800s. In the U.S., diamondback terrapins from the country’s eastern shores became a popular substitute for sea turtles. Abraham Lincoln even served terrapin stew at his second inauguration in 1865. The dish, according to an 1880 edition of The Washington Post, was “an important part of any Washington dinner laying claim to being a pretentious affair.”

By the turn of the 20th century, “mock” turtle soup, made with calf’s head instead of turtle meat, had become almost as beloved as the real thing. But the appetite for real turtle soup remained, and overharvesting of turtle populations continued, particularly as canned turtle soup became an increasingly mainstream product.

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The Fall of a Delicacy

When Prohibition started in 1920 and the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol was banned in the U.S., a key ingredient of turtle soup, sherry, was no longer available. What’s more, without alcohol sales, many of the country’s fine dining establishments — the very ones that helped keep turtle soup flourishing among the upper class — struggled to remain open. As they gradually closed, with them went the once-ubiquitous terrapin treat.

In 1973, the Endangered Species Act made it illegal to kill sea turtles in U.S. waters — bad news for turtle soup fans but good news for sea turtles. By 2019, their population had rebounded, increasing by 980%. Even though a vintage recipe for turtle soup remained in a reissue of the classic American cookbook The Joy of Cooking as late as 1997, the hearty dish all but disappeared from menus and dining tables by the 1980s.

The Biggest Archaeological Discoveries in Recent History

Deir el-Bahari necropolis, Egypt — Credit: Print Collector/ Hulton Archive via Getty Images

Author Kristina Wright

March 19, 2025

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From lost cities to ancient maps, modern archaeological discoveries have transformed our understanding of the past. Experts now use cutting-edge tools such as Lidar, deep-sea scanning, and radiocarbon dating to uncover long-forgotten sites and artifacts — and they’re rewriting history in the process.

In recent years, these advancements have led to the discovery of the oldest European map, a remarkably preserved Greek shipwreck, and the tomb of a pharaoh who was almost lost to history. Each of these finds sheds new light on ancient civilizations, revealing how people traveled, built their cities, and honored their dead. Here are five incredible discoveries made since 2014, reminding us that history always has secrets just waiting to be uncovered.

The Oldest Known European Map

When the Saint-Bélec Slab, a Bronze Age carved stone, was first discovered in 1900 in France, it was largely overlooked and remained forgotten for more than a century. In 2014, researchers rediscovered the 5-by-6.5-foot stone slab in a French castle and decided to investigate further. Using modern techniques, Bournemouth University’s Clément Nicolas and his team analyzed the 4,000-year-old artifact and noted that the carvings on one side of the slab resembled a map.

Their research revealed that the engraved lines and repeated symbols represented the Odet river valley in western Brittany, making the artifact an early example of cartography. Comparing the markings to a modern map, they found an 80% accuracy match, confirming that the Saint-Bélec Slab is the oldest known map depicting a territory in Europe. This discovery offers insights into the territorial organization and mapping skills of Bronze Age societies and could lead to the discovery of previously unknown ancient sites.

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The World’s Oldest Intact Shipwreck

In 2018, maritime archaeologists from the Black Sea Maritime Archaeology Project (MAP) discovered an exceptionally well-preserved ancient Greek merchant ship at a depth of 1.3 miles off the Bulgarian coast in the Black Sea. Radiocarbon dating indicates that the vessel is approximately 2,400 years old, dating back to around 400 BCE, making it the world's oldest known intact shipwreck.

Measuring about 75 feet in length, the ship was found lying on its side on the seabed, with its mast, rudders, and rowing benches still intact. The anoxic (oxygen-free) conditions at this depth prevented organic materials from decaying, allowing the ship to remain remarkably well preserved. Its design closely resembles ships depicted on ancient Greek pottery, such as the Siren Vase in the British Museum, which illustrates Odysseus tied to the mast as he resists the Sirens' call. This discovery provides researchers with valuable insights into ancient Greek shipbuilding and maritime trade.

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A Thousand-Year-Old Maya Palace

In late 2019, archaeologists uncovered a Maya palace in the ancient city of Kulubá, located in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula near modern-day Cancún. Believed to be more than a thousand years old, the structure measures approximately 180 feet long, 50 feet wide, and 20 feet tall, and appears to have had six rooms. Part of a larger complex that includes a burial site, the palace is believed to have been occupied during two distinct periods between 600 CE and 1050 CE, serving as a residence for the Maya elite.

