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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Grandma Moses
Ribbons for the Jam
At the Cambridge Country Fair, Anna Mary Robertson Moses entered her paintings alongside her preserves, and won ribbons for the jam.
At seventy-six, arthritis ended her embroidery, so she took up painting — house paint on Masonite, glitter for snow. She entered canvases beside her preserves at the county fair and won ribbons for the jam. Her name was Anna Mary Robertson Moses.
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The Man Who Listened to Plants Die
In 1895, a scientist invented radio components he refused to patent, then built a machine that recorded the exact moment a plant died.
The Astronomer and the Moose
The greatest astronomer of the sixteenth century lost his nose in a duel over math, consulted a clairvoyant dwarf, and owned a moose that died falling down stairs drunk on beer.
The Worm Who Rewrote Physics
The four equations that power every phone on Earth were written by a man who lived on granite blocks and signed his letters W.O.R.M.
The Man Who Recorded Everything
After nearly walking into Lake Michigan in 1927, Buckminster Fuller decided instead to document his entire life in fifteen-minute intervals.
The Woman Who Crossed Out the Stars
She discovered what stars are made of, then a famous man told her to cross it out and wrote it back in his own handwriting.
The Man Who Weighed the Earth and Hid From His Housekeeper
He measured the density of the entire Earth. When he saw his housekeeper on the stairs, he built a second staircase.
The Man Who Loved a Pigeon
Nikola Tesla loved a pigeon as a man loves a woman. When she died, he said his life's work was finished.
The Man Who Was Emperor of America
Joshua Norton declared himself Emperor, and San Francisco largely agreed.
The Man Who Ate Everything
William Buckland was a leading scientist who also made eating animals a research side quest.