Would this Kill Me in the 1800s: Cleft Palate

It's been a while since we had a good old fashioned WTKM. This time, we're exploring cleft palate. Cleft palate/lip occures when the tissue on the roof of the mouth doesn't fully form/develop, leaving a gap. We don't know why this happens, whether it's genetics, some kind of mutation, or if it's caused by environmental…

The New England Vampire Panic

This essay is taken in part from Episode 14 of the Spooky Stitches podcast, where we talk knitting and ghost stories. If you want to see more content like this, please check out the podcast, or the Patreon, where stories like this are posted regularly, often before they show up here on the blog.  Today,…

WWI Sleeveless Sweater for Soldiers

It doesn't look like much, does it? Let me just say, this sweater is more than the sum of its parts. I made this sweater for a friend and fellow history buff, someone who is very interested in military history. He requested it, and as soon as I saw the picture I knew exactly what…

Historical Profile: Ching Shih

From Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End If you ask most westerners about female pirates, they'll either give you a blank look or pipe up with a fact about Anne Bonny, and maybe Mary Read. But there's one woman who could take on both of them--who had a fleet of ships and commanded the…

Historical Profile: Mary Mahoney

Born to freed slaves in 1845, Mary Mahoney knew from a young age she wanted to be a nurse. She saw first hand how badly they were needed in the community prior to the Civil War, but when war broke out black women were barred from volunteering and training in the medical field. Still, she…

Would this Kill Me in the 1800s: Nystagmus

We're doing something a little different this time around on WTKM. I'd be willing to bet that most of you have never heard the word nystagmus before, so let me break things down a little. Nystagmus is an involuntary, rapid eye movement. It can be caused by several things, including drug overdoses and head injuries,…

Women’s History Month: Queen Liliuokalani

I came to the realization recently that all of my historical profiles have been of white women, so for the month of March, in honor of Women's History Month, I'll be profiling women of diverse backgrounds. Obviously, I can't touch on every possible nationality or marginalization in the time I have, but I will be…

The Black Hand in America

Before the mafia, there was the Black Hand, the deadliest secret society you've probably never heard of. Now, before we get started, I do want to clarify something. There are two groups known as "The Black Hand." The first is a proto-mafia group known for extortion, kidnapping, and bombings, particularly in New York, from the…

Women’s History Month: Miné Okubo

I came to the realization recently that all of my historical profiles have been of white women, so for the month of March, in honor of Women's History Month, I'll be profiling women of diverse backgrounds. Obviously, I can't touch on every possible nationality or marginalization in the time I have, but I will be…

Women’s History Month: Nanye-hi

I came to the realization recently that all of my historical profiles have been of white women, so for the month of March, in honor of Women's History Month, I'll be profiling women of diverse backgrounds. Obviously, I can't touch on every possible nationality or marginalization in the time I have, but I will be…