The Kulubá archaeological zone — a pre-Hispanic site in the Yucatán state — was first discovered in 1939, but was only recently acquired by Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), which made the 2019 discovery. Ongoing excavations aim to further explore and preserve these structures, allowing researchers to learn more about the cultural and historical significance of Kulubá within the Maya world.

A Lost City in Greece

The lost city of Tenea, an ancient Greek settlement, was long considered mythical until it was unearthed in 2018. According to legend, it was founded around 1100 BCE by Trojan prisoners of war after the fall of Troy. Ancient sources, including the geographer Pausanias, referenced a place called Tenea, but its exact location remained unknown for centuries.

Archaeological interest was sparked in 1984 when a sarcophagus was found near the village of Chiliomodi. Decades later, Greek archaeologist Elena Korka led excavations that revealed well-preserved structures, clay floors, houses, pottery, and over 200 coins dating from the fourth century BCE to the late Roman period. These findings confirmed Tenea’s existence and provided insights into its historical and cultural significance.

Further excavations in 2023 revealed additional structures, including marble and stone floors, as well as ceramic storage jugs, suggesting that Tenea was a thriving settlement, particularly during the Roman period under Emperor Septimius Severus. The city is believed to have been abandoned in the sixth century CE.

A Mysterious Pharaoh’s Tomb

In 2022, a British Egyptian archaeological team led by Piers Litherland unearthed the tomb of Pharaoh Thutmose II near Luxor, Egypt. The tomb is 3,500 years old and was initially believed to have belonged to a royal wife due to its location, but inscribed fragments of alabaster canopic jars bearing Thutmose II's name confirmed it was intended for the pharaoh. Despite the absence of the king's remains, which were likely relocated following a flood a few years after he was entombed, the find is considered the most significant ancient Egyptian discovery since Tutankhamun's tomb was uncovered in 1922.

In comparison to other Egyptian rulers, little evidence of Thutmose II’s reign has been found. This discovery has helped resolve long-standing questions about the burial sites of pharaohs from early in Egypt’s 18th dynasty. The tomb's unique location, more than a mile west of the Valley of the Kings necropolis, has also challenged previous assumptions about royal burials during this period.

6 Jobs From the 1950s That Barely Exist Today

Secretary sitting at desk — Credit: Harold M. Lambert/ Archive Photos via Getty Images

Author Kristina Wright

March 19, 2025

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The American workforce has transformed dramatically since the 1950s, a decade marked by economic prosperity, suburban expansion, and rapid industrialization. It’s likely that folks at the time couldn’t have imagined how much the U.S. job market would change over the next few decades — or how quickly innovation would make once-common jobs almost obsolete.

Careers such as switchboard operator and typist may have seemed stable and essential in the mid-20th century, but time, technology, and changing needs have made them and many others all but disappear. Some occupations that once played a vital role in the daily lives of Americans still exist in niche markets, but they’re a far cry from their heyday. Here are six jobs that were popular in the 1950s but are now nearly extinct.

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Telephone Switchboard Operator

Before direct-dial telephone systems took over, switchboard operators — most of them women — were the backbone of communication, ensuring calls reached the right destination. In the 1950s, the United States had approximately 342,000 telephone switchboard operators employed by the Bell System and independent telephone companies, plus a million operators working in private settings such as offices, factories, hotels, and apartment buildings. It was a demanding job that required quick reflexes and strong customer service skills as the operators manually connected calls by plugging and unplugging cords on massive switchboards.

By the 1960s and ’70s, automated dialing systems and digital telecommunications gradually phased out the need for human operators, making the profession nearly obsolete. In 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported there were approximately 43,800 people working as “Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service,” with most of those jobs being in the medical and travel industries.

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Milkman

Having fresh milk delivered to your doorstep was once a common part of American life. The local milkman made daily or weekly rounds, leaving glass bottles on doorsteps and retrieving empty ones. This service was necessary before the widespread adoption of home refrigeration, as fresh dairy products spoiled quickly. In the 1950s, more than half of consumer milk sales came from home delivery services. However, the rise of supermarkets and improved refrigeration technology made milk delivery nearly obsolete.

