burnthompson's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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King Cake
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Story
Sweets

King Cake

The Carnival cake comes with a hidden baby Jesus inside.
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Cheerwine
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Drinks

Cheerwine

A World War I sugar shortage led an inventor to make a very cherry soda that looks like wine.
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Espresso Coffee Soda
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Drinks

Espresso Coffee Soda

A dark soda with a dark history.
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Peanut Butter Dumplings
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Prepared Foods

Peanut Butter Dumplings

A unique take on Szechuan dumplings is now a Montreal specialty.
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Horlicks Malted Milk
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Ingredients & Condiments

Horlicks Malted Milk

This powder proved essential to Arctic exploration, war, and the ice cream parlor.
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Jucy Lucy
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Prepared Foods

Jucy Lucy

This beef patty oozes cheese from within.
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Loganberry Drink
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Drinks

Loganberry Drink

This dark, sweet refresher was born at a now-defunct amusement park on the shores of Lake Erie.
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Spiedies
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Prepared Foods

Spiedies

Binghamton celebrates its sandwich of marinated meat cubes at a yearly hot air balloon festival.
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Ackee
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Fruits & Vegetables

Ackee

Jamaica's national fruit is poisonous and resembles scrambled eggs.
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The Original McDonald's French Fry
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Prepared Foods

The Original McDonald's French Fry

The beef fat–fried version that first caught Ray Kroc's eye is now extinct.
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Sfogliatella
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Sweets

Sfogliatella

This layered pastry from Italy's Amalfi Coast may have origins in a 17th-century convent.
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Gyuma
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Prepared Foods

Gyuma

In Tibet, blood sausage is the byproduct of bloodletting yaks for healing purposes.
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Ramune
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Drinks

Ramune

The Japanese soda still comes in a marble-stoppered bottle from the 19th century.
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Mortadella
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Meats & Animal Products

Mortadella

Baloney's predecessor is sweet, delicately spiced, and bigger than your head.
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Túró Rudi
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Sweets

Túró Rudi

Hungary's favorite chocolate bar is filled with cheese curd.
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Unicum
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Drinks

Unicum

A bitter liqueur that traces the history of a Hungarian-Jewish family.
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Eisbock
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Drinks

Eisbock

Brewers freeze their beer to make this high-octane, sweet style.
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Chocolate Letters
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Sweets

Chocolate Letters

In this Dutch holiday tradition, Sinterklaas leaves good children sweet pieces of the alphabet inside their shoes.
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Rauchbier
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Drinks

Rauchbier

Only a few breweries still make smoky beer in this classic German style.
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Kvass
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Drinks

Kvass

You can find authentic versions of this sour Slavic brew at street stalls and monasteries.
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Samichlaus
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Drinks

Samichlaus

This lager, once considered the strongest beer in the world, is brewed only on Saint Nicholas's Day.
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Pączki
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Sweets

Pączki

These Polish pre-Lent doughnuts have taken on a life (and an eating contest) of their own in the United States.
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Ice Wine
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Drinks

Ice Wine

Pressed from frozen grapes, this prized wine was a sweet accident.
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Green Chartreuse
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Drinks

Green Chartreuse

Only two silent monks know all 130 plants that go into this herbal liqueur.
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