Utterly interesting

A smiling polar bear posed with soldiers and children in wartime Germany. Made by Steiff to promote Fanta during the Second World War, the costume reveals how normality was staged through advertising, even as violence and persecution shaped daily life.

Once upon a time, being a rock star meant you could pretty much do whatever you fancied. Smash up a hotel room? No problem. Drink like a sailor, smoke like a chimney, snort like a vacuum cleaner? All part of the job description. But times have changed. These days, throw a telly out of a hotel window and it’s not just the manager giving you grief – it’s someone from housekeeping live-tweeting it with the hashtag #RockStarOrJustJerk before TMZ has even sent a camera crew. The a

J Edgar Hoover and Clyde Tolson dined together, holidayed together, and were buried yards apart. They never defined their relationship, but Washington treated them as a couple for decades. Their story shows how uneasy modern labels can be when applied to the past.