Journalist. Mother. Bunny enthusiast. Pop culture junkie.

Journalist. Mother. Bunny enthusiast. Pop culture junkie.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Five Things You Probably Didn't Know...

First, I want to thank everyone for the sweet comments yesterday.

When I'm not busy being depressed, I spend most of my time reading the news and catching up on my favorite history magazines.

In other words, my mind is filled with a lot of random shit.

I've decided to put my acquired knowledge to good use and educate you about random things. Sometimes I feel like this blog is not a blog, but instead a very prestigious university of fabulousness. And you are all my sweet, darling pupils, anxious to learn.

So, my children, here are five random things you might not have known.

Enjoy!


The Soapman



Soapman is a corpse who has turned into soap.

This man lived in Philadelphia and was buried there around 1800. His body was discovered in 1875 during the digging of a train depot foundation.

His body was unusually preserved from water seeping into his casket, bringing alkaline soil with it, turning the fats in his body to soap through a type of hydrolysis known as saponification.

I don't know about you, but I am stunned this premise has not been turned into a horror film yet. "Better take a bath kiddies, otherwise the Soapman will get youuuu!"


Allergic to Art?



There is an actual illness called the Stendhal Syndrome, which causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, fainting, confusion and even hallucinations when a person is exposed to art, usually when the art is particularly beautiful.

Do you suffer from this condition?


Alice Keppel



Long before Camilla Parker Bowles wrecked the marriage of Prince Charles and Diana, her promiscuous great-grandmother caused scandals everywhere she went during the late 1800s.

The very married Alice Keppel slept her way up to the top of the social ladder amongst British aristocracy. She eventually became the mistress to King Edward VII. Her daughter, Violet, would go on to be one of the most scandalous lesbians in British history, hooking up publicly with Virginia Woolf's girlfriend and eventually shacking up with sewing machine heiress, Winnaretta Singer.

Strangely enough, Alice did not disapprove of her daughter's blatant homosexuality during the early 1900s. She was actually quite pleased when her daughter settled down with the filthy rich Winnaretta, because it brought their family a lot of wealth and power.


US Weekly's grandfather



The very first gossip magazine, Broadway Brevities, arrived in the United States in 1916. It covered the shocking escapades of stage actors and millionaires. It focused on sex, drugs, and crime.

Despite its popularity, New York City eventually banned the racy tabloid from new stands in the 1930s.


And finally...shitdamnfuckhell.



Those words weren't that shocking back in the 1800s, believe it or not. But mouths would drop open if you let one of these horrific cuss words slip from your lips.

Here were the most common cuss words in the United States during the 19th century:

adventuress: slut
blazes: hell
boat-licker: ass-kisser
cherry: vulgar term for a young woman
Nancy-boy: an effeminate man
scalawag: mean, rotten or worthless person
Strumpet: whore
tarnation: damn

If some of you are still living in the 19th century, I apologize profusely for my profanity.


So, did you learn anything new? Did you like this post? Would you like to see more posts like it in the future?

32 comments:

Andrés Corella said...

Incredible I didn´t know any of this! And I read a lot of facts magazine..and is actually quite interesting haha...can´t wait for more facts by you xD

xx
Andy
The Black Label

Ana, Playground Love said...

Can I just say that I loved this post?! I am a sucker for facts, and these were pretty interesting. I was stunned with that soap thing. Amazing :-O

Ana, Playground Love said...

P.S.- I would love to see more posts like this one :P

Bonnie said...

I happen to adore this post. I would like to see more like this in the future. Especially the history of swear words. Because I use them a lot. This way, when I drop "shitdamnfuckhell," and if someone comments on how "obscene" or whatever the fuck they say it is, I can quote historical facts at them and be like, "OH, YEAHHHH. IN YO' FACE."

http://www.glamkittenslitterbox.com/
Twitter: @GlamKitten88

Bronzed Humanity said...

