A cabinet of lovable weirdos
Tiny true stories,
lovingly odd.
Weird science, forgotten history, and human quirks — each one true, each under a minute, each a little stranger than you’d expect.
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Alfred Jarry
Notre Grande Chasublerie
His ceilings were 1.65 metres high, which suited him perfectly. Every guest he ever received had to crouch.
The ceilings were 1.65 metres. He stuffed broken windows with newspaper, wore the whitewash that rubbed from above, and called his bicycle 'that which rolls.' At the centre, a stone phallus from Rops. Alfred Jarry lived around it for nine years.
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The Schoolboy Who Kidnapped a General
Expelled at eighteen for holding a greengrocer's daughter's hand, he was saluted through twenty-two German checkpoints eleven years later wearing a stolen general's cap.
Mary Mallon Keeps Cooking
She gave her word, in 1910, that she would never cook again.
The Steersman Goes Home
What does it look like when the man who taught Wall Street to predict the future can't predict where he parked?
The Buckingham Palace Duel
At six, mid-reverse-bow out of Buckingham Palace, the Queen's poodle came for him — so he drew his sword.
The Bandleader From Saturn
What does a man who insists he was sent here from Saturn do when NASA rejects his application?
The Paintings the Spirits Told Her to Hide
What if the first abstract paintings in Western art were commissioned by a spirit named Amaliel for a temple that didn't exist?
The Diagnosis
What happens when a Soviet prison doctor has to diagnose the man who invented Russian absurdism?
The Man Who Found Troy
What does a man who made three fortunes — in indigo, saltpeter, and Sacramento gold dust — do for an encore at forty-eight?
No to Edison
What do you do when the man who twice tried to take your patent in court turns around and offers you a job?
The Spider That Was Named After Her
At fifty-two, a divorced naturalist sold every painting she owned and sailed to a malarial jungle to paint a spider no one believed existed.
Time Me, Gentlemen
He operated with the bloodied blade clamped between his teeth, and the students in the gallery held up their pocket watches to time him.
The System of One
What happens when the man who proved no system is complete builds one with a single trusted element?
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