dannosowitz's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
Gastro Obscura
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burning questions

Where Did the Prohibition on Combining Seafood and Cheese Come From?

Fish and dairy can make for a delicious mix, despite popular belief.
May 10, 2018
Gastro Obscura
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burning questions

Why Are Bananas, Nuts, and Crackers the Only Foods That Say 'Crazy'?

An investigation into how three snacks became associated with madness.
April 13, 2018
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bears

The Long Linguistic Journey to 'Dagnabbit'

This piece of pseudo-profanity is what's known as a taboo deformation—a word we say when we don't want to say the word.
March 14, 2018
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aviation

Decoding the Design of In-Flight Seat Belts

Why we buckle up differently in cars and planes.
January 29, 2018
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linguistics

How Australian Nicknaming Conventions Turn an Afternoon Into an 'Arvo'

A thorough explanation for why Dazza ate a sammie at the servo.
January 4, 2018
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features

Meet the Most Toxic Plant in North America

"Those who eat it will die in two hours."
December 14, 2017
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features

Some Delightful Alternatives to the Post-Sneeze ‘Bless You’

To sneeze is human, to respond "Go away, kitten" is divine.
December 5, 2017
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autumn

Why Does the Season Before Winter Have Two Names?

A look at the history of fall and autumn.
November 3, 2017
Gastro Obscura
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snacks

Why Are So Dang Many Potato Chip Brands From Pennsylvania?

It’s snack time. All the time.
October 24, 2017
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pants week

Oxford Bags, the Ridiculously Wide-Legged Trousers of the 1920s

Many decades before JNCOs, British rowers took their pants to extreme dimensions.
September 22, 2017
Gastro Obscura
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features

Häagen-Dazs Ice Cream Is From the Bronx—So What's With the Name?

Examining the phenomenon of the faux-foreign product.
September 5, 2017
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linguistics

The Unsolvable Mystery of the Word 'Hoosier'

No one seems to know how we got this nickname for people from Indiana.
August 22, 2017
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burning questions

Why Do We Sleep Under Blankets, Even on the Hottest Nights?

There's great comfort in being covered.
August 15, 2017
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linguistics

Why People From Manchester Are Mancunians, Not Manchesterians

Demonyms are vital to our conceptions of ourselves, but the rules behind them can be pretty messy.
July 6, 2017
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maine

Why Maine Is Mad for This Coffee-Flavored Liqueur

Allen's Coffee Brandy is more popular than vodka or whiskey.
June 21, 2017
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bookstores

How the Owner of the Greatest Mystery Bookstore Pulled the Genre Out of the Muck

"This is literature. It's not just puzzles, it's not just telling a nice story."
May 22, 2017
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features

Germans Are the World's Most Discerning Seltzer Connoisseurs

Don't mess with mineralwasser.
May 15, 2017
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cars

Cracking the Secret Code of Car Names

How a jumble of numbers and letters came to convey fanciness, while cute names came to mean value.
April 7, 2017
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linguistics

'Miami English' and the Linguistic Oddness of South Florida

South Beach speech is like no other.
April 4, 2017
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linguistics

Why 40% of Vietnamese People Have the Same Last Name

Everyone knows a Nguyen, but how did that come to be?
March 28, 2017
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fashion

What Makes This Special-Edition VW From the '90s Look So Cool?

According to the fashion industry, it's all about colorblocking and maximal minimalism.
March 9, 2017
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linguistics

'Da Kine,' Hawaii's Fantastically Flexible All-Purpose Noun

It means everything and nothing at the same time.
March 2, 2017
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linguistics

The Mystery and Occasional Poetry of, Uh, Filled Pauses

They are especially unusual in Japanese.
January 27, 2017
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burning questions

Why Do Canadians Say 'Eh'?

The story behind Canada’s most distinctive verbal tic.
January 10, 2017