Westvleteren Brewery
Westvleteren, a Belgium brewery founded by Trappist monks. The infamous Westvleteren 12 beer comes from here.
William Desmond Taylor
William Desmond Taylor was an Irish-born American actor, successful film director of silent movies and a popular figure in the growing Hollywood film colony of the 1910s and early 1920s. His murder on February 1, 1922, along with other Hollywood scandals such as the Roscoe Arbuckle trial, led to a frenzy of sensationalistic and often fabricated newspaper reports. In the 1950 film Sunset Boulevard, the name Norma Desmond is a reference to both Taylor's middle name and one of his actress friends, Mabel Normand. Taylor's murder remains officially unsolved.
William Klein
William Klein has always colored outside the lines. With forays into experimental photography, fashion photography at Vogue, and later, film, he had few preconceived notions about the art forms, and did not care to aspire to others’ norms - his methods were mostly improvised. Trained as a painter, Klein worked briefly in Fernand Léger’s Paris studio after serving in World War II, and never received professional photographic instruction.
Wenseslao Moguel
On March 18, 1915 Wenseslao Moguel was captured while fighting in the Mexican revolution. Without trial he was sentenced to be executed by firing squad. Moguel was shot 9 times including a final bullet through his head at close range by an officer to insure death. Moguel somehow survived and managed to escape. Wenseslao went on to live a full life after his “execution”. The above photo shows Moguel in 1937 on the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not radio show pointing to his scar from the bullet that was shot at close range.
Whistler’s Nocturnes
In these works Whistler aimed to convey a sense of the beauty and tranquility of the Thames by night.
West Wycombe Caves
West Wycombe Caves are a network of man-made chalk and flint caverns which extend one quarter of a mile underground, situated above the village of West Wycombe, England. They were excavated between 1748 and 1752 for the infamous Francis Dashwood, 15th Baron le Despencer, founder of the Dilettanti Society and co-founder of the notorious Hell Fire Club, whose meetings were held within the caves. These clubs were rumoured to be the meeting places of persons of quality who wished to take part in immoral acts, and the members were often very involved in politics. Neither the activities nor membership of the club are easy to ascertain.
Woodlawn Vase
The Woodlawn Vase is an American trophy given annually to the winning owner of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. For many years the trophy was given to the winning owner to keep for one year until the next running of the race. In 1917, the Woodlawn Vase was first awarded to the Preakness winner. In 1953 the winning owner was no longer allowed to keep it. In 1983 the trophy's silver design was appraised by Tiffany and Company of New York (the original creator in 1860) as priceless but a figure of $1,000,000 was established for insurance purposes. The value is now believed to be worth in excess of $4,000,000.
Willie Sutton
Willie Sutton was a prolific U.S. bank robber. During his forty year criminal career he stole an estimated $2 million, and eventually spent more than half his adult life in prison. When he was asked why he robbed banks, “That's where the money is.”
Windmill Theatre
The Windmill was a variety and revue theatre in London in 1931-1964. It was started by Laura Henderson and Vivian Van Damm. The theatre featured nude girls on stage.The girls were not allowed to move and had to become like "living statues". Because to be naked and moving was considered obscene. But standing still while naked was ruled to be art. After Mrs. Henderson and Van Damm died, the theatre soon closed in 1964 because it couldn't compete with the new strip joints. The theatre's famous motto We Never Closed was a reference to the fact that the theatre remained open, apart from the compulsory closure that affected all theatres for 12 days in 1939. Performances continued throughout the Second World War even at the height of the Blitz. The showgirls, cast members, and crew moved into the safety of the theatre's two underground floors during some of the worst air attacks.
White lions
The white lion is a rare color mutation of the lion, specifically the Southern African lion. White lions in the area of Timbavati are thought to have been indigenous to the Timbavati region of South Africa for centuries, although the earliest recorded sighting in this region was in 1938. White lions first became known to the English-speaking world in 1977 through the book The White Lions of Timbavati.