by Haley Pierson-Cox | Mar 4, 2022 | Season 3
S03E04: The Not Terribly Good Club of Great Britain and a fascinating look into the history of fraternities and sororities in the United States.
Private clubs can be fraught with countless problematic behaviors, but our favorite find turned out to be charming, weird, and so successful that it ceased to exist. Meanwhile, back in the US, we learned that the story of the rise of fraternities is as old as the country itself.
by Haley Pierson-Cox | Feb 25, 2022 | Season 3
Anthropomorphic taxidermy (but make it extra weird) and an estate sale of the well-traveled and mysterious!
If you’ve ever wondered what generational wealth and/or a raccoon in pink hair bows looks like, you’re in the right place.
by Haley Pierson-Cox | Feb 18, 2022 | Season 3
S03E03: Entomology (insect collecting) and the taxidermy of Walter Potter.
Some people like academic displays with carefully labeled insects, some like kitten weddings. Who are we to judge?
by Haley Pierson-Cox | Feb 11, 2022 | Season 3
The history of engraved love tokens and questionable choices in mailed valentines.
Stealing hearts and defacing coins!
by Haley Pierson-Cox | Feb 7, 2022 | Season 3
S03E02: The history of the valentine and the hypnotic love spell murderer, Dr. Carl Coppolino.
From penning sweet nothings to vinegar valentines, Natali explains why the history of these cards is far more creative–and more grown up–than today’s grade school-geared counterparts. Then, like a rain cloud over your lovenest, Haley ruins everything with a story of hypnosis, heartbreak (in the literal and figurative sense), two states, two mistresses, and probably two murders.
by Haley Pierson-Cox | Jan 28, 2022 | Season 3
You know how you can lose an entire day to the joys of digging through stalls at your favorite antique mall? It’s kind of like that.
by Haley Pierson-Cox | Jan 24, 2022 | Season 3
S03E01: “Princess” Alice Roosevelt, the irrepressible eldest daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt, who was pretty much always up to no good, and Princess Alexandra of Bavaria, who was pretty much never up to no good, because she was quite sure that she’d swallowed an entire glass piano.
by Haley Pierson-Cox | Dec 31, 2021 | Season 2
A Patreon episode in which we ask “What the hell is the Warminster Thing?” and then discuss the very disquieting case that is the spontaneous combustion of Matilda Rooney.
Because, honestly, Stonehenge wasn’t quite weird enough already, and we all needed one more thing, smoldering in the backs of our minds, keeping us up at night, right? Obviously.
by Haley Pierson-Cox | Dec 24, 2021 | Season 2
S02E24: The mind-blowing plot twists of WWII bomber pilot Si Spiegel (and his artificial Christmas trees), and the glittering nostalgia that is a box of Shiny Brite Ornaments
In short, Mr. Spiegel basically WAS his own action movie. And I’m pretty sure Shiny Brite ornaments don’t need an introduction. Just picture a Christmas tree–they’re what’s on it.
by Haley Pierson-Cox | Dec 17, 2021 | Season 2
Patreon Dispatches from the Curiosity Shop 39: The couture uniforms of the women in the Navy WAVES, and the life-saving Paris fashion house that literally went toe-to-toe with the Nazis.
It was World War II, and anything could happen. Like that one time Mainbocher’s fashion house designed uniforms so good that they were actually used in Navy recruitment, and then Lucien LeLong saved pretty much the entire Paris fashion industry–along with thousands of lives–from the Nazis, but still found time to marry a Russian princess.
by Haley Pierson-Cox | Dec 10, 2021 | Season 2
S02E23: Mary Sachs, the Merchant Princess of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Coco Chanel, who was very good at both designing clothes and being a horrifyingly terrible person.
by Haley Pierson-Cox | Dec 3, 2021 | Season 2
Patreon Dispatches from the Curiosity Shop 38: Forget Frankincense and Myrrh: A Gift Guide for Delightful Weirdos
In this gift-themed episode, we’ll tell you about our favorite oddities, including Rainbow Brite tarot prints, teeny tiny little worlds, and some truly fascinating things that can be done with a potato.
