Category: Interesting Stories

In a career spanning several decades, the American humorist, writer, and publisher Bennett Cerf, well-known to millions of Americans in the 1950s and 60s for his numerous appearances on panel show What’s My Line; was also one of the co-founders of the worldwide publishing company Random House. During his many years with the company, Cerf […]

If there’s one thing that Russian leader Vladimir Putin likes to prove and propagandize about, it’s his macho reputation. Over the many years of his premiership in Russia, President Putin has taken part in many publicity stunts and set pieces, all in the hope of cultivating a certain masculine image in the Russian media, and […]

When the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie production company was founded in 1924, the company needed to adopt an emblem to convey to the rest of Hollywood that a new movie-making force to be reckoned with had arrived. Turning to in-house designer Howard Dietz for inspiration, MGM opted to choose a roaring lion as their logo—partly because of […]

The Great Fire of London of 1666 destroyed almost the entire Old City of London. The fire broke out in the early hours of Sunday morning, September 2, 1666, in the basement of a baker’s shop in Pudding Lane owned by a gentleman named Thomas Farriner. Although Farriner initially claimed to have extinguished the fire […]

From George Washington’s American foxhound “Sweetlips” to the Obamas’ pair of Portuguese water dogs, Bo and Sunny, the White House has a long history of presidential pets. In fact, of all the presidents in the more than 200-year history of the United States, only two have chosen not to take a pet into the White […]

Long before former reality show star and real estate mogul Donald Trump became President of the United States, Ronald Reagan was the first to successfully transition from entertainer to leader of the free world. He served as president during the height of the Cold War when one wrong move by either the US or Soviet […]

Anyone who enjoys a little a bit of antiquing, dreams of finding a genuine treasure hidden somewhere amidst the dusty knickknacks, rickety furniture, and other bric-a-brac that tends to fill most second-hand stores. It is certainly the case that some people are lucky enough to track down a real gem amidst the jumble—but few stories […]

Peter Jackson’s epic movie adaptations of JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings stories are among the most popular, most successful, and most critically acclaimed films of the 21st century. Despite popular opinion, however, they are not the first movie adaptations of Tolkien’s magnum opus. In 1978, the controversial filmmaker and animator Ralph Bakshi, a former […]

With the occasional exception of the biggest awards of the night—as well as a few superlative winners, A-listers, or long overdue recognitions— nowadays Oscar speeches are now limited to just 45 seconds. After that time has elapsed, winners whose thank-you’s threaten to last longer than the three-quarters of a minute cut-off point are gently played […]

When you’re the holder of the highest office in the land, finding the free time to indulge in a hobby or a pastime to relax and free up some headspace is usually easier said than done. But throughout history—from horse riding to basketball, from dog walking to golf—the Presidents of the United States have found […]