The Three Most Interesting History Stories I've Found:

What did you eat this Thanksgiving, and what was its history?
The Smithsonian has been posting about the origins of traditional holiday food, like:

Ever wonder why you always have room for pumpkin pie, no matter how much you eat? That's covered too.


Ever been dragged to a pageant extolling the fellowship betwixt pilgrim and Indian during a "first" Thanksgiving feast?
According to yet another Smithsonian article (and many other sources, like this new book by David L. SIlverman) the event wasn't all that wholesome or goodhearted.
Europeans walked into complicated inter-tribal politics when they settled in Jamestown. And Jamestown itself was originally a Native American village, abandoned because all the people had died of a plague.
Even the NYT and KTLA (in a 40-minute interview) are into demythafying Thanksgiving
Sorry if that pops your Thanksgiving balloon (a shamelessly shoddy way of transitioning to the next story ...)


Balloons! Not the Macy's Parade variety--this story is about a Cleveland balloon disaster.
In 1986, United Way organized Balloonfest '86 as a fundraiser, promising to release 1.5 million balloons all at the same time. Visually, a great photo op, but ...
Airport runways had to shut down. Horses panicked and injured themselves at the sight. Wind and rain blew the helium-filled balloons over Lake Erie, where a Coast Guard rescue of two fishermen was interrupted and the men drowned.
You can watch a local news video of the happy volunteers releasing the balloons and cheering. It's quite lovely--but doesn't include the disastrous aftermath. For that, check this more detailed story. 

Unintended consequences of a publicity stunt ... hmm. Remind you of a certain 70s show where radio station WKRP decided to drop turkeys from a helicopter? I have a souvenir t-shirt of that, which I finally got to wear this holiday!