All too often, babies in 18th-century poorhouses were given gin to quiet them. In 1751, nine thousand English children died of alcohol poisoning.… Read More
On Monday I blogged about debtors’ prisons, which people often confuse with poorhouses, the subject of today’s cheery blog. Debtors’ prisons and poorhouses were not the same thing, but were equally dismal places.
Poorhouses, or almshouses, existed in England from… Read More
Back in the early nineteenth century, with populations in cities swelling, feeding the poor cheaply in poorhouses and public hospitals became a growing concern.
In her fascinating book, Gulp, Mary Roach describes the efforts of a French chemist named Jean… Read More
Up around 103rd Street on the east side of Manhattan, you can cross a bridge over the East River to Randall’s Island. It used to be separate from Wards Island, but in the 1960s the channel between them was filled… Read More
I’m sure most families have standard phrases they use with one another, inside jokes that others might not necessarily get. One of my family’s is from the 1968 musical version of Oliver Twist. There’s a scene, in Fagin’s lair, where… Read More
If you're ever chased by a swarm of Africanized bees, do not jump into a body of water. They will hover over the water and wait for you to come up for air--for as long as 24 hours.