Weird and wonderful

While young ladies may have been daydreaming of handsome film stars such as Cary Grant, pictured here kissing the cheek of Ingrid Bergman in a publicity still for the 1946 film ‘Notorious’, agony aunts were keen to bring them back down to earth. (Photo by John Springer Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

How to be a man: tips from 1930s agony aunts

Wood engraving from The Graphic magazine features an illustration of a young man running with the ball during a football match on a grassy field, late 19th century. (Photo by Stock Montage/Getty Images)

5 facts about the history of football

A view of a calander showing the date, Friday the 13th. (Photo by William C. Shrout/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

10 historical superstitions we carry on today

Illustration by Glen McBeth.

Q&A: When did the leopards on the royal arms of England become the lions depicted today?

Spies through the ages podcast

General ancient history

Spies through the ages

A 19th-century cricket match at the Kennington Oval. (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images)

10 things you didn’t know about London’s sporting history

A reconstruction of a Theban painting from the Ancient Egyptian Dynasty XIX depicting a childbirth scene. The mother is seen being helped by her handmaidens and a midwife. Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

7 surprising facts about the history of medicine

A man sneezes into a handkerchief, c1936. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

6 facts about the history of hay fever

Gussie Moran shocked onlookers with her lace knickers on show at the 1949 Wimbledon Championships (George W. Hales/Fox Photos/Getty Images)

10 scandalous moments in Wimbledon’s history

The bikini was showcased to the world for the first time in July 1946. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

8 weird things that happened in July through history

A woodcut print depicting the stocks, a form of Elizabethan punishment. Dated 16th century. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

“Damn your blood”: Swearing in early modern English

Michael Fish makes his first televised weather forecast in 1974. (Photo by Press Association)

4 facts about the history of the weather forecast

Chastity belt decorated with a flower design and a heart pierced with arrows. (SSPL/Getty Images)

13 weird historical facts

An illustration of a group of supposed witches being beaten in front of King James VI and I, the most notorious royal witch-hunter of all time, c1610. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A brief history of witches by Suzannah Lipscomb