By 1975, home-delivered milk accounted for only about 7% of total milk sales, and by 2005, this number had dwindled to just 0.4%. While some niche companies still offer home delivery today, the classic image of a uniformed milkman carrying a metal crate is now a symbol of a bygone era.

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Elevator Operator

In the mid-20th century, elevator operators were essential for manually controlling elevators in department stores, office buildings, and hotels. At its peak, the profession employed more than 90,000 workers in the U.S., responsible for operating controls, greeting passengers, and ensuring smooth rides.

While automated elevators existed as early as 1900, widespread adoption was slow due to public hesitation. A major shift occurred after a 1945 elevator operators strike in New York City proved self-service elevators were viable. In 1950, only 12.6% of new elevator installations were automated, but this figure surged to more than 90% by 1959.

Today, elevator operators are almost nonexistent, with the role no longer tracked in labor statistics. In fact, out of 270 occupations listed on the U.S. Census in 1950, elevator operator is the only one that’s since been completely automated. However, a few historic buildings, particularly in New York City, still employ operators for nostalgia or specialized service.

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

Typist

Secretarial jobs such as stenographers and typists became essential during the Industrial Revolution, as businesses generated more paperwork than ever before. By the early 20th century, clerical work was a predominantly female profession, as companies could pay women lower wages for administrative tasks due to the gender discrimination at the time. Secretarial schools provided professional training, allowing many women to enter the field without a full college education.

By 1950, secretarial work had become the most common occupation for women, with 1.7 million employed as stenographers, typists, or secretaries, according to census data. However, the introduction of computers, word processing software, and voice recognition technology gradually reduced the need for dedicated typists. While secretarial roles still exist today, the number of workers specifically categorized as "word processors and typists" declined to 37,200 by 2023.

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Motion Picture Projectionist

Motion picture projectionists played a vital role in the moviegoing experience in the 1950s, operating and maintaining film projectors in theaters. Their work was labor-intensive, involving tasks such as film changeovers, managing carbon arc lamps, and handling nitrate film, which required a lot of manpower. But the demand for traditional film projectionists dramatically declined with the rise of digital projection technology. By 2013, an estimated 92% of movie theaters in the United States had made the switch to digital projection.

In 1950, more than 26,000 people were employed as motion picture projectionists. By 2023, that number had fallen to just 2,610, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This drastic reduction is largely due to the automation brought about by digital projection, which has replaced the need for manual operation and maintenance of film projectors.

Gas Station Attendant

Full-service gas stations were the standard in the 1950s, with attendants providing services such as pumping gas, checking oil levels, cleaning windshields, and inspecting tire pressure. The first self-service gas station in the U.S. opened in 1947 in Los Angeles, but the concept didn't gain widespread acceptance until the 1970s.

Several factors contributed to the shift toward self-service stations. Rising labor costs made it more expensive for station owners to employ attendants, prompting many to adopt self-service pumps to reduce expenses. Technological advancements also improved the safety and ease of self-service fueling, increasing consumer acceptance.

The 1973 oil crisis, which led to soaring gas prices, further accelerated this transition as both businesses and consumers sought cost-saving measures. Today, New Jersey remains the only state that prohibits drivers from pumping their own gas, maintaining a full-service mandate.

Why Is a Workweek 5 Days?

Cotton mill workers, circa 1908 — Credit: Universal History Archive/ Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Author Nicole Villeneuve

March 13, 2025

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Many Americans structure their lives around a simple schedule: five days of work followed by two days off for leisure, chores, and, if they’re lucky, rest. But the concept of a standard Monday through Friday workweek is a relatively recent development, shaped by decades of activism, industrial shifts, and, eventually, government intervention.

What many of us take for granted today as a normal part of life was once a hard-fought cause. The five-day workweek as we know it emerged gradually from a long — and often contentious — battle for fairer labor rights. Let’s take a look at how it all began.

Industrial Labor Meant Long Hours

For much of human history, labor was dictated by necessity rather than a fixed schedule. Farmers worked according to the seasons, and artisans and merchants worked at their own pace and set their own hours. That all changed with the Industrial Revolution. By the mid-19th century, this sweeping cultural transformation was in full swing, and factory work had replaced farming as the dominant form of labor in the U.S.

