Today on Museum Bites we’re continuing our tour through the Great Lakes freighter, Valley Camp with a look at sailing slang. These colorful phrases add a dash of spice to our banter and went viral long before we had emojis and memes to express our state of mind. Join me for a brief look at a few expressions linked to our seafaring past. We begin with the sweet life…
Lake Effect
Today on Museum Bites we’re taking the plunge, a polar plunge into Lake Michigan. Traversed by freighters, ferries, and fishers, its shores are dotted with lighthouses, sandy dunes, quaint beach towns, and bustling industry. Join me for a tour through the Grand Rapids Public Museum's Lake Michigan exhibit to learn more about this mighty lake’s impact on weather and waves. We begin by dialing back the clock to the Ice Age…
A Gutsy Life: Reboot
St. Martin’s days of skunk oil baths and fly-infested galette came to an abrupt end on June 6, 1822. While offloading goods on Mackinac Island, he was accidentally shot at close range, inside the American Fur Company Store.
Colorful Korea
Happy Friday! The winter Olympics are in full swing and all that glitters in South Korea is bronze, silver, and gold. Today on Museum Bites, we too, are headed to Korea via the University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA).
Cheers for Chairs
Today on Museum Bites we’re celebrating the good old reliable and versatile chair. Not only can they be folded, stacked, rocked, reclined and spun, chairs can serve as a handy step stool, makeshift lock, or sought-after commodity in a popular children’s game.
Bronzed Beauties
Less glitzy than cousins gold and silver, good old third place bronze could be relied on to get the job done.
A Grand Tour
The first automobiles sputtered onto the island and sent shockwaves through the tiny community. Like an Uber vs taxi cab feud, the carriage drivers were in an uproar.
A Gutsy Life
Unfortunately, St. Martin’s days of skunk oil baths and fly-infested galette came to an abrupt end on June 6, 1822.
Stairway to Heaven
I hung back, wanting to savor my first glimpse. Would it be worth the aches and pains I’d surely feel tomorrow?
Holding Down the Fort
Hot steamy water flowed into six private bathing chambers, each tricked out with its own Cialis-style tub, but despite these painstaking efforts, a soldier’s hygiene was a dodgy business.