A Day in the Life of a Person on the Oregon Trail

Oregon Trail in Wyoming — Credit: MPI/ Archive Photos via Getty Images

Author Nicole Villeneuve

May 16, 2024

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In 1843, approximately 1,000 people embarked on the arduous journey west across the young United States in the first major wagon train migration on the Oregon Trail. Spanning more than 2,000 miles from Independence, Missouri, to the promising lands of the Oregon Territory, the trail served as a lifeline for those seeking new beginnings in the American West. Each day, migrants traveled an average of 15 miles, though on a good day, anywhere from 18 to 20 miles could be covered, most of it on foot.

It took roughly four to six months to complete the journey, with harsh obstacles day in and day out, including treacherous terrain, unpredictable weather patterns, illness and injury, and the threat of danger from wildlife or hostile encounters. Of course, the intrepid travelers were prepared: A typical trail outfit consisted of one or two small, sturdy covered wagons to carry belongings and essential supplies, six to 10 oxen, and a few milk cows per family. Most families also had an abundance of basic food staples such as flour, bacon, coffee, tea, sugar, and lard, as well as hunting supplies and farm and carpentry tools such as shovels, rakes, saws, and axes.

But it wasn’t just the supplies that kept the fraught frontier voyages on track. A fixed daily schedule kept wagon trains on a steady pace, and gave travelers the best chance at making it to their destination. Some wagon trains, including the 1843 voyage, could consist of more than 100 wagons; to better control the journey, the train was split into several smaller units consisting of anywhere from four to upwards of 20 wagons and about 30 people. Here’s a look at a typical day in the life of one of these Oregon Trail travelers.

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Morning

People on the frontier started their day early. At around 4 a.m., a bugle call or rifle shot would wake the camp to start another long and dusty day on the trail. Over the next hour, if the livestock had been allowed to graze throughout the night, they were rounded up and corralled in the wagon circle. By about 5 a.m., the women and children in the group would have prepared a simple but hearty breakfast: Most mornings the group had coffee, bacon, corn porridge, or cornmeal pancakes known as johnnycakes cooked over a fire. As the women washed dishes, the men finished striking and packing the campsite. They also tended to the animals, ensuring any sore limbs were wrapped or rough hides were rubbed with salve. The health of the animals was a crucial part of a successful journey.

By around 7 a.m., wagons were packed up and animals hitched, and the caravan set off after a bugle sounded and a “wagons ho” or “wagons roll” call was made. Travelers were incentivized to be on time: Ending up at the back of the caravan meant spending much of the day in the literal dust of the people and animals ahead. Often, the terrain required labor and manpower for safe passage, so men traveled ahead on horseback to clear it as needed. The rest of the group trudged slowly behind on foot as the wagons were not widely used to transport people, but rather supplies. Luzena Stanley Wilson, who traveled to California from Missouri on the Oregon Trail in 1849, said each day had a “plodding, unvarying monotony.”

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Afternoon

After a few hours on the trail, the caravan stopped for food, rest, and water at around 12 p.m., known as “nooning.” During this time, young boys in the group took on an important job: wiping dust from oxen snouts to prevent accumulation and breathing problems. Nooning typically lasted about an hour, although depending on the day’s temperature, some groups waited out the heat of the afternoon and instead traveled longer into the cooler evening hours.

Once back on the trail for the afternoon stretch, some caravan members would try to hunt for food, while others gathered dried weeds and buffalo and cow droppings. The “chips,” as they were known, were plentiful and suitable fuel replacements for firewood, which was either too scarce or too heavy to carry along. By about 5 p.m., most caravans stopped to set up camp for the evening, choosing sites with grass for the animals, water for drinking and washing dishes and laundry, and more animal droppings or brush for a campfire. It was also common for campsites to be set up on a hill for better lookout views. Wagons were circled to form a corral for the animals, as well as to offer protection to the campers if needed.

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Evening

After setting up camp for the night, men typically checked on the animals and wagons while the women and children prepared dinner. Dinners often revolved around what protein was available; sometimes this meant freshly hunted fish or game, but often it was preserved, salted meat or bacon from the caravan’s supplies. Any wild fruits or vegetables gathered from around the campsite could also be used.

After dinner, the women and children did the bulk of the cleaning chores while the men gathered around the campfire to smoke pipes and converse. Before nightfall, campers occasionally enjoyed fiddle music and dancing around the fire.

Night

At around 8 p.m., it was time to turn in for the night. Animals were either left to graze overnight or secured in the corral if campers felt threatened by attacks or theft from Indigenous peoples. (Though contrary to popular myth, more often than not Indigenous locals were tolerant of, and even helpful to, the wagon trains passing through their territories, trading with groups for supplies needed along the way.) Guards were assigned to watch over the camp, and the rest of the caravan settled in to sleep in canvas tents or on the ground under the stars.

At night, the tongue of the lead wagon (the wooden arm that extends from the front of the wagon) was often pointed toward the North Star in order to orient the wagon train in the morning. At midnight, the night guards changed shifts and remained on watch until sounding the 4 a.m. wake-up call for the next leg of the long journey.

We Made Thomas Jefferson’s Ice Cream

Ice cream ingredients — Credit: Kristina Wright

Author Kristina Wright

May 16, 2024

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Thomas Jefferson’s complicated legacy encompasses his roles as an American founding father, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, and the third President of the United States. Jefferson was also an enthusiastic foodie, with a willingness to try new cuisine and an interest in kitchen gadgets. He particularly enjoyed ice cream, a dessert he likely encountered during his time in France from 1784 to 1789. And while Jefferson did not introduce the young United States to ice cream — the frozen treat was served in the American colonies as early as 1744 — he certainly helped popularize the dish, and he is the first known American to write down a recipe for it.

Jefferson’s ice cream recipe is one of only 10 surviving recipes in his handwriting. It’s unlikely that the President created the recipe himself; the original source was likely his French butler, Adrien Petit. Still, Jefferson was fond enough of the creamy dessert to write down the recipe and ship pewter ice molds back from France.

