The BBC Withheld Four Star Trek Episodes for 25 Years, and Big Bird Too
The BBC withheld four Star Trek episodes for years and rejected Sesame Street, even as British children watched the surreal favourite The Magic Roundabout.
Entertainment
The Weirdest Thing About Transformers: The Movie Was Its Soundtrack
Why was The Transformers: The Movie soundtrack so unusual? From Stan Bush and Weird Al to Orson Welles, its strange mix still works 40 years later.
The Pen Is Mightier Than Death: Believe It or Not!
Howie Noel, Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, Dick Tracy and Charles Schulz reveal how legendary comic strips keep going after their original creators are gone.
Nancy Stole the Spotlight. Now Meet the Man Who Created Her.
You know Nancy. You might know Sluggo. But do you know Ernie Bushmiller, the cartoonist whose deceptively simple creation became bigger than its creator?
Unseen Places: The Joy of Discovering Something New by Anna Kodé
Anna Kodé’s Unseen Places explores observation, curiosity and the hidden stories of everyday life, from Italian construction watchers to bonobo apes.
David Byrne’s Sleeping Beauties: When Great Ideas Wake Up
David Byrne’s Sleeping Beauties explores forgotten ideas, overlooked inventions and artists who waited decades or centuries to be rediscovered.
When Snoopy Became Snoopy: A Trip Back to 1967
Peanuts: Your Choice, Snoopy takes us back to 1967, when Snoopy, Woodstock and the Flying Ace were becoming the characters we know today.
Mestra: The Forgotten Greek Myth Madeline Miller Revives
Madeline Miller returns with Mestra, revisiting a forgotten Greek myth about family, survival, transformation and the power to resist impossible odds.
The Mrs. Roper Romp gains momentum each year globally
The Mrs. Roper Romp, which originated in 2013 as the "Million Mrs. Roper March," is a lively and creatively themed bar crawl event that pays homage to the iconic character Mrs. Helen Roper from the popular 1970s television series "Three's Company."
Is Miffy Japanese? The Truth Behind This Iconic Bunny’s Origins
Is Miffy Japanese? No, this beloved bunny is Dutch! Learn about Miffy’s history, her 70th anniversary, the Hello Kitty controversy, and her lasting global legacy.
Culture
Unseen Places: The Joy of Discovering Something New by Anna Kodé
Anna Kodé’s Unseen Places explores observation, curiosity and the hidden stories of everyday life, from Italian construction watchers to bonobo apes.
David Byrne’s Sleeping Beauties: When Great Ideas Wake Up
David Byrne’s Sleeping Beauties explores forgotten ideas, overlooked inventions and artists who waited decades or centuries to be rediscovered.
Martin Mull Took Every Job Except Being Ordinary
Martin Mull was more than a television actor. From comedy and music to painting, his unusual career made him impossible to put in one box.
The Secret Origin of the Smiley Face
Harvey Ball created the iconic smiley face in 10 minutes for $45. Here is how a simple insurance-company design became a global symbol and an Acid House icon.
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir: What the Movie Changed
The 1947 classic The Ghost and Mrs. Muir is more than a romantic ghost story. Here's what the movie changed from the novel and why Captain Gregg may be more controlling than protective.
The Worst Movie You’ll Ever Find: Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla
Bela Lugosi, Jerry Lewis imitators, a gorilla suit and Hollywood controversy collide in this bizarre 1952 cult movie.
Bela Lugosi’s Worst Movies: When the Horror Legend Hit Rock Bottom
Bela Lugosi's worst movies reveal the strange, sad final chapter of the Dracula star's career, from Poverty Row productions to Ed Wood's films.
Ace in the Hole: The 1951 Movie That Feels Modern
Billy Wilder's Ace in the Hole, starring Kirk Douglas, is a 1951 film about media greed, sensationalism and the public appetite for tragedy that feels remarkably modern.
The Origin of Good Grief and Charlie Brown’s Famous Phrase
Good Grief became Charlie Brown's signature saying, but its history began decades earlier. Learn the surprising origin of the famous Peanuts phrase.
Who knew that the Maltese Falcon is worth 4.1 million
Steve Wynn, Las Vegas hotel and casino billionaire bought the Maltese Falcon statue at a premium. He won the bid at the total price of a stunning $4.1 million.
Food & Life
Don’t Cook That: When Old Recipes Got Seriously Dangerous
Old cookbooks weren’t always harmless. Some mixed food, medicine and household chemistry in ways that can make Grandma’s apple pie look downright safe.
