St. Louis Sage
Illustration by Britt Spencer
Was Reddi-wip invented in St. Louis?
The stuff was iconic, a readymade symbol of the postwar appetite for ease and domestic gadgetry. By 1951, annual sales had topped $7 million. Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
Were St. Louis police the first in the U.S. to use fingerprinting?
Besides all the buzz about the newfangled food at 1904 World’s Fair, there was also talk at the time of the new science of fingerprint identification. Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
Did St. Louis invent “Indian ball,” a backyard version of baseball?
"Indian Ball" is a practical way to play baseball even if you don't have enough players to field a team. Read more
Are you pronouncing Pulitzer correctly? If you’re from St. Louis, it’s likely.
The Poynter Institute, the organization behind the Pulitzer Prize, once grew so frustrated with the dueling pronunciations, it polled a few real Pulitzers. Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
Do you know the Jewish gunslinger who kept St. Clair County safe in the early 1800s?
He was also one of the first Jews to live in Illinois before it became a state. Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
Why does St. Louis have such good water?
St. Louisans can thank John Wixford, a brilliant but eccentric chemist and city water department employee, who developed the Wixford Process. Read more
ILLUSTRATION BY BRITT SPENCER
Who was “the hoodlum priest”?
St. Louis' Reverend Charles “Dismas” Clark believed in second chances; he’d grown up rough, the son of a coal miner in rural Illinois, and might’ve chosen crime himself. Instead, he became a Jesuit. Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
How long have Tums been churned out in that big, old factory by the ballpark?
The interior of the St. Louis factory's five-story redbrick building is shrouded in pharmaceutical-level secrecy, lest anyone tamper or steal secrets. Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
Why did St. Louis send France that country’s first grizzly bear?
Was it an act of generosity, a polite prank, or an exercise in one-upmanship? Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
How did Vincent Price’s family first make their fortune?
The St. Louis Sage reflects on the story behind the King of Horror—and his culinary talents. Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
How did a Scottish castle wind up in South County?
George Wood-Smith's architectural wonder once stood on the river bluffs near Bee Tree Park. Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
Why didn’t St. Louis Disneyland get built?
The St. Louis Sage reflects on the riverside amusement park that never came to fruition. Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
Who are the Donauschwaben?
You knew St. Louis was German: the beer and sausage, the stern but glorious churches, those cool old Turnverein gyms in the city… But the Donauschwaben have a special, darker story, their name carved of necessity from the atrocities they suffered. Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
Why is Southern Illinois the horseradish capital of the world?
Well, it’s part nature, part culture, and part…pollution. Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
What’s the story with that Egyptian cat at the Saint Louis Art Museum?
Unraveling the complex history of the mysterious statue. Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
How did Bloody Island get its name?
The St. Louis Sage revisits the lore surrounding the famous sandbar, once the site of dramatic duels. Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
Who was St. Louis’ first female bookie?
Police grumbled to reporters about their inability to nab “the only woman bookmaker in the city." Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
How did hundreds of peccaries get into Cherokee Cave?
Unearthing the mystery of how a big pile of their bones ended up in an urban cave in St. Louis city. Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
What's up with that giant Amoco sign—on a BP?
It's a story that stretches back to before the construction of the interstate system. Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
Have you heard of the St. Louis red poinsettia?
Did the classic holiday poinsetta have its origins here? The question's simple—but the answer turns out to be rather complicated. Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
Was Reddi-wip invented in St. Louis?
The stuff was iconic, a readymade symbol of the postwar appetite for ease and domestic gadgetry. By 1951, annual sales had topped $7 million. Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
Were St. Louis police the first in the U.S. to use fingerprinting?
Besides all the buzz about the newfangled food at 1904 World’s Fair, there was also talk at the time of the new science of fingerprint identification. Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
Did St. Louis invent “Indian ball,” a backyard version of baseball?
"Indian Ball" is a practical way to play baseball even if you don't have enough players to field a team. Read more
Are you pronouncing Pulitzer correctly? If you’re from St. Louis, it’s likely.
The Poynter Institute, the organization behind the Pulitzer Prize, once grew so frustrated with the dueling pronunciations, it polled a few real Pulitzers. Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
Do you know the Jewish gunslinger who kept St. Clair County safe in the early 1800s?
He was also one of the first Jews to live in Illinois before it became a state. Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
Why does St. Louis have such good water?
St. Louisans can thank John Wixford, a brilliant but eccentric chemist and city water department employee, who developed the Wixford Process. Read more
ILLUSTRATION BY BRITT SPENCER
Who was “the hoodlum priest”?
St. Louis' Reverend Charles “Dismas” Clark believed in second chances; he’d grown up rough, the son of a coal miner in rural Illinois, and might’ve chosen crime himself. Instead, he became a Jesuit. Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
How long have Tums been churned out in that big, old factory by the ballpark?
The interior of the St. Louis factory's five-story redbrick building is shrouded in pharmaceutical-level secrecy, lest anyone tamper or steal secrets. Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
Why did St. Louis send France that country’s first grizzly bear?
Was it an act of generosity, a polite prank, or an exercise in one-upmanship? Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
How did Vincent Price’s family first make their fortune?
The St. Louis Sage reflects on the story behind the King of Horror—and his culinary talents. Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
How did a Scottish castle wind up in South County?
George Wood-Smith's architectural wonder once stood on the river bluffs near Bee Tree Park. Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
Why didn’t St. Louis Disneyland get built?
The St. Louis Sage reflects on the riverside amusement park that never came to fruition. Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
Who are the Donauschwaben?
You knew St. Louis was German: the beer and sausage, the stern but glorious churches, those cool old Turnverein gyms in the city… But the Donauschwaben have a special, darker story, their name carved of necessity from the atrocities they suffered. Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
Why is Southern Illinois the horseradish capital of the world?
Well, it’s part nature, part culture, and part…pollution. Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
What’s the story with that Egyptian cat at the Saint Louis Art Museum?
Unraveling the complex history of the mysterious statue. Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
How did hundreds of peccaries get into Cherokee Cave?
Unearthing the mystery of how a big pile of their bones ended up in an urban cave in St. Louis city. Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
Have you heard of the St. Louis red poinsettia?
Did the classic holiday poinsetta have its origins here? The question's simple—but the answer turns out to be rather complicated. Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
What’s St. Louis’ oldest movie theater?
The Tivoli, The Fox, or the Hi-Pointe Theatre? Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
Do St. Louisans really eat brain sandwiches?
Short answer: yes. Schottzie's Bar & Grill has been making them for years, and they're delicious. Read more
Illustration by Britt Spencer
Was the nation’s first kindergarten in St. Louis?
Short answer: no. But the most important kindergarten may have been here. Read more
