Undercover reporters
Newspapers competed fiercely for readers in the late 19th century. One of the innovations of the time was the undercover reporter, particularly women, called "girl stunt reporters". They could anonymously take on the role of the lowly victim and uncover injustice. Nellie Bly got herself committed to an insane asylum for a story. In another example, when a new publisher took over The Chicago Times in 1887, a schoolteacher-turned-reporter named Helen Cusack was hired. She donned a shabby frock and brown veil and went looking for a job in the rainy July of 1888. In factories and sweat shops, she stitched coats and shoe linings, interviewed her fellow workers in hot, unventilated spaces and did the math. At the Excelsior Underwear Company, she was handed a stack of shirts to sew - 80c a dozen - and then was charged 50c to rent the sewing machine and 35c for thread. Nearby, another woman was being yelled at for leaving oil stains on chemises. She'd have to pay to launder them. "But worse than broken shoes, ragged clothes, filthy closets, poor light, high temperature, and vitiated atmosphere was the cruel treatment by the people in authority," she wrote under the byline Nell Nelson. Her series, "City Slave Girls," ran for weeks. (Via Neatorama.com)
'Don't tell mum and dad'
What's your best 'don't tell mum/dad' moment?
"My mum went on a relaxing 'ladies only' holiday with her friends for two weeks when my brother and I were 5 and 8 respectively. Two hours after we waved goodbye to her at the airport, my brother managed to drop an entire drawer on his foot and severe his entire little toe. The doctors weren't sure if they could save it but they succeeded. By the time mum got home my brother had a bandage around his toe and as far as he was concerned he'd just had an 'owie'. I don't think she found out until about ten years later when my brother said, 'hey remember when I almost lost my toe while mum was on holiday lol' - that was a memorable family dinner to say the least." (Source: quora.com)
