The Sears catalog sold some weird products before it folded, including drugs

Sears used to sell entire DIY houses in its catalog

From 1908 through the 1940s, Sears sold DIY house kits starting at $600. An estimated 100,000 homes were built, but fewer than 5,000 have been identified today.

In its famous catalog, Sears sold $600 DIY house kits from 1908 through the 1940s, resulting in an estimated 100,000 'Sears and Roebuck homes.'

Explore a Sears historical timeline

Sears has existed for over 130 years, and is remembered for much more than its 2018 bankruptcy, from the Sears and Roebuck’s catalog to Discover Card and Allstate Insurance.

Explore Sears’ holiday Wish Book catalogs dating back to 1930

The Sears Wish Book was a holiday-themed version of its catalogs that helped people make Christmas gift wish lists and more from the 1930s until the early 2000s. See what they looked like with editions in this archive.

Some argue the Sears catalog undermined Jim Crow laws in the rural South

When the Sears catalog was popularized, Black Americans didn’t always have an easy time shopping in US stores due to racism and Jim Crow laws. Some say that the Sears catalog was radical at the time for helping Black Americans avoid retail shopping in the South—often a negative experience.

Sears once tried to become a tech company

In 1984, Sears arguably created one of the first online retail services, called “Prodigy,” in 1984 alongside IBM and CBS. But it was more of a WeChat than an Amazon, offering a variety of other services to users a few years before the dot com era.

Multiple business choices may have hindered Sears’ financial success

There’s no shortage of potential culprits for Sears’ death, from hedge fund manager Eddie Lampert, to Amazon, to the 2008 stock market crash.

The Whole Earth Catalog offered readers tools for healthy eating

The publication promised hippies "access to tools"—listings for "high quality or low cost" books, devices, and instructions for alternative living, including cultivating natural and organic foods. This archive comprises high-definition scans of nearly all materials published between 1968 and 2002.

​Why heroin became associated with the grunge world

The drug was popular with several Seattle acts in the early 1990s, with artists like Hole's Courtney Love even publicizing her use in a magazine profile. A 1992 New York Times story on Seattle said the city's principal drugs were "espresso, beer, and heroin."

Bed Bath and Beyond’s 20% off coupon had a cult following

The home goods store’s most fervent fans loved these coupons so much that some bought them in batches on eBay. The FBI even reportedly found one of these big blue coupons in famous mobster Whitey Bulger’s junk drawer. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Silk Road, the dark web's first widely used market, proved the real-world utility of bitcoin

Named after the ancient intercontinental trade network between China and the Roman Empire, the anonymous market was active from early 2011 to October 2013. Before it was shut down, approximately 10,000 products—70% of which were illegal and controlled prescription drugs—were bought and sold using the cryptocurrency.

Anheuser-Busch sold half of its real estate holdings to survive Prohibition

The Budweiser parent company also created and sold out more than 25 different nonalcoholic products during this time, including but not limited to infant formula, frozen eggs, and specialized coffees and teas.

See some of the weirdest Advent calendars you can buy

Modern Advent calendars span nearly every niche imaginable. Shoppers can now buy versions filled with cheese, dog treats, hot sauce, and even sexual-wellness products, reflecting how far the tradition has expanded beyond simple chocolate countdowns.

The 1980s brought luxury items into the bathroom

Companies produced items like waterproof radios and targeted them at people under 30, marketing the devices as hip ways to stay clean.

One odd Macy’s location is basically a museum

Here’s a list of things you wouldn’t expect to see at your average Macy’s store: a 19th-century French painting, a former midcentury children’s barbershop, nautical portholes, and the list goes on. Shoppers can find all those things and more in one unique Macy’s store in Pasadena, California.

A catalog of 3,000 ornate Chinese cigarette boxes and brands

China's vast, state-owned tobacco market has produced enough regional brands and packaging variants to sustain a dedicated collector community. Ciggies.app functions as both a product database and an enthusiast social network, with entries spanning current mainland releases, historical discontinued brands, and international imports.

A sample of quirky medieval era-book titles

The medieval book publishing industry wasn't quite so robust as our modern era's, but the mystical and satirical tomes coming out at that time still needed a name. Peruse this list of some of the quirkier of those titles, which reflects the era's literalness, theological interest, and downright silliness.

Watch the craziest ways cartels traffic drugs

The war on drugs has forced cartels to be increasingly creative when it comes to smuggling drugs. As police develop methods to catch smugglers, drug traffickers come up with new ways to get their products from producer to seller to buyer. This cycle...