While the founding father’s ice cream recipe is simple to make, the tools used in the early 19th century aren’t in common use today. For instance, the “sabottiere” ice cream maker (also spelled “sabotiere”) that Jefferson references was a lidded metal bucket within a larger wooden bucket. Today’s ice cream makers have similar components, but are easier, faster, and less laborious to use. Likewise, the ice cream molds that Jefferson had shipped from France are mostly obsolete today, replaced by silicone popsicle molds and pint- or quart-sized containers.

The website for Jefferson’s Virginia home, Monticello, includes both Jefferson’s original ice cream recipe and an updated version by Jefferson historian Marie Kimball. To make Jefferson’s ice cream, my son and I stuck as close to the original recipe as possible, improvising when necessary. For instance, to bring the ice cream mixture to boiling, we used a large skillet on a gas stovetop rather than an open fire. And instead of straining it “thro’ a towel,” we used a metal sieve.

Though the process took considerably longer than we expected — and longer than Jefferson himself suggested (see the note at the end of the article) — the end result was rich, creamy, and delicious!

Jefferson's Ice Cream Recipe

2 bottles of good cream.
6 yolks of eggs.
1/2 lb. sugar

mix the yolks & sugar
put the cream on a fire in a casserole, first putting in a stick of Vanilla.
when near boiling take it off & pour it gently into the mixture of eggs & sugar.
stir it well.
put it on the fire again stirring it thoroughly with a spoon to prevent it's sticking to the casserole.
when near boiling take it off and strain it thro' a towel.
put it in the Sabottiere
then set it in ice an hour before it is to be served. put into the ice a handful of salt.
put salt on the coverlid of the Sabotiere & cover the whole with ice.
leave it still half a quarter of an hour.
then turn the Sabottiere in the ice 10 minutes
open it to loosen with a spatula the ice from the inner sides of the Sabotiere.
shut it & replace it in the ice
open it from time to time to detach the ice from the sides
when well taken (prise) stir it well with the Spatula.
put it in moulds, justling it well down on the knee.
then put the mould into the same bucket of ice.
leave it there to the moment of serving it.
to withdraw it, immerse the mould in warm water, turning it well till it will come out & turn it into a plate.

(Modern version here, adapted by historian Marie Kimball)

Gathering the Ingredients

First we gathered our ingredients and supplies. Jefferson’s recipe calls for just five ingredients: sugar, egg yolks, a pinch of salt, cream, and vanilla. But the ice cream-making process requires a number of kitchen supplies, as well as ice and salt, which lowers the freezing/melting point of water. To duplicate Jefferson’s process, I needed to purchase a metal pail, a larger wooden bucket, a large fine sieve, and ice cream “molds,” which were silicone ice cream containers. I also bought a large container of rock salt, as it reacts better with the ice than table salt.

Blending the Eggs and Sugar

In a large bowl, we whisked six egg yolks, then added 1 cup of sugar and a pinch of salt, creating a thick, bright-yellow mixture.

Heating the Cream and Vanilla

Jefferson’s recipe calls for a “stick of Vanilla,” referring to a vanilla bean, from which we get the more familiar vanilla extract. I made a slit in the vanilla bean before heating it with the cream in order to release those tiny seeds that give vanilla ice cream its speckled appearance. (It also smells amazing!)

The recipe also calls for “2 bottles of good cream,” but doesn’t specify the quantity in the bottles. For this step, we relied on Marie Kimball’s updated version of the recipe and used 1 quart of heavy whipping cream (which is the same as heavy cream).

Pouring the Hot Cream and Vanilla Over the Egg and Sugar Mixture

Once the cream and vanilla reached boiling, we took the pan off the stove and slowly poured the cream over the egg and sugar mixture. Then we gently stirred it until the ingredients were well blended before returning the mixture to the pan.

Boiling the Ice Cream Mixture

Kimball’s version of Jefferson’s recipe calls for using a double boiler to heat the ice cream mixture, but we stuck with a single pan, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. After a few minutes, the mixture began to thicken, taking on a custardy texture that smelled like vanilla cake. Once the mixture reached boiling, we took it off the heat.

Straining the Ice Cream Mixture

For the straining step, I intended to use cheesecloth to simulate Jefferson’s towel method, but due to the potential for a literal hot mess, I opted to use Kimball’s recommendation for a fine sieve. Straining the ice cream mixture like this allowed us to catch the small bits of egg and vanilla bean, leaving the ice cream mixture silky smooth.

Putting the Mixture Into the Ice Cream Maker

In place of Jefferson’s “sabottiere,” we poured the strained ice cream mixture into a lidded metal pail, filled the whiskey barrel with an ice and rock salt mixture (per Kimball’s instructions), and then turned the pail at regular intervals, stirring the ice cream mixture occasionally as it slowly began to cool and freeze.

Molding the Ice Cream

After two hours, the ice cream had cooled and thickened to a milkshake consistency. Jefferson’s recipe calls for the ice cream to be packed into ice molds, which were hinged pewter containers in the shape of flowers, fruit, and other decorative objects, but we used a quart-sized silicone ice cream container instead. In retrospect, I wish we’d used popsicle molds, as the smaller containers would have made the ice cream freeze faster.

Once the ice cream was in the container, it took another two hours to thicken to soft-serve consistency. We could have eaten it then (and we did taste test it!), but we wanted the ice cream to hold its shape when scooped. Since most of the ice in the whiskey barrel had melted at this point, we decided to put the container in our modern freezer overnight.

The Final Result

After freezing overnight, the ice cream was hard-packed and scoopable! Creamy, pale-yellow, and speckled with vanilla bean, it was the richest ice cream we’d ever tasted.

Note: One line of Jefferson’s recipe reads, “Then set it in ice an hour before it is to be served.” The actual time to freeze using his method took several hours just to get to soft-serve consistency. This could be due to the size and shape of the containers we used, but it still seems unlikely that it could be done in an hour, even using Jefferson-era ice molds.