Workers in manufacturing and other industrial sectors often clocked 60-plus hours a week across six or seven days; shifts averaged 10 to 12 hours per day but often stretched up to 16 hours, even for children. Conditions were harsh and often unsafe. The Industrial Revolution may have transformed economies, but it also pushed workers to their limits.

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The Push To Shorten the Workday

After the American Civil War, a call for fewer work hours in a day started to gain traction. Early trade unions had been striking for better and safer working conditions across the country for decades. The slogan “eight hours for work, eight hours for rest, eight hours for what we will” had become a frequent sight at protest marches, and groups known as Grand Eight Hours Leagues fought to standardize work hours.

The slogan “eight hours for work, eight hours for rest, eight hours for what we will” had become a frequent sight at protest marches; the idea had originated in the early 1800s with Welsh textile manufacturer and social reformer Robert Owen. He believed that a 24-hour day could and should be split evenly for work, sleep, and life’s other pleasures and leisures. Later, in the U.S., groups known as Grand Eight Hours Leagues fought to standardize work hours for the same reason.

In 1886, the labor movement organized nationwide: On May 1, hundreds of thousands of American workers — still primarily working six-day weeks — walked off the job to demand better wages and a uniform eight-hour workday. Unfortunately, a labor protest at Haymarket Square in Chicago — a hotbed of U.S. labor rights activity at the time — turned deadly, after which the growing labor movement was maligned and derailed.

World War I Reignited the Cause

There wasn’t another major shift in workers’ rights until the U.S. entered World War I. With a significant labor shortage on the home front, existing workers felt empowered to advocate for reduced hours and shorter workweeks. President Woodrow Wilson established the National War Labor Board, and a widespread implementation of the eight-hour workday began to take hold. Despite a postwar attempt by industrialists to roll back advancements, in 1919, about 4 million workers — or one-fifth of the country’s workforce — went on strike in opposition. Wartime labor reforms had permanently altered America’s employment landscape.

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Two-Day Weekends Became Standard

By the 1920s, the eight-hour workday had gained significant traction, and the reality of a standard five-day workweek wasn’t far off. In England, factories had introduced a half-day off on Saturdays as early as the 1850s. This stemmed from “Saint Monday,” a long-running tradition in which workers spent their standard Sunday off imbibing rather than resting and habitually skipped work on Mondays to recover — the half-day on Saturday was offered in exchange for reliable Monday attendance. In the U.S., however, the shift to a two-day weekend didn’t begin until the early 1900s, when a New England mill adopted a five-day workweek to accommodate Jewish workers observing the Saturday Sabbath. Sunday had already been a widely observed day of rest since the early 19th century, due in large part to the efforts of Christian Sabbatarians (who observe the Sabbath on Saturday instead of Sunday). Soon, some factories were closing on both Saturdays and Sundays to accommodate their workers’ religious beliefs.

Industrialist Henry Ford and his Ford Motor Company were also influential in making the two-day weekend standard in America. In 1926, the company officially adopted a five-day, 40-hour workweek; it had experimented with a five-day week as early as 1922, and had reduced daily work from nine hours to eight hours in 1914. Henry Ford’s decision wasn’t purely altruistic: He thought that giving workers more money and more free time would encourage them to buy more goods — including, of course, his company’s cars. The idea gained momentum.

The 40-Hour Week Became Law Under FDR

In 1938, under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Fair Labor Standards Act set the maximum workweek at 44 hours. The landmark legislation aimed to protect workers from exploitative labor practices by establishing a federal minimum wage (25 cents an hour at the time, or about $6 today), banning the hiring of workers under age 16, and introducing overtime pay. Two years later, in 1940, the workweek limit was further reduced to 40 hours, officially cementing the five-day workweek as the U.S. standard. While it remains the norm today, its future is up for debate — cities in some countries, including Japan and Spain, are experimenting with permanent four-day workweeks, and individual companies in North America have already fully embraced it.

What Was ‘Torpedo Juice’ in World War II?

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Author Mark DeJoy

March 13, 2025

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World War II-era military speak was full of colorful slang terms. For instance, a can of milk was known as an “armored cow.” Prunes, often sent to prisoners as part of Red Cross parcels, were called “Army strawberries.” A cup of coffee? That was “battery acid.” And then there was “torpedo juice,” a term that might seem like slang, but was the actual name of a drink consumed by soldiers.

