Atlas Obscura
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Cities used to be literally full of crap.
Adee Braun
Verified
Writer, traveler, lover of pickled things, filigree, and history of food, culture, cities, and small European nations. adeebraun.com
Adee Braun’s Journalist Portfolio
View as a gridEating Spaghetti by the Fistful Was Once a Neapolitan Street Spectacle
Atlas Obscura
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Tourists flocked to see the “macaroni eaters” cram noodles into their mouths.
Misunderstanding Orange Juice as a Health Drink
The Atlantic
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Juice is, nutritionally, not much better than soda. How did U.S. consumers come to believe that oranges, in any form, were an important part of a healthy diet?
Looking to Quell Sexual Urges? Consider the Graham Cracker
The Atlantic
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One of America's first diet hawks, Sylvester Graham was certain that sexual desire was ruining society. His solution: whole wheat. How a zealot's legacy lives in our foods today.
The Historic Healing Power of the Beach
The Atlantic
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When doctors prescribed sun and sea, to improve circulation and contract tumors
Alone Together: The Return of Communal Restaurant Tables
The Atlantic
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As more establishments seat people in close proximity, friendships are not forged.
Turning Bacon Into Bombs: The American Fat Salvage Committee
The Atlantic
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During World War II, the U.S. government urged Americans to save excess fat rendered from cooking and donate it to the army to produce explosives.
The Surprisingly Short History of the Rooftop Happy Hour
CityLab
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140 years ago, the only thing that hung out on urban roofs was wet laundry. But over time, height conquered all.
Passional Affinities
The Paris Review
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The free-love couple who pissed off nineteenth-century America.
Bringing Home The Woolly Bacon From Hungary
NPR
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On a cold February evening in Budapest a few years ago, I was invited to go to a small festival on the edge of the city's main park. There, I was told, I would eat pig.
Mastering the Art of the New York Eat-and-Walk
narrative.ly
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It started with a hot dog and a pair of rollerblades. At thirteen years old my version of being a reckless adolescent involved skidding down Broadway on a Saturday afternoon with my best friend, dodging pedestrians while munching on a Gray’s Papaya hot dog.
Fine-Feathered Friends
laphamsquarterly.org
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On a late February afternoon in 1886, journalist and ornithologist Frank Chapman walked down one of New York City’s uptown shopping thoroughfares, eyeing women’s hats.
Her Majesty's Rat-Catcher
laphamsquarterly.org
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Each great civilization is plagued by its own particular infestation—the point at which the balance between man and vermin shifts uncomfortably in the direction of the critters. Biblical Egypt had its plague of locusts, modern New York City is terrorized by bedbugs, and Victorian London had a serious rat problem.
From the Sea, Freedom
laphamsquarterly.org
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In 1966, two British pirate radio operators were in need of a new outpost, a place from which they could broadcast banned American rock and roll music outside the reach of British communications authorities, when they came to a realization: the abandoned WWII military sea fort that lay in the choppy waters of the North Sea, just beyond England's maritime borders, would suit their needs perfectly.