5 Inventions You Didn’t Realize Came From Ancient Rome

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Author Tony Dunnell

May 8, 2024

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In 500 BCE, Rome was nothing more than a minor city-state on the Italian Peninsula. But with its eyes set on expansion, Rome began to conquer its neighbors until it controlled all of Italy. It didn’t stop there. It became an empire in 27 BCE, and at its height — around 100 CE — the vast and immensely powerful Roman Empire stretched from Britain to Egypt.

Rome’s influence on the world was both widespread and long-lasting. The Romans were great innovators and inventors, sometimes appropriating and advancing aspects from other cultures, and other times inventing entirely new technologies and systems. These innovations covered a wide range of fields, including state institutions, cultural practices, and engineering techniques.

The Roman Empire eventually fell in 476 CE, but its legacy and influence carried on — all the way to the present day. Some of Rome’s most famous innovations, such as sanitation systems and road networks, are well known and still very much in evidence; in the United Kingdom, for example, many modern roads still follow the routes laid down by the Romans. Other Roman innovations, however, are more obscure. Here are five inventions that continue to shape our modern world, but that many people don’t realize originated in ancient Rome.

The First Bound Books

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In the ancient world, the first written documents were typically recorded on clay or wax tablets, or on sheets or scrolls of papyrus. The Romans also used scrolls, but during the first and second centuries CE, a new form of storing and accessing information emerged: the codex-style book. These notebooks, known as pugillares membranei (roughly translating to “parchment book”), were formed by stacking pages — typically made of vellum or papyrus — that were then joined along one set of edges, much like modern books. They were mainly used for personal writing, and represent the first true form of the bound book. The codices soon became popular throughout Western Europe and the Middle East, eventually superseding scrolls and tablets.

Precision Medical Instruments

The Romans were great pioneers in the field of surgery. We know from archaeological evidence — including well-preserved artifacts found in the buried remains of Pompeii and Herculaneum — that the Romans used precision medical instruments including bone forceps, catheters, obstetrical hooks, scalpels, and surgical scissors. The level of technology found in some of these tools is not so far from their modern counterparts. The Roman version of the vaginal speculum, for example, did not change significantly until the 20th century. The Romans also had a medical military corps with specialized field surgeons who were tasked with keeping the legions fit, healthy, and alive.

Underfloor Heating

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Heated floors might seem like a modern luxury, but the Romans started using them 2,000 years ago. Ancient Romans used an underfloor heating system known as a hypocaust, which drew in hot air from a wood-burning furnace outside the house and channeled it into a chamber below the floor. This not only warmed the floor itself but radiated heat throughout the home. Many examples of hypocausts can still be found in the foundations of villas and townhouses in Roman centers in Germany and England, where cold winters would have made the toasty floors especially inviting.

The Shopping Mall

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Markets have long been prevalent throughout the world as a gathering place for people to sell and buy all sorts of goods and produce. But the first permanent and covered shopping mall was likely built by the Romans: Trajan's Market (Mercatus Traiani), constructed between 100 and 110 CE. Made of red brick and concrete, it had six levels that housed around 150 different shops, as well as government offices and living accommodations. A street on the upper level, meanwhile, was named Via Biberatica after the Latin word for “drink,” suggesting that even the Romans needed to unwind after a hard day’s shopping.

Our Calendar

Most of the world now uses the Gregorian calendar, first introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII. But credit for the modern calendar should really be given to the Romans. The Gregorian calendar is based on the much earlier Julian calendar (which itself owed a lot to the Egyptian solar calendar), introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 BCE. The calendars share many similarities, though one of the main differences is the treatment of those pesky leap years. The Gregorian calendar handles them more precisely, resulting in a discrepancy between the two calendars that is currently 13 days, and will become 14 days in 2100.

What Ever Happened to the Milkman?

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Author Nicole Villeneuve

May 8, 2024

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Grocery deliveries may be a modern convenience, but the service hearkens back to a bygone era when clinking glass bottles signaled the arrival of the milkman. The milkman (or milkwoman, though the job was usually held by men) is a cherished fixture of American history, as a prominent part of much of the 19th and 20th centuries. While milk remains a staple of the American diet, changes in consumerism and technology have made the once-ubiquitous milkman a relic of the past.

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Cattle farming was a common means of sustenance in the early United States, beginning with the colonial era in the 16th century and continuing for the next few centuries. Many farming families produced milk, butter, and cheese for themselves and their local community. By the 19th century, the U.S. saw a rapid transformation due to industrialization and urbanization; people moved from rural areas to urban centers where better employment opportunities awaited. Owning a cow and making milk was much more impractical for these new city folk, but the demand for dairy remained.

The concept of the milkman emerged around the late 18th century. The earliest providers filled large metal barrels with fresh milk right from the cow, carrying them by horse-drawn cart to customers’ homes. Milk was ladled into whatever containers were available, including pitchers, jugs, or pails. This often meant that the milk was contaminated by debris — anything from hair to dirt to insects. The advent of the now-iconic glass milk bottles in the late 19th century was a major advancement for both the convenience and the hygiene of milk delivery. Early bottles often had glass lids held on with metal clamps and were embossed with the name of the dairy that used them. Glass bottles were replaced by single-use, wax-coated containers in the 20th century, but to this day, glass milk bottles remain a niche, nostalgic emblem of another time.

In the early 20th century, when milkmen were delivering milk in clean and secure glass containers, houses and apartments began installing insulated boxes or built-in milk doors for drop-offs. Empty bottles, along with the milkman’s payment, would also be left for pickup in the boxes. On average, a milk bottle made about 22 round trips before getting broken or lost. By the mid-1900s, deliveries were being done in trucks as opposed to horse-drawn wagons, but despite being more hygienic and efficient, the milk delivery industry began to dwindle.