Torpedo juice, sometimes referred to by the lesser-known moniker Torpedo Tessie, was a highly alcoholic cocktail with a surprisingly literal name. Torpedoes of the era were fueled by 180-proof ethanol, a very potent variant of essentially the same neutral grain alcohol found in beer, wine, and spirits. Because liquor wasn’t otherwise accessible, soldiers would drain a bit of the fuel from a torpedo and mix it with fruit juice. As World War II veteran and former torpedo operator Jim Nerison told the Anchorage Daily News, “The torpedo wasn’t going to use it all anyway, so we kind of tapped off a little bit of it.”

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The resulting drink could be a dangerously strong highball. After all, 180-proof equates to 90% alcohol by volume. Most base spirits (that is, the liquors that cocktails are commonly made from, such as vodka, whiskey, and so on) average between 40% and 45% alcohol by volume, so using the same amount of torpedo fuel would result in a drink that was at least twice as potent as one made with a conventional liquor. The most popular fruit juice for mixing the drink was pineapple juice, though citrus juices (mainly orange, lemon, or grapefruit) were sometimes substituted. There wasn’t an exact recipe, but the mix ratio has been reported as somewhere between 1 part torpedo fuel to 3 parts fruit juice, and 2 parts torpedo fuel to 3 parts fruit juice — not very much dilution!

Eventually, the U.S. Navy caught on to the practice and sought to prevent its rank and file from drinking weapons fuel. Torpedo fuel began to be formulated with an additive called Pink Lady, a blend of toxic methanol along with red dye to provide a visual warning. Later, the fuel was formulated with less harmful but still unpleasant Croton oil. Neither of these poisonous formulas did much to curtail the making of torpedo juice, as soldiers found ways to distill the fuel and remove the toxins. During a 1964 Pearl Harbor reunion, a veteran (who wished to remain anonymous) described his process to the Omaha World-Tribune: “I had an in with the bake shop. We’d strain the juice from the torpedo through at least six loaves of bread to take out the oil and other impurities. Then I’d boil it and distill it through some copper tubing… We’d get a half cup… to a gallon of juice that way.”

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Still, drinking torpedo juice was dangerous, as not every distilling method succeeded. A Navy hospital corps member named Norton Lund told the Anchorage Daily News, “We had guys drinking [torpedo juice]. We got a couple of guys that got the wrong stuff. You can go blind from it and you can die from it. We had that problem.” During a 1943 tour of the war’s Pacific theater, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt observed, “Last night, four men died from drinking distilled shellac,” likely referring to torpedo juice. And in an interview with the Armed Forces in Oklahoma Oral History Project, veteran Thomas Duncan recalled a time when a 22-year-old soldier died in his sleep after drinking torpedo juice. In his telling, it’s unclear whether the death was caused by unsuccessful toxin removal, or simply alcohol poisoning from too much of the potent cocktail.

Ultimately, what spelled the end of torpedo fuel was the introduction of the Westinghouse Mark 18, an electric-drive battery-powered torpedo. The battery power meant no need for fuel, so there was no alcohol to harvest from the weapon. This didn’t necessarily mean the end of military moonshine altogether, however, and illicit alcohol of dubious origin was referred to as “torpedo juice” long after the last torpedo-derived cocktail was consumed.

The Best Historical Movies for History Buffs

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Author Michael Nordine

March 6, 2025

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Just as we’ll never run out of history to study, nor will we run out of historical movies to watch anytime soon. Filmmakers have always looked to the past for inspiration, with period pieces and historical dramas enduring as one of the medium’s most popular genres. Read on to discover some of the best historical movies ever made.

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If You’re in a Countercultural Mood

Though it began in the late 1960s with movies such as The Graduate and Drugstore Cowboy, the New Hollywood movement was at its peak in the 1970s. That’s when filmmakers including Francis Ford Coppola, Terrence Malick, Martin Scorsese, and John Cassavetes came into their own and studios allowed directors unprecedented control over their productions. The result was a slew of all-timers: The Godfather, Days of Heaven, A Woman Under the Influence, The Deer Hunter, Alien, Taxi Driver, Jaws, 3 Women, Star Wars, Eraserhead, and Killer of Sheep, just to name a few.

