From Quillette: “In the fall of 2004, Frank came up with an idea for a project. After work, he’d drive through the streets of Washington, D.C., with stacks of self-addressed postcards. At metro stops, he’d approach strangers. “Hi,” he’d say. “I’m Frank. And I collect secrets.” Some people shrugged him off, or told him they didn’t have any secrets; others were amused, or intrigued. They took cards and, following instructions he’d left next to the address, wrote down secrets they’d never told anyone before, and mailed them back to Frank. All the secrets were anonymous. They told stories of infidelity, longing, abuse. Some were funny. By 2024, Frank would have more than a million.”
How Japanese Americans created an art form while interned in WWII camps
From High Country News: “As a child, I’d creep down the basement stairs and watch him: hunched over a table, a single lamp lighting his work. The end result: a bird pin so delicate it could fit into the palm of my 8-year-old hand. I always thought they were unique to him. But in recent years, I’ve learned that he was part of something much larger. It all began in February 1942, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which led to the incarceration of roughly 122,000 Japanese Americans. Many were given just 48 hours to pack, forcing them to sell their houses, farms, businesses and possessions. They were sent to 10 War Relocation Authority camps in remote parts of Wyoming, California, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho and Arkansas.”
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