Author: Erika Berlin

More than 40 million Americans live in households that are food insecure, which means that they don’t have the resources to regularly acquire nutritious, safe food. Food banks are almost always in need of nonperishable food items, but most people only turn their attention to feeding hungry people around holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Although it’s great to donate cans of soup and boxes of pasta to a food bank, there’s a lot more you can do to make a difference. Here are 12 ways you can help your local food bank.

1. VOLUNTEER.

Committing a few hours a month to volunteer at your local food bank can be a huge boon to an organization that’s probably understaffed and working with a limited budget. Food banks need volunteers to sort donations, stock shelves, prepare meals, serve food, and deliver care packages. Your local food bank may also need volunteers to do bookkeeping or online work, so be sure to inquire about their additional needs if you have any specialty skills that you think might be of service.

2. HOST A PANTRY DONATION PARTY.

Fall is a time for family parties and get-togethers with friends, so why not host a party with a theme that focuses on donating to the hungry? When you invite loved ones over to your house, tell them to bring a few nonperishable food items. Besides chatting and eating, your friends and family will be doing good for needy people. After the party, bring all the items you collected to your local food bank.

3. GIVE MONEY.

Because most food banks rely on donations to feed the hungry, giving money can be a huge help. Food banks buy food at wholesale, bulk, or other discounted rates, meaning that they can get a large amount of food for a small amount of money. Some food banks also have matching deals with food manufacturers, so the manufacturer donates money or food for certain purchases that the food bank makes. And when a food bank has a plethora of rice and beans but not enough fruit or vegetables, money you donate can help them fill in the gaps of whatever food they’re missing.

4. FIND OUT IF YOUR COMPANY PARTICIPATES IN A MATCHING GIFT PROGRAM.

Some large corporations have matching gift programs, in which they’ll match a donation you make to charity. If your employer offers such a program, fill out the paperwork and use your company’s generosity to effectively double your donation. As the largest hunger relief organization in the U.S., Feeding America is a good place to think about making a donation (and using your company’s matching policy to help even more).

5. MAKE A HOLIDAY DONATION IN SOMEONE ELSE’S NAME.

Though tangible gifts for holidays and birthdays are often top of mind, consider eschewing physical items to instead make a monetary donation in someone else’s name. Feeding America offers an eCard you can send to people when you make a donation in their name. And if you recently lost a loved one, you can make a memorial donation to honor his or her memory and ask that others do the same.

6. DON’T DONATE ITEMS THAT YOUR FOOD BANK CAN’T USE.

Before donating any food to your local food bank, contact them to ask what they need. Most food banks won’t accept containers that have been opened, products that have expired, homemade dishes, or alcohol. In general, opt for metal cans and plastic containers over breakable glass jars, and try to give nutritious food that will last a long time, such as rice, beans, oatmeal, peanut butter, pasta, and canned veggies.

7. IF YOU’RE AN AVID GARDENER, SEE IF YOUR LOCAL FOOD BANK ACCEPTS FRESH PRODUCE.

Depending on the capacity and location of a food bank, it might have a need for fresh produce, such as carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, and peppers. Ample Harvest encourages home gardeners to plant an extra row of veggies, with the intention of donating, and has resources to help find pantries in your area that would be able to accept your crop. 

8. THINK OUTSIDE THE KITCHEN.

Although a food bank’s main focus is on feeding people, some food banks also accept cosmetics and hygiene products. Besides the obvious canned foods, you might be able to donate baby food, diapers, cleaning supplies, toilet paper, soap, and toothpaste. If you’re not sure about a certain item, call your local food bank ahead of time to see if they accept those items and have a need.

9. DON’T FORGET SPICES AND CONDIMENTS.

Most food banks get a ton of staple foods, but they’re often lacking in spices and condiments. Although salt and pepper aren’t essential, hungry people do use and greatly appreciate seasonings. Salt, pepper, mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, and Sriracha are versatile items that can improve the taste of many dishes.

10. CONTACT YOUR CONGRESSPERSON.

Call, email, or write a letter to your local and state representatives about the importance of food banks and the work they do to feed the hungry in your community. Before you contact your representative, educate yourself by reading about current legislation and how you can become a hunger relief advocate.

11. ARRANGE TO DONATE LEFTOVERS FROM YOUR PARTY.

Some venues have strict rules about what to do with leftover food from a catered party. If you’re hosting a holiday event with catered food, try to choose a venue that doesn’t throw out leftover food for health or liability reasons. And if your local food bank won’t accept leftovers, ask if they can suggest another organization that will accept this type of food donation.

