Scandal Week - Atlas Obscura
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Scandal Week
March 13–17

Scandal Week

March 13-17

film

Why Chess Fans Hate the Movies

From backwards boards to king-flipping, Hollywood just cannot get chess right.
Cara Giaimo March 17, 2017
The woman who would be known as Cherubina de Gabriak.
literature

The Russian Poetry Scandal That Ended in a Duel

Remembering the Cherubina de Gabriak hoax of 1909.
Eric Grundhauser March 17, 2017
Howard Strickland, head of MGM Publicity (second from right) with Greer Garson. Frank Sinatra and Louella Parsons have other scandals to talk about.
film

The Fixers Who Buried Old Hollywood's Biggest Scandals

When stars needed something to be swept under the rug, they summoned these guys.
Kristin Hunt March 17, 2017
A Magdalene asylum in the early 20th century.
sex

The Invisible Unmarried Mothers of Ireland

For seven decades, thousands of pregnant Irish women were sent into a kind of captivity.
Sarah Laskow March 16, 2017
The big fake on the left, and the little fake on the right. (The smaller one was copied from a real Etruscan statue.)
museums

The Forged 'Ancient' Statues That Fooled the Met's Art Experts for Decades

The fakes were on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for 28 years.
Natalie Zarrelli March 16, 2017
For obvious reasons, it's tough to eat horses.
food

Why We Have Such Complicated Feelings About Eating Horses

Horse meat has rarely gone down easy.
Eric Grundhauser March 16, 2017
Two male king penguins, going at it.
animals

Why Are Penguins' Sex Lives So Scandalous?

Since the early 1900s, these adorable birds have been too freaky for us to handle.
Cara Giaimo March 15, 2017
A lady of Storyville, New Orleans.
politics

Most American Cities Once Had Red-Light Districts

But they didn't last long.
Sarah Laskow March 15, 2017
Baby Johnny on the left; "Baby Hitler" on the right.
hitler

The True Story of Hitler's Fake Baby Photo

Or, how my uncle was once mistaken for infant Adolf.
Jeffrey Davis March 14, 2017
Anybody got a light?
drugs

Smoking Banana Peels Is the Greatest Drug Hoax of All Time

They called it mellow yellow.
Eric Grundhauser March 14, 2017
A delicious mushroom pizza.
food

The Day That Michigan Held a Funeral For 30,000 Pizzas

Even the governor came to pay his respects.
Cara Giaimo March 14, 2017
The envelope of the Morey letter.
politics

The Enduring Mystery of James A. Garfield's Immigration Scandal

Instead of emails, there was the Morey letter.
Sarah Laskow March 13, 2017