Author: Ms. R.

The Flying Horse Carousel, built around 1876, should not be confused with Martha’s Vineyard’s Flying Horses Carousel. Both were manufactured by the Charles W. F. Dare Company, one of the leading amusement manufacturers at the time, and both contend to be the oldest continually operating carousel in the country. Watch Hill’s carousel was never meant to end up in the coastal village; it was part of a traveling carnival, which abandoned it in Westerly in 1897. It was powered……

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Between 1989 and 1992, seven backpackers left Sydney and were never heard from again. The missing—Deborah Everist and James Gibson from Frankston, Victoria; Simone Schmidl from Regensburg, Germany; Gabor Neugebauer and Anja Habschied from Karlsfeld, Germany; Caroline Clarke and Joanne Walters from Haslemere, England, and Maesteg, Wales, respectfully. They were all between the ages of 19 and 22 and last seen hitchhiking south on the Hume Highway, heading towards Melbourne. On September 19, 1992, runners in Belanglo State Forest,……

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The Lake Agnes Tea House in Alberta’s Banff National Park opened to hungry and thirsty hikers in 1905. This is no simple rest stop with only Lipton on hand. Instead, expect everything from 100 Monkeys white tea to Bora Bora mango rooibos. When it’s open during the warmer months of the year, the Lake Agnes Tea House offers 100 types of tea and a full snack menu, with everything prepared on propane. Up this high in the mountains, there’s……

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Keith Haring was born in Reading, Pennsylvania but grew up in nearby Kutztown, where he lived until he moved to Pittsburgh in 1976 to attend art school. In 1978, he moved to New York City, where he found success within the pop art scene, and later became an avid social activist in the midst of the AIDS crisis. In 1990, Haring tragically succumbed to complications related to the illness at the age of 31. In spite of his worldwide……

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More than 1,600 years ago, close to the southeastern coast of the Korean Peninsula, laborers were hard at work building a palace for a fledgling kingdom. They finished the foundation layer of the massive western rampart and then paused before beginning the next construction phase, a stone wall. The foundation, made from packed shells and earth, was complete from an engineering standpoint. But the ancient builders believed something more was needed to protect the structure: human sacrifices. The victims……

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The towering castle of Norwich built on the orders of William the Conqueror is an impressive edifice to behold, however, inside its walls is an unusual museum that is also worth visiting.  The earliest parts of Norwich Castle date back to the early 11th century, when the Normans demolished a number of Saxon homes that once stood on the castle grounds. The castle was completed around 1112, during the reign of King Henry I. Though it was designed to……

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Thomas Edison—the inventor who needs no introduction—moved to West Orange from Menlo Park after the death of his first wife in 1884. After marrying his second wife, Mina, in 1887, he presented her with an incredible wedding gift: Glenmont, a sprawling estate in the peaceful neighborhood of Llewellyn Park. And when it’s said that the inventor presented the home as a gift, it’s no exaggeration. Aware that there would likely be dispute and contention over his estate and inventions……

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Rotanak Ros woke to feed the ghosts before dawn. By the time the sun’s first rays began creeping over the rooftops of Phnom Penh, it would be too late—the spirits cannot stand the light. During Pchum Ben, the Khmer Festival of the Ancestors each year in September and October, the gates of hell open. With no fewer than 32 realms, the Cambodian version of hell would leave even Dante’s Virgil aghast. When the spirits of the dead slip through……

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Some knew Ricky Jay as a magician, a renowned sleight-of-hand artist who could manipulate cards with superhuman dexterity. Others discovered him as an actor, in films such as Magnolia or the HBO series Deadwood. What’s more, Jay somehow found time to become an accomplished author—Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women, and Jay’s Journal of Anomalies—guides to the perplexing and chronicles of the world’s more bizarre entertainments. Jay was also—not finally, but in addition—an eminent collector; among the foremost collectors of……

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A visit to the cemetery located next to the Pleasant Grove Primitive Baptist Church in the rural town of Moultrie, Georgia, brings a large surprise. Nestled among the traditional headstones in the churchyard is the life-sized marble statue of Nancy, a baby elephant owned by William F. Duggan. William Duggan, born January 18, 1899, loved circuses and wanted to one day have his own. At the age of 12, he ran away to join the Sparks Circus, a wagon……

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It may come as a surprise that central Melbourne, Australia is home to a memorial statue dedicated to the life of one of Hungary‘s greatest sports stars. But Ferenc Puskás is widely regarded as one of the best footballers of all time and this statue unveiled on February 4, 2017, pays tribute to a highly decorated career. Born in April 1927, Puskás had a quite phenomenal goalscoring record and his club career saw him break many records for his……

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Cuevas del Agua is a quiet and picturesque little village surrounded by mountains in Asturias in northern Spain. It is known for its typical horreos (Asturian granaries), which are an example of the traditional architecture of this area. To get here by car you must go on purpose, and taking local narrow roads. The surprise hits at the end of the trip, when you pass through a wide tunnel to access the village. But it is not an ordinary tunnel—when……

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