12. REMEMBER THAT PEOPLE ARE IN NEED YEAR-ROUND.

It’s great to help your local food bank around Thanksgiving and Christmas, but some food banks have a surplus of food in the fall and winter and a dearth in the summer months. Remember that people are in need of food all the time. If you want to donate food year-round, think about giving items on the first day of every month, or plan to evenly space out your donations throughout the calendar year.

All images via iStock.

At first glance, the dictionary seems pretty straightforward. Words are listed alphabetically, and you simply locate the right page and scan until you find the word you’re looking for. But there’s a lot you might not know about the dictionary, such as how new words are added and why Noah Webster learned Sanskrit to write his dictionary. So without further ado, read on to discover a dozen things you might not know about various dictionaries.

1. IT TAKES A LOT OF WORK TO ADD A NEW WORD.

When people use a word or phrase frequently enough that it appears in widely read print and online publications, lexicographers take notice. First, they collect citations of the word, documenting the source it appeared in and recording its contextual meaning. Then, lexicographers conduct database research, searching for evidence that people from diverse backgrounds have used the word over a period of time. Finally, dictionary editors review the evidence and decide whether or not to include the new word in an upcoming edition of the dictionary. Thanks to this lengthy process, you can now find modern words such as manspread, presstitute, and athleisure in several dictionaries.

2. THE FIRST ENGLISH DICTIONARIES ONLY INCLUDED DIFFICULT WORDS.

We think of dictionaries as comprehensive tomes containing everything from antelope and apple to zeitgeist and zootrophy, but early English dictionaries didn’t contain any simple, common words. In the 16th and 17th centuries, thanks in part to the Renaissance’s classical influence, English doubled its vocabulary by incorporating words from other languages. People needed to consult word lists to look up these new, difficult words that they hadn’t heard before. In 1604, a teacher named Robert Cawdrey compiled a list of words into A Table Alphabeticall, which defined difficult English words borrowed from Latin, Greek, French, and Hebrew. Throughout the 17th century, other English men published lists of hard words with easy to understand definitions, and people turned to the dictionary to learn these words.

3. NOAH WEBSTER LEARNED 26 LANGUAGES TO WRITE HIS DICTIONARY.

Although Noah Webster wasn’t the first American to produce a dictionary, his name has become synonymous with the American dictionary. Hoping to help create a uniquely American lexicon, with Americanized spelling and pronunciation of words, Webster wrote An American Dictionary of the English Language. To thoroughly research word origins and sources, Webster got serious about becoming an etymology expert. He learned 26 languages, including Sanskrit and Old English, to write his dictionary. Published in 1828, it contained 70,000 entries and included the first definitions of “American” words such as chowder and skunk.

4. THE FIRST MERRIAM-WEBSTER DICTIONARY COST SIX DOLLARS.

After Webster died in 1843, George and Charles Merriam bought the rights to revise Webster’s An American Dictionary of the English Language, Corrected and Enlarged. The two brothers printed and sold books in Springfield, Massachusetts, and their intellectual property purchase paid off. In the fall of 1847, the Merriams issued the first revised Webster dictionary for six dollars. The book sold well, and the G. & C. Merriam Co. was eventually renamed Merriam-Webster, Inc. in 1982. Merriam-Webster continues to publish popular print and electronic dictionaries today.

5. IT TOOK ALMOST 50 YEARS TO CREATE THE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY.

In 1857, the Philological Society of London first called for a comprehensive English language dictionary, including words from the 12th century to the present. In 1879, the Philological Society joined forces with Oxford University Press, and work commenced. In 1884, Oxford University Press published the first part of the dictionary (A to Ant), and the final volume was published in 1928. Called A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles, the dictionary listed more than 400,000 words and phrases. Today, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is one of the most respected and widely used dictionaries.

6. J.R.R. TOLKIEN RESEARCHED WORD ETYMOLOGIES FOR THE OED.

After serving in World War I, J.R.R. Tolkien worked as an editor’s assistant on the OED. His job was to research the etymologies of certain words that started with the letter w. Tolkien also composed multiple drafts of definitions for words such as waggle, walnut, walrus, and waistcoat. After his time at the OED, Tolkien went on to work as an English professor and write The Lord of the Rings. Subsequently, the OED has added terms that Tolkien himself coined, such as hobbit, mithril, and mathom.

7. SOMETIMES FAKE WORDS MAKE THEIR WAY INTO THE DICTIONARY.

Due to human error, a handful of fake words have appeared in dictionaries over the centuries. Some words, like phantomnation, which appeared in an 1864 edition of Webster’s, are the result of missing hyphens. Others are typographical errors. A 1934 edition of Webster’s New International Dictionary defined dord as density, the result of confusion over spacing. Some dictionary editors have even intentionally included fake words, such as esquivalience in The New Oxford American Dictionary, to protect their copyright.

