Topic

Art, Culture & Design

A collection of 74 issues

The Shout That Started It All: How One Line Birthed the Rocky Horror Cult

The chaotic audience participation at The Rocky Horror Picture Show began in 1976. It all started when a quiet teacher, Louis Farese Jr., yelled "Buy an umbrella you cheap bitch!" at the screen during a midnight show, transforming the film into a legendary interactive experience forever.

The Heist That Made Her Famous: How Three Handymen Turned the Mona Lisa into a Masterpiece

Before 1911, the Mona Lisa was just another Renaissance painting. It took a simple heist by a museum handyman, a 26-hour delay in noticing its absence, and a global media frenzy to transform Leonardo's portrait into the most famous work of art in the world.

The Embezzler's Trove: How a Banker's Crime Scattered a Legendary Art Collection Across Europe

Giampietro Campana, a 19th-century bank director, used embezzled funds to build a colossal art collection. His crime led to his exile and the forced sale of his treasures, which now form the core of collections in the Louvre, the Hermitage, and other world-class museums.

Forget Dracula: Meet Sava Savanović, The Serbian Vampire Who Terrified a Nation

Long before Dracula, Serbian folklore had Sava Savanović, a miller-turned-vampire. His story, written 17 years before Stoker's novel, inspired the 1973 Yugoslavian horror film *Leptirica*, a movie that has haunted generations and cemented its own terrifying legacy.

More Than a Mascot: The Shocking Truth Behind Six Flags' Mr. Six

Remember the dancing old man from the Six Flags commercials? Mr. Six became a cultural icon in the early 2000s. The surprising truth is that the energetic character was played not by an elderly man, but by 29-year-old British choreographer and professional dancer, Danny Teeson.

Kiviak: Unpacking the Fermented, Bird-Stuffed Seal Delicacy of the Arctic

Kiviak is a traditional Greenlandic Inuit delicacy made by fermenting hundreds of seabirds inside a hollowed-out seal skin for months. This unique preservation method creates a pungent, cheese-like dish rich in nutrients, essential for survival and celebration in the harsh Arctic winter.

That's Not Crying: The Truth About the Man on the Cover of 'A Little Life'

The iconic cover of Hanya Yanagihara's 'A Little Life' is widely believed to depict a man crying in agony. In reality, it's Peter Hujar's 1969 photograph 'Orgasmic Man,' a raw portrayal of sexual ecstasy, chosen for its profound ambiguity between pleasure and pain.