It's easy to take things for granted and assume we know all there is about them. But these two curious stories might just change your mind.
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Welcome to Aaron Menkey's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of I Heart Radio and Grim and Mild. Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all of these amazing tales are right there on display, just waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. Holidays tend to evolve the longer they are celebrated. What we know is Christmas today started centuries ago as other separate holidays. Europeans celebrated the winter Solstice, while the Germanic people celebrated Yule pagan festival held towards the end of December, and the ancient Romans honored Saturn, the god of agriculture, every December with their Saturnalia festival event. The aspects of these winter celebrations were borrowed and blended into one holiday, celebrating the Birth of Jesus on December. As times change, so to do our traditions. But even some newer holidays have undergone significant shifts over the years. In fact, in America, one of the most important days of the year for getting together with friends and family also used to be the most mischievous It originated in New York City around eighteen sixty three, a new national holiday had just been established by President Abraham Lincoln, and it gave children all over the country some much needed time off from school. In New York, where impoverished immigrant children were often left to their own devices, that meant time to goof around. You see, these kids would wear costumes, often dressing up like hoboes and tattered clothes, fake mustaches, and even wigs. Then they would go around the city knocking on doors asking neighbors for treats, and they weren't just after candy either. Any food item was acceptable. Apples, vegetables, cake, and in some cases small toys were happily taken as trophies for their efforts. As the years went on, their costumes became more elaborate. Masks bought from local stores were introduced, as were new themes for their costumes. Some kids dressed up as business workers, while others were made to look like animals. They also didn't shy away from raiding their mother's closets for inspiration. Old dresses and shoes became prime costume materials for both boys and girls looking to go all out on the most fun day of the year. But the most part the children who participated did so without incidents, but there were many who went beyond simply asking for goodies. They would throw handfuls of flower or confetti at people on the streets, or sit on the fenders of cars driving by to catch a quick ride up the block. The more dangerous children weren't above damaging property either, especially if they had been denied food or money while at someone's door, and it wasn't uncommon to see a bonfire in the middle of the street, kids laughing and tossing wooden scraps into its roaring flames. This tradition carried on through the eighteen hundreds and well into the early part of the twentieth century as a holiday called Ragamuffin Day. Eventually, so many Ragamuffin Day revelers were participating that their march through the streets became known as the Ragamuffin Parade. Adults would come out of their homes to stand on the sidelines and watch the kids walk by, admiring their funny and often unique costumes. Of course, not everyone loved Ragamuffin Day. In the nineteen thirties, for example, the New York Times started running hit pieces on the yearly pastime as the Great Depression raged on. It seemed in poor taste for children to mock the homeless and the less fortunate by dressing up and begging for food from people who didn't have any to share, and the smear campaign worked. By the mid nineteen fifties, Ragamuffin Day had run its course. But not to worry. It wasn't a race for good. We just celebrate it differently now as the Thanksgiving That's right, Ragamuffin Day started as a result of the Thanksgiving holiday. Outside of New York, it was known as Thanksgiving Masking and the parade, with its silly costumes and crowds of people. Well, that was overtaken by the department store Macy's as their annual Thanksgiving Day parade. But Ragamuffin Day wasn't gone forever. In the nineteen forties, the concept of wearing a costume and asking neighbors for treats was rolled into a different celebration held one month earlier, Halloween. The Greek philosopher hero Clidas often is quoted as saying change is the only constant in life, and he's right holidays change all the time, but dressing up and begging for candy from strangers, well, I hope that never goes out of style. We call them the Founding Fathers because without them, America wouldn't be quite America. In the seventeen hundreds, they united the Thirteen Colonies in a revolt against Britain's oppressive King George. During the Revolutionary War, We're familiar with one of the most famous, a general who lost more battles than he won, but was successful in leading his men across the Potomac. That man was George Washington, the first President of the United States. There were others, of course, depending on which list you read, there are seven, maybe eight who make the list over fifty six if you add every signature on the Declaration of Independence, though there's an odd fact Washington, John j James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton's did not sign the Declaration of Independence in seventeen seventy six. Of course, an additional three other documents helped create the United States. The Treaty of Alliance in seventeen seventy eight, the Treaty of Peace between England, France and the US in seventeen eighty two and the Constitution in seventeen eighty seven. Regardless of many founding fathers you choose to consider, they worked together to create a new government. I suppose you'd say that there was a lot of firsts that came from that list. One sat on a committee of five that helped draft the Declaration of Independence. Only one member signed all four documents that helped form the nation. Many were highly educated, coming from Harvard, Yale, and Oxford, but only one held honorary degrees from all three schools despite having only two years of formal education. There were the inventors in the bunch too. Mozart once wrote music for a glass harmonica, one of the men created after noticing performers using glasses to create a musical sound. A particularly talented founding father also played the violin, the harp, and the guitar. There were writers as well as artists. At just sixteen, one founding father wrote a popular newspaper column under a pseudonym as a widowed woman. The columns became so popular that he received several marriage proposals from Boston's most eligible batchler's before confessing his identity. Then there's the Avid Swimmer who once swam London's Thames, believing that all children should learn to swim. He later started a swimming school, and because of this he was posthumously inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. The very first United States postmaster was also a founding father, as was the ambassador to France, dubbed America's renaissance man. There was the fashion trend setter whose fur hats spawned a fashion trend overseas. America's first celebrity also signed the Declaration of Independence. Whenever he visited Europe, he had no shortage of female admirers who followed him everywhere. That one public appearance, his fans placed a crown of laurels on his head and kissed each cheek. In France, the French National Assembly declared a day of morning when one founding father passed away. Today there's a statue of him in Yorktown Square. Count Mirabeu said that he was able to restrain thunderbolts and tyrants. There were abolitionists too. One kept fighting against slavery until his death, even including a provision in his will that his son and daughter wouldn't receive a penny of their inheritance if they ever kept slaves. And speaking of wills, consider the gift left by one founding father to Boston and Philadelphia. He left the city's two thousand pounds sterling with an unusual request. The money had to stay in a trust fund for one hundred years and used only to provide loans to local tradesmen. That money became worth millions by That's a lot of amazing history, But the most amazing part it was all the work of just one founding father, not many. A man everyone's heard of but knows so little about, Benjamin Franklin. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosity Cities podcast dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television show, and you can learn all about it over at the World of Lore dot com. And until next time, stay curious. Yeah,