The Frontier Curator
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Stuff You Should Know
3 episodes this week
Let's All Go to the World's Fair
Mar 5, 2026
- World's fairs were the 19th century's version of the internet—where millions saw electricity, steam engines, and telephones for the first time
- The 1851 Crystal Palace exhibition in London established the template: 18 acres of glass housing 14,000 exhibits designed to "knock people's socks off"
- What began as trade fairs for industrial looms evolved into nationalist theater, with Paris hosting eight exhibitions between 1855 and 1937 to project imperial power
Short Stuff: Johnny Ringo
Mar 4, 2026
- Johnny Ringo's violent career as an Old West gunslinger began after he watched his father accidentally blow his own head off at age 14
- Found dead against a tree in 1882 with a pistol in his hand, Ringo was likely a suicide, not a victim of Doc Holliday as Hollywood claims
- Doc Holliday's own lover described Ringo as a tragic gentleman who "never boasted" and fought only face to face
The Gold Standard: When Money Meant Something
Mar 3, 2026
- The gold standard required governments to hold gold reserves equal to every dollar in circulation, creating price stability but removing the ability to print money for crises or wars.
- Gold bugs still demand a return to metal-backed currency, but as Josh Clark notes, "that train has left the station"—the global economy has permanently shifted to fiat monetary policy.
- Fixed government ratios between gold and silver (like the U.S. 15-to-1 standard) collapsed whenever new mines opened, proving that commodity-backed currency cannot withstand market reality.