Read more: 7 Essential Films From the 1970s

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If You Want To Watch Something New

If you’ve already seen the classics and are ready to find out what the auteurs of today are up to, there are a number of instant classics from the last few years. At the top of that list would have to be Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which was about as successful as any movie could hope to be: In addition to winning seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Director, it also grossed nearly $1 billion worldwide. But it’s far from the only worthy historical title, as anyone who’s seen the likes of The Brutalist and Killers of the Flower Moon can attest.

If You’re a Netflix Subscriber

Considering more than 300 million people subscribe to the service, there’s a good chance you are. Netflix’s catalogue has received valid criticism for skewing almost entirely toward newer movies, especially following the reveal that, as of a month ago, 1973’s The Sting was its oldest offering. (That dubious honor now belongs to 1957’s An Affair to Remember, but the larger point stands.) But while not all of the streaming service’s best historical movies are exactly historical themselves, there are still a number of films worth seeking out.

If You Think Film Criticism Doesn’t Matter

Long before aggregators such as Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic forever changed the way moviegoers read reviews, individual critics held massive sway. One of them was Bosley Crowther of The New York Times, who so loathed the film Bonnie and Clyde that he wrote more than one diatribe against Arthur Penn’s landmark crime drama starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. This was ultimately to his detriment, as Pauline Kael’s now-legendary defense of the film helped turn the tide in its favor — and against Crowther, who lost his job by the end of the year. Kael, meanwhile, is now considered one of the most influential film critics of all time, just as Bonnie and Clyde is hailed as a cinematic revolution that helped launch the New Hollywood era.

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If You Want a Little of Everything

Despite claims to the contrary, there’s only one Spartacus. There’s also only one Spartacus, and it’s one of Stanley Kubrick’s greatest films — as well as one of my favorite historical dramas. That list also includes Lawrence of Arabia and Dersu Uzala, one of which is obviously much more famous than the other. And yet the latter stands out among filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s august filmography as his only non-Japanese-language movie as well as one of his most sensitive. Alongside Rashomon, it’s somehow also the only of Kurosawa’s films to win the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.

If You Think All’s Fair in War and Movies

War never changes, as the famous line goes, but the movies about it do. Filmmakers have been making them since at least 1898, when Tearing Down the Spanish Flag caused controversy despite barely being a minute long, and they show no signs of slowing. World War II and Vietnam in particular have captured filmmakers’ imaginations, with classics such as Saving Private Ryan and Apocalypse Now regularly appearing on lists of not only the greatest war movies ever made but the greatest movies, period. Those two are just scratching the surface, however: The Thin Red Line, released the same year as Saving Private Ryan, takes a considerably more philosophical approach to its portrayal of soldiers at war, and To Be or Not to Be shows that there’s comedy to be found even in the darkest of times.

For similar articles, subscribe to our sister brand Movie Brief, brought to you by our resident film critic Michael Nordine. You’ll receive a weekly review and recommendation of a new movie, whether in theaters or available to stream, as well as a list of 25 must-see movies when you first sign up.

5 Surprising Facts About St. Patrick’s Day

Author Kristina Wright

March 6, 2025

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St. Patrick’s Day, celebrated on March 17 each year, is known for its parades, shamrocks, and a whole lot of green. It’s a day when people around the world embrace Irish culture — whether they have Irish heritage or not. But behind all the revelry, St. Patrick’s Day has a deep and fascinating history that goes far beyond the modern celebrations. Some of the traditions we associate with March 17th aren’t as old as you’d think, while others have surprising historical roots. Here are five intriguing facts about St. Patrick’s Day that might just change the way you see this beloved holiday.

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Pubs Were Closed on St. Patrick’s Day

Long before it became a worldwide celebration filled with traditional food, music, and pints of Guinness, St. Patrick’s Day was a quiet and solemn religious feast day in Ireland. For centuries, March 17 was dedicated to honoring St. Patrick’s role in bringing Christianity to Ireland, and the day was primarily observed through prayer, church services, and reflection. In fact, until the 1970s, Irish law required pubs to close on March 17 to preserve the day’s religious significance.

It wasn’t until later in the 20th century that the holiday evolved into a more public and festive occasion. As Ireland sought to promote its culture and boost tourism, St. Patrick’s Day’s celebratory aspects became more prominent. Today, while the religious roots remain, St. Patrick’s Day is as much a celebration of Irish heritage and national pride as it is a tribute to the country’s patron saint.

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