1. Fried Chicken If there’s one dish that never missed a Black family gathering, it’s fried chicken. Golden, crispy, and seasoned to perfection, someone’s auntie or grandma had this on lock—usually made the night before, carefully reheated in foil pans, […]

1. Compact Mirrors If you were a woman in the ’50s, chances are you had a compact mirror tucked into your purse at all times. These little cases often held pressed powder too, so they were handy for touching up

1. Powdered Eggs When fresh eggs were scarce during wartime, powdered eggs became the go-to solution. They weren’t exactly appetizing, but they were easy to store, transport, and whip up when families needed protein without access to real eggs. Housewives

1. The Stanley Hotel, Colorado If you’ve ever read Stephen King’s The Shining, you’ve already met the Stanley Hotel in spirit. Guests here often report flickering lights, piano music with no one at the keys, and children’s laughter in empty

1. Root Beer For many Americans, root beer is a childhood staple, served cold in frosty mugs or poured over vanilla ice cream for a root beer float. But for tourists, this bubbly drink can be downright baffling. The flavor,

1. Using Lead-Based Makeup For centuries, women painted their faces with powders and creams laced with lead to achieve that pale, porcelain look. What they didn’t realize was that their daily beauty routine was slowly poisoning them. Lead can cause

1. Trepanation One of the oldest known surgical procedures, trepanation involved drilling or scraping a hole into the skull. Ancient cultures believed it released evil spirits that caused headaches, seizures, or mental illness. Archeologists have found skulls with neatly healed