The Difference Between St. Valentine and Cupid

Valentine’s Day card

Author Nicole Villeneuve

February 8, 2024

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Each year on February 14, romantic partners exchange affectionate cards and sugary-sweet chocolates, all in the name of St. Valentine — and all while the iconic image of Cupid takes center stage. But who are these figures, and how did they converge for this sentimental holiday? From Cupid’s roots in Greek mythology to St. Valentine’s Christian symbolism, here’s how these two figures became the unlikely faces of love and Valentine’s Day.

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Who Is St. Valentine?

The exact origin of the saintly namesake of Valentine’s Day is murky. According to one belief, St. Valentine was a third-century Roman priest who defied the Roman Empire’s stance against men marrying at a young age (it was thought that they should instead serve as soldiers). Valentine continued to perform marriages in secret, leading to his execution on February 14. Another belief portrays St. Valentine as a compassionate man who helped free persecuted Christians in ancient Rome. According to legend, he healed the local jailer’s blind daughter and, before his death, sent her a note signed, “from your Valentine.” Whether these were two separate figures or just one isn’t entirely clear, nor is whether they were actually historical characters and events or just myths. In records from the medieval era, for instance, there is no connection between St. Valentine and love or marriage. But regardless of how the figure became linked with romance, the association between St. Valentine and love has remained strong.

Who Is Cupid?

Today, we think of Cupid as a surreal cherubic figure, adorned with wings and armed with a bow and arrows. This iconic imagery is rooted in depictions of Eros, the Greek god of love. Initially depicted as a handsome youth, Eros underwent a transformation during the Hellenistic period (around 323 BCE to 31 BCE), evolving into the cherubic, winged child we recognize today. When the Romans adopted the deity, he became Cupid, a name derived from the Latin word for “desire.” The new likeness remained, as did Eros’ mischievous use of his arrows to arouse love or extreme passion in whomever happened to be struck by one.

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How Did Valentine’s Day Start?

While there is no single backstory for our modern celebration of Valentine’s Day, the holiday is often linked to the ancient Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia, which took place on February 15 and dates back to the sixth century BCE. In the fifth century CE, Pope Gelasius I abolished the pagan observance of Lupercalia and instead declared February 14 as a commemorative day for the martyrdom of St. Valentine — with no explicit mention of love, however. In fact, it wasn’t until several centuries later that Valentine’s Day’s romantic connotations emerged, sometime in the late 1300s, when English poet Geoffrey Chaucer wrote about the mating rituals of birds in his epic poem "Parlement of Foules." He wrote of “Seynt Valentynes day” as the day “whan every foul cometh ther to chese his make” — or when birds choose their mates.

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How Did Cupid Become the Face of a Day for St. Valentine?

Chaucer’s prose is believed to be the first mention of Valentine’s Day as a romantic holiday; from there, the association gained more traction. In the 1470s, an English woman named Margery Brews wrote to her fiancé John Paston and referred to him as “My right well-beloved Valentine” — a letter believed to be the oldest English-language valentine. The concept of Valentine's as a day for love was helped along not only by Chaucer, but by William Shakespeare, whose use of both Valentine’s Day and Cupid as romantic symbols further bolstered the idea in Britain. Shakespeare also considered Valentine’s Day a day for lovers, and associated Cupid with love. By the 16th century, Valentine’s Day and Cupid were established cultural symbols of love, and they eventually coalesced on greeting cards. At this time, cards were enormously popular across Europe, Valentine’s cards chief among them. By the mid-1800s, many Valentine’s Day cards featured imagery not far off from Chaucer’s whimsical vision of the day — birds and flowers in springtime — as well as frequent portrayals of the familiar winged, curly-haired Cupid.

A Day in the Life of a Settler in Colonial America

Colonial settlers, 1760

Author Kristina Wright

February 8, 2024

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There was no one typical day in colonial America — the experiences of colonial families differed based on their location, economic status, and individual circumstances. The colonial era not only spanned a large period of time — from the early 17th century to the late 18th century, before the United States became an independent nation — but it also covered a large and varied landscape. The 13 original American colonies stretched from Massachusetts to Georgia, and were populated by settlers from different parts of Europe whose beliefs, traditions, and lifestyles varied greatly.

Colonial settlements ranged from the growing urban centers of the Northeast to the rural agrarian communities of the Southern colonies, and the daily routines of families were impacted by their environment, which included the influence of Indigenous populations. Colonists often adopted or adapted aspects of Native American culture, including agricultural practices and culinary techniques, in order to survive. Weather conditions, seasons, and the availability of resources also played significant roles in shaping daily life in the colonies. But whether you were a farmer, a merchant, a tradesman, or a wife and mother, day-to-day life in the colonies consisted of long days, hard work, and community connections.

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The Workday Started Before Dawn

The workday in colonial America typically began before dawn and lasted until the sun went down, and throughout the day, families dedicated themselves to tasks essential for their survival. The morning started with a modest breakfast of bread and milk, porridge, or cornmeal mush with cider or beer before the work began. This sustenance was much-needed: Depending on the time of year, weather, and season, the typical workday could be up to 12 hours long, six days a week.

Men were expected to provide for their family, and while farming was the primary occupation throughout the colonies, there were a variety of other jobs to be filled, particularly as towns started to grow. Men worked as blacksmiths, carpenters, silversmiths, and in other skilled trades and crafts that contributed to the local economy. Women typically worked in the home, managing all aspects of the household and childcare, including meal preparation and basic education of the children. In addition, married women in non-farming families often worked alongside their husbands in shops or trades, and unmarried or widowed women took jobs as seamstresses, midwives, or tavern keepers. Children often assisted their parents in their work, learning valuable skills for their future roles in the community.

“Dinner” Was at Lunchtime

In the colonial era, the midday meal was called “dinner,” and it was the biggest, heartiest meal of the day. Those who worked in town in trades and shops could go to a common hall for a meal of stew made from pork or poultry, and seasonal vegetables such as corn and cabbage. The midday break provided a short period of rest from work, allowing families to connect with neighbors and strengthen social bonds.

