Oct

Aha Moment Maker: The Real McCoy

by Your friends at OIC on October 19, 2013

JACKSONVILLE, 1920—Boatyard owner William Frederick McCoy had already made a name for himself designing and building luxury boats for the rich and famous before the advent of Prohibition.

Even though he didn’t drink, McCoy saw an opportunity and began using his own boat to transport cases of liquor from the Bahamas to the U.S. Soon enough, McCoy had put together a network of boats and was in undisputed control of Atlantic Ocean rum-running between the Bahamas and Canada.

In fact, McCoy became well-known for providing genuine liquor—not watered-down or otherwise touched. To distinguish his product from competitors’ booze, he termed it “the real McCoy.” Though competitors with only homemade liquors also used the phrase “the real McCoy” to fool their customers, McCoy’s reputation for quality caused him to prevail.

From his bootlegging, McCoy earned several hundred thousand dollars which he enjoyed after serving nine months in a New Jersey jail and then retiring to Florida.

What’s the aha moment you see?

Image © Comstock

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Your Own Aha Moments

Oct

Fleeting Art: A High-Rise Swan Song

by Meredith Mullins on October 17, 2013

Artistic Expression at the Tour 13

Collage of color on walls and radiator, artistic expression of street art at the Tour 13 (Photo © Meredith Mullins)

Work by Kruella (Portugal) at the Tour 13
Photo © Meredith Mullins

Guess what’s the hottest attraction in Paris these days? Eiffel Tower? Notre Dame? Louvre Museum? Any of these answers could be true. But, at the moment, the hottest (free) ticket in town is a visit to a bright orange dilapidated building in the 13th arrondissement.

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France (Paris)/The World's Art & Design

Oct

Artistic Expression That’s a Cut Above

by Janine Boylan on October 14, 2013

Karen Bit Vejle, showing the artistic expression of cut paper art (Image © Marjaana Malkamäki)

The Cut Paper Art of Karen Bit Vejle

Until just a few years ago, Karen Bit Vejle had a secret hidden under her rugs.

Like many in her home country of Denmark, Vejle grew up making gækkebrev, cut paper holiday cards. She discovered that she was rather talented at cutting out the little greetings.

For years, Vejle reserved her paper cutting for the holidays. But the summer she turned 16, she had an “Oh, I see!” moment:

. . . I saw a man who was sitting in the sun cutting out paper silhouettes with motifs I had never before seen. I was enraptured, and stood there staring for a long time, watching the man as he maneuvered his scissors to bring forth the most beautiful little paper cutting. I was so taken with the idea that I went right home and got my mother’s sewing scissors, and I have never let them out of my sight since.

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Denmark/The World's Art & Design

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