Posts Tagged ‘history’
Before Bernie Sanders, there was Upton Sinclair
The muckraking journalist Upton Sinclair is best remembered for his 1906 book “The Jungle,” which exposed the grotesque conditions endured by both workers and livestock in Chicago’s meatpacking industry. It sold millions of copies, stirring the country. President Theodore Roosevelt called on the 27-year-old Sinclair to give him a firsthand account, culminating in a pure-food…
Read MoreThe strange boundary line that divides California in two
On county maps of California, an oddly straight horizontal line bisects the state about 30 miles north of Bakersfield. In perennial debates over where Southern California ends and Northern California begins, no official answer exists and opinions vary widely. But it was based upon this line — comprising the northern boundaries of San Luis Obispo, Kern, and…
Read MoreThe 12 flags of California
Texas has embraced the slogan “Six flags over Texas” in recognition of the six sovereign countries that once presided over the state, incorporating their emblems into malls, official buildings, and the namesake theme park Six Flags. If California did the same, it would need a lot more flagpoles. All told, at least 12 flags have flown over the…
Read MoreBob Calhoun’s obsession with the gruesome and lurid
Bob Calhoun reminds us that while we may be alarmed by rising numbers of homicides in the Bay Area today, the region’s history has been far worse. Calhoun, the writer of the popular SF Weekly column “Yesterday’s Crime” and author of the new book…
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