For many colonial settlements, the local economy also relied heavily on indentured and enslaved labor. Indentured servants brought from Europe and enslaved individuals, predominantly of African descent, played essential roles in supporting colonial households. Their contributions, though often overlooked, were integral to the success of farms and trades and the day-to-day functioning of many households. Farm laborers, including enslaved workers, would have their dinner brought to them where they worked in the fields.

The Seasons Had a Big Impact on Daily Life

During peak agricultural seasons, such as planting in springtime and harvesting in the fall, the workday for farming families was extended, as all members of the family dedicated themselves to essential tasks on the farm. The demanding nature of these seasons required longer hours to ensure a successful harvest and sustained livelihood. On the other hand, in the winter months or during inclement weather, when outdoor activities were limited, the workday might be shorter. Families would then focus on indoor tasks and household chores, such as preparing food for storage, or weaving and mending clothing.

Clothes were generally made from locally sourced materials, particularly sheep’s wool and cultivated cotton and flax, and families produced their own textiles through spinning and weaving. Everyday clothing was modest and simple, reflecting the practical needs of daily life. Men typically wore shirts, waistcoats, and breeches, while women donned dresses with full skirts covered by long aprons. Both men and women also wore leather shoes or boots, as well as hats made of felt or animal pelts.

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Not unlike today, evenings were a time for more leisurely activities at home or in town. Large families were common in colonial America, and homes were generally modest in size, with a central hearth for cooking and heating that also provided a place for families to spend time together at the beginning and end of the day. After a light supper of leftovers, the family would often gather around the hearth for warmth and engage in storytelling, handiwork, or quiet chores by candlelight.

Homemade entertainment, such as playing musical instruments, singing songs, or playing simple games, were also popular ways for families to spend what little free time they had. Outside of the home, attending church services, gathering in common halls and taverns, and participating in organized social gatherings like fairs and dances offered a chance for neighbors to interact, share meals, and reinforce their sense of community.

At the end of the evening, families would retire to their beds, which were made of woven sacks known as “ticks.” Beds were stuffed with straw or chaff and sometimes layered with a softer feather-stuffed tick and homemade quilts for warmth. Because there were few rooms in the average home, there were rarely any designated sleeping quarters; rather, people slept in living areas with multiple family members sharing a room. Older children slept in one bed and infants and very young children slept next to their mother. With the natural rhythm of daylight and limited artificial lighting, bedtime was early by modern standards — and a necessity for preparing for the long days of physical labor.

What 7 U.S. Presidents Did After Their Presidency

Thomas Jefferson

Author Tony Dunnell

February 8, 2024

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John Quincy Adams is often quoted as saying, “There is nothing more pathetic in life than a former President.” It’s a slightly harsh assessment, but perhaps not devoid of truth. Being President is, after all, a hard act to follow. What do you do when you step down from one of the most high-profile jobs in the world?

Some former U.S. Presidents have welcomed the chance for a quiet retirement after the stress and strain of being commander in chief. Others have actively sought to remain in politics, reluctant to edge away from the limelight. And some have gone on to do things that few expected of them: George W. Bush became a painter; Bill Clinton won a Grammy for Best Spoken-Word Album for Children; and Barack Obama signed a deal with Netflix. Then there’s Grover Cleveland, who left the presidency in 1889 only to return for a second term a few years later — a feat that had not been repeated until 2025, when Donald Trump began his nonconsecutive second term.

Here are seven U.S. Presidents who went on to have particularly interesting post-presidency lives, variously involving whiskey production, epic epistolary output, and a perilous expedition to the Amazon jungle.

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George Washington

Following the end of his presidency in 1797, George Washington retired to Mount Vernon, where he continued to receive a large number of visitors — in 1798 alone, the Washingtons hosted as many as 677 guests. In order to supplement his income, the founding father set up a whiskey distillery, despite having no prior experience in distilling alcohol. It wasn’t long before his business became one of the largest whiskey producers in America, operating five copper pot stills throughout the year. In 1799, Washington’s distillery produced nearly 11,000 gallons of liquor, which he sold to neighbors and in stores in Alexandria and Richmond. The distillery became one of Washington’s most profitable enterprises.

Thomas Jefferson

When Thomas Jefferson retired to his Virginia estate in 1809, he certainly didn’t slow down. Monticello was a hive of activity, at times hosting 50 guests — forcing Jefferson to build a second house on his Bedford estate where he could find some solitude. When not working in his garden, the former President was often found writing letters to people of note across the globe; one year, he wrote an astonishing 1,268 letters. The rest of his time was spent on various architectural projects, including the never-ending development of Monticello. Jefferson was most devoted to another pet project, the University of Virginia. He designed its campus buildings, set up its curriculum, selected all the books for its library, and chose its faculty members. In fact, the inscription on Jefferson's tombstone at Monticello names the achievements that the founding father wished to be remembered for, and notably omits the role of President. It reads, "Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, Author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom, & Father of the University of Virginia."

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John Quincy Adams

Following his defeat by Andrew Jackson in the 1828 presidential election, John Quincy Adams — the son of America’s second President, John Adams — fell into something of a funk. Saddened by his loss and what he considered dark days ahead for the nation (the American Civil War began some 30 years later), he returned to his hometown of Quincy, Massachusetts. But he soon became bored by retirement. Against the wishes of his family, he ran for Congress and won election to the House of Representatives, becoming the first — and so far only — former President to run for and win a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. He held the position from 1831 until his death in 1848, and was one of the House’s most articulate and forceful voices against slavery.

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Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt was never a man to sit on the sidelines twiddling his thumbs. Following his disappointing loss to Woodrow Wilson in the 1912 presidential election (which would have given Roosevelt a third term in office), the 55-year-old decided to embark upon a dangerous expedition down an uncharted tributary of the Brazilian Amazon called the Rio da Dúvida, or River of Doubt. Accompanied by his 23-year-old son Kermit and a team of porters, explorers, and scientists, Roosevelt set off in December 1913. By the time they reached the River of Doubt in February 1914, they had already lost a number of team members to tropical illnesses, and half their pack animals had died. As they ventured farther down the unmapped territory, they had to contend with everything from mosquitoes to alligators to the potential threat of attack from Indigenous peoples in the area. Roosevelt got malaria during the lengthy expedition, and became dangerously ill. Still, the team managed to reach the end of their journey, at which point Roosevelt sent an understated telegram describing it as “a hard and somewhat dangerous, but very successful trip.”