Several factors contributed to the decline of the milkman. Following World War II, the U.S. saw a mass migration of people into sprawling suburban areas. This meant longer delivery routes and new logistics for milkmen, increasing their costs. The widespread availability of cars by this time also allowed more Americans to shop independently — and they could do so at an increasing number of one-stop-shop supermarkets, where prices were lower than the milkman’s rising rates. But perhaps the single biggest detriment to the milkman was the proliferation of refrigeration in households. Refrigerators were first introduced in the 1910s, and just 30 years later, more than half of American homes had one. By the 1960s, just about every home had a fridge, and families were able to store perishable items, including milk, easily and reliably — all but eliminating the need for daily deliveries.

Milk delivery saw a sharp decline in the latter half of the 20th century. In the 1920s, if there was milk in the household, you could bet on it having been delivered. By the early 1960s, 30% of milk consumed was still delivered to homes. But by the mid-1970s, that number dropped sharply to only about 7%. Throughout the 1990s and mid-2000s, milk deliveries accounted for less than 1% of milk consumed in the U.S.

Over the years, there have been signs that milk delivery is still desirable in the U.S. While the 2020 coronavirus pandemic led to a surge in home deliveries of all kinds — including from the milkman — deliveries were trending upward even before then. In Maryland, South Mountain Creamery saw its deliveries increase to 8,500 homes across five states in 2014 — a massive leap from its 13 local customers in 2001. The return to milk delivery is driven not only by nostalgia, but according to customers who have made the switch, by the superior quality of the product. Although the efforts have yet to culminate in a widespread resurgence, they do underline the ongoing allure of an institution that once played a central role in everyday American life.

What Life Was Really Like in Regency-Era England

Regency-era men and women — Credit: Historical Images Archive/ Alamy Stock Photo

Author Rachel Gresh

May 7, 2024

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England’s Regency era was one of its most defining. During this time, Jane Austen published her first novels, bare-knuckle boxing was a favorite pastime, and young women carried around tiny portraits of the poet Lord Byron — the original teen heartthrob. The period, which spanned just nine years from 1811 to 1820, is named for its ruler, George Augustus Frederick, Prince of Wales (later King George IV), who was declared prince regent on February 5, 1811. The prince served as regent due to the illness of his father, George III (often referred to as the “Mad King”), before ascending to the throne in 1820 upon the king’s death.

The Regency era is undeniably popular in television and film, but contrary to what is portrayed in the hit Netflix series Bridgerton, life in England during this period went beyond the gossip of the “ton” (the British aristocracy), budding romances, and ornate ballroom parties. The period saw a flourishing of arts and literature and the start of the Industrial Revolution, all while being rocked by the Napoleonic Wars and the aftermath of American independence and the French Revolution. It was a time of great social strife, political changes, war, and technological advancements that permanently altered British society. Here is a snapshot of what life was like during the Regency era.

England Was Perpetually at War

England was embroiled in two major conflicts during the prince regent’s rule. The Napoleonic Wars began in 1799, and although the Duke of Wellington’s Anglo-Allied army ended Napoleon’s reign in June 1815 at the Battle of Waterloo, the British government had spent nearly £1.7 billion on the war effort (roughly $230 billion today) — an expense mainly shouldered by the British taxpayers. At the same time, England was at war with the newly independent United States yet again over maritime rights in the War of 1812. Along with taking a monetary toll on citizens, the war called many young men into battle. By the end of the Regency era, the British army grew to six times its previous size, to around 250,000 soldiers.

Wealth Inequality Was the Norm

Wealth inequality plagued Regency-era England, creating a rigid dichotomy between poor or working-class citizens and wealthy landowners and nobility. England’s involvement in multiple consecutive wars, combined with a rapidly rising population and the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, led to economic turmoil. Mechanized farming equipment and a burgeoning railway system caused many workers to lose their jobs. More and more factories began cropping up in Britain’s cities, leading to increasing numbers of people heading to urban centers to find employment. Many lived in overcrowded slums known as “rookeries.” The most notorious was St. Giles in London’s West End, an essentially lawless neighborhood run by gangs and overrun with gambling, theft, and violence. Nearby, at the Devil’s Acre slum (in present-day Westminster), the “Ragged School” for troubled youth is rumored to have inspired Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist.

Upper-Class Society Revolved Around “the Season”

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In stark contrast to the widespread poverty in rookeries around British cities, aristocrats enjoyed attending up to two balls a week during what was known as “the season.” The season followed Parliament’s schedule, beginning whenever the new session opened (sometime between November and January) and extending through July when Parliament’s summer recess began. During this time, a few hundred wealthy families left their country homes and flocked to London to join the festivities. Not participating in the season was detrimental to social status, and the who’s who of the “ton” were sure to get invited to the most exclusive balls. These lavish events weren’t only for dancing — they were the perfect places to form business relationships. From courting young couples to wealthy landowners, everyone had something at stake.

Dating Was Tricky Business

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Regency-era aristocrats left little to fate when it came to love. During the season, young people were often coerced into advantageous relationships by their parents in hopes of gaining wealth, property, or status — even if that match was to a first cousin. Couples might court during afternoon tea, a walk in a garden, a concert, or a ball. Relationships were very public, and friends and family knew how the courtship was (or wasn’t) advancing.

Most importantly, the young couple could never be alone — a chaperone was always present. However, there is plenty of evidence from letters of the era that suggest young couples found ways to sneak off to steal a few minutes to themselves. (Some things never change.) Love letters became especially popular during the Regency era as reading and writing became commonplace, but even more special than a letter was the gift of a lock of hair.

The Beach Was a Favorite Pastime

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Wealthy Regency-era citizens were ballroom dancers by night and beachgoers by day, as sea-bathing — for recreational and medical purposes — became a favorite pastime in England. Its medicinal benefits were first explored in the early 18th century, and by the early 19th century, physicians were prescribing salt water soaks and seaweed rubdowns for any manner of illness. Because two of Brits’ favorite vacation destinations, France and Italy, were unreachable due to the Napoleonic Wars, many people turned to their local beaches for recreation, transforming small coastal towns into popular vacation destinations. Even Jane Austen was known to partake in the pursuit as she spent her summers at the shore, in the towns of Worthing, Dawlish, Sidmouth, and Lyme Regis (among others).

