Confronting the 23 Enigma: an illustration from a 1906 issue of Puck magazine.  The caption reads: "Shadows."

An illustration from an 1853 issue of Punch magazine.

An illustration from an 1868 issue of Punch magazine.  The caption reads: "A cross-looking ultra ritualist."

Boxing is generally considered an extremely macho sport, but few people realize every boxing match is overseen by fairies.  An illustration from an 1860 issue of Punch magazine.

The mumbo jumbo of a Papal Bull: an illustration from an 1860 issue of Punch magazine.

An illustration from an 1853 issue of Punch magazine.

Feast and famine, windfall and shortfall, prosperity and hardship, abundance and scarcity: a twofold wheat spirit from Punch, 1868.

There has always been a fine line between stage magic and occultism.  Here's a poorly-rehearsed stage magician who mangles his magic words and conjures up a demon, from Punch, 1908.  The caption reads, "An unrehearsed effect."

It's commonly believed that the psychedelic drug LSD was first synthesized by the chemist Albert Hofmann in 1938.  However, we can confirm that LSD was first "cooked up" by one Mrs. Threadneedle in 1847.  The acronym LSD has nothing to do with her chemical compound but rather the cost of her "soothing syrup."  (L.s.d. stands for the old British monetary values of "pounds, shililngs, pence," from the Latin "librae, solidi, denarii.")

"Always remember that no one can waste your time without your consent."
—Barry B. Gallagher, The Secrets of Life Power (2008)

The illustration is from Told After Supper by Jerome K. Jerome (1891).

I-eye:  an illustration from Told After Supper by Jerome K. Jerome (1891).

An illustration from Told After Supper by Jerome K. Jerome (1891).  The text reads: "Now is the Very Witching Time of Night."

"Cats' Ghosts":  an illustration from an 1895 issue of The Idler magazine.

This auroral priestess, the "Siren of the Pole," appears in The Idler, 1897.

"But wait!"  A detail of a comic strip from Life, 1920.

An illustration from a 1918 issue of Life magazine.

Before the advent of Internet porn:  an illustration from a 1908 issue of Life magazine.

An illustration from a 1911 issue of Life magazine.