Author: Ms. R.

Serve spaghetti and meatballs to an Italian, and they may question why pasta and meat are being served together. Order a samosa as an appetizer, and an Indian friend might point out, as writer Sejal Sukhadwala has, that this is similar to a British restaurant offering sandwiches as a first course. Offer an American a hamburger patty coated in thick demi-glace, and they’ll likely raise an eyebrow at this common Japanese staple dubbed hambagoo. Each of these meals or……

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Editors’ note: This story contains images of metal badges depicting human genitalia. In medieval Europe, Christian pilgrims walked all the way from England to Spain (with a brief reprieve on a boat), their long robes dragging along dirty, treacherous roads where solo travelers were frequent targets of thieves. Pilgrims carried only a leather pouch holding food and money, a bottle of water, and maybe a religious book. At night, that filthy robe doubled as a sleeping bag. Pilgrims covered……

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At the start of the Civil War, the current Cumberland Presbyterian Church was still unfinished. The property had been purchased by the church from then-Senator Andrew Johnson in 1860. It was designed to replace a smaller building nearby that its congregation had outgrown. Located on the facade of the church is a cannonball lodged into a brick wall near the front door. On September 4, 1864, Union forces surprised Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan C.S.A. who was lodging nearby…….

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In the 1850s thousands of people traveled to Victoria, Australia in search of fortune as part of the Victorian gold rush. The first recorded discovery of gold in the Moliagul area occured in September 1852.  Two miners, John Deason and Richard Oates originally from Conwell, England, both had small farms and staked a gold mining claim in the area. In February of 1869, Deason was breaking up the soil on the claim when he hit what he thought was……

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Jim Myers opened the Sasquatch Outpost in 2014 and the museum followed in 2016. He originally opened a general grocery store at the location, but after talking with locals about Bigfoot sightings in the area, he decided to convert his store into what it is today. When visitors first walk into the outpost, they are immediately greeted by a large Sasquatch statue. The store is filled with novelty items such as t-shirts, patches, and socks that feature the legendary……

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In the green expanses of Esplanade Park, stands a bronze statue that honors Prince Mikhail Barclay de Tolly, a brilliant military strategist and commander-in-chief of the Imperial Russian Army during the Napoleonic Wars. The original statue, representing a life-sized Barclay de Tolly in uniform, was unveiled in 1913 to mark the 100-year anniversary of  Napoleon’s defeat during the Russian Campaign of 1812. The statue was melted for military use during World War I. A replica was installed on the……

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The Zapadna Morava river meanders between the cities of Požega and Čačak. After a dam and a hydroelectricity power plant were established in the region, part of the river became the Međuvršje lake. However, centuries before the creation of the dam during the 13th-century, a Gradina military fortification was constructed on a hill between the meandering curves. Today, only one tower still stands from the once-mighty fort known as Kula Gradina. The remains of a bastion are also visible…….

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Not many cookbooks kick off with the creation of the universe. Yet that’s where Monique Fiso begins Hiakai, a groundbreaking new book on Māori cuisine. First, there was nothing. Then, in the nothing, there were two lovers, Ranginui and Papatūānuku. Ranginui and Papatūānuku held each other so close that their children were trapped between them. Craving light and day, they eventually forced their parents apart. Ranginui became the sky, Papatūānuku became the earth, and their descendants created and watched……

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One of the vehicles that will pull up to the Amsterdam Museum in June 2021 will be empty. Known as the Golden Coach, it is out of commission and lavishly adorned. The exterior features gilded female figures representing agriculture, trade, industry, and shipping—the sectors of the Dutch economy. The ornate wheel covers depict suns, cherubs, water lilies, birds, and a scepter, crown, and sword. Inside, the coach is covered in silk, embroidered with flowers and the crests of the……

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