Regency-era beaches looked very different from modern beaches. It was deemed inappropriate for men to see women swimming, so “dippers” became a beachside staple. To swim in the ocean, women first entered “bathing machines” — essentially dressing rooms with wheels — which were pulled to the water’s edge by horses led by dippers. These dippers helped swimmers emerge through the back door, allowing them their dignity while enjoying the sea.

How Did People Wake Up on Time Before Alarm Clocks?

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Author Nicole Villeneuve

May 7, 2024

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Timekeeping technology has come a long way from ancient Egyptian sundials, and with it, so has the ability to wake up at whatever precise time might be needed for work, school, or appointments — even if we often ignore a ringing alarm in favor of snoozing for just 10 more minutes. While the demands of modern society are certainly more rigid than they once were, people have long had various reasons to keep a tight schedule, and at times they had to rely on more than just the crow of the rooster or the chirping of birds at dawn to make sure they were up to meet the day.

The most basic way people woke up before the invention of alarms was strictly biological in nature. Long before the advent of mechanical clocks or artificial light, people lived in harmony with the natural rhythms of day and night. Two biological processes dictate this natural sleep-wake cycle: homeostasis and circadian rhythms. Homeostasis governs our body’s drive for sleep, which increases the longer we’re awake and dissipates once we fall asleep, eventually signaling when it’s time to wake up. Circadian rhythms, meanwhile, control alertness and drowsiness throughout the day, influenced by light (more alert) and darkness (sleepy time).

This isn’t the only internal body process that served as a primal wake-up call before alarm clocks: Some people relied on their bladders. In biographer Stanley Vestal’s 1984 book about the life of 19th-century Lakota warrior White Bull, he noted, “Indian warriors could determine in advance their hour of rising by regulating the amount of water drunk before going to bed.” Of course, these bodily functions still exist as natural wake-up calls, but circadian rhythms often get disrupted by modern light sources such as screens, and given the strict nature of our 21st-century work schedules, one’s bladder might not be the most reliable alarm.

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Another historical method of awakening also involves water, though not drinking it in large quantities. In the fourth century BCE, the ancient Greek philosopher Plato notably refined the timekeeping tool known as the "clepsydra" or "water thief” into a primitive alarm clock. Throughout the night, one basin of water would empty into another. When the water rose to the desired level, it was then siphoned into another container, emitting a whistling sound and ensuring neither Plato nor the students of his famed academy slept through his lectures. Another creative yet complicated hydraulic device was the “Water-Driven Spherical Birds’-Eye-View Map of the Heavens,” one of the first known mechanical clocks, created in 725 CE by Chinese mathematician and inventor Yi Xing. Water flowed through its system of wheels, hooks, pins, shafts, locks, and rods; the wheel did a full revolution every 24 hours, and different sounds occurred at specific times — a bell would chime every hour, and a drumlike beat would sound every 15 minutes.

Clocks using weights or pendulums, including devices with built-in alarm functionality, became much more accurate throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, but they remained largely out of reach for most people. Then, during Britain’s Industrial Revolution, the shift from agriculture to factory work created a demand for reliable timekeeping for more people than ever. Urbanization meant fewer people waking to the rooster’s crow, so instead, they depended on factory whistles, or, for those who could afford it, on “knocker-uppers” to ensure they woke up on time.

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Knocker-uppers were people who carried sticks, poles, or peashooters to tap on windows and wake the sleeping workers who had hired them as personal alarms. The knocker-uppers themselves were often night owls, waking for the day at 4 p.m. and retiring to bed after getting the laborers off to work. Eventually, electric alarm clocks became readily accessible to most people, but even as the gadgets gained popularity throughout the 1930s and ’40s, knocker-uppers were still found in some pockets of industrial England all the way up to the 1970s.

Strange Parenting Etiquette From the Past

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Author Nicole Villeneuve

May 2, 2024

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Being a parent has been a demanding job since the dawn of humanity. While modern-day parents have access to a plethora of parenting resources and tools across social media, blogs, and podcasts, well-meaning — if not entirely well-informed — figures have offered advice about child-rearing for centuries.

Parenting advice became more widespread throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, when perceptions about childhood began to shift toward the belief that children are entitled to dependence and innocence rather than hard work and responsibilities in their formative years. Most of the advice on taking care of infants and children was morally guided, versus scientifically, and as a result, such advice often sounds strange or even downright alarming by our contemporary standards.

From giving babies alcohol to smearing lard on their skin and denying snacks to older children, here is some of the strangest parenting etiquette from decades past.

A Spoonful of Opium Keeps the Tears Away

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In an era before evidence-based medicine, parents often relied on dubious remedies to treat common childhood ailments. Substances such as Stickney and Poor’s Pure Paregoric syrup and Godfrey’s Cordial were commonly given to babies in the 19th century to relieve gas, soothe teething pain, and treat unexplained fussiness. The secret ingredients? Alcohol and opium.

Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup was also a popular treatment at the time. The syrup was advertised as a method of pacifying young children, helping with dental hygiene, and alleviating constipation, and it was said to be suitable for babies as young as newborns. While the vibrant marketing featured cheerful imagery of happy babies and mothers, the syrup, a concoction that included morphine and alcohol, resulted in the loss of thousands of children until it was denounced by the American Medical Association in the early 1900s.

These were far from the only bizarre remedies peddled before modern medicine. Many teething treatments contained mercury, even though administering them could result in “pink disease,” which caused discoloration of the skin, sensitivity to light, swelling of the hands and feet, and, in severe cases, neurological symptoms.

Babies Should Be “Aired Out”

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In 1894, alongside advice on bathing and diapering, Dr. Luther Emmett Holt introduced the concept of “airing” infants in his book The Care and Feeding of Children. Fresh air, he believed, would renew and purify the blood and was just as important as feeding.

