Kinda Interesting Things #128: The Tragedy of Audrey Munson In the Upper West Side, in Straus Park, you’ll come across this statue called “Memory” by Augustus Lukeman. The model for the statue is Audrey Munson — America’s first supermodel who had a tragic life after her time in the limelight. This is the tragedy of Audrey Munson. Sources: “Overlooked No More: Audrey Munson, Forgotten but, Living On in Sculptures, Not Gone” (New York Times, 2022) “The Tragic Life of America’s First Supermodel” (New York Times, 2016) “The Forgotten Story of Audrey Munson, Famous Muse and Fierce Advocate for Women Artists” (Artsy, 2018) #nyc #newyorkcity #manhattan #audreymunson #tragedy #truecrime #didyouknow #nychistory #history #publicart #fyi #model #supermodel #learnontiktok

Kinda Interesting Things #127: The Attempted M-rder of Frank Rosenthal On October 4, 1982, at this parking lot in Las Vegas, Chicago Outfit associate Frank Rosenthal walked out of a Tony Roma’s restaurant and got into his 1981 Cadillac Eldorado. When he turned on the ignition, the car exploded, with Rosenthal falling out of the car yelling, “They’re trying to k-ll me.” Who was they? Well, there were several people who wanted to see Rosenthal come to an untimely end — including his ex-wife and childhood friend. This is the attempted m-rder of Frank Rosenthal. Sources: “Obituary: Frank ‘Lefty’ Rosenthal” (The Guardian, 2008) “Lefty Rosenthal, Kingpin in Las Vegas, Dies at 79” (New York Times, 2008) “Scene of Rosenthal car b-mbing in Las Vegas gets lusty makeover” (Las Vegas Sun, 2016) #lasvegas #vegas #truecrime #didyouknow #fyi #lasvegashistory #history #hiddengems #hiddenhistory #travel #mafia #mob #chicago #kindainterestingthings #learnontiktok

Kinda Interesting Things #126: The Swill-Milk Scandal In Central Park, there’s a Victorian Gothic building called The Dairy — a building that was meant to supply fresh and affordable milk for children. It was designed in the midst of a horrific health crisis that swept NYC in the mid-19th Century, perpetrated by distilleries trying to make profit off their waste, selling cheap, toxic milk to the unsuspecting masses. This is the story of the swill-milk scandal. For more history on Central Park, be sure to follow @Central Park Conservancy Sources: “The Surprisingly Intolerant History of Milk” (Smithsonian Magazine, 2018) “The 19th-Century Swill Milk Scandal That Poisoned Infants With Whiskey Runoff” (Atlas Obsura, 2017) “The Swill Is Gone” (New York Times, 2008) “The Dairy” (NYC Parks Department) #nyc #centralpark #nychistory #didyouknow #fyi #milk #learnontiktok #history #newyorkcity #manhattan #brooklyn #truecrime

Kinda Interesting Things #125: The Rise and Fall of the Everard Baths At 28 West 28th Street in Chelsea, there once stood a bathhouse that was considered a safe haven for NYC’s gay community. Built in 1888, and repurposed as a bathhouse in 1860, the Everard Baths were a sanctuary for gay men, who had been frequenting the baths as early as World War I. While it thrived in popularity in its later years, it was considered a rundown establishment that was partially destroyed by a fire in 1977, and forced to close in 1986 due to the AIDS epidemic. Sources: “Before It Burned Down, This Bathhouse Served as a Haven for New York City’s Gay Community” (Smithsonian Magazine, 2023) “Eversoft at the Everard” (Gay, 1972) “Everard Baths” (NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, 2017) “The Long History of the Everard's Baths” (Daytonian in Manhattan, 2020) “9 Killed by Fire at a West Side Bathhouse” (New York Times, 1977) #nyc #didyouknow #fyi #nychistory #hiddengemsnyc #chelsea #lgbtq #lgbtqhistory #newyorkcity #history #learnontiktok

Kinda Interesting Things #124: The Berlin Wall in a Las Vegas Restroom If you go to the Main Street Station Casino in Downtown Las Vegas, make your way through all the slots on the main floor, and go to the Men’s restroom, you’ll find a piece of Cold War history tucked behind the urinals. This is the Berlin Wall in a Las Vegas Restroom. According to CNN, no one is quite sure how the Berlin Wall got here. The Boyd Gaming Corporation, which owns the casino, says that the Wall was already in the restroom when the company purchased the property in the 1990s from another casino that went bankrupt before opening. But it became one of the more popular tourist attractions at the Main Street Station Casino, and even underwent a renovation for the unusual amount of foot traffic this restroom gets. While the wall is in the men’s restroom, anyone can see it as long as they ask a security guard to escort them inside when it’s empty. Sources: “Where’s the Berlin Wall now?” (CNN, 2014) “A Las Vegas Bathroom and 9 Other Unexpected Places to See the Berlin Wall” (Smithsonian, 2014) “Commemorate the Fall of the Berlin Wall at Main Street Station” (Fremont Street Experience, 2023) #lasvegas #berlinwall #nyc #losangeles #berlin #hiddengems #coldwar #history #fyi #didyouknow #restroom #mainstreetstationcasino #downtownlasvegas #learnontiktok