WWII Map Fashion During the second World War, M19 inventor Christopher Clayton Hutton created silk maps, which were used for escape and evasion. They became invaluable tools for Allied forces shot down or taken as prisoners of war in Europe and the Pacific, since they were durable against the outdoor elements, could be easily hidden in a jacket or boot, and were silent when unfolded. Flash-forward to today, where current designers are transforming the artifacts into various garments, including hoodies, underwear, and a wedding dress.  READ MORE → GASTRO OBSCURA How to Appease Vengeful Elves The barn-dwelling “house elves” often known as nisse have been figures in folklore across the Nordic region since at least the late Middle Ages. Farmers believed that surviving a hard winter depended on the nisse’s whims, which were mercurial. Keep your farm’s nisse happy, and he’d make sure your milk stayed fresh and your livestock remained healthy. Disrespect him, and you might find your cow dead in the morning. How do you stay on the elf’s good side? Leave a bowl of risengrød, a type of luxurious, sweet porridge of rice boiled in milk and topped with butter. READ MORE → CAIRO, ILLINOIS Abandoned Town of Cairo, Illinois A once-booming Mississippi River port town has transformed into an eerie, mostly abandoned ghost town. Cairo gained importance as a town located along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, capitalizing off the steamboat industry. But as shipping and ferrying industries declined, economic desperation pushed the town towards abandonment, and its history of racial tension certainly didn’t help. Racial tensions towards formerly enslaved people in Cairo reached a peak in the mid-1960s, when the alleged police murder of a young Black soldier on leave in Cairo prompted protests and riots. READ MORE → Last-Minute Gift Ideas Still need the perfect stocking-stuffer? We’re here to help with our online experience gift card! These are the perfect gifts for that loved one seeking to learn new skills and spark their curiosity. Gift cards are valid for all shows and courses ticketed through Eventbrite, including a murder mystery writing workshop, Spanish-style cooking masterclasses, and more. BUY NOW → Gwalior’s Deep Gun Culture Gwalior-Chambal is home to the largest number of guns per capita in India. It may be easy to dismissively chalk it up to the fact that people here have an obsession—unhealthy maybe, dangerous perhaps—with guns, but the truth of Gwalior’s gun culture goes much deeper. Depending on who you ask, guns are status symbols, protective measures, employment opportunities, oppressive tools that enforce social hierarchy, or simply mechanisms for creating fear. Here’s an inside look at the region’s deep gun culture. READ MORE → SINGAPORE Keppel Hill Reservoir Situated on a small hill that leads up to Mt Faber, the abandoned Keppel Hill Reservoir serves as a hidden sanctuary for thrill-seekers and urban explorers. Although its origins are unknown, it dates back more than a century, yet was absent from official maps for decades until it came to the attention of the National Heritage Board and local media in 2014. It’s evidence that much remains to be discovered even in the dense urban jungle that is Singapore, and that such landscapes still exist in the liminal space between public consciousness and history. READ MORE → FROM THE ARCHIVES Welsh Christmas Traditions As we approach Christmas, we’re fondly thinking about South Wales’s Christmas creature, the Mari Lwyd—a festive, skeletal horse spirit with a penchant for rhymes. In the simplest terms, the custom involves a group of revelers carrying a horse skull (decorated with ribbons and ornaments) door to door. Upon arrival at a house, a Mari Lwyd troupe will sing out a challenge to the people inside before performing a sort of call-and-response called a “pwnco.” Anyone inside the house is then tasked with replying in a rhyme scheme even wittier than the creature’s, before the Mari Lwyd is allowed inside where the players are given food and drink. READ MORE → ATLANTA, GEORGIA Junkman's Daughter Known as “Atlanta’s Alternative Super Store,” the Junkman’s Daughter is Atlanta’s premiere purveyor of unusual goods. The store was opened in 1982 by Pam Majors, whose father was a junkman who owned several salvage yards and spent years buying, trading, and collecting items that others considered useless. Today, the store has over 10,000 square feet of merchandise that ranges from clothing and housewares to art and collectibles. The store’s popularity is evidenced by its growing list of famous clientele, which includes Steven Tyler, Bono, Betsey Johnson, Usher, and Alanis Morrisette. READ MORE → SPONSORED BY FLORIDA’S SPORTS COAST Pasco County Stilt Houses These unusual stilt houses are all that’s left of old Florida’s fishing communities. The first houses, built in the early 20th century, provided fishermen who poled out to deep waters with a place to watch for runs of fish, store their catch, and take shelter from storms without going all the way back to shore. Today, only nine of these houses remain. Should you choose to venture out, travel safely and keep an eye out for the American flag mural. READ MORE →