Holt suggested babies be placed in cribs near an open window starting at 1 month old. Airing could take place in almost any temperature as long as the baby was dressed appropriately and the wind wasn’t blowing in their face. He even advocated for babies napping outside in their carriages, insisting that children who did this were stronger than indoor sleepers. “Appetite is improved, the digestion is better, the cheeks become red, and all signs of health are seen” after airing, according to Holt.

The practice of “airing” babies subsequently gained traction, and in the early 1900s, people even began placing babies in boxes on flat roofs. Baby cages also soon appeared as a way for city-dwelling parents to provide their babies with that all-important fresh air from the comfort of an enclosed frame suspended from a windowsill.

Oil and Salt Baths for Newborns

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Babies are born with a substance known as vernix covering their skin, and while modern medicine suggests leaving it on to protect the delicate newborn skin, advice historically suggested removing it almost immediately by rubbing the baby in something greasy.

“As soon as the [umbilical] cord and the eyes have received the proper attention and the mother has been made comfortable, the baby is given its initial bath of oil,” William S. Sadler and Lena K. Sadler suggested in The Mother and Her Child. “This oil may be lard, olive oil, sweet oil, or liquid vaseline.” The oil was warmed before application and then wiped off with a soft cloth shortly after.

Following this initial oil-based bath, Pye Henry Chavasse suggested babies be bathed every morning and at least partially wiped down every evening. Once the baby reached 2 months of age, Chavasse recommended putting two handfuls of table salt in the baby’s bathwater, which he suggested would “brace and strengthen” the baby.

Toilet Training at 4 Months Old

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Early toilet training was common in the past, with some manuals advising parents to start as soon as just 4 months old — which is, on average, roughly eight months before babies even start walking (and more than one year earlier than average contemporary toilet training recommendations).

This begs the question: Without being able to walk oneself to the toilet, how exactly did a baby learn to use one? According to the Sadlers’ The Mother and Her Child, it was up to the caretaker to bring the toilet to them. “Any mother, caretaker, or nurse … will observe the time carefully and will catch the child on nearly every occasion before an accident occurs,” the advice read. “The nurse or mother places [a] receptacle in her lap and holds the child gently and carefully upon it.”

With this method, babies were expected to be able to control their urination by the time they were 8 or 9 months old. By the age of 1, the Sadlers expected babies to be out of diapers entirely.

Don’t Show Affection

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By the end of the 19th century, children were increasingly viewed as innocent and dependent beings instead of little adults, but it was still uncommon for them to receive much affection from their parents.

In the early 1900s, John B. Watson, an American psychologist known for his role in developing the field of behaviorism, stated that children should not receive “too much mother love.” He argued in 1928’s Psychological Care of Infant and Child that children should be greeted with a handshake in the morning, should not be allowed to sit in a parent’s lap, and should never be hugged or kissed, save for a peck on the forehead at bedtime.

Watson wasn’t alone in his hands-off approach to parenting. In the aforementioned guide The Care and Feeding of Children, Dr. Holt said rocking a baby was not recommended, calling it “a habit easily acquired, but hard to break, and a very useless” tactic for soothing a baby.

The Sadlers felt much the same, advising in The Mother and Her Child that the baby be handled as little as possible lest it become spoiled. “If we sow indulgence we shall reap anger, selfishness, irritability, ‘unbecomingness’ — the spoiled child,” the guide warned. “Turn [the baby] occasionally from side to side, feed it, change it, keep it warm, and let it alone.”

No Lunch, No Snacks

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Not unlike the control they were meant to exert over physical affection and bodily functions, parents in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were advised to maintain complete authority over what their children ate. Meal schedules were firm and snacking was limited. “If he want anything to eat between breakfast and dinner let him have a piece of dry bread,” Chavasse wrote in 1868’s Advice to a Mother on the Management of Her Children. “If he have eaten very heartily at dinner, and, like Oliver Twist, ‘asks for more!’ give him, to satisfy his craving, a piece of dry bread. He will never eat more of that than will do him good.”

Similarly, Cassell’s Household Guide from 1869 told parents not to feed children between meals and to stick to a schedule, saying kids should not be “exposed to the sight of tempting food at unsuitable times.” To this day, experts still espouse the benefits of childhood routines and schedules — even if the guidelines around meal times and snacking habits are a far cry from the restrictive rules of the past.

10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Abraham Lincoln

President Abraham Lincoln — Credit: Katherine Young/ Hulton Fine Art Collection via Getty Images

Author Tony Dunnell

May 2, 2024

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Abraham Lincoln is often called the greatest president in the history of the United States, or at least in the top three alongside George Washington and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Not only did he guide America through the Civil War and help bring about an end to slavery, but “Honest Abe” was also widely regarded as a good man (though his legacy may be more complicated than the broad strokes of history would suggest). His speeches, too — such as the brief but impactful Gettysburg Address — rank among the most important in American history.

Incredibly, between 15,000 and 18,000 books have been written about the 16th president of the United States. That’s an awful lot of reading, so to save you some time, here are 10 things you probably never knew about Abraham Lincoln.

Lincoln Wore a Size 14 Shoe

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Lincoln’s feet were the biggest in U.S. presidential history. He wore a size 14 shoe, which made finding adequate footwear something of a problem. As a result, he often suffered from sore feet. He found comfort in the hands of Issachar Zacharie, a controversial podiatrist and con artist who despite lying about having a medical degree, among other things, managed to become one of Lincoln’s closest confidants.

Lincoln Was the First Bearded President

Lincoln was the first U.S. president to sport a full beard. His appearance was often a source of mockery among his critics — the Houston Telegraph once described him as “the leanest, lankiest, most ungainly mass of legs, arms, and hatchet face ever strung upon a single frame” — and a beard was one way to cover up his gaunt face. But it wasn’t entirely Lincoln’s idea to grow facial hair. The credit for that should at least in part go to Grace Bedell, an 11-year-old who wrote to the then-presidential candidate advising him that a beard would help his chances of winning because “you would look a great deal better for your face is so thin.” As it happened, Lincoln went on to win the race clean-shaven, but he did decide to grow a beard soon after the election.