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Dwight D. Eisenhower

When his presidency ended in 1961, Dwight D. Eisenhower retired to his small farm adjacent to the battlefield outside Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The war hero’s involvement in politics, however, was far from over, and he remained active in the Republican Party as an elder statesman. He occasionally advised President John F. Kennedy, and was a frequent adviser to President Lyndon B. Johnson, especially after LBJ committed troops to Vietnam. Eisenhower also found the time to raise Angus cattle, paint, and write two volumes of his memoirs, as well as a bestselling book of anecdotal essays titled At Ease: Stories I Tell to Friends.

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Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon was forced to resign in 1974 following the disgrace of Watergate, the worst political scandal in United States history. But rather than crawl away and hide, Nixon slowly but surely engineered a redemption arc that went some way to restoring both his tarnished reputation and his personal financial woes created by legal costs. First, he sold the rights to his memoirs for more than $2 million (RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon later became a bestseller); then he gave a now-legendary interview to British TV personality David Frost for $600,000. This helped pave the way for a more active return to politics, albeit often in an advisory role. He gave advice to President Jimmy Carter and was also consulted by Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush (although neither President publicized the fact). Nixon eventually became a widely acknowledged expert on foreign policy, and authored several well-received books that cemented his status as a political heavyweight.

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Jimmy Carter

When Jimmy Carter lost his bid for reelection in 1980, it looked as though his legacy might be forever tarnished by a presidency marked by an array of problems: an energy crisis, Soviet aggression, the Iran hostage crisis, rising inflation, and rising unemployment. But in later years, Carter was seen in a more positive light, helped immensely by his post-presidential life. Following his presidency, Carter emerged as a champion of human rights, and is now considered by some to be the nation's greatest former President. In 1982, he founded the Carter Center, an organization devoted to issues relating to democracy and human rights. He was also known for his tireless role with Habitat for Humanity International, a global organization that provides housing for underprivileged people. Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. He died in late 2024 at the age of 100.

The Most Extreme Blizzards in History

Blizzard of 1888

Author Tony Dunnell

February 7, 2024

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When blizzards come at full force, they’re certainly nothing to sneeze at. In the most extreme cases, visibility is reduced to just a few feet, wind blows faster than traffic on the highway, and snow is so deep it’s impossible to drive — or even walk. The term “blizzard” is often used to describe any snowstorm, but the National Weather Service officially defines a blizzard as having ““winds in excess of 35 mph and visibilities of less than 1/4 mile for an extended period of time (at least 3 hours).” That, however, is at the mildest end of the spectrum. Blizzards can become far more intense, with waist-deep snow and whiteouts bringing entire cities — and sometimes entire regions — to a standstill. Here are five facts about some of the biggest blizzards in history.

The Blizzard of 1888 Led to the Creation of the New York Subway

On March 11, 1888, a massive blizzard struck the Atlantic coast of the United States, from the Chesapeake Bay up to Maine. As much as 55 inches of snow was dumped in some areas, and New York City ground to a halt. Many people had to seek refuge in hotel lobbies, where temporary beds were put up. (Mark Twain was among those stuck in his New York hotel for several days.) As many as 15,000 people were stranded on the city’s elevated trains, and the drifting snow and howling winds also felled telegraph lines, water mains, and gas lines. In the aftermath, the storm was a wake-up call to city planners across the nation. There was a shift toward burying infrastructure underground, including lines of communication and utilities. The blizzard also prompted New York City to begin planning its vast subway system to replace the exposed high-line trains.

The Great Appalachian Storm Created Some Strange Weather Anomalies

The Great Appalachian Storm of 1950 wasn’t notable solely for its intensity — it was also downright strange. The slow-moving system dumped heavy snow across much of the central Appalachians, with several locations receiving more than 50 inches. (Coburn Creek in West Virginia reported a whopping 62 inches.) The storm’s wild temperature gradients also created some true meteorological anomalies. In Pittsburgh, for example, heavy snow fell in 21-degree air, which rapidly plunged to 9 degrees as the winds shifted from northwesterly to southeasterly winds, bringing with them a sudden cold front. And while snow was falling in frigid Pittsburgh, in Buffalo, New York — only 200 miles to the north — temperatures were in the high 40s with no snow recorded at all.

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The Chicago Blizzard of 1967 Left Some 20,000 Cars Abandoned in the Streets

On the morning of January 26, 1967, as people in Chicago were heading to work or school, a light snow began to fall. By noon, the city was covered in 8 inches of snow, shutting down O'Hare International Airport and forcing schools and businesses to close early. They didn’t close early enough, however, and people returning home were caught in the increasingly heavy snow. By the next morning, a record 23 inches of snow had blanketed the city, with drifts of up to 6 feet. In the streets of Chicago, some 20,000 cars and 1,100 CTA buses were left abandoned in the blizzard. (Some estimates are as high as 50,000 cars.) It took the city another two days to properly dig out from the snow.

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The Iran Blizzard of 1972 Hit a Region the Size of Wisconsin

In 1972, a massive blizzard struck Iran. It followed one of the nation’s worst droughts, which had lasted for 1,460 days. When moisture finally began to gather, it fell not as rain but as snow. The resulting blizzard lasted for an entire week and resulted in snow at least 10 feet deep — and in some places a staggering 26 feet deep. A region about the size of Wisconsin, encompassing much of western Iran, was buried in snow for more than a week.

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The 1993 “Storm of the Century” Stretched From Canada to Central America

On March 12, 1993, a gargantuan storm system began to form that, over the next few days, affected nearly half the U.S. population. The Storm of the Century, as it was called, was felt from Canada all the way to Central America. It was strongest along the eastern United States, which was subjected to three days of blizzard conditions and heavy snowfall (up to 55 inches in Tennessee), as well as rough seas, coastal flooding, tornadoes, and bitterly cold temperatures. By the time it had dissipated, the Great Blizzard of ’93 — as it was also known — had caused about $5.5 billion in damages (the equivalent of about $11.6 billion today), making it one of the most costly weather events of the 20th century.

