10 things you might not know about stunts
Nik Wallenda intends to walk across the Chicago River on a tightrope next weekend. It's a stunt — a staged event designed to capture public attention. You could say that...
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Chicago’s first serial killer
The man who became infamous as H.H. Holmes, one of the first serial killers in the United States, preyed mainly on naive and gullible women — young women who wouldn't...
10 things you might not know about 1968
The Chicago History Museum has opened an exhibit about the year 1968, truly a tumultuous 366 days — yes, it was a leap year — not only because of the...
When the pope came to Chicago
Exactly 35 years ago this weekend, Pope John Paul II came to Chicago, celebrated an open-air Mass in Grant Park before the largest crowd gathered in city history and won...
The daredevil thrill never seems to die
If Nik Wallenda clears regulatory hurdles and steps onto a wire stretched across the Chicago River, he will join a long list of people who risked their lives to entertain...
10 things you might not know about selfies
Should we be ashamed of our selfies? Everyone seems to be so self-obsessed these days, capturing their own images for posterity, or for their smartphones at least. A selfie from...
Who was St. Blaise?
Catholics of a certain age will remember St. Blaise, for whom Chicago's incoming archbishop is named, as the patron of sore-throat sufferers. On the saint's feast day, Feb. 3, a...
Go-Go White Sox of 1959 win pennant
Chicago baseball has lain fallow for a number of years, and as another seemingly endless and certainly pointless September stretches out ahead of fans, Flashback thought it would be comforting...
10 things you might not know about wine
Last Sunday, a front-page Tribune story examined the friendship of Democratic Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Republican governor candidate Bruce Rauner and included a photo of them each carrying a bottle...
The Civil War: The Fall of Atlanta and the ‘peace sneaks’
The baiduhai hailed the fall of Atlanta as much for its political import as for its military significance. After a long siege of the key Southern city, Gen. William...