Great post! Glad you are feeling better sweet cheeks!
xx

Hot Pink Day
Shop Blue Vanilla

Shannon said...

you are a plethora of knowledge, my dear.

always a good read.

Once Upon A Time... said...

haha this was way too cool! yeah, do post more of these!

jos xx

Sarah said...

Loved this, especially the bit about Camilla's granny!
x

Kashaya said...

I love these facts.=)

Yeah some of elf:s products are a disapointment but some is actually quite good.

Ree Bee said...

Fun facts are one of my favorite things. You smacked the weasel with this one.

I just made that expression up.

Couture Carrie said...

Ok love this post!
The word strumpet needs to be resurrected!

xoxox,
CC

Fashion Cappuccino said...

Hi Jennifer! Yeah, I wasn't a fan of Ben in the beginning but as the show went on, I find him very charming and sweet. I like his sense of humor a lot.

A lot of interesting facts here..I'm surprised to see that there are a lot of vulgar words to describe women!

Stephanie said...

And yet again, I'm a smarter, more knowledgeable person for having read your blog.

Soapman. Hee hee.

The Blonde Duck said...

Can you be allergic to bad music?

Meri said...

Yes, more like this please! I think they talked about the art syndrome on the L word one time, or something similar. I like your 19th century slang haha!

Josie said...

I'm going to start saying "adventuress." Among every single other word on that list.
xo Josie
www.winksmilestyle.com

Sherin said...

Knowing random shit is always good. And I loved learning a bit more. Definitely adding the 19th Century swear words to my list.

-E- said...

not sure that "fuck" or "shit" existed yet, so it's a little misleading to say they weren't offensive.

A BRIT GREEK said...

You are so my 411 when it comes to good random S***! Great post as usual... the cuss words had me chuckling a little and the random stuff, fas-cin-ating!!!
Have a top weekend angel.
x.o.x.o

Vix said...

I'm going to have nightmares about that hideous Soapman. x

Cafe Fashionista said...

Broadway Brevities? Oh, how I wish I could get my hands on a copy of that! :)

Olga said...

Even if you feel a little depressed, it's a normal part of being a human. I hope you will feel better soon. Treat yourself well :)

Oh to Be a Muse said...

that soapman is freakin' crazy! thanks for sharing these awesome facts!

i happen to love the word strumpet!

Angela said...

wow, very interesting.

Rawknrobyn.blogspot.com said...

Fun facts, indeed. My question is, however, why are there so many Nancy boys in this, the 21st century?
xoRobyn

Becky Tjandera said...

I love this post! Thank you for sharing, I won't know if you don't post these information on your blog. Haha. And yes I want more please! ;)

Julia, the Thanksgiving Girl said...

This was very educational indeed! It would be cool to see more of that, I would only suggest maybe breaking it down a little and delivering it one thing at a time and I'll explain why (not just because more people who are lazy to read will read it lol) - it makes it easier to actually remember the facts! Anyway, I've never heard about the Soapman before but I'm glad you educated me - I love all things 'mummies'! As for the Alice lady... She actually looks pretty in this portrait!

Btw, where did you get all these from? :)

Dina's Days said...

hahahah boat licker!! I can't wait to start using these!!!!

♥byAnja said...

amazing facts.i love this post very much

http://fashionbymental.blogspot.com/

Alyssa said...

Ahaha I love this post! So informative and fun! I did not know these things ha!

beautyandfashionmashup.blogspot.com
-Alyssa from The BF Mashup

StyleIDnet said...

I loved this post! LOVED it. Yes I always learn something new when I come here and today many things. So those were Camilla Parker's Great Grand mother and Grand mother ....?? uuuhhmmm.
The bad words are great, How elegant they were to say thinngs.

http://styleidnet.blogspot.com/
http://styleidcloset.blogspot.com/

Marie said...

What a cool post, I must tell my siblings about this!:D

***** Marie *****
allthingsmarie.com