Shrunken human heads were once a valuable commodity

In the Ecuadoran Amazon of the 1800s, shrunken human heads had spiritual significance. As outsiders became fascinated by the exotic practice, head shrinking became commercialized, and counterfeit shrunken heads were common. By the mid-1940s, shrunken heads could be traded for guns. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

​​Andy Warhol made a Coca-Cola perfume called 'You're In'

The 100 spray-painted bottles were filled with a cheap citrusy perfume, practically begging audiences to ask if they were indeed filled with urine. The Coca-Cola Company sent a cease-and-desist letter shortly after learning of the project. IN 2017, a Japanese fashion brand remade the works without mentioning Coca-Cola.

Saccharin was banned in Canada in the 1970s, but regulators may allow its use once again

The product, commonly known as Sweet'N Low, was banned in Canada in the late 1970s due to research indicating that the sweetener could cause cancer in lab rats. Subsequent studies have found that the rodent findings didn't hold true for humans, and so Canadian regulators state that they are considering updating their stance to allow the product to be added to certain foods (the product is currently allowed in the US).

Mass market paperbacks were originally designed to fit in your pocket

These books were supposed to cost no more than a pack of cigarettes and had a huge reach thanks to their affordable price. The pocket-sized paperbacks are now going extinct due to the convenience of downloading reading materials on smartphones and other shifts in the publishing industry.

Batteries, baby wipes, and other Costco buys that might not be worth it

Costco's private label Kirkland sells just about everything at a price many customers say can't be beat. While often a cost-efficient way to buy household goods in bulk, some shoppers not all Kirkland products are created equal and there are some items that aren't worth the cost savings.

The rare 1970s Ken Doll with facial hair

In 1973, Mattel released the Mod Hair Ken Doll. The toy was the first Ken since 1961 to possess "real" rooted hair, plus it came with sideburns, a beard, and two mustaches. For clothes, he wore a brown and white checked jacket, white turtle neck, light brown pants, and brown shoes. Take a look at images of the doll decked out in 1970s fashion for insight into life in another era.

John D. Rockefeller’s father had a nefarious past

William A. Rockefeller Sr. earned his money via various schemes that included pretending to be a doctor to sell “herbal medicines” and posing as a deaf person to peddle for money.

Egypt's 'Books of the Dead' helped the dead pass through the underworld

During the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt, elaborate burial rites included the incantation of magic spells to help those who had died navigate the underworld. Texts of these spell-binding funerary guidelines, widely known as the "Books of the Dead," have survived intact.

Explore fun facts from the USPS, including unique post office buildings, a stamp that traveled past Pluto, and more.

A century of Billboard issues documenting the evolution of popular music.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

A vending machine run with Anthropic's AI went out of business after it was convinced to give away items for free and sell a video game console.

In 2019, a laptop loaded with six of the worst malware in history and described as 'an exhibit of historical weaponry' sold for $1.3M.

Sony set the standard for cylinder-shaped batteries when it repurposed manufacturing equipment used to make rolls of magnetic recording tape.

Mid-century modern graphic designers, known for their bright colors and bold lines in advertising, also found success with children's books.

20,000 letters to the advice columnist 'Dear Abby' provide insight into prevailing sex, religion, and LGBTQ fears, anxieties, and concerns from the 1950s onward.

'Shogun,' a 1980s TV series, helped popularize sushi in the US by stimulating an American interest in Japanese culture.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

The distributor behind 'Rocky Horror' pulled the film from its scheduled national release, believing it would be a failure, though it eventually amassed a dedicated fanbase through midnight showings, a trend that continues over 50 years later.

Poison ivy was sent to Europe in the 1600s as an exotic, ornamental oddity, where it was purposefully grown in the English royal gardens at Kew, the Faculty of Medicine in Paris, and a few other locations.

See these 16 pieces of art evoking phobias of snakes, flying, spiders, and more. 

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

Against his wishes, Albert Einstein's brain was removed before his cremation, and the pathologist responsible stored it for decades in mason jars within a beer cooler.

The concept of phantom limbs, the perception that amputated limbs are still present, dates back to a French military surgeon in the 16th century.

How the most famous Ebola book, The Hot Zone, which sold 3.5 million copies and was translated into 30 languages, got aspects of the disease so wrong.

Fireworks-related ER visits are on the rise—in 2024, they increased by 52% as compared to the prior year.

US consumers collectively owe more than $1T to credit card companies—almost as much as they owe in auto loans.

Search a massive database of over 4 decades of clues from the TV quiz show 'Jeopardy!'

After her fellow cult members tried to kill her with an LSD-infused hamburger, one member of the Manson Family, the murderous cult led by Charles Manson, decided to testify against the group's leader.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

Existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre coined the famous phrase 'Hell is—other people' in his play 'No Exit'