Lincoln Was the Only President to Hold a Patent

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On March 10, 1849, Lincoln filed patent No. 6,469 for a device for “buoying vessels over shoals.” The idea was based on experience, as Lincoln had once briefly worked as a ferry operator on the Mississippi River, and was stranded twice on riverboats that ran aground. His device used air chambers that could be attached to the side of boats, allowing them to be lifted over or off obstructions. His invention was never manufactured, but Lincoln remains the first and only U.S. president to hold a patent.

Lincoln Spoke With a High-Pitched Voice

Looking at photos of Lincoln, and considering both his physical and political stature, you might expect him to have a fairly deep voice. That, however, would be wrong. His contemporaries variously described his voice as being “shrill” or “sharp.” The journalist Horace White described Lincoln as having “a thin tenor, or rather falsetto, voice, almost as high-pitched as a boatswain’s whistle.”

Lincoln Commuted to Work in the Summer

During the summer months, Lincoln and his family would stay in a cottage on the grounds of the Old Soldiers’ Home (known today as the Armed Forces Retirement Home) in Washington, D.C. It was only 3 miles from the White House, but back then that was a significant distance for a commute. Lincoln made the daily 45-minute trip on his horse, accompanied by his presidential guard.

Lincoln Stored Papers in His Stovepipe Hat

Perhaps the most iconic item of Lincoln’s apparel was his stovepipe hat. The towering top hat made the president look even taller, and certainly made him stand out in a crowd. Lincoln also used the accessory as storage space. He would often keep documents beneath his hat, including personal letters, speeches, and important government papers.

John Wilkes Booth Was Probably at Lincoln’s Second Inauguration

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A month before Lincoln was fatally shot at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., the president gave his second inaugural address at the U.S. Capitol, and his assassin was likely in attendance. Evidence for this comes from photos that show a man bearing a striking resemblance to John Wilkes Booth standing ominously on a balcony above the president as he spoke.

Lincoln Was the First President to Keep Cats as Pets

Though feral felines had probably prowled through the White House before Lincoln’s arrival, he was the first president to keep cats as pets. The first kittens in the White House — named Tabby and Dixie — were a gift to Lincoln from Secretary of State William Seward. Lincoln loved animals in general, including dogs, pigs, and horses, but he held cats in especially high regard. When his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, was asked if her husband had any hobbies, her response was simply, “cats.”

Lincoln Was Inducted Into the Wrestling Hall of Fame

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As a young man, Lincoln was an accomplished wrestler, becoming a county wrestling champion at the age of 21. He continued wrestling while he pursued his studies in law, and according to some reports, he won 300 bouts over 12 years, with only one known defeat. In 1992, Lincoln was posthumously inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame with an Outstanding American award.

Lincoln Is the Tallest Person Ever to Serve as President

It’s perhaps no surprise that Lincoln was a strong wrestler. He was, after all, quite a giant of a man. Standing at 6 feet, 4 inches, he remains the tallest president of all time. Lyndon B. Johnson comes in second place at 6 feet, 3.5 inches, and James Madison holds the record for the shortest president at 5 feet, 4 inches.

These Are the Oldest Recorded Recipes

Cuneiform tablet — Credit: Gorodenkoff/ Shutterstock

Author Mark DeJoy

May 1, 2024

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Determining the oldest recipe in history seems like it would be tricky right from the outset — anyone who’s ever asked an older relative for a recipe knows that often, the ingredients and instructions for a favorite meal have never even been written down. Yet historians do have a fairly clear answer for what the oldest known written culinary recipes are, and they date back more than 3,700 years.

In 1911, Yale University purchased four clay tablets that had been unearthed from Mesopotamia, the ancient valley between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates (around modern-day Iraq). The tablets were inscribed in the cuneiform Akkadian language, and scholars estimate that three of them date back to around 1730 BCE. Since Akkadian is an extinct language, the actual content of the cuneiform was a mystery at the time the university acquired the tablets. It wasn’t until 1933 that any conclusions were made as to the contents of the script — and even then, the curator of the Yale Babylonian Collection misinterpreted the texts as recipes for medicinal remedies.

After studying the tablets in the 1940s, Assyriologist Mary Inda Hussey suggested that the scrolls contained culinary recipes, but her theory was mostly met with skepticism. Though Albrecht Goetze (one of Hussey’s contemporaries at Yale) tried deciphering the cuneiform as an introduction to one of Hussey’s works, it was never published, and translation languished until the 1980s. It was then that French Assyriologist (and haute cuisine chef) Jean Bottéro delved into the translation and confirmed what Hussey suspected: The tablets were inscribed with instructions for preparing food.

The cuneiform tablets didn’t contain just one recipe; one of the texts dated to around 1730 BCE had approximately 24 recipes for stews and broths. The other two featured fewer recipes, but written in more specific detail. Though the stones are damaged and truncated in parts, some of the stew recipes are intact in their entirety.

Bottéro determined that the stews were made from pigeon, mutton (or lamb), offal, turnips, and beets. There was also a poultry dish reminiscent of a chicken hand pie. Other dishes included meats such as stag, gazelle, young goat, squab, and tarru (another fowl of an unknown type). Bottéro wrote in the March 1985 issue of Biblical Archaeologist Magazine that the dishes “have revealed a cuisine of striking richness, refinement, sophistication and artistry, which is surprising from such an early period.” Still, he did not particularly enjoy the results when he tried cooking the recipes — though it’s unclear if cultural differences in tastes or a misinterpretation of technique played a role in his perception.

Cooks all over the world have since been working on adaptations of the historic recipes for the modern kitchen. In 2018, Harvard University scholar Gojko Barjamovic assembled an international team of culinary historians, food chemists, and cuneiform experts to refine Bottéro’s interpretations and further adapt the material based on an improved knowledge of the ingredients listed in the cuneiform script.