The Strangest Fads Throughout History

Creator of the Pet Rock

Author Mark DeJoy

February 7, 2024

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The fad is perhaps the piece of cultural ephemera that most defies explanation. Fashion trends often have clear motivating factors: perhaps a celebrity sporting a certain style, or a TV character wearing a certain haircut that sparks imitation. Souvenirs and collectibles usually directly follow their origin: There’s no mystery where baseball cards came from, or vintage records, and so on. But a true fad — a popular behavior or interest practiced with enthusiasm that’s as strong as it is temporary — exists at the fleeting intersection of a cultural time, mood, and impulse, and some of these short-lived trends seem to outright defy logic.

While fads frequently do have a clear beginning moment (and sometimes even a person who can be named as their initiator), a precise ending moment is never as apparent; we can only know that a fad has ended retroactively, and estimate the point of its demise. And the further away we are from the time of a certain fad, the more inexplicable and strange it can seem. Let’s try to wrap our heads around some of the more bizarre fads of the past.

Flagpole Sitting

Flagpole sitting was one of the most logistically confusing fads of all time, as it involved remaining upon a flagpole for a marathon duration. The first instance of flagpole sitting was in January 1924, when former sailor and fledgling stunt performer Alvin “Shipwreck” Kelly was hired to perch atop a pole outside a Hollywood movie theater for as long as he could, in order to publicize an upcoming film. Kelly stayed aloft for 13 hours and 13 minutes.

The stunt attracted an impressed crowd and media attention, and Kelly was hired by other businesses to repeat his feat. As word spread, copycats emerged and sought to outdo each other in endurance. Kelly increased his time to eight days in 1927, but Los Angeles woman Bobbie Mack bested him when she spent 21 days atop a flagpole. Kelly then recaptured the record by enduring 49 days while being spurred on by a total of 20,000 onlookers, only for Bill Penfield of Iowa to break it again with a 51-day bout. By this point, flagpole sitters were fashioning some degree of shelter atop the pole where they could eat, sleep, and use the bathroom, in order to extend their stay.

The craze fizzled in the 1930s, but it never went away entirely. Later flagpole sitters such as Richard “Dixie” Blandy, Mauri Rose Kirby, and Peggy Townsend set new records in the ’50s and ’60s, and Blandy kept at the practice into the ’70s. The current record for flagpole sitting was set by H. David Werder in 1984, for a mind-boggling 439 days, 11 hours, and 6 minutes.

Phone Booth Stuffing

Speaking of logistically confusing fads, the phone booth stuffing craze of the 1950s had teams of participants vying to see who could cram the most people into a single phone booth. Though there are some conflicting reports as to where and when the fad began, it was popularized in Durban, South Africa, in 1959, when a group of 25 people managed to contort themselves into a booth. By March of that year, students on college campuses throughout the United States and Canada were attempting to break the record.

Students at St. Mary’s College of California achieved a count of 22 in a manner that looks legitimate, but it wasn’t long before a lack of standard criteria led to participants achieving greater numbers by dubious means. Some attempts counted people who were mostly (or entirely) outside the confines of the actual phone booth; some altered the booth itself to make it more accommodating; and others stretched the very definition of a phone booth by instead using an indoor phone room. This increasing entropy caused some existential questions about the activity. By the end of the year, the fad had seemingly died out, but anniversary reenactments still occasionally commemorate it.

Goldfish Swallowing

On March 3, 1939, Harvard University student Lothrop Withington Jr. swallowed a 3-inch goldfish, spurred by a $10 bet with his classmates. There was apparently enough buildup to the stunt that it had spectators and press coverage, and the publicity caused “goldfish gulping” to quickly spread to college campuses across the United States. The stunt almost immediately changed in nature, too — while Withington’s initial bet was about whether or not he could swallow a whole goldfish, goldfish gulping became about how many whole goldfish someone could swallow in a single session.

The fad was competitive. Just shy of a month later, the goldfish-swallowing record was 25. Then a record of 36 stood for a day, until MIT student Albert E. Hayes Jr. set a new record of 42. By the time Clark University’s Joseph Deliberato set an unthinkable record of 89, all kinds of concern was building among adults. College administrators considered the trend a breach of proper student conduct, animal rescue organizations thought it cruel, the U.S. Public Health Service warned against health risks, and a Massachusetts state senator even wanted to outlaw it, drafting a bill to do just that. The variety of opposition expedited the fad running its course; by the end of the year, the trend was history.

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Ostentatious Hairpieces

Wigs were seen as status symbols among Western aristocracies starting with the reign of Louis XIII of France, who popularized long dark wigs in the 17th century. But by the 18th century, increasingly elaborate and more vertically oriented hairpieces came into fashion. This culminated in a tall and ostentatiously decorated style called a “pouf,” where layers of hair and additional hairpieces were amassed and pinned atop pads, and adorned with unusual decorative elements such as feathers, figurines, and more.

The pouf was created by Marie Antoinette’s dressmaker Marie-Jeanne “Rose” Bertin and hairdresser Léondard Autié, though it was first worn by the Duchess of Chartres in 1774. Her wig was made from 14 yards of gauze and included a tower with plumes, multiple figurines, and a parrot. Not to be outdone, Marie Antoinette commissioned a series of poufs herself, sparking imitation throughout the French aristocracy. The style’s flamboyance increased throughout the decade and prompted criticism from both nobility and the populace. The peak of extravagance may have been what Marie Antoinette wore in celebration of a French naval victory over the British: a wig topped by a full replica of the victorious warship Belle Poule, blurring the lines between reality and caricature.

The Pet Rock

The Pet Rock seems, on its surface, like the most frivolous fad on record. This simple Mexican beach stone was sold in a box (with air holes!) that included a satirical-sounding manual with instructions on what to do if the rock "appears to be excited." Created by California advertising professional Gary Dahl in August 1975, the rock was an instant hit as a fuss-free pet.

In reality, the product wasn’t meant to be taken literally, but more as a multimedia gag. After all, Dahl paid great attention to detail in cheekily fashioning the box as a pet carrier, and filled the “instruction manual” with tongue-in-cheek tricks to teach the rock. The entire phenomenon might make much more sense to us today if the manual had appeared on the New York Times bestsellers list under “humor.” As Dahl later explained it, “At the time, the Vietnam War was winding down; Watergate had just started up. There was a whole lot of bad news going on… It wasn't a real good time for the national psyche. I think the Pet Rock was just a good giggle. Everybody needed a good laugh and the media ate it up."

