Yes, at one point Ronald Reagan was a movie star AND a teen idol. but I didn't realize he was a teen idol. Here he is, in a 1939 fan magazine... More details here: http://slate.me/187zhnn
This advice for prospective magazine editors still holds up: Be patient with the "neurotic tribe of writers." Cultivate humility. And be curious about lots of things. And, of course, there's more: http://slate.me/12HiuVa
On this sheet of paper, the novelist Russell Banks created a “running journal”— with his reactions to his new word processor. The following above is what he wrote.
He begins: "STILL VERY MUCH LEARNING TO THINK ON THIS MACHINE."
http://slate.me/145N53h
"Black tenants in Harlem during the 1920s and 1930s faced discriminatory rental rates. That, along with the generally lower salaries for black workers, created a situation in which many people were short of rent money." How did these tenants cope? By sending out these invitations and charging for parties that would help them make rent.
Last Friday, a meteor burned up in the sky above Russia. But in 1908, when an asteroid or comet fragment exploded about five miles above the earth's surface, destroying 800 square miles of boreal forest in central Siberia and uprooting 80 million trees, the area was so isolated that it took decades for eyewitness reports to emerge. Here are the photos of the event: http://slate.me/15iBb52
Believe it or not, this was Marlon Brando's little black address book -- and it was near and dear to him. The legendary actor scrawled on the flyleaf: "On bended knee I beg you to return this. I lost eight others already and if I lose this I’ll just drop dead!” But it was never returned.
Learn more HERE: http://slate.me/WuyvOz
Wondering where this baseball came from? Short answer: it was salvaged from a Civil War battlefield. Long story, here: http://slate.me/WK5kqk
Once, this whistle could get you a free long-distance call. Don't believe us? Here's how: http://slate.me/XtbsRx
Incredible images from inside the trial of Black Panthers Ericka Huggins and Bobby Seale, 1970-71. These drawings are the only known visual record of the 1970-1971 trial of New Haven, Conn., Black Panther Party members for the murder of fellow Panther Alex Rackley. http://slate.me/VvX9Qc
This Massachusetts merchant decided to boycott sugar back in the 18th century because he realized that he was essentially contributing to slavery. He wrote in this broadside: “While I am a Dealer in that Article, which appears to be a principal Support of the Slave-Trade, I am encouraging Slavery.”
More here: http://slate.me/WaYmuK
In 1918, citizens' vigilante group American Protective League called out a Berkeley, California family for "hoarding food." How strange is it that it was actually legal for a citizen group to enter another citizen’s home on the strength of a tip?
More here: http://slate.me/UeTOCj
Hilarious, unforgettable photo: In which the incoming President Eisenhower gets lassoed like a calf, while Nixon laughs in the background. http://slate.me/VbHl52
Believe it or not, this Adolf Hitler doppelganger cat was a star at that 1939's World’s Fair. Read more about the cat with the stache here: http://slate.me/XdHKhr
Really sad chart of the day: How did Louisiana use to discriminate against black teachers? "The document shows that before the settlement of this case, even the most educated and experienced African-American teachers and principals in this Louisiana school district couldn’t hope to earn the same salaries as their white counterparts." More HERE: http://slate.me/UQAYi2
We had no idea: Abraham Lincoln he paid a “representative recruit” to fight for him during the Civil War. Below: the man who fought in Lincoln's name. More information HERE: http://slate.me/13l0gdI
They might not have smoked it, but they certainly used it -- Benjamin Franklin's Pennsylvania Gazette gives advice on hemp -- really! http://slate.me/138hc70