dannosowitz's User Profile - Atlas Obscura

dannosowitz

2015
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Where the 'No Ending a Sentence With a Preposition' Rule Comes From

It all goes back to 17th-century England and a fusspot named John Dryden.

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.

burning questions

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

An investigation into how three snacks became associated with madness.

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.

Decoding the Design of In-Flight Seat Belts

Why we buckle up differently in cars and planes.

January 29, 2018

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

Meet the Most Toxic Plant in North America

"Those who eat it will die in two hours."

December 14, 2017

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

To sneeze is human, to respond "Go away, kitten" is divine.

December 5, 2017

Why Does the Season Before Winter Have Two Names?

A look at the history of fall and autumn.

November 3, 2017

Why Are So Dang Many Potato Chip Brands From Pennsylvania?

It’s snack time. All the time.

October 24, 2017

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

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

The Unsolvable Mystery of the Word 'Hoosier'

No one seems to know how we got this nickname for people from Indiana.

August 22, 2017

burning questions

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

There's great comfort in being covered.

August 15, 2017

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.

Why Maine Is Mad for This Coffee-Flavored Liqueur

Allen's Coffee Brandy is more popular than vodka or whiskey.

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."

Germans Are the World's Most Discerning Seltzer Connoisseurs

Don't mess with mineralwasser.

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.

'Miami English' and the Linguistic Oddness of South Florida

South Beach speech is like no other.

Why 40% of Vietnamese People Have the Same Last Name

Everyone knows a Nguyen, but how did that come to be?

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.

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

It means everything and nothing at the same time.

The Mystery and Occasional Poetry of, Uh, Filled Pauses

They are especially unusual in Japanese.

January 27, 2017