A US government project to weaken hurricanes wasn't too successful - but it did manage to scare Fidel Castro.
A History Lesson With Booze ®
Rolling Out Beef Barrels for the Real Uncle Sam
A cartoonist - and a bit of artistic liberty - transformed an average meat-packer named Sam into a national icon.
The Cold War ‘Red Phone’ Isn’t Really a Phone
Cold War communiques between Washington and Moscow were dangerously slow. Leaders agreed to establish a "hot line" - but it wasn't the famous red phone you've heard about.
The Start of Stop Lights
Vehicular history changed in a flash when, in 1914, the first electric traffic light switched on. We learn about its spotty track record and then raise a red-yellow-and-green glass to the invention.
The Mona Lisa Returns to Italy
A brazen art thief repatriated the Mona Lisa to Italy - and helped make it one of the most famous paintings in the world in the process.
Birth of The Parking Meter
This Week in 1935, Carl C. Magee invented the “park-o-meter” and proceeded to rake in the hard-earned nickels of Oklahoma City’s befuddled residents. Think about it over a cocktail - but don't stay too long.
The Birth of the Bikini
This week back in 1946, Frenchman Louis Reard dropped an explosive new invention on the unsuspecting world: the bikini. Learn the sizzling story, then cool down with a two-part drink direct from Paris.
Pop Goes Art and ‘Warhol’s Bloody Mary’
This coming week back in 1962, Andy Warhol unveiled his first paintings of Campbell's soup cans … not in his home base of NYC, but at a legendary L.A. gallery. Learn about the humble, sugar-and-sodium-fueled origins of pop art, then sip the custom cocktail it inspired.
Inventing the Typewriter – and the Hunt and Peck
Christopher Latham Sholes’ “literary piano” led to the 1868 invention of the typewriter - and, along with it, the QWERTY keyboard layout. Learn about some of the quirks of Sholes’ device, and then try to type the alphabet while drinking this cocktail.
Yankee Oddities and The Cooperstown
While history may not remember him as the most famous Yankee, in a 1932 game Tony Lazzeri accomplished one of the rarest feats in baseball: the natural cycle. It’s only been repeated a handful of times - and never quite as well - but it still wasn’t enough to make him that game’s MVP.