Georgian feasts are hosted by a 'tamada,' who offer toasts

The mesmerizing harmonies of Georgia's 'singing village' feast

Listen along to a polyphonic feast in Georgia known as a Supra. The event is a long-held tradition in the "singing village" of Lakushdi, featuring intricate, stunning musical harmonies sung by attendees and performers. Learn how the singing is learned and performed and participate in the feast from afar with this fascinating podcast.

A guide to the modern supra

This essay was written by an American who ventured to a Georgian village in search of a modern supra, the traditional communal feast hosted by a toastmaster that has existed for centuries. What he found was a warm, welcoming, and wine-soaked experience.

Georgian wine and the qvevri method

What do we know about early viticulture? The earliest evidence of winemaking comes from the country of Georgia. More than 8,000 years ago, people began fermenting grapes in clay vessels called qvevri (pronounced kway-vree). Join Master of Wine Konstantin Baum for a video diving into the origins of winemaking in Georgia, exploring how that country's unique mix of climates and cultures made it the perfect place for wine to flourish.

In ancient Rome, toast was added to drinks

Toasted bread crumbs absorbed the acidity of bitter wine and, in some cases, added flavor. Although the term "toasting" was not yet in use, the practice was common. Some say the Roman Senate decreed in the first century CE that all citizens must drink to the honor of Emperor Augustus before every meal, though scholars debate the validity of that claim. Eventually, the literal toast became associated with the tributes.

In Japan, elders lead toasts

Older family members and colleagues, or senpai, are expected to take the lead at formal gatherings, pouring drinks and offering toasts. Younger people should accept pours by holding their glasses with both hands and waiting to drink until their older adults have done so. Finally, before drinking, participants should say “kampai!”

A Georgia town holds an annual New Year's Eve possum drop

The town of 3,200 residents in the northwestern corner of the state began the quirky event—which lowers a taxidermied possum dangling in the center of a Times Square-esque ball—in the mid-1990s. In 2024, it ranked eighth USA Today’s list of the best New Year’s Eve drops.

In Ghana, newly married couples jump over a broom to ward off evil and welcome new beginnings

Weddings are surrounded by rituals, no matter how simple. These include slathering the couple with food, feathers, and soot and parading them around town in Scotland; Chinese tea ceremonies filled with gratitude; and breaking fine porcelain in Germany. Every family has their own rituals, and wealthy couples are more likely to engage in more lavish ceremonies.

Communal iftars are now a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage

The tradition of breaking fast together where strangers and families share a table at sundown has been recognized by the United Nations' cultural body as significant. The designation sheds light on iftar's social side, beyond just the food.

A history of the Masters Champions' Dinner, an annual golf tradition

The Masters Champions' Dinner is an annual tradition celebrated the Tuesday before the tournament begins. The previous year's champion sets the menu, leading to a history of eclectic meals. This resource from Today's Golfer provides a brief history of the tradition and then details every menu since 1986. It's an interesting window into the tastes of professional athletes (Tiger Woods, apparently, loves chicken fingers!) and the less-than-healthy habits from the sport's past.

Food is central to celebrating Day of the Dead

Some items, like pan de muerto, hold specific symbolic meaning for the holiday. But ofrendas also often include everyday dishes that were favorites of the deceased, such as tamales or spiced hot chocolate, to entice them to visit.

See who sat where at the US-China state dinner and why

This graphic maps the seating arrangements at the May 2026 dinner, showing how Chinese banquet etiquette shaped the placement of officials and executives from both delegations, along with details on the food served.

Tombaroli steal precious items from ancient people's tombs in central Italy

The tombaroli, or tomb-robbers, raid ancient Etruscan tombs in the dark hours of the night to recover vases, statuettes, mirrors, ornaments, jewellery, and other objects in gold, bronze, and terracotta. Read a firsthand account of a tombarolo who made a living handing stolen items to middlemen who sold them to wealthy buyers abroad. The lives and practices of tombaroli are also explored in the 2023 film "La Chimera."

A Thanksgiving meal was celebrated in Virginia in 1619

Although the Pilgrims' meal with the Wampanoag is often cited as "the first Thanksgiving," historians note a meal intended to mark "a day of thanksgiving to Almighty god" was celebrated by early settlers three years earlier. President John F. Kennedy acknowledged the day in his 1963 Thanksgiving proclamation.

Turkish delight recipes were initially kept secret

The chewy confection dates back to the 1700s, and initially was served at the sultan's court. The palace's secret recipes were eventually published in one of the earliest Ottoman cookbooks by Mehmet Kamil.

The global practice of public speaking

The epic "Gilgamesh and Aga," which dates back to 1900-1600 BCE, features a speech by the Mesopotamian hero Gilgamesh in which he tries to convince his city's all-male assembly to agree to fight an invading army. Surviving records indicate many ancient cultures, including those in China, India, and North America, had rich public speaking traditions, at least some of which survived time and colonization.

