Thanks to the Sun-Times' Paige Wiser for reminding us that tonight's episode of the History Channel's Life After People series focuses on, among other cities, Chicago. According to Wiser:

The Chicago portion of the 9 p.m. show is eerily realistic, maybe because producers had such a conveniently close case study. They looked to a once-thriving, now-abandoned section of Gary as what could happen to another lakeside city in a short amount of time. The narrator sternly calls Gary “the Pompeii of the Midwest.”

For all the discussion about this year being the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth, it's worth pointing out that today was final full day of our 16th President's life back in 1865. It was on this date that Lincoln and his wife took a few hours to attend Our American Cousin at Ford's Theater, and became the first President to be assassinated when he was shot by John Wilkes Booth. more ›

Chicagoist can’t decide whether hosting the 2016 Olympics would be a boon or boondoggle. But this morning’s Trib article about the latest obstacle to Chicago’s bid nearly had us choking on our Lucky Charms. Apparently, our image is still stuck in the past: more ›

Before we tell you about two local, movie-related events happening this weekend, let us first dispense with the Da Vinci-sized elephant in the room. If you have yet to jump on The Da Vinci Code bandwagon, you probably never will, though you’ll likely live a full and rewarding life without having done so. For research purposes, Chicagoist delved into the book this week and the experience was a bit like trying to run through 10... more ›

On Saturday, crowds gathered along the Chicago River to watch as a speedboat dumped green food coloring into the water in celebration of St. Patrick's Day. The History Channel tells us that the tradition started in 1962 when some city plumbers used dyes to trace illegal substances that were polluting the river. They then realized that the green dye might make for a cool way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. That year they dumped 100 pounds of green vegetable dye into the river. It was so much that the river stayed green for a week. more ›