When Paris Ate the Zoo: The Strangest Menu in History
During the Siege of Paris, starving Parisians ate zoo animals. Here’s the bizarre story behind elephant, camel and kangaroo appearing on a Paris menu.
Why Does Your Jeans Pocket Have That Stupid Little Pocket?
That stupid little pocket in your jeans has a long history, from pocket watches and the real 5th pocket to its cheeky modern reputation as the condom pocket.
Why Did We Put Missing Kids on Milk Cartons?
Why did missing children’s faces appear on milk cartons? We look at the strange history behind the campaign, the kids who recognized themselves, Milk Carton 2.0 and Canada’s famous milk bags.
The Pen Is Mightier Than Death: Believe It or Not!
Howie Noel, Ripley's Believe It or Not!, Dick Tracy and Charles Schulz reveal how legendary comic strips keep going after their original creators are gone.
Nancy Stole the Spotlight. Now Meet the Man Who Created Her.
You know Nancy. You might know Sluggo. But do you know Ernie Bushmiller, the cartoonist whose deceptively simple creation became bigger than its creator?
Exploring Calvin and Hobbes
Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes was always about the art. Now, original artwork from the beloved comic strip is going on tour, giving fans a rare look behind the panels.
Working at Wayne Enterprises Must Be Exhausting
What would it really be like to work at Wayne Enterprises? Discover the ordinary employees quietly helping Batman protect Gotham.
Who Is the Winking Chef on Pizza Boxes?
The winking chef on pizza boxes has a surprising origin. Learn how Gill Fox’s 1950s illustration became a timeless pizza industry icon.
Halloween Watch: I Married a Witch
I Married a Witch is a bewitching movie just right for Halloween. No need for blood and gore! No man can resist Veronica Lake in this enchanted romantic movie.
The Odd & Curious
The Famous People Who Died on Halloween
Harry Houdini died on Halloween in 1926, but he wasn’t alone. Explore the famous figures who died on October 31 and Houdini’s final escape pact.
How Did 81 Suddenly Become Young?
When did 81 become young? A funny look at aging, retirement, baby boomers and how our idea of old age keeps changing.
Scratch-and-Sniff Is Making a Comeback
Scratch-and-sniff was once everywhere, from Raspberries albums and MAD Magazine to John Waters’ Odorama. Now the strange little fad is making a comeback.
Forget Book Burning, This Guy Wants You to Chop Your Books
Matt Kirkland has a strange solution for giant books: chop them into smaller, manageable volumes. Chop the biggest books and why it might make sense.
The Weirdest Thing About Transformers: The Movie Was Its Soundtrack
Why was The Transformers: The Movie soundtrack so unusual? From Stan Bush and Weird Al to Orson Welles, its strange mix still works 40 years later.
The 8-Track Tape Died. Apparently Nobody Told It.
The 8-track tape ruled car stereos before cassettes killed it, but its strange legacy lives on in mixtapes, video-game cartridges and collectors.
Show Us the LOVE! Rhino Gives Arthur Lee and Love Another Spin
Rhino's Rocktober gives Arthur Lee and Love another spin with three limited-edition albums, but the real Love story begins with Forever Changes.
We Killed the CD. Now We’re Bringing It Back From the Dead.
We killed the CD, dumped the evidence and moved on. Vinyl is growing, CDs are surging and a new generation is discovering the music we thought we'd left buried.
![A retro-style illustration on a red background shows a man in a suit shouting into a megaphone on the left. To the right, the word 'SNACKSTUME' is written in large, bold, white letters with a black outline, resembling a comic book sound effect. Below it, a dictionary-style definition reads: '[snack-stoom] noun. A Halloween costume based on a snack or food product, usually designed to make the wearer look like a giant version of something you'd normally eat.'](https://i0.wp.com/sandboxworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/word-of-the-week-snacktume.png?fit=1600%2C776&ssl=1)
Learn to draw cartoon characters and more using geometric shapes with Cartooning Made Easy: Circle, Triangle, Square
All you need are basic drawing tools and shapes to cartoon! The book features dozens of drawing projects and step-by-step instructions perfect for beginning and aspiring artists, cartoonists, illustrators, pen and graphite artists, and many others. Learn to draw cartoon characters and more using geometric shapes with Cartooning Made Easy: Circle, Triangle, Square by Margherita Cole.
