Phone Messages

The 1964 Surgeon General's Report on Smoking and Health dramatically increased public awareness of tobacco's deadly consequences. But over two decades later, smoking at the University of Chicago remained popular, especially at the Regenstein library.

When it opened in 1926 The Shoreland advertised itself as The World's Finest Residential Hotel. From 1976 to 2008, the University of Chicago used it as a dormitory.

From 1962 to 2000, Ciral's House of Tiki was a popular late night hangout in Hyde Park. Its former location is now occupied by a luxury apartment tower.

Prank calls continue to be popular even though most of us have the ability to filter unwanted solicitors with caller ID and voicemail.

In November of 1988, Grant Hart visited Chicago to see an exhibition of William S. Burroughs' Shotgun Paintings at the Klein Gallery and Prop Theater's adaptation of The Last Words of Dutch Schultz.

Sometime around the release of the William S Borroughs album Dead City Radio, the Chicago based ensemble Nihilator, performed a piece inspired by the story Ah Pook the Destroyer.

In the 1980s Fakir Musafar helped popularize body modification. By 2017, 38 percent of young people ages 18 to 29 had at least one tattoo.

Ken Dunn, founder of Hyde Park's Resource Center, purchased a building at 61st and Blackstone to redistribute discarded goods. In the 2000s, as the Experimental Station, the same building became home to diverse community activities, including a union drive.

Ohio State has a notorious history of overenthusiastic football fans, especially when it comes to their rivalry with Michigan.

A high school disaster proves fruitful for a course on orality and narrative with Professor James Fernandez.

After the destruction of Flytown, the Short North became the name for the area just short of the Ohio State campus and north of downtown Columbus. Mike's Grill is the oldest bar in the neighborhood, and at one time had a very rough reputation.

A PK is a Pastor's Kid. A PGK is a Pastor's Grandkid. A Super PGK has grandparents and great grandparents as Ministers and Divinity School Professors.

A frequent trope in movies and TV shows, is for someone to give a potential suitor a fake phone number as a way to avoid further contact. One must be careful not to write the number on something of value.

Living in the city sometimes means dealing with neighbors whose music might be great at a club, but not so great coming from an adjacent apartment.

Before phone books emerged in the late nineteenth century, many U.S. towns had city directories. In recent years, cell phones and the internet have made printed directories obsolete.

In the 1960s Pierre Capretz developed his technique of mixing illustrations and movie clips into his classroom. In 1987, his method was realized in the TV series French In Action, which continues to have dedicated fans.

The WHPK DJ Arkansas Red is one of many quirky characters in a possible future Wes Anderson film.

Disneyland opened in 1955. Although it is not the oldest theme park, its position within a media empire helped create the power of its myth.

In 1920, the United States ratified the 19th amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote. A growing number of women also attend college and join literary societies, where intellectual clashes could be intense.

The first radio soap opera was probably Painted Dreams, which began on WGN radio in 1930. The daytime soap reached its peak in 1981, when millions tuned in to watch the wedding of Luke and Laura on General Hospital.