The latest movie version of The Great Gatsby came out, fashion historians set us straight about flapper fashions: they did not show off one's curves the way the movie costumes did. It turns out that the most iconic signifier of a flapper costume is also false: the fringe. It wasn't common at all in the Roaring Twenties. They didn't have the lightweight, synthetic fabrics that gave us fringe that swirled when dancing. So why do we always think of fringe when we think of flapper fashion? It was the movies.

“Hollywood began mining the 1920s in the 1950s, and order to make it work, they adapted the costuming of the period to look more like what people were actually wearing in the ’50s,” explains Jeanine Basinger, a film historian and the chair of Wesleyan University’s film department. The period setting, Basinger says, was less about what the ’20s were and more about what they weren’t: post-WWII. “The war was a shadow over film at the time, and to take the ’20s as a setting lifted that burden off.”

Read how movies such as Singin' in the Rain and other musicals changed our perception of fashion history at Racked.

John de Snowdoune, died 1344, shot in the eye with an arrow by night long after curfew

— Medieval Death Bot (@DeathMedieval) May 13, 2017

Several times a day, we get a new yet old obituary from a bot that Tweets reports of deaths at Medieval Death Bot. They aren't limited to royalty or any particular class, and include deaths from sources available on the web. The causes of death are intriguing, as they raise more questions than can possibly be answered.

William Bachelor, died 1396 when a sand pit he was sleeping under fell upon him and killed him by misadventure

— Medieval Death Bot (@DeathMedieval) April 27, 2017

Peter de Huntingdon, died in 1301 when, in drunken wrestling with Andrew Prille, his leg was badly broken and became infected

— Medieval Death Bot (@DeathMedieval) May 11, 2017

William Wysemore, died 1382, slain by John Styward, a clerk, in a field after an altercation

— Medieval Death Bot (@DeathMedieval) May 5, 2017

The account, developed by Soren Häxan, also has a related Tumblr blog with information answering questions that arise about medieval deaths. For example, here's a post on why so many people were killed by "clerks." 

A dead man, found in 1362 by John Atfield, who had not been wounded, but “somewhat lacerated by dogs.”

— Medieval Death Bot (@DeathMedieval) April 16, 2017

Most of the deaths are violent, as deaths from natural causes appear to be excluded unless they are particularly interesting. -via b3ta

The Chinese discovered it, the Japanese revered it, and the British went nuts over tea. Oh yeah, then Americans loaded it with sugar, lemon juice, and ice cubes. Tea has always been popular, even back when it was eaten instead of being made into a drink.

(YouTube link)

Learn the history of the second most popular drink in the world (after water) in this TED-Ed lesson from Shunan Teng. -via Geeks Are Sexy

The animal rescue group Cat People of Melbourne produced an article describing one of the cats they have available for adoption. You can be assured that this one is completely honest. There is no false advertising for Mr. Biggles.

Mr Biggles (also known as Lord Bigglesworth) is an utter utter utter bastard. He looks gorgeous with his slinky shiny black fur and big yellow eyes... but beware. If he doesn't like what you're doing he will give you a nip! Sometimes he likes to swipe at your feet too. It just depends on what he can reach at the time.

Mr Biggles does not like to be thwarted. He throws a catty tantrum if he can't go outside when he wants to be let out (and he wasn't allowed outside for the first couple of weeks at his carers house so there was a few tantrums!). Not being fed on time, or allowed to strut across the kitchen benches helping himself to whatever is there is also a tantrum inducing exercise.

Mr Biggles is a despot and dictator, he will let you know he is not happy, which is often because things are often just not up to his high standards. There is some warning that Lord Bigglesworth is displeased with you, his eyes will go dark and tail will start swishing harder. Mr Biggles likes his cuddles on his terms, and will sit in your lap when he decides it's time. If the stroking is not up to his standards, he will nip you.

