How modesty survived the custom of sharing beds with all comers remains one of New England's oldest mysteries.

"For it is only in company that eating is done justice..."

Unhealthy eating habits don't develop as a result of instinct; they have to be learned -- and a processed-food industry stands ready to teach them.

"You remember what I told you about old stagers, and the roast beef diet? Well, that applies right through life..."

The cannibalistic practices of one South American tribe left Swedish explorer Algot Lange with a lot to chew on.

"And, after all, it is a very poor consolation to be told that the man who has given one a bad dinner, or poor wine, is irreproachable in his private life..."

Habitues of the Lower East Side's coffee and cake saloons conspired to win themselves a bigger slice of the pie.

Whether they take the form of a cassette tape or an etched whale's tooth, handmade tokens of affection exemplify making a virtue out of making-do.

"Lordlings marry ballet girls, but ladies rarely put their hearts and fortune at the feet of the Lion Comique."

One of Paris's most cherished performers, Jean-Gaspard Deburau came to regard his fame as an invisible box out of which he could not climb.

“The animal situation does contain a component of the human situation; if need be, the animal can be regarded as a subject for which the rest of the world is an object.” -- Georges Bataille

Engineers and bureaucrats trained their sights on bringing premier transport to the Balkans -- and what they achieved left all other systems at the station.

"There is no love sincerer than the love of food..."

“Man is the only creature that consumes without producing..."

For circus performers of yesteryear, having a head for business meant having one that could fit in a big cat's mouth.

“Part of the secret of success in life is..."