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Category: Newspapers

Illustration of men and women at a party drinking cocktails.

11 Historic Newspaper Cocktails

Posted by: Thomas Beheler

Cheers! Here are some vintage cocktail recipes, all of them brought to you by our historic newspaper archive, Chronicling America.  1. The Insidious Punch of Washington This drink is one of the oldest ones on the list at more than 135 years old! You can see the recipe here, but generally,  you’ll mix one part …

three cats walking

7 Random Cat Facts

Posted by: Thomas Beheler

If you’re like me, then you can never get enough cats! Here are seven random facts about our furry feline friends, many of which we’ve brought to you from our historical newspaper archive, Chronicling America. 1. Cats at Sea! Friend or Foe? While cats were once valuable to sailors as “mousers” (because they caught mice) …

Cartoon image of a nurse saying, How perfectly thrilling!

10 Strange Medical Practices from History

Posted by: Thomas Beheler

What do whale hotels, cat pianos, and malaria pills all have in common? They represent an era when medicine was less of a science and more of an art (for better or for worse). One of the things I do as a reference librarian is answer questions from researchers all over the world. This tends to be rewarding work and sometimes, I even stumble across articles throughout history riddled with fun facts. So today, I'm going to share some stories I've found featuring some of the strangest medical (mal)practices of the past few centuries.

A child carrying a bundle of newspapers in one hand, the other arm held high with a copy of the Anchorage Daily Times, the headline reading

Famous Couples: Bonnie and Clyde

Posted by: Thomas Beheler

There are few couples who have made headlines in quite the same way as Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. The two criminals are known for a series of bank robberies, murders, and kidnappings that took place between 1932 and 1934, the height of the Great Depression. Their romance has also been the inspiration for films, songs, and even a musical. Even during their lives they were the subject of fascination, and tens of thousands reportedly viewed their bodies as they lay at separate funeral homes.