In 2019, the team published their updated interpretations of four of the tablet recipes in Lapham’s Quarterly: pašrūtum (translated to “unwinding”), a vegetarian stew; mû elamūtum (Elamite broth), a broth thickened with blood; mê puhādi (stew of lamb); and tuh’u (untranslatable), a leg of lamb and beet stew. They included translations from the original script and modern cookbook-style instructions written in more specific detail than the vaguer guidelines on the tablets. For anyone eager to try cooking some of the oldest recorded recipes in history, the full English translations can be found in the online archive of the Yale Babylonian Collection.

6 Strange Rules Ladies-in-Waiting Had To Follow

Queen Elizabeth's ladies — Credit: Fine Art Photographic/ Corbis Historical via Getty Images

Author Kristina Wright

April 24, 2024

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Being born into royalty has always come with many unique privileges, including having a large number of servants and staff to cater to your every need and whim. One of the most trusted positions held in royal households has been that of the lady-in-waiting, or court lady, a title given to the companions of queens, princesses, and other female members of royal or noble lineage. While ladies-in-waiting may seem like relics of the past, they remain a fixture in many royal European courts, and being selected for the position is considered both a prestigious honor and a lifelong commitment. Upon her death in 2022, Queen Elizabeth II had several ladies-in-waiting, some of whom had served her for more than 60 years.

The origins of this royal role go back centuries, and the duties and expectations that come with it vary depending on the time period and the specific customs of the court. In the past, typical responsibilities included providing companionship, assisting with bathing and dressing, managing the wardrobe and jewelry, helping to navigate social situations, writing correspondence, overseeing servants, and running errands. Ladies-in-waiting have traditionally been chosen from noble and aristocratic families, and were selected based on their social standing, education, and suitability for the role.

Well educated and fluent in court etiquette, the ladies-in-waiting in European courts from the medieval era through the 19th century held a significant place in the royal entourage and played an indispensable role in supporting their mistresses across various aspects of their public and private lives. While there were many rules and expectations for royal ladies-in-waiting, here are a few of their more surprising responsibilities.

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They Were Expected to Dedicate Their Lives to Their Mistress

While not a servant in the traditional sense, ladies-in-waiting were once expected to dedicate a considerable amount of time to their mistress’s needs, which sometimes meant giving up any personal life of their own. Queen Charlotte, the wife of King George III and queen of Great Britain and Ireland from 1761 until her death in 1818, had particularly rigid expectations for the court ladies who served her and her daughters. She did not allow outsiders into the palace and even forbade Fanny Burney, a senior lady-in-waiting who held the position of Keeper of the Robes, from maintaining or forming any relationships without the queen’s knowledge.

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They Slept in the Queen’s Bedchamber

Historically, a lady-in-waiting had many duties and was expected to fulfill her responsibilities around the clock, even while her mistress was sleeping. In fact, it wasn’t uncommon for one or more court ladies to share a sleeping space with a royal woman. Elizabeth I, an unmarried monarch in a male-dominated society, shared her bedchamber with a trusted court lady, a decision that safeguarded both her safety and reputation. Given Elizabeth’s bouts of insomnia and fear of the dark, this arrangement provided her with comfort and reassurance, and allowed her to have a trusted confidant always nearby.

They Kept Their Mistress Entertained

It wasn’t all work and no play for royal companions. In their free time, ladies-in-waiting enjoyed a variety of hobbies, including reading and embroidery. The women who attended Henry VIII’s fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, were expected to excel in the pursuits enjoyed by noblewomen, including dancing, singing, playing musical instruments, and engaging in dice and card games. Some ladies-in-waiting even played dress-up. As a distraction from the challenges of marriage and court life, Marie Antoinette had a replica of a farming village built on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles. There, she and her ladies-in-waiting dressed in costumes and pretended to be peasants.

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They Had to Navigate Catching the Eye of the King

Being a queen’s lady-in-waiting often meant learning how to diplomatically, and discreetly, deal with a king. Sometimes, the relationship between a court lady and the king became scandalously intimate. Three of Henry VIII’s six wives — Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, and Catherine Howard — served as ladies-in-waiting to the wives who preceded them, while his last wife, Catherine Parr, held the position to his eldest daughter, Mary Tudor. However, not every lady-in-waiting yielded to a king’s desires. Frances Stuart, who served King Charles II’s wife, Catherine of Braganza, steadfastly rebuffed Charles’ advances. Despite the king’s enduring affection for the beautiful noblewoman, Frances prioritized her duties as a lady-in-waiting and sought a respectable marriage for herself.

They Traveled, and Moved, With Their Mistress

Along with attending their mistresses in their royal households, ladies-in-waiting also traveled alongside them as chaperones and companions. If their mistress moved to a new country for marriage or education, they often went with her. At the age of 5, Mary, Queen of Scots, was betrothed to Francis, the son of France’s King Henry II and the dauphin of France. In preparation for her future role as queen, she was sent to France and was accompanied by her four equally young ladies-in-waiting, who were known as the “four Marys” because they all shared the same name as their mistress.

They Had to Do the Queen’s Bidding or Risk Banishment

History is filled with stories of court ladies paying the price for their illicit activities, with punishments ranging from banishment to imprisonment to execution. But at least one lady-in-waiting had her reputation tarnished undeservedly. In 1839, Flora Hastings, a lady-in-waiting to Queen Victoria, found herself embroiled in scandal when she was accused of having an illicit relationship with John Conroy, an influential adviser to Victoria’s mother. When Flora exhibited abdominal swelling and refused a medical examination, speculation arose that she was carrying Conroy’s child. Victoria demanded that Flora undergo an examination by the queen’s personal physician, James Clark, or be banished from court. When Flora eventually relented to the intrusive and humiliating exam, she was diagnosed with an abdominal tumor, not pregnancy, and died a short time later of liver cancer.

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Jefferson's Ice Cream Recipe

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