One roadside attraction invented modern mini-golf

Garnet Carter and his wife Frieda owned and operated Fairyland, a roadside attraction on Lookout Mountain in Georgia. While other mini-golf courses tried to mimic the regal courses of its parent game, the Carters built obstacles and decorations from items they had around Fairyland, effectively inventing the leisure-minded version of the game.

Washington (reluctantly) presided over the Constitutional Convention

As presiding officer, George Washington presided over the Convention's daily proceedings—opening and adjourning sessions, recognizing speakers, enforcing debate rules, and maintaining order. He rarely spoke and used the role to facilitate deliberation rather than steer outcomes directly.

'Staunton design' became the universal chess set in 1849

Introduced in London in 1849, Staunton chess pieces featured simple, uniform shapes that made every piece easy to recognize. Endorsed by champion Howard Staunton, the design quickly became the international standard and remains the only style approved for tournament play.

Why beefsteak tomatoes are named after a meaty dish

No, they won't get vegetarians into trouble, but beefsteak tomatoes did earn their name because of their meaty texture. People also associate the hearty beefsteak with sandwiches and burgers because they make for a perfect topping on meat-centric dishes. This quick explainer breaks down the basic etymology of the beefsteak and provides a few helpful ideas for using the tomato in your next meal.

The Tony statue features tragedy and comedy masks

The twin masks, one smiling and one frowning, represent the dual worlds of comedic and dramatic theatrical productions. Their roots go all the way back to ancient Greece, where they were used to cue the audience in on character emotions, no matter how far back from the stage they were seated (and to hide the real faces of men playing female characters).

Father Christmas was originally associated with decadent parties

The English figure of Father Christmas is another component of the character that would become Santa Claus. Father Christmas was depicted as eating and drinking to excess until the more austere Victorian era. He morphed into a figure dedicated to children and charity, eventually blending into the modern Santa Claus.

Check out pictures from the Bauhaus' elaborate costume parties

Bauhaus is known for its innovation, but, at the end of the day, it was still an art school. That means parties were regular occurrences and often featured elaborate costumes—Gropius once dressed as the renowned architect Le Corbusier, while Kandinsky was known for pretending to be an antenna.

The world's largest restaurant is the size of 10 football fields

The Bawabet Dimashq Restaurant in Damascus, Syria, has held the Guinness World Record for largest restaurant since 2008. It can seat 6,014 guests and employs nearly 1,800 people, who serve up an eclectic menu of Middle Eastern Indian, Arab, Iranian, Syrian, and Chinese dishes.

The forgotten campaign to replace the Teddy Bear with 'Billy Possum'

After a 1909 pre-inauguration dinner for incoming President William Howard Taft featured possums and potatoes as the main course, Susie W. Allgood wanted to produce and market an alternative to the Teddy Roosevelt-inspired teddy bear: Billy Possum. Kids thought it looked too much like a rat.

Some of the most notable Guy Fawkes Day effigies in recent years

Lewes, East Sussex, has a long tradition of politically themed effigies burned during Bonfire Night celebrations. One year, effigies of Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond drew criticism and were withdrawn by organizers. In the past, effigies have depicted figures like Vladimir Putin, Pope Paul V, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Kim Jong Un, Angela Merkel, Muammar Gaddafi, David Cameron, Nick Clegg, George W. Bush, and Charles Clarke.

The Dracula character, now seen as the vampire archetype, was inspired by a seafood-induced nightmare its creator experienced.

After the Boston Tea Party, colonists switched to coffee, which became the main morning drink for revolutionaries.

Many legends about George Washington, including his supposed wooden teeth and the story of cutting down the cherry tree, lack evidence.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight

'Shogun,' a 1980s TV series, helped popularize sushi in the US by stimulating an American interest in Japanese culture.

In 1963, a basement renovation in Turkey revealed a passageway to a hidden, multilevel underground city that once housed as many as 20,000 people

The identity of the Tank Man in the iconic photo from the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests remains unknown and was possibly killed.

Hotels in Cannes, the glamorous city on the French Riviera, hire hawks to ward off seagulls during the city's famous film festival.

American dance legend Martha Graham, sometimes called 'the Picasso of dance,' refused to perform at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and conceived the piece 'Chronicle' in response to the experience.

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

'Silent' fireworks have gained more interest in recent years as a quieter celebratory option.

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by over 1.5 million Muslims.

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, but became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

Mark Twain spent decades feuding with the US Postal Service, convinced its costs and regulations were bureaucratic overreach.

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

Cultural norms about how to handle the bodies of loved ones in communities in West Africa have hampered Ebola responses.

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

The syncytiotrophoblast is the outer layer of the placenta and the largest human cell, spanning an area about twice that of a king-sized bedsheet.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is independent of Iran's regular army and is one of the most powerful and influential military-political organizations in the Middle East.

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

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