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Love and sex in Georgian England, according to this vulgar 1785 dictionary Grose's dirty dictionary published in 1785 gives us a peek into sex and the seedy underworld of England's Georgian age.
This article originally appeared in the Spring edition of the vintage EROS magazine, which was published in four 1962 issues and ceased to be when its editor Ralph Ginzburg was charged with three counts of obscenity (convicted in 1963). Browse our vintage tag to read more articles from times long past. A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue In the year 1785 there appeared in the bookstalls of London the first edition of a scholarly work that has come to be regarded as one of the most valuable studies ever made upon the English language. The book was entitled A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, and it defined the…
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A brief history of early internet amateur porn A look back at do-it-yourself exhibitionism in a time when only scientists and perverts bothered.
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The true story of a Victorian swindler and his spectacular underwater bachelor palace Upon first glance, Witley Park in Surrey, UK is just like any other extravagant Victorian mansion. But look closer.
Upon first glance, Britain’s Witley Park in Surrey is just like any other extravagant mansion, but there’s much more to this Victorian masterpiece than meets the eye. From the secret underwater ballroom to dramatic suicide deaths, the story behind the man who built the mansion is surprisingly tragic. Shady entrepreneur James Whitaker Wright Long before J. Whitaker Wright built his sprawling mansion in England, he was just a bright-eyed son of a Methodist Minister. Wright was the eldest of five children, and one of his younger brothers actually went on to invent the reversible trolley pole, a device that emits electricity from a wire to the motor of a trolleybus.…
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10 celebrated scientific breakthroughs that turned out to be hoaxes Come with us on a journey into scientific iniquity as we spotlight bogus science in near and far history.
The wacky gay world of extreme bodybuilding Would you eat monkey brains?
7 scandals PornHub doesn’t want you to know about PornHub believes itself above all laws—including those against child pornography. No wonder 946k people have signed to shut it down.
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The rise and fall of the Vanderbilts—America’s wealthiest family The Vanderbilts were arguably the most prominent family of the Gilded Age, but time has slowly eroded their fortune and legacy.
The Vanderbilts is an American family of Dutch origin who became the wealthiest and arguably the most prominent family of the Gilded Age. Their success began with the shipping and railroad empires of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and the family expanded into various other areas of industry and philanthropy. Cornelius Vanderbilt’s descendants went on to build grand mansions on Fifth Avenue in New York City; luxurious “summer cottages” in Newport, Rhode Island; the palatial Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina; and various other opulent homes. But time has slowly eroded their fortune and legacy. The Commodore The legendary wealth of the Vanderbilt family had its origins with Cornelius Vanderbilt. He left school…
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The penny-pinching bible: 500 frugal tips guaranteed to save a fortune Twitter's frugality guru presents ingenious life hacks that will set you on track to possibly retire in the future.
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A brief history of toilets Going to the bathroom used to be a lot weirder. And in some countries, it still is.
The next time you take a seat on your own private porcelain throne: be grateful. You have privacy, toilet paper, and the streets don’t reek of feces. Toilets have come a long way from their dirty, breezy, communal origins. Poop like an Egyptian The earliest humans in hunter-gatherer society would have just gone au naturale out in the woods. But once cities started becoming a thing, the elite needed to figure out a way to keep all that human waste out of their way. The ancient Egyptians were among the first to appoint designated pooping spots for the wealthy. They even concocted some of the world’s first toilet seats—these little…
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Here are all the mentions of prostitutes in the leaked US diplomatic cables I sifted through WikiLeaks' dump of secret government cables for entries about sex work.
52 Hertz: the mystery of the loneliest whale in the world Hydrophones are tracking a whale that doesn't sound or act like any other whale in the world.