Oh, but that's just the beginning. Mr. Biggles has a reputation to uphold, so you'll need to read the rest of the ad at PetRescue. There's also a video of an interview attempt that Mr. Biggles completely ignores. And if he's the cat for you, and you live near Melbourne, you'll have to hurry to snap up this bastard of a cat that's going viral.

Update: PetRescue has pulled the ad, because they've gotten so many applications for Mr. Biggles' adoption. But you can read the whole thing at his dedicated site.

Legion is an FX series that is connected to the Marvel group X-Men. It centers around a superhero who suffers from mental illness in that his superpowers are controlled by different personalities. Whatever you think of multiple personality disorder, that is an intriguing idea for a mutant superhero. The show is doing really well, so if you've just started watching or are looking for a new show to try out, you'll want to learn something about Legion, like who's in it.

For those who are unfamiliar with the name, Dan Stevens is best-known for his roles as Matthew Crawley on Downton Abbey and the Beast in the live adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. He plays David Haller, the titular character who was diagnosed with schizophrenia at a young age. As a result, Stevens went to great lengths to prepare for the role, ranging from speaking with both doctors and people with mental health issues to remaining in the dark about key details of the character and plot so as to achieve a more genuine sense of confusion about what is going on.

Read about the four actresses who play the characters around Haller on Legion at TVOM.

On display in a jar at the University of Lisbon’s Faculty of Medicine, the head of Diogo Alves is remarkably well-preserved, looking much like he must have when he was last alive -in 1841.

It’s yellow, peaceful-looking, and somewhat akin to a potato.

The various physicians and anatomy technicians in the preceding hallway all address it with a mix of familiarity and indifference. It’s just there, really. Just the head of Diogo Alves, whose claims to fame include being both Portugal’s first serial killer and the last man to be hanged.

At least one half of each claim is true.

The story of Alves life and crimes is interesting, but he has become more famous as the preserved head at the medical school in the decades since. An article at Atlas Obscura addresses both. Be warned that there are pictures of the head there, but they aren't particularly gruesome.   

If you were born any time in the last 100 years, the biggest movie of that year will be listed at Thrillist. But there's more: you'll find out the movie that made the most money that year, the movie that won the Oscar for Best Picture (if applicable), and the movie that stands up as the best quality film of the year these many years later. Cool. I checked my birth year, 1958.  

The BIGGEST movie was South Pacific, which grossed 36.8 million in the United States.
The Best Picture winner was Gigi, which also won Oscars for Best Director (Vincente Minnelli), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Color, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Musical Score, and Best Original Song ("Gigi")
But the best movie was Vertigo. Alfred Hitchcock came close to landing on this list with Rear Window in 1954, but there can be no denying the raw cinematic power of Jimmy Stewart sweating his way through San Francisco, a preternatural fear of heights, and a mourning-catalyzed obsession with Kim Novak.

See the entire list at Thrillist. -via Digg

What do the barbarian Goths that raided Europe have to do with the young fashionistas who wear black in the more recent era? Not much, because the modern Goths took their name from the word Gothic. And that's where the story gets interesting.

(YouTube link)

Dan Adams explains the evolution of the word Goth and it was used through history in this TED-Ed video. -via Laughing Squid

Mike was addicted to Coca Cola and didn't even know it until the went through withdrawal. When his mother quit buying Coke to save his teeth, he suffered from two weeks of migraines.

(vimeo link)

That was a long time ago, and he still can't drink caffeine. He finally made a cartoon about it. You can read more about the video here.  -Thanks, Nick!

The following article is from the book Uncle John's True Crime: A Classic Collection of Crooks, Cops, and Capers.

How did New York City, a famous cigar girl, and Edgar Allan Poe combine to create one of the world’s first murder mystery stories? Read on.

PROLOGUE

Anyone who enjoys murder mysteries owes a debt of gratitude to Edgar Allan Poe. Before there was a Sherlock Holmes or a Nancy Drew, before the word “detective” was even in common usage, Poe created the character of C. Auguste Dupin, an eccentric Parisian genius who solved murder cases that baffled the city’s police force. Dupin first appeared in April of 1841 in a short story called “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” and reappeared in two more stories after that. To create his detective stories, Poe did plenty of research on real crimes, including one of his century’s most notorious murder mysteries.

