Podcasts
Curious City

Curious City

WBEZ Chicago 719 - Did Chicago invent the rage room? A look inside “the Frustration Room”

Ask questions, vote and discover answers about Chicago, the region and its people. From WBEZ.

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Published 09 Sep 2026

Duration 21:03

Episodes

719-

Did Chicago invent the rage room? A look inside “the Frustration Room”

Listened

09 Sep 2026

718-

How did a native Chicago plant disappear forever?

Listened

02 Sep 2026

717-

Why is the island in Washington Park behind a locked gate?

Listened

26 Aug 2026

716-

School lunch used to ace the test

Listened

19 Aug 2026

715-

Shipwrecks, mussels and sponges: Chicago is a scuba diving destination

Listened

12 Aug 2026

714-

Chicago has many block club signs. What are block clubs and what do they do?

Listened

05 Aug 2026

713-

“Like getting paid to party”: The life of cover bands on the Chicago festival circuit

Listened

29 Jul 2026

712-

Is that a lobster in the Chicago River?

Listened

22 Jul 2026

711-

‘Give while you live’: Who is Museum of Science and Industry founder Julius Rosenwald?

Listened

15 Jul 2026

710-

A good lake, not a Great Lake

Listened

08 Jul 2026

709-

Why does Chicago have so little love for the ‘Watchdog’ of the lakefront?

Listened

01 Jul 2026

708-

Is This Your Card? A Brief History Of Chicago-style Magic

Listened

24 Jun 2026

707-

Where did the term 'Chicagoland' come from?

Listened

17 Jun 2026

706-

How did Hollywood Beach become Chicago’s ‘gay beach’?

Listened

10 Jun 2026

705-

Why does Chicago use Comic Sans on some elevator inspection certificates?

Listened

03 Jun 2026

704-

Does Chicago have a Filipino neighborhood?

Listened

27 May 2026

703-

Why are there helicopters flying over my neighborhood every night?

Listened

20 May 2026

702-

Why does Chicago have a monument named for fascist leader Italo Balbo?

Listened

13 May 2026

701-

Standing on history: Who built Chicago’s WPA sidewalks?

Listened

06 May 2026

700-

‘This is how I speak’: The influence of the Black Chicago accent

Listened

23 Apr 2026

699-

How has the Black Chicago accent retained its Southern roots?

Listened

22 Apr 2026

698-

The story of the Lady Elgin, the deadliest shipwreck in Great Lakes history

Listened

09 Apr 2026

697-

What are Chicago area lighthouses used for?

Listened

08 Apr 2026

696-

How early Black Chicagoans used photography to redefine their image

Listened

26 Mar 2026

695-

What was Chicago's first art gallery?

Listened

25 Mar 2026

694-

Chicago came under martial law after the Great Fire. Did it help?

Listened

18 Mar 2026

693-

The ‘windmill capital of the world’ used to be down the road from Chicago

Listened

12 Mar 2026

692-

Why aren’t there wind turbines in Lake Michigan?

Listened

11 Mar 2026

691-

No cars, no road salt: How one Midwestern community avoids salt all winter

Listened

26 Feb 2026

690-

How does a mild winter affect Chicago’s economy?

Listened

25 Feb 2026

689-

What was it like for women working in Hoover’s FBI?

Listened

19 Feb 2026

688-

Why did the FBI recruit girls from Catholic high schools?

Listened

18 Feb 2026

687-

How Ella Jenkins’ Chicago childhood shaped her iconic children’s music

Listened

12 Feb 2026

686-

What's the first Chicago public school named in honor of a Black person?

Listened

11 Feb 2026

685-

Why did Chicago widen Ashland Avenue?

Listened

05 Feb 2026

684-

Why is Ashland Avenue sometimes Ashland Boulevard?

Listened

04 Feb 2026

683-

We can’t name ‘em all, but here are some of Chicago’s greatest films

Listened

22 Jan 2026

682-

From ‘The Fugitive’ to ‘The Dark Knight,’ what’s the best movie filmed in Chicago?

Listened

21 Jan 2026

681-

‘Weather is cool’: Weird Chicago weather, from northern lights to water spouts

Listened

15 Jan 2026

680-

When is it no longer ‘cooler by the lake’?

Listened

14 Jan 2026

679-

‘It felt like a secret’: Remembering Chicago’s Berlin nightclub

Listened

08 Jan 2026

678-

What’s the story behind Berlin nightclub’s huge mural?

Listened

07 Jan 2026

677-

Krampus is coming: The Christmas demon’s Chicago connection

Listened

18 Dec 2025

676-

“A Christmas Carol”: An amateur actor’s journey into a Chicago holiday tradition

Listened

17 Dec 2025

675-

The first Black-owned airport in the U.S. was in Robbins, Illinois

Listened

11 Dec 2025

674-

A museum, a mayor and a road: How Lake Shore Drive became a runway ... intentionally

Listened

10 Dec 2025

673-

How one organization is transforming Englewood’s vacant lots

Listened

04 Dec 2025

672-

Want to buy the vacant lot next door? It might take awhile

Listened

03 Dec 2025

671-

Does your iguana need x-rays? A local exotic animal hospital can help

Listened

20 Nov 2025

670-

A monkey on the loose: Odd animal sightings in Chicago

Listened

19 Nov 2025

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