For lovers of laughter, the next few weeks (Jan. 24-Feb. 10) will be an orgy of hilarity filling every crevice of this city, from prestigious museums to dingy video store basements. Inventive and inspired, the 12th annual Sketchfest offers everything from competitive erotic fan fiction to... More >>

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, for all its legendary impact and influence, was an enormous gamble on the part of Walt Disney. His Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphony cartoon shorts had been successful, but producing a feature was another venture entirely. The Hollywood press saw Snow White as a... More >>

Forty-five bird species. Fifty-two plant species. Twenty orders and 39 families of arthropods. All these have been identified at the California Academy of Sciences, but it’s probably not what you think; these life forms aren’t preserved in exhibits indoors. Rather, they inhabit the... More >>

In ancient Rome, the god of fertility was honored in February, with ceremonial love lotteries and mock-floggings with a bloody goatskin. Even those are a pale reflection of truly bizarre courtships that unfold in the natural world. For example, the common garden snail is a hermaphrodite that... More >>

Eric Kipp may be brilliant. Without a doubt, the spirit of San Francisco itself pulses quickly in his veins, because he is the creator of Hiking Yoga. It's exactly what it sounds like; you follow the charge up one of our butt-bustin' hills, and once you're up there, the organizer/sherpas hand... More >>

As a self-described "logical extension of a free public library," our local free walking-tour company is, like most libraries, a fascinating mash of nerdy and white-hot rad. The San Francisco City Guides walking tours happen every day (except major holidays), are free, and follow in the... More >>

Politicians and news outlets have started using the term "WPA" again — have you noticed? The Works Progress Administration, of course, put people to work during and after the Great Depression. Even artists were paid to work; the WPA encompassed projects that employed actors, painters, and... More >>

Alcatraz -- "The Rock" -- is one of those tours that you have to take at least once, whether you're local or just visiting. The abandoned prison sitting on an island about a mile and a half off the city's north shore was home to some of the most infamous names in crime, including Al Capone, it... More >>

You know what ensures that children’s books stay in good condition? Keeping them away from children. That’s why Mr. George M. Fox’s collection, which contains more than 2,000 early British and American children’s books, looks so pristine. Donated to the S.F. Public... More >>

While the rest of us were sleeping, a generation of entrepreneurial women revolutionized the art of the fingernail. Forget old clichés like a diamond is forever — these ladies are serious about nail art. You could even say they get out of hand with it. But don’t take our word... More >>

What is the most shoplifted book in the world? The Bible. What item, found at nearly every Chinese restaurant, was invented by a Japanese entrepreneur here in S.F.? The fortune cookie. If you didn't know the answers to these, fret not; We promise it won't go on your report card. These are... More >>

Did you know that when the Golden Gate Bridge gets hot, it sits low in the saddle? Course you didn’t: You don’t have a Bridge Thermometer, which looks like one of those scenic coin-op binoculars crossed with a first-person shooter. Peer into it (no coin needed!) and it shows the... More >>

We do what we have to do to live in our glorious Bay Area, but it’s hard not to wish for a smidge more economic security from time to time. Local artist John-Mark Ikeda takes those anxieties and runs with them, seeing America’s growing awareness of (and protest against) the... More >>

When the ancient Polynesians invented surfing, they often used a paddle to help them navigate. Fast-forward a few millennia, and Stand-Up Paddleboarding, or SUP, finds itself trendy again. Part of its increasing popularity is that standing upright allows surfers to spot waves more easily and... More >>

In a short three year span, the first AIDS epidemic crashed into the Castro and completely disrupted the culture. Gay San Franciscans, and especially residents of the Castro, thought they had found the geographical answer to their struggle, but the crisis changed a safe space into one full of... More >>

If Hollywood ever tries its hand at Escape from San Francisco, we hope there are kayaks involved. There just aren’t enough kayaks in action films, you know? We imagine the little boats riding a tsunami, hurtling toward the bad guys who have taken Coit Tower hostage, somehow managing to... More >>