CHAPTER ONE: THE BODY

On July 28, 1841, the body of 21-year-old Mary Cecilia Rogers was found floating in the Hudson River near Hoboken, New Jersey. The discovery was shocking, not just because the body was battered beyond recognition (she could be identified only by her clothing and a birthmark on her arm), but because Rogers was famous in New York City. One of America’s first celebrities, she was nicknamed the “beautiful cigar girl.”

Until shortly before her death, Rogers had worked at a huge tobacco and cigar shop on Broadway. She had an unusual job: enticing men into the shop. According to legend, she was so beautiful that men would come inside just to see her, and wouldn’t leave without buying tobacco. Some of those admirers even published poems in local papers, singing of her charms. One besotted “poet” wrote, “She’s picked for her beauty from many a belle / And placed near the window Havanas to sell.” Other patrons were more talented, including New York City newspaper reporters and a writer named Edgar Allan Poe.

Jeanne Mance and Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve led settlers into what was to become Montreal Island on May 17, 1642. As part of Montreal's 375th anniversary celebration, the city's Jacques Cartier bridge hosted a beautiful 30-minute light show last night, with music from the Montreal Metropolitan Orchestra. Here's a few minutes of the show, recorded by TVA nouvelles. 

(Facebook link)

Learn more about Montreal's anniversary celebrations at Facebook. -via Geeks Are Sexy

The Brits are quite proud of their sheds, so Shedblog holds a Shed of the Year competition annually (which we've covered before). The 2017 finalists have been announced, and you can vote for your favorite shed here. See a gallery of large photos of the finalists at the Guardian, but be warned that the most interesting sheds are found in the contest category called #Notashed. There are also categories for Eco, Workshop/Studio, Unexpected, Cabin/Summerhouse, Pub/Entertainment, Historic, and Budget. -via Metafilter

(Image credit: Anderson Jones)

We post customer service horror stories every once in a while, but there are always more. Everyone has a story from their past that they'll never forget.

At Cracked, those became image macros that will make you feel better about your experiences. Or maybe you have one even worse! If you do, tell us about it after you see the 19 that made the cut.

The E.L. Konigsburg children's book From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler was released fifty years ago. It won the Newberry Medal in 1968, and has been a staple of childhood reading ever since. It has inspired thousands of children to visit and enjoy the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. If you remember the book, or read it to your children, you'll want to know about the author and what inspired her.

Elaine Lobl (E.L.) was born in Manhattan in 1930, but grew up in small-town Pennsylvania. She earned a degree in chemistry from the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, and married industrial psychologist David Konigsburg in 1952. But a career in science wasn’t to be. She had trouble with the lab work; her son Paul says more than once, she blew the sink up—and lost her eyebrows—mixing the wrong elements.. So Elaine became a stay-at-home mother of three, and while living in Port Chester, New York, decided to start writing.

“When we were in grade school, Mom would write in the morning. When the three of us kids would come home for lunch, she would read what she wrote,” says Paul Konigsburg, 62. “If we laughed she kept it in. If not, she rewrote it.”

The Met has paid tribute to Konigsburg and her work many times, and will host a couple of special events for the book's anniversary this summer. Read about Konigsburg and her best seller at Smithsonian.

Cinefamily TV is putting together a mega-project for the 40th anniversary of Star Wars, featuring 70 minutes of the most bonkers Star Wars-related footage possible. The trailer gives us a little taste, and although it's less than two minutes long, it's weird enough to enjoy on its own.

(YouTube link)

Forty years is a long time to be obsessed with one franchise, but plenty long enough to amass tributes that will make us laugh and feel nostalgic at the same time. The full version will be shown May 25th at the Cinefamily theater in Los Angeles. -via Gizmodo