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When Grim Natwick first drew the character that became Betty Boop for Fleischer Studios, a song made popular by Helen Kane was the direct inspiration. Kane had made a career with her high voice, big eyes, and the "boop-boop-a-doop" she would insert into songs. Kane was so upset that Fleischer stole her act for the cartoon character that she sued. But karma intervened, as it turned out that Kane did not originate the "boop-boop-a-doop" act, but appropriated it from a Cotton Club headliner named Esther Jones, also known as Baby Esther.

Tipped to be the next Josephine Baker, her real name was Gertrude Saunders and African American historians believe that she “coined” the famous words “Boop-Boop-a-Doop”, first uttering them on stage at the Cotton Club. Jazz studies scholar Robert O’Meally, referenced by the Harlem World Magazine, even referred to Saunders as Betty Boop’s “black grandmother.” But somewhere between 1927 and 1928, a white Broadway actress and singer, Helen Kane, caught one of Esther’s performances and almost immediately began using the “boops” in her songs.

An article at Messy Nessy Chic tells the story of Esther Jones, Helen Kane, and Betty Boop, but only after running down the fascinating history of the Cotton Club itself.   

The green, lush Val-De-Travers Valley in Western Switzerland features forests straight out of fairy tales. And this place of huge moss covered rock formations, and gnarled trees, is the birthplace of absinthe. In the forests bottles of spirits are hidden away in cold running brooks often featuring fountains where thirsty hikers are invited to imbibe of both the spirits, and the water.

In 1910, because of the rumors that absinthe made users hallucinate, production was banned by the Swiss government. And after the ban was finally lifted in 2005, a joint French & Swiss commission created the Absinthe Trail, a route that takes visitors past distilleries, and also to a handful of the historic hidden fountains as well.

Read more on Atlas Obscura.

Chasing the Green Fairy on the French-Swiss Absinthe Route (YouTube) via Munchies.com

Image Credit: A bottle of absinthe tucked away in the woods. NICOLAS GIGER

For as long as humans have been fermenting grapes, wine has always been an “indoor” beverage. If you want to enjoy wine on the go, you’ve got a pack a big, breakable bottle, a corkscrew, and glasses. There’s an entire cottage industry dedicated to making the practice slightly less inconvenient. Here’s a better idea: …

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The Bucks decided to run one of the most Wisconsin in-game fan contests ever on Sunday. In order to receive an autographed basketball, a fan had to name more cheeses than Milwaukee guard Sterling Brown did in the span of 30 seconds (17). With a foam cheese on her head, and a toddler on her arm, this Wisconsin woman…

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It looks like a shard of Kryptonite, but it's actually a massive emerald discovered at Kagem, the world's largest emerald mine in Zambia.

The Inkalamu emerald was named in honor of the wildlife conservation group that Gemfields, the mine's co-owner, collaborates with. It was discovered by geologist Debapriya Rakshit and miner Richard Kapeta.

Gorgeous!

(Photo: Gemfields)

In collaboration with the Tikki Hywood Foundation, wildlife photographer Adrian Steirn documented the "Pangolin Men," a group of remarkable men who are dedicated to protect the pangolin, which happens to be the world's most trafficked animal.

The pangolin is the only mammal that has scales - unfortunately, that unusual feature caused them to be illegally hunted and killed.

Steirn's work helped spotlight the plight of the animals, and how a dedicated group of people are working to protect and to rehabilitate rescued pangolins.

View more of Steirn's amazing photos over at his Instagram and website.

(Photos: Adrian Steirn)

As shown in the clip above, each of the Pangolin Men is assigned an individual pangolin. They walk and rehabilitate them so the pangolins can learn to forage naturally. "Everyday with my friends we protect the animals," one of the men said, "we walk them, we feed them, we protect them like our children."

Watch the rest of story of the Pangolin Men in this video clip by Barcroft Animals.

Evolution of Hokusai's "Great Wave".
1. When he was 33 (1792).
2. When he was 44 (1803).
3. When he was 46 (1805).
4. When he was 72 (1831). pic.twitter.com/hUXkjNjGxh

— tkasasagi (@tkasasagi) September 26, 2018

You've seen the iconic artwork everywhere, The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai. It is both simple and intricate, colorful and calming, and infinitely meme-able. Hokusai created the woodblock print when he was 72 years old, after drawing sea waves for half his life, although he also illustrated many other subjects. Japanese literature PhD tkasasagi shows us Hokusai's other waves, and how they evolved through his career.

Springtime in Enoshima 1792

View of Honmoku off Kanagawa 1803

First Cargo Boat Battling the Waves 1805

The Great Wave off Kanagawa 1831

-via Digg

You might see this picture around the internet claiming that these are the same people as the original stock image, just a few years later. That's not it at all. This spot-on recreation came about almost by accident. Charlie Todd, the guy in the middle, explained what really happened.

-via reddit

Unless a band is named after the most prominent member (Bon Jovi) or an obvious fact about them (The Philadelphia Orchestra), there's probably a great story behind how the name was selected. Some of them may even be true.

Check out a pictofacts post that tells the stories of how 25 bands got their unique names at Cracked.