Thanksgiving was once an extremely chaotic holiday

Giant glaciers, coded wine glasses, and more.
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	November 25, 2022

Thanksgiving Mayhem

Trick or treat! The roots of Halloween lie in a forgotten American tradition: the Ragamuffin Day parade, where children went door-to-door collecting apples, candy, pennies, or other snacks. Thought to have originated in Irish and other immigrant neighborhoods in New York, Ragamuffin Day took off almost as soon as Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving to be a national holiday in 1863. For one day of pure mayhem, children could get away with just about everything “short of the actual commission of crime.”

Research Hotbeds

A Giant, Alaskan Glacier

Just where the state’s panhandle squeezes past a corner of Canada’s Yukon, at the foot of the Saint Elias Mountains, sprawls the Malaspina Glacier, known as Sít’ Tlein in Lingít. It’s the largest glacier of its kind in North America, at some 1,500 square miles, but size isn’t the only thing that matters about Malaspina. The glacier’s unusual behavior, hinted at by those wavy, wild zebra stripes, could challenge climate change models and redraw Alaska’s future coastline.

Edison, New Jersey

Hoopar Brothers Gravestone

In a graveyard next to Saint James Episcopal Church in Edison, New Jersey, lies a large, red sandstone tablet that tells a somber story of Richard and Charles Hoopar, brothers who both fell victim to the dangers of wild mushroom foraging in the 17th century. It’s one of the oldest marked gravestones in the United States, and it is also reported as the oldest known recorded case of mushroom poisoning in the U.S.

Atlas Obscura Courses

Record Your Family History

Oral history is about listening and connecting through a person’s lived experience. Whether it’s the life history of a family elder or a shared story between friends, it gives us a chance to slow down and spend time in deep conversation together. In this workshop led by oral historian Meral Agish, we’ll examine the key elements of interviewing and explore a range of accessible options for recording. By the end of our time together, you’ll have a project plan in place and will be well prepared to record your own interviews. Starts Dec 1!

Treasonous Toasts

Coded Wine Glasses

Sometimes it’s said that a person’s choice of wine says a lot about them. While that’s debatable, these 18th-century wine glasses used by Jacobites certainly send a message. This glass is inscribed with otherwise innocuous symbols of a blazing star, an oak leaf, a rose blossom, and two delicate buds sprouting from a thorny stem—symbols that when taken together, tell a story of loyalty to a banished king, James II of England.

Berlin, Germany

Herta Heuwer Currywurst Memorial

Currywurst is one of the most quintessential Berlin foods, rivaled only by döner kebab. It is available in almost every fast food place to the point where a Berlin without currywurst is hard to imagine. Its relatively recent rise to fame is thanks to a woman named Herta Heuwer, and it’s a tale of resilience and ingenuity.

Bloomfield, New Mexico

Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness Study Area

The Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness Study Area is located on 6,563 acres of public Bureau of Land Management land. It’s a hidden wonder of weathered rock formations often referred to as hoodoos, tent rocks, fairy chimneys, earth pyramids, or mushrooms.

Southport, North Carolina

Frying Pan Tower

Built to replace a permanently-manned “lightship” on the edge of the treacherous “Graveyard of the Atlantic,” Frying Pan Tower was a unique lighthouse that was built like an oil rig before being left to rust in the middle of the ocean. However, today it operates as a boutique rooming destination for people on an adventurous holiday.

Atlas Obscura Trips

The Ancient Legends of Iceland

Between strange encounters with peculiar elves and supernatural creatures, Icelanders have their fair share of mythical tales. On this tour, we’ll traverse the paths of ancient legends and discover the natural secrets of this astonishing land, guided by experts who will reveal the geologic, human, and mystical history of this land.

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