The media attention was the driving factor in the rock’s popularity. As Dahl wrote, “During its five month retailing life span, the Pet Rock was referenced in nearly every daily newspaper in the country, most major magazines, all national network news programs, The Tonight Show and other late-night talk shows, most radio talk shows, and international media, such as the BBC. I was personally interviewed hundreds of times.” The relentless publicity led to the sale of more than a million Pet Rocks by Christmas of 1975. Even still, jokes don’t have a long shelf life under repetition: The fad was essentially over by 1976.

A Historic Tour of the Oval Office

White House Oval Office

Author Nicole Villeneuve

January 31, 2024

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The workspace of the President of the United States — better known as the Oval Office — has undergone several changes over the last century or so. President William Howard Taft is credited for having the first Oval Office built in 1909, and in 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt constructed the modern office. Since then, while the overall layout and architectural features have remained relatively consistent, the color scheme, the paintings that adorn the walls, the furniture, and more have been changed to reflect the taste and, often, the ideals of each incoming President. Some items, such as the Resolute Desk, have found their way into the room more often than not, serving as a symbol of grandeur and authority. Here are seven pieces of Oval Office history that not only tell a story of their own, but also contribute to the larger narrative of American history.

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The Resolute Desk

The Resolute Desk is one of the most storied pieces in the Oval Office. Crafted from the oak and mahogany timbers of the HMS Resolute — a British ship abandoned in the Arctic in 1854 and later recovered by the United States — the desk was gifted to President Rutherford B. Hayes by Queen Victoria in 1880. Despite its significance, the desk wasn’t always used in the Oval Office — it lived instead in the President’s Office, the President’s Study, and even the broadcast room for TV and radio addresses. In 1961, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy undertook a restoration and redecoration of the White House, and moved the ornate desk into the Oval Office; since then, all successive leaders except Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Gerald Ford have used the Resolute Desk (though President George H.W. Bush used it for only part of his presidency). The artifact has had just two notable modifications since it was originally made: A hinged panel featuring the presidential coat of arms was added to the front in 1945, and a base was added to heighten the desk in 1961.

The Seymour Tall Case Clock

Since 1975, an imposing grandfather clock has stood in the room’s northeast corner. According to the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum, the clock was part of a furniture lot acquired by First Lady Pat Nixon two years before its Oval Office debut during Ford’s presidency. Made sometime between 1795 and 1805 by father and son cabinetmakers John and Thomas Seymour of Boston, the clock — known as the Seymour tall case clock — is made of mahogany and stands 8 feet, 10 inches tall. A very similar clock, from the same time period, is described by the Metropolitan Museum of Art as “among the finest and most aesthetically significant examples produced in North America during the Federal period.” In 2017, the stately piece unexpectedly appeared in the news when former FBI director James Comey mentioned it repeatedly when detailing his meetings with President Donald Trump.

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The White Marble Mantel

While some Oval Office decor comes and goes, the white marble fireplace mantel hasn’t changed for any administration since 1909. After the 27th President, William Howard Taft, took office, he held a competition to find an architect to renovate the West Wing and create the first Oval Office. The winner, architect Nathan C. Wyeth, selected a neoclassical mantel that has survived more than just time: In 1929, a fire in the West Wing gutted the Oval Office, and while the mantel suffered visible damage, it was salvaged and remained a fixture of the room. Five years later, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt expanded and relocated the Oval Office to the West Wing’s present southeast corner location, overlooking the Wilson Rose Garden, the mantel also moved, and has been in place ever since.

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George Washington Portraits

Among the many former Presidents whose portraits regularly appear in the Oval Office is, perhaps unsurprisingly, the first U.S. President, George Washington. Two specific portraits of the founding father have appeared time and again over the years: Charles Willson Peale’s three-quarter-length portrait, painted in 1776, and one by his son, Rembrandt Peale. Rembrandt Peale’s famous 1823 "Porthole" portrait was created as a replica of the artist’s original Washington portrait — which itself was purchased by Congress for $2,000 in 1832 — and is often given prominent placement over the mantel in the Oval Office.

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The Presidential Seal in the Rug

The presidential seal is a familiar emblem, featuring an eagle, arrows, an olive branch, and a shield, and is famously featured in the Oval Office’s central rug. The seal’s prominent carpet placement was first used by President Harry Truman and has been replicated by nearly every President since. Truman’s carpet wasn’t only the first time a President featured the seal on the Oval Office rug, but it was also among the first uses of the newly redesigned symbol. Before his death, President Franklin D. Roosevelt worked on revamping the image, which added stars to represent the states and, most notably, turned the eagle’s head away from the arrows clutched in its claws, and toward the olive branch of peace.

Swedish Ivy

The Oval Office’s white marble mantel isn’t only regularly adorned with paintings: Since John F. Kennedy’s administration in the early 1960s, a Swedish ivy plant has often appeared perched on the ledge. The plant originated as a gift to Kennedy from Irish ambassador Thomas J. Kiernan. Its endurance warranted its own TIME magazine feature in 1984, and it has many progenies, originating as clippings from the main plant and passed around to friends and colleagues by White House staffers through the years. The famous greenery still lives in the Oval Office, rooted from Kennedy’s original plant.

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The “Bronco Buster” Sculpture

“The Bronco Buster” is one of artist Frederic Remington’s most famous pieces. The bronze sculpture shows a cowboy on horseback, and its endurance as a symbol of the American West has been a fixture in the Oval Office since around the time it was gifted to the White House in 1973. Initially crafted in 1895, the sculpture was inspired by one of Remington's own early illustrations, accompanying an article written by Theodore Roosevelt in an 1888 edition of Century Magazine. Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump included it in their decor, but President Joe Biden removed it when he took office in 2021. Biden opted for a different horse sculpture: “Swift Messenger,” featuring a horse and rider, was made by New Mexico-based artist Allan Houser of the Chiricahua Apache tribe, and once belonged to Hawaiian Senator Daniel Ken Inouye, the first Japanese American person elected to both houses of Congress.

What Was the Seven Years’ War?

