Jacksonville, Florida
St. Augustine, Florida, was founded on September 8, 1565 — more than 200 years before the United States was an official country. Pedro Menéndez de Avilés was an explorer from Spain who came ashore in Florida on August 28, 1565, on the Catholic feast day Read More …
Most people know the “five-second rule”: the idea that if food that’s fallen on the floor has been there less than five seconds, it’s still acceptable to eat. No one knows the origins of this questionable rule — and plenty of people think it’s kind of Read More …
Originally, it was actually the other way around. For much of the 19th century, most infants and toddlers wore white dresses. Dresses facilitated diaper-changing, and white cotton could easily be cleaned with bleach. But around 1900, childcare experts began to push for a greater distinction between little girls Read More …
If you live in Florida for any length of time, you will probably either ride through a few major hurricanes or get the heck out of the way of one before it arrives. Hurricanes – and their weaker cousin, the tropical cyclone – pose a Read More …
Before founding the animation studio that bears his name, Walt Disney was a commercial artist in Kansas City, Missouri. It was there, around 1919, that he began making hand-drawn cel animations of his own, which were screened in a local theater and dubbed “Laugh-O-Grams.” The Read More …
Father’s Day doesn’t always get the attention it deserves. A modern, secular holiday that arrives on the third Sunday of June, sometime between the end of school and the summer solstice, the day can be overlooked by kids who are immersed in vacation activities or Read More …
Being a father can be a wonderful thing, once you get past all the gross stuff, all the stressful events, the loss of privacy, and the bewildering numbers of ways you can screw it up. But other than those few things, fatherhood is wonderful. Every Read More …
The Alcazar Hotel was constructed in 1887-1889 Henjry Flakier as a part of a complex of three buildings of Moorish-Spanish Architecture, in his quest to create a “Riviera” on the eastern seaboard of the United States. The Alcazar Hotel, the name being Arabic(Al-kasr) for “royal Read More …
We’ve all heard the story of the “40 acres and a mule” promise to former slaves. It’s a staple of black history lessons, and it’s the name of Spike Lee’s film company. The promise was the first systematic attempt to provide a form of reparations Read More …
Fire seems intrinsically linked to life on Earth. The fires of the Earth’s molten core formed the land we live on, forests are at their healthiest when they burn in a controlled manner to make way for new life, and even the legendary R&B group Read More …
Mother’s Day is here, which means it’s time for children of all ages to think of ways to give thanks to these special women in our lives, or to honor the memory of those no longer with us. But before you get going on making Read More …
Yellow fever, also known as the “yellow plague” or the “yellow jack,” was one of the most dangerous and dreaded diseases prevalent in Florida during the 1800s. The disease is viral, spread primarily by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, but this knowledge was not widely known until the Read More …
A new immersive art experience is coming to the NoCo Center in Downtown Jacksonville starting June 9th. Beyond King Tut: The Immersive Experience will replace Beyond Van Gogh, which ends a long run this Sunday, April 30. The new exhibit will use digital projections to transport visitors to ancient Egypt, with Read More …
NONPARTISAN NO MORE?: In 1998, Florida voters passed a constitutional amendment requiring school board elections to be nonpartisan. The state Legislature just approved a new proposed constitutional amendment that would reverse that decision. It will be on our ballots next year. If at least 60% of voters approve, Read More …
A year after civil rights groups filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Jacksonville over newly drawn City Council and School Board districts, the city is trying to settle the case. Last May, residents and groups including the Jacksonville branch of the NAACP, the Northside Read More …
An organization that coordinates services for homeless people in Duval, Clay and Nassau counties will do another count to get a clearer picture of just how many people are in need of their services. Changing Homelessness conducts a federally mandated census, called a point-in-time count, every January. Read More …
There are many theories as to how bunnies became associated with Easter — like the supposed Anglo-Saxon goddess who turned an egg-laying bird into a rabbit, or how Neolithic communities in Europe buried hares in religious rituals. What is known is that by the 1600s, English hunters Read More …
The next time you pop some jelly beans into your mouth, you may want to take a moment to appreciate just how much effort goes into producing these bite-sized delights. As explained by industry giant Jelly Belly, the process begins by heating a sugar, cornstarch, Read More …