I’ve been a little hesitant to write a blog about some of my experiences in a psychiatric hospital in 1980s Britain for a number of reasons. I am aware that those who suffer mental illnesses are some of the most vulnerable members of society. This was definitely true in the mid-1980s in Britain. I write this with the utmost respect for the patients I came into contact with and the nursing staff charged with their care.
-Hippies, anthrax, and drum circles.
-The modern history of swearing.
-When you want that healthy, radioactive glow.
-A new old look at Mother’s Day.
-Let’s visit 1920s London – in color!
-The Google Maps of 1917.
-What can music tell us about Victorian health?
-A history of “Women aren’t funny.”
-Vintage Spring Break snapshots.
-Photographing a mother’s descent into mental illness.
-Did Jamestown settlers eat people?
-Found: WWI prisoner of war postcard.
-A 1936 anti-poverty film.
-Robots can fix your lady parts.
-Would you like to buy Hemingway’s racist telegrams?
-Was Jane Austin the first game theorist?
-Newly revealed letters give insight into a young J.D. Salinger.
-How coffee changed the course of history.
-Judging Hollywood’s best figure circa 1931.
-New moms: Carry around your placenta (all the cool kids are doing it)!
-Men fake orgasms too.
-Oh, those silly Victorians!
-Unpublished D.H. Lawrence manuscript reveals contempt for 1920s misogyny.
-Origami condoms.
-A pictorial of 1940s teenage culture.
-Worst male underwear ever.
-How to mold a perfect wife circa 18th century (Hint: it doesn’t end well).
-The first man held in the Boston stocks was the guy who built them.
-18 Mad Men anachronisms.
-Wanna get a divorce? You may have to wait two years.
-Famous sex toys go up for auction.
-21 super creepy vintage Easter cards.
-Sylvia Plath wrote a delightful children’s book.
-Photos of famous authors as teenagers.
-What time of year is best for baby-making?
-Lady magazine trolling via 1939.
-Bill Gates wants you to have a condom that feels really good.
-15 awesome photos from a 1970s Gay Rights protest.
-American Academy of Pediatrics supports same-sex marriage.
-A new film documents Black Power and Feminism.
-The British women who voted before it was legal.
-Guitar production continued during WWII – thanks to women.
-Newly-found Oscar Wilde letter.
-One step closer to 3-person IVF.
One of my escapes is reading Good Housekeeping. When it arrives in my mailbox, I usually take that afternoon “off,” and spend it on my porch swing, sipping coffee or wine as I page through it. Mostly, I read it and find the pleasure in all of the things that I am not going to worry about. The best recipe for mu shu shrimp? There is no way my picky son will put that anywhere near his mouth, so I’m not going to cook it. How to make the craftiest seating cards for a dinner party? Not gonna do it because my dinner parties are self-serve buffets. How to reorganize your closet so that it is color-coded? Not practical in my tiny hole in the wall. Lose five pounds by doing sit-ups before you get out of bed in the morning? I’d rather just hit the snooze button. It’s not that I find this information or these suggestions laughable or useless or anything like that. I do not mean to sound condescending or snobby about it. I love Good Housekeeping. It’s just that most of its contents don’t really have anything to do with the kind of household that my husband and I maintain. And yet I faithfully read it. Why? Because every so often there is something that works for me. [Like the suggestion to use a cup to amplify the music from my iPhone (March 2013, p. 29). I’ve been walking around with my iPhone in a coffee mug for the last four weeks. It’s brilliant.] And I really do find comfort in the feeling of being free from having to do any of the things that the GH articles suggest that I do to make my home, myself, or my family happier, healthier, or prettier.
-Hippies worshipped Satan, smelled bad (according to voucher schools in Louisiana).
-Little House, alcohol, and gendered respectability.
-The immortal, shattered cells of Henrietta Lacks.
-Epidemiologist’s advice: Be afraid of your food.
-It’s been 45 years since the My Lai massacre.
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