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Author Mark DeJoy

January 31, 2024

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The Seven Years’ War, fought from 1756 to 1763, pitted the major European military powers of the time against each other through a labyrinthian series of alliances and geopolitics, like an 18th-century equivalent of World War I. The factors leading to the war were complex enough that the English author William Makepeace Thackeray wrote in his novel The Luck of Barry Lyndon, “It would require a greater philosopher and historian than I am to explain the causes of the famous Seven Years’ War… its origin has always appeared to me to be so complicated, and the books written about it so amazingly hard to understand, that I have seldom been much wiser at the end of a chapter than at the beginning.” Let’s piece it together more simply here.

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Who Fought in the Seven Years’ War?

The two alliances during the war were Austria, France, Russia, Saxony (now a state in Germany), and Sweden on one side; Great Britain, Hanover (also now a state in Germany), and Prussia on the other. These alliances were formed in the wake of the War of the Austrian Succession (which started in 1740) and the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (which ended it in 1748), and they represented a major alignment shift, known as the Diplomatic Revolution. Former allies Great Britain and Austria became at odds due to the inefficacy of Great Britain’s military assistance to Austria in preventing Silesia (modern-day Poland) from falling to Prussia: Austria viewed Great Britain’s aid as inadequate, and Great Britain believed that its support to Austria was an investment that was not gaining enough return. Prussia, which had been aligned with France, became aligned with Great Britain due to the latter’s desire to preemptively defend Hanover from risk of invasion by France.

Why Was the War Fought?

The Seven Years’ War was very much about land — specifically, reclaiming territory or expanding empires, depending on the country. Longtime enemies France and Great Britain were fighting for commercial and colonial supremacy in North America and India. Austria wanted to reclaim its former province Silesia from Prussia, and exact revenge in the process: In the words of Austrian ruler Maria Theresa, “Prussia must be given a trouncing.” Russia saw Prussia as a threat to its territory and aligned with Austria accordingly. Sweden joined the anti-Prussia coalition to protect its military presence in the Baltics, and in hopes of currying favor with Austria and France. (As Swedish historian Patrik Winton put it, “Swedish politicians hoped that the coalition would lead to a quick victory without having to get too involved in the fighting, but that Sweden still would be rewarded for its support. Swedish military action was thus primarily designed to show the allies that Sweden participated in the war.”) Prussia sought to continue the territorial expansion it accomplished in the War of the Austrian Succession, specifically eyeing Saxony and Polish West Prussia.

When and Where Did the Fighting Take Place?

Part of what makes the Seven Years’ War convoluted is its wide geographic range, somewhat fuzzy timeline, and a sense of separation between the participants: The war was at its core a fusion of one war between France and Great Britain, and another war between Austria and Prussia. While the official time frame of the Seven Years’ War is 1756 to 1763, related battles took place before 1756, particularly in North America. The North American theater of the war has been commonly referred to as the French and Indian War, as Indigenous peoples in North America largely allied with the French against the British (though the Iroquois Confederacy aligned with Great Britain). The conflict began in 1754 as a series of military skirmishes between the French and British over undefined territory in the Ohio Valley. The moniker “French and Indian War” not only sounds outdated today, but is also confusing, as the French and British also fought separate battles during the Seven Years’ War in India.

The military action in continental Europe began with the French seizing the British territory of Menorca in June 1756. Two months later, Prussia invaded Saxony, which triggered the aforementioned alliances. The alliance-activating nature of Prussia’s invasion of Saxony is the reason why it’s considered the start of the Seven Years’ War, even though the French invasion of Menorca and two years of colonial North American battles between France and Great Britain predate it. War between France and Great Britain was not officially declared until 1756. The other major theaters of the war include the Caribbean, Central America, the Philippines, and West Africa, as well as warship battles at sea.

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What Was the Impact of the Seven Years’ War?

Two peace treaties ended the Seven Years’ War. The Treaty of Paris was signed on February 10, 1763, between Great Britain, France, Hanover, Portugal, and Spain; five days later, the Treaty of Hubertusburg was signed between Austria, Prussia, and Saxony. The Treaty of Paris represented a major loss of territory for France, as it resulted in France relinquishing all of its North American territories east of the Mississippi River (except New Orleans), all land gains in India and the East Indies since 1749, and some of its West Indies territories, ceding them to Great Britain in most cases. The Treaty of Hubertusburg was a status quo antebellum agreement, restoring the conditions that existed prior to the Seven Years’ War: Silesia remained a Prussian territory, and Saxony regained its sovereignty.

These treaties resulted in the enhancement of Great Britain as a global power. The war also led to the rise of George Washington, who was a 22-year-old major during the first North American military battles between Great Britain and France, and eventually became commander of the Virginia colony’s military regiment. Ultimately, the exorbitant expense of the Seven Years’ War resulted in Great Britain levying increased taxes upon the American colonies, fostering conditions that led to the American Revolutionary War.

Were Romeo and Juliet Real?

Romeo and Juliet

Author Kristina Wright

January 31, 2024

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William Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy Romeo and Juliet first appeared in print in 1597. The play’s famous prologue presents a compelling tale about “a pair of star-crossed lovers [who] take their life” because of an “ancient grudge” between their households. It’s a captivating story of forbidden love that endures as one of the Bard’s most popular plays, inspiring countless iterations in theater and film. The story centers around the lovestruck Romeo and beautiful Juliet — two of the most famous characters in popular culture to this day. But were these young lovers based on real people?

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The Capulets and Montagues May Be Based on Real Families

Though historians generally agree that Juliet Capulet and Romeo Montague were fictional characters, it’s possible that their feuding houses were based on real families in Verona, Italy, where Shakespeare set his famous tragedy. Today, travelers to Verona can visit landmarks around the city that may have inspired the playwright and his predecessors, including two residences billed as the Montague and Capulet homes, as well as Juliet’s tomb at the Franciscan monastery outside Verona. The veracity of these claims varies, however: While the monastery has been identified as the setting referenced in the final act of Shakespeare’s play, the tomb is a symbolic representation of the fictional Juliet’s burial place. The site now known as La Casa di Giulietta (Juliet’s House), meanwhile, is a 13th-century home that belonged to the Dal Cappello (commonly known as Cappelletti) family, who some historians believe may have inspired Shakespeare’s Capulets. In fact, the Bard borrowed the names of his “two households” from Dante’s Divine Comedy, an Italian narrative poem composed in the early 14th century. Dante’s poem is one of the earliest texts to reference the Montecchi and Cappelletti families (Italian equivalents for the names “Montagues” and “Capulets”), who were real-life rival political factions in the 13th century.