8. THE OED NEEDS YOUR HELP.

Although many scholars consider the OED to be the definitive authority on dictionaries, the OED needs your help. At any given time, the dictionary’s editors are researching the history of certain words and phrases, and The OED Appeals allows the public to submit evidence (via the comments section) of the earliest record of certain words. Camouflage and Arnold Palmer are two entries that the OED has recently researched, so if you have old books or magazines that mention some weird word, let the OED know. You might just see your contribution in the dictionary’s next edition.

9. SAMPLE SENTENCES FROM DICTIONARIES CAN MAKE INTERESTING SHORT STORIES.

You might think that all those sample sentences in the dictionary are random, but you’d only be partially right. The phrases are deliberately chosen to show the word in a clear context with other words that it’s often associated with, and are ideally so boring that you don’t even think twice about them. Illustrator Jez Burrows has connected these random sentences from the New Oxford American Dictionary into short stories. “Often I’ll find at least one [word] that makes a good jumping-off point and I’ll start to flesh out some sort of vague narrative, then work backwards to imagine what sort of words might give rise to the sentences I’m looking for,” Burrows said last year.

10. A LOT OF WEIRD DICTIONARIES EXIST.

Although most people are familiar with Webster, the OED, and Dictionary.com, there are plenty of obscure or downright bizarre dictionaries. For example, you can find plenty of rhyming dictionaries and reverse dictionaries (that are organized by a theme rather than alphabetized). Scrolling through Wye’s Dictionary Of Improbable Words: All-Vowel Words And All-Consonant Words might help you find some uncommon words to win your next Scrabble game. And Mrs. Byrne’s Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure, and Preposterous Words contains weird English words that have appeared in at least one dictionary in the past. For example, you might learn that junkettaceous means worthless and cuggermugger means whispered gossiping.

11. URBAN DICTIONARY SELLS PLUSH DOLLS NAMED AFTER DIRTY PHRASES.

Urban Dictionary, the online, crowdsourced listing of millions of slang words and phrases, is beloved by middle schoolers and anyone trying to understand the latest slang terms. But Urban Dictionary is more than a dictionary. It also has an online store that sells a mug, a T-shirt, an official card game, and plush dolls inspired by dirty phrases that the dictionary has helped to popularize. You can choose between four dolls—a Dirty Sanchez, Golden Shower, Cleveland Steamer, or Donkey Punch. If you’re unfamiliar with the definitions of those disgusting phrases, we’ll let you look them up, but don’t say we didn’t warn you.

12. A CALIFORNIA SCHOOL DISTRICT CONSIDERED BANNING MERRIAM-WEBSTER’S COLLEGIATE DICTIONARY.

In 2010, a school district in Southern California temporarily removed all copies of the Merriam-Webster 10th Collegiate Edition from elementary school classrooms. Why remove the dictionary? After a parent told the principal of Oak Meadows Elementary School that the dictionary contained an explicit definition of a sex act, the school district decided to remove the books. A committee of teachers, administrators, and parents decided that the dictionary was age-appropriate, and the copies of Merriam-Webster were returned to the classroom. Here’s hoping that parent never discovers Urban Dictionary!

Being a vampire isn’t such a bad gig. You get to party all night, wear stylish clothes, and stay young and sexy forever. It’s basically like being Cher—which might explain why the Hollywood icon once co-wrote a song honoring the undead.

The tune is called “Lovers Forever” and, as presented on Cher’s 2013 album Closer to the Truth, it’s a thumping electro-pop banger that makes immortality sound like a clubgoer’s wildest fantasy. “Surrender to me now,” Cher sings with that husky contralto voice she’s been wielding since the ’60s. “And we’ll be lovers for all time / Ageless and sublime / We’ll be lovers forever.”

The song didn’t just materialize out of nowhere. Cher wrote it back in the early ’90s with friend Shirley Eikhard, the Canadian songwriter best known for penning Bonnie Raitt’s 1991 smash “Something to Talk About.” Some 30 years into her career, Cher would’ve been justified in thinking of herself as an eternal superstar, but there’s another reason she had bats on the brain. At the time, she was being considered for the role of Louis de Pointe du Lac in the film adaptation of Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire.

In keeping with the plot of Rice’s 1976 novel, the part ultimately went to a man: Brad Pitt. But in her original draft of the script, which opens in 18th century Louisiana, Rice had the idea of making the character female. Given the long