Sass and Sippy Cups

Today I’m coming to you with the story of one of the most infamous unsolved murders in American history. One that inspired a schoolyard rhyme that everyone knows:] “Lizzie Borden took an axe Gave her mother 40 whacks. When she saw what she had done She gave her father 41.” Although it is historically inaccurate, we’ve all heard it.   Even if you weren’t born and raised in Lizzie’s hometown like I was, you have heard that song. I remember when I was in high school, we were at a rest stop in New Jersey for a school trip to Hershey, PA.   One of the locals asked where we were from and when we responded “Fall River, MA” we were immediately met with “ah, Lizzie Borden.” Now everyone has their own theory about how the murder went down, and before we get to my opinion, we’ll start with what we know for sure. Lizzie: The Early Years The younger of two sisters, Elizabeth Andrew Borden was born in 1860 to Andrew and Sarah Borden.   Sarah di...

Fun Fact Friday Irish Legends Since Saint Patrick’s Day is almost upon us, I thought I’d dedicate this Fun Fact Friday to some legends from the Emerald Isle.   No, I’m not talking leprechauns or The Blarney Stone. I’m talking something a little on the darker side: Faeries. When I say “faeries, I don’t mean the adorable little winged things your kid wants to be for Halloween every year that they’re not a princess. I mean the mischievous creatures from Celtic mythology that were definitely not as nice as their Disney-created counterparts. More specifically, I want to talk about two of the most dreaded types of “fae folk:” banshees and changelings. The Banshee The term “banshee” comes from the Gaelic for “woman of the faery mound” or simply “faery woman,” so while some legends describe her as a spirit, others put her in the category of “faeries.”   The “faery mound” refers to what are thought to be burial mounds found dotted all over the Irish countryside. ...

The Secret Are you like me and love a good treasure/scavenger hunt?   Just to give you an idea, Indiana Jones has always been one of my favorite characters. I’m a history nerd, so anything that involves traveling and uncovering a mystery is absolutely my cup of tea. I was watching the Travel Channel the other day, which is where I get most of the inspiration for these Fun Fact Friday posts.   I was watching Expedition Unknown and living vicariously through my hero, Josh Gates (Go set your DVR to Travel Channel on Wednesday night at 9. I’m not kidding. Do it now. If you are interested in this kind of thing, you won’t regret it) and was intrigued by the topic of the episode. How would you feel if I told you there is a real-life treasure hunt you’ve never heard of, and it’s been around since 1982?   One where you could claim a small treasure as your own?   Enter Byron Preiss and his book The Secret (no, not self-help book).   The Man Byro...

Cultured Crooks: A True Mystery at the Museum Short on cash? Looking to make a quick buck? How does 10 million of them sound? Yep, you read that right: $10 MILLION   Probably sounds like some gimmicky sweepstakes, right? Actually, it's a legitimate offer, provided you have some valuable information to share. In the wee hours in the morning of March 18, 1990, guards at the Isabel Stewart Gardener Museum in Boston opened the doors for two men dressed as police officers. Once inside, the imposters tied up the guards and set to work, cutting eleven paintings from their frames and grabbing two sculptures before making their escape.  The entire job took a little over an hour. These men took off with $500 million worth of artwork.  The craziest part?  THEY GOT AWAY WITH IT.. . Neither they nor the valuable pieces of art they stole (pictured below) have been seen since.  To this day, empty frames hang on the walls of the Ga...