Just finished reading American TV Comic Books 1940s-1980s by Peter Bosch from TwoMorrows
Comic book adaptations of television shows have been around since the beginning of the medium. Before that, there were a few comic books based on movies. Today comic book publishers gravitate to well-known brand names. Some of them at one time were television shows. American TV Comic Books 1940s-1980s by Peter Bosch celebrates the halcyon days of adaptions of television shows to comic book form.
Fanny: The Right To Rock
FANNY: THE RIGHT TO ROCK is the untold story of the Filipina American garage band that morphed into the ferocious rock group Fanny. Fighting barriers of race, gender and sexuality in the music industry, Fanny’s groundbreaking impact on music was written out of history.
Timex collaborates with Netflix’s Stranger Things on a new special edition Timex x Stranger Things collection
Timex, the #1 selling watch brand in the United States, is excited to announce the release of its newest special edition collection in collaboration with Netflix’s Stranger Things. The Timex x Stranger Things collection brings together two cultural phenomena that will turn the watch world Upside Down, launched just in time for Season 4 of the sci-fi-horror drama to debut. Volume 1 of Stranger Things Season 4 premiered on May 27 and is currently streaming globally on Netflix, with Volume 2 launching on July 1, 2022.
Quentin Tarantino’s book ‘Cinema Speculation’ is to land on Oct. 25
Quentin Tarantino’s next book is a nonfiction dispatch from a lifelong movie fanatic. “Cinema Speculation,” to be published Oct. 25, will center on “The Getaway” and other films from the 1970s that influenced him during childhood. The book, announced Friday by Harper, comes a year after the best-selling novelization of his movie “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”
The first English collection of the late poetry and prose fragments of literary icon Charles Baudelaire
Late Fragments Flares, My Heart Laid Bare, Prose Poems, Belgium Disrobed by Charles Baudelaire as translated by Richard Sieburth brings together Baudelaire’s late fragmentary writings, aphoristic in form and radical in thought, into one edited collection for the first time.
Marvel Studios has acquired rights to use Stan Lee’s name, voice, likeness and signature in movies and television projects for 20 years
As every comic fan knows, characters never die in comics. Now that has extended into reality. Marvel Studios has purchased the Stan Lee name and likeness to their brand for 20 years. Does this mean we will be getting more Stan Lee cameos in future movies? He was always a larger-than-life character.
Eureka Entertainment releases Carl Th. Dreyer’s VAMPYR
Eureka Entertainment to release Carl Th. Dreyer’s VAMPYR, one of the finest and most enduringly mysterious of all horror films, is on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK from a brand-new 2K restoration, unveiled for the film’s 90th anniversary. Available from 30 May 2022 as a part of The Masters of Cinema Series in a Limited Edition set of 3000 copies featuring a Hardbound Slipcase & 100-page Collector’s Booklet.
Bono’s memoir, Surrender 40 Songs, One Story will be released on November 1, 2022
The title ‘SURRENDER: 40 Songs, One Story’ refers to the book’s 40 chapters, which are each named after a U2 song. Bono has also created 40 original drawings for ‘SURRENDER’ which will appear throughout the book. Bono—artist, activist, and the lead singer of Irish rock band U2—has Bon’s written a memoir: honest and irreverent, intimate and profound, Surrender is the story of the remarkable life he’s lived, the challenges he’s faced, and the friends and family who have shaped and sustained him.
L.A. Theatre Works records audio adaptation by BBC’s Kate McAll of Ernest Hemingway’s ‘The Sun Also Rises’
L.A. Theatre Works, the world’s leading producer of audio theater, has commissioned and recorded an audio adaptation by the BBC’s Kate McAll of The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway.
Meet artist Kieran Castaño who draws Ripley’s Believe It or Not! comic strip
Believe it or not, The “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!” comic strip newspaper has been around since 1918. That is over 100 years of illustrated fun facts. In that time frame, many artists have contributed to the strip. Honestly, I did not know they were cranking out new material. A few months ago the strip added Orlando artist Kieran Castaño to the daily chore of educating us more cool educational tidbits.
Kenshi Yonezu launches Shin Ultraman movie theme song “M87″
J-Pop singer-songwriter and music producer Kenshi Yonezu, released a new single “M87,” a theme song to the new Shin Ultraman (New Ultraman) film, on May 18 (Wed.). Ranked #1 on the Billboard JAPAN HOT 100, #69 on the Billboard Global 200, and #16 on Billboard Global Excl. US on May 25.