The Almanac Maker and the Fuzzy Ball of Light
by Colonial Americans got their astronomy from a pamphlet hung on a nail by the fireplace, and a joke about an interstellar visitor made me take …
A Virginia Gentleman at the Races, and Maryland’s Eighty-Five Million Dollar Horse
William Byrd kept a secret diary of every bet he lost, and a headline about the Preakness shows how little the gentry’s amusements have changed …
Rereading Common Sense, the Pamphlet That Called Kings Ridiculous
Thomas Paine 1776 attack on hereditary monarchy reads differently in the week a royal family is laughed at for quarrelling over a book Tuesday, a …
Benjamin Franklin Son Stayed Loyal to the King, and They Never Forgave Each Other
Long before the royal traitor headlines, one of America most famous families split over loyalty to the Crown, and the rift lasted until the father …
Phillis Wheatley Wrote to the King, Then Sailed to London as a Celebrated Poet
Teaching the first published African American poet the same week a royal family is in the headlines, and thinking about who gets to write about …
Standing in Independence Hall, Where Every Signer Was Technically a Traitor
A visit to the room where the Declaration of Independence was signed, and a reminder that the word traitor depends entirely on who wins Thursday, …
Remember the Ladies: Reading Abigail Adams Letters and Calling My Brother
A weekend with the 1776 letters of John and Abigail Adams, a family that argued by post for decades and never stopped writing, and a …
Best Satire for June 2025: Food Writer Diary Comedy, Ranked
Judges rank the sharpest food-writer diary satire blending kitchen anecdotes and real headlines PORTLAND (June 2025)—This cycle’s review of food writer diary comedy concluded with …
Local Farmers Market Sample Tasting Frequency Reportedly Reaches Genuinely Excessive Circuit Rotation
Several vendors say one shopper’s repeated sampling visits exceeded reasonable market etiquette BAKERSFIELD, USA – One particular weekend farmers market shopper’s sample tasting circuit reportedly …
A Chalkboard Requiring Professional Decryption: The Specials Board and the Satire of Illegible Enthusiasm
Genuine information exists somewhere on that board, and the piece treats extracting it as a genuine technical challenge Cryptography Experts Called to Decode “Chef’s Specials” …