History
How Philadelphia Will Celebrate Watch Night/Freedom’s Eve
On December 31, 1862, at around 7 p.m., enslaved black men, women and children unknowingly created something that cultural historians would later refer to as […]
Saturday Evening Post Moving Back to Philly
After more than 40 years in Indianapolis, the country’s oldest, quaintest magazine is returning home. What’s more, Editorial Director Steven Slon told me, the Saturday […]
Before David Petraeus, There Was Alexander Hamilton’s “Beauty in Distress”
Long before the salacious Petraeus scandal, there was America’s first major political sex scandal, which took place right here in Philadelphia. It was, as far […]
James Bond Is From Philadelphia
James Bond—the British secret known as 007—is one of the most infamous fictional characters ever. Created by Ian Flemming, Bond has been the protagonist of […]
Hurricane Sandy Uprooted Tree, Revealed Colonial Skeleton
A tree on the town green in New Haven was uprooted by Hurricane Sandy. Onlookers were surveying the area when one woman noticed something in […]
America’s First Presidential Attack Ad Was Published in Philly in 1796
In September of 1796, George Washington told the American people that he wouldn’t serve a third term as president. That gave the country about three […]
Inside Bryn Mawr’s Bizarre Case of the Stolen Ben Franklin Bust
At a Masonic meeting in Paris shortly after arriving in 1776 to work as an ambassador, Ben Franklin began to travel in the same circles […]
How Looking at Class, Not Race, Can Improve College Admissions
Tomorrow the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in a case that will put to the test decades-old admissions policies favoring minorities at […]
Speaking of Cutting Off People’s Hands, Happy Columbus Day!
Imagine, if you will, that the man who murdered your entire family, raped your daughter, sister, and mother before killing them, tortured your son, brother, […]
Apparently, No One at PHA Has Seen Poltergeist
At 301 West Queen Lane, which intersects with Pulaski Avenue, a “Burial place for all … Negroes … and Mulattoes as they Die in any […]
The Greatest Baseball Team in Philadelphia History
The Phillies’ magnificent five-year run has come to a close, and they’ll be on the golf course come playoff time. Some think this is the greatest […]
Someone Paid $36,000 for a Can of Beer at a Lancaster Auction
Over the weekend, a Lancaster County auction attracted collectors from all over the country. One collector paid $36,000 for a can of beer. A “Gibbons […]
Housekeeper Arrested With $3 Million Benjamin Franklin Bust
A woman was arrested in Maryland for allegedly stealing a bust of Benjamin Franklin valued at over $3 million from the Bryn Mawr home at […]
Mapping the Gayborhood
The Philadelphia Gay Tourism Caucus celebrates its 10th anniversary with a new city map noting the Gayborhood, as well as trolley stops as two historic sites in Philly.
Does an Old Scrap of Paper Indicate That Jesus Had a Wife?
A historian of early Christianity at Harvard Divinity School says that a Coptic passage on a scrap of papyrus from the fourth century contains the […]