Where Did the Characters Romeo and Juliet Come From?

Understanding Shakespeare starts with understanding that the playwright was adept at taking existing stories and spinning them into his own work for the theater. Sometimes, the Bard even borrowed character names. The titular names in Romeo and Juliet also have Italian roots, first appearing in Italian writer Luigi Da Porto’s tale Giulietta e Romeo, in his novel Historia novellamente ritrovata di due nobili amanti (A Newly Discovered History of Two Noble Lovers). Published in 1531, Da Porto’s work enjoyed widespread popularity in Europe long before Shakespeare penned his play. Da Porto himself took inspiration from 15th-century Italian poet Masuccio Salernitano, who included a similar tragic love story in his 50-story collection Il Novellino, published in 1476. His story of Mariotto and Gianozza of Siena (a city around 200 miles from Verona) is considered the earliest known version of the Romeo and Juliet tale, and the source material for Da Porto’s Giulietta e Romeo. Salernitano’s version includes a secret marriage and a sleeping potion, but many other details differ from the familiar Shakespearean tale, and the lovers die by different means.

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Shakespeare Didn’t Create the Star-Crossed Lovers Trope

The framework for Romeo and Juliet also didn’t originate with Shakespeare — it’s a plot that is almost certainly as old as storytelling itself. Ovid’s Metamorphoses, published in 8 CE, contains the oldest surviving version of the familiar plot, but even the Roman poet was inspired by other myths. In Ovid’s tale, Pyramus and Thisbe are a pair of Babylonian lovers whose parents forbid them to marry. When the couple sneaks off to meet near a mulberry tree, Thisbe is frightened by a lion and flees, leaving her cloak behind. Pyramus finds the cloak and, believing his love has been killed, falls on his sword. When Thisbe finds his body, she then takes her own life with the same sword.

Ovid’s timeless tale of doomed lovers may have inspired other writers to take a metaphorical stab at their own tragic love stories. Shakespeare was certainly aware of the story of Pyramus and Thisbe: His play A Midsummer Night’s Dream — written around the same time as Romeo and Juliet — includes a play-within-a-play involving a group of amateur actors known as the “rude mechanicals” who perform a version of Ovid’s tale. But despite this homage, tracing the connection between Ovid and Romeo and Juliet is not a straight line. Shakespeare’s inspiration likely came from a variety of sources and motifs used by other writers, including English poet Arthur Brooke’s 1562 narrative poem “The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet.” That poem was itself based on the French translation of a story in Italian writer Matteo Bandello’s Novelle (Stories) and influenced by Geoffrey Chaucer’s 14th-century epic poem “Troilus and Criseyde.” Shakespeare’s play incorporates changes Brooke made to Bandello’s version of the lovers’ tale, leading scholars to believe that Brooke’s poem was Shakespeare’s main source of inspiration.

How People Practiced Magic in the Middle Ages

Engraving of an Alchemist

Author Tony Dunnell

January 25, 2024

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Magic — the wielding of supernatural forces — was a part of everyday life in the Middle Ages, although some forms were considered far more insidious than others. At one end of the spectrum were forces seen as natural and helpful. This kind of white magic was even practiced by monks and priests, despite Christianity’s increasingly hostile attitude toward such practices. And then there was black magic, a harmful and unnatural practice otherwise known as sorcery.

The distinction between magic and religion during this time was sometimes hard to define. Churches in medieval Europe had both appropriated and Christianized native pagan practices and beliefs, and so elements of what could be seen as magic existed within the now-dominant religion. By the late Middle Ages (around 1350 to 1450), however, Christianity took a far stauncher attitude to what it saw as the worryingly widespread and dangerous remnants of pagan culture.

During this period, people were increasingly put on trial for maleficium, the term used to define sorcery or dark magic. In the 14th century, the accusation of maleficium was mostly aimed at men. It was not until later, with the publication of clergyman Heinrich Kramer’s Malleus Maleficarum in 1487, that dark magic was associated more directly with women, at which point there was a sharp rise in witches (both accused and self-proclaimed) and witch trials.

Practitioners of black magic, including wizards, sorcerers and, later, witches, had a number of tools to call upon to perform their dark arts. Here are some of the practices they might have used during the magical times of the Middle Ages.

The Grimoire

No self-respecting sorcerer would be seen without a grimoire. Practitioners of black magic needed a way to learn and advance their craft, and these instructions were found in grimoires, which served as a kind of textbook, giving sorcerers all the necessary instructions for casting spells, raising spirits, and various other dark wizardry. Grimoires were of little use to the common person, however, simply because they required a certain level of education to use — primarily the ability to read.

Spellcasting

A typical grimoire could contain all manner of instructions for casting spells. Once learned and perfected by a sorcerer, these spells could be used for crafting magical objects, finding lost items, healing sick people, curing impotence, and numerous other acts both benevolent and malevolent. The casting of spells was widely accepted during the early Middle Ages, except for spells with obviously devious, dangerous, or demonic intentions. With the rise of witchcraft during the late Middle Ages and the start of the early modern age, a far stronger stance was taken by the church against spells, and people accused of witchcraft could find themselves facing an inquisitor — and possible execution.

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Herbology

Herbology, using plants to make magic potions and healing medicines, was a fundamental part of what was considered medicinal magic. This, on the surface, would seem like a fairly innocuous, if not altogether positive, practice. But herbology could spill over into areas frowned upon by the church, despite the use of herbal medicine by medieval monks. The influential medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas wrote that he saw nothing wrong in “employing natural things” for their useful effects, but warned that “if in addition there be employed certain characters, words, or any other vain observances which clearly have no efficacy by nature, it will be superstitious and unlawful.” In other words, practitioners of herbology had to be careful, as their actions could easily be seen as the acts of a malevolent sorcerer if they took things even slightly too far.

Alchemy

Medieval scrolls reveal how alchemy was a fundamental part of magic during the Middle Ages. This is perhaps unsurprising, as alchemy has been a part of occult tradition for millennia, handed down from ancient Egypt and Arabia to Greece and Rome and throughout much of Europe in the Middle Ages. Through alchemy, practitioners sought the key to the transmutation of metals (allowing them to turn common materials into gold) as well as a path to eternal youth. This potential power was naturally of interest to sorcerers, as well as intellectuals not otherwise involved with the dark arts. Both, however, could find themselves in trouble with the law for practicing alchemy. Making gold out of nothing was a potential threat to the power of the ruling classes, and so some governments made alchemy illegal and publishable. King Henry IV of England, for example, signed the Act Against Multiplication in 1404, making alchemy a felony.

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Divination

Divination, or the power to predict or see the future, has long been a staple of sorcerers and other practitioners of magic. During the 12th and 13th centuries, classical Greek and Arabic texts on divination were translated into Latin, and soon this new magical knowledge spread throughout France, Italy, Germany, and England. Numerous methods of divination existed, from astronomical observations to the casting of dice and reading the flight patterns of birds. Toward the end of the Middle Ages, various types of divination were banned by church law, including hydromancy (divination by water), pyromancy (fire), chiromancy (palm reading), and scapulimancy (divination using an animal’s scapula).

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Summoning

Summoning was one of the more powerful types of magic common in the Middle Ages. Practitioners of white magic would try to summon angels or spirits to help them with problems or provide information. But those involved in black magic — the malefici evildoers — tried to summon demons to do their bidding. This was considered dangerous for both the potential targets of the sorcerers and the sorcerers themselves. The complicated rituals often involved creating a protective circle to keep the summoner safe from the demons they invoked, but many cautionary tales told of instances in which these circles failed, and the demons killed the summoner.

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Necromancy

Few acts of magic struck more fear into the hearts of the common folk during the medieval period than necromancy. This form of magic shared some traits with both divination and summoning, but more specifically, it involved conjuring the dead. By communicating with the dead, the sorcerer sought to obtain insight into the future or help with some impossible or otherworldly task such as magical transportation or illusion. Necromancy was considered one of the higher and more dangerous forms of magic. It was the antithesis to natural magic, and therefore something very much frowned upon by the church. But for a sorcerer with the education and ability to learn from books of necromancy, it offered some of the most powerful black magic available to devotees of dark magic.

5 Things People Used To Eat for Breakfast

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Author Kristina Wright

January 25, 2024

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From a leisurely meal of eggs and bacon to the convenience of a granola bar or yogurt parfait, breakfast foods come in an array of options to suit every taste and lifestyle. While the word “breakfast,” meaning “to break one’s fast in the morning,” dates back to the 15th century, some of our favorite morning dishes date back thousands of years. In fact, researchers believe the earliest variations of pancakes and porridges were first eaten as far back as the Stone Age. But while some popular breakfast foods have evolved and endured, others that were once considered staples of the typical American kitchen have faded into nostalgic obscurity. Here are five foods that were once considered popular breakfast dishes.

Granula Cereal

The first cold breakfast cereal, Granula was developed in 1863 in Dansville, New York, by James Caleb Jackson, a nutritionist who ran a health spa. Jackson believed that illnesses originated in the digestive system and that committing to a healthy diet could help cure sickness. He formulated Granula by baking graham flour into hard cakes and then crumbling the cakes and baking them a second time. The crumbled bits were then so hard that they had to be soaked overnight in milk to make the cereal edible. Dr. Jackson’s crunchy breakfast cereal was soon copied by inventor John Harvey Kellogg, who later invented corn flakes, who used a combination of cornmeal, oatmeal, and wheat flour to make his own version of Granula, which he called Granola — but only after Jackson sued him for using the Granula name.

Milk Toast

A popular New England breakfast dish in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, milk toast may date as far back as the Middle Ages when bread soaked in liquid was known as “sop.” The contemporary version was made by pouring warm milk over bread that had been toasted, buttered, then cubed. The dish could be served sweet or savory, with the addition of sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon, or salt, pepper, and paprika. The word “milquetoast,” meaning a timid or ineffectual person, was derived from a 1924 cartoon character named Caspar Milquetoast, who was named for this mild, quintessential comfort food.

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Pork and Beans

Canned versions of this classic American side dish can still be found on grocery store shelves, but it was once popular on the breakfast table, served alongside johnnycakes, a type of fried cornmeal pancake. In the 1886 cookbook Practical Housekeeping: A Careful Compilation of Tried and Approved Recipes, author Estelle Woods Wilcox recommends adding a few tablespoons of molasses and salt pork to a pot of beans and baking it for six hours or longer. Noting, “This is the Yankee dish for Sunday breakfast,” the author recommends the pork and beans be baked the day before, left in the oven all night, and browned in the morning, though they could also be eaten cold.

Codfish

Whether breaded and fried as cakes or balls or served with cream on toast, codfish was once considered a popular breakfast food in American homes and luxury hotels alike. On its 1914 breakfast menu, New York’s Waldorf Astoria hotel offered codfish in cream for 50 cents, while Fannie Farmer’s 1916 Boston Cooking-School Cook Book included recipes for creamed salt codfish, fish balls, and salted codfish hash. While those recipes called for picking codfish “in very small pieces, or cut, using scissors,” salted and cured shredded codfish was also packaged and advertised as a “dainty” and “sweet-flavored fish” whose price was “naturally high” because of the limited quantity of high-quality cod.

Meat Hash

Breakfast hash has been around for centuries and is still enjoyed today, but it was particularly popular during World War II, when meat rationing required home cooks to get creative. Traditional home-cooked hash was made of “chopped cooked meat” and cooked vegetables (usually potatoes and onions) mixed with broth and fried on the stove. While it was served at lunch and dinner as well, hash for breakfast was an economical way to use up dinner leftovers and stretch those precious quantities of rationed meat by adding flavorful fillers. In wartime ads, Armour and Company, the first company to produce canned meat, reminded Americans that “our war needs make it vital now to save every bit of food left over,” and offered a free booklet called “69 Meat Ration Recipes” that included breakfast hash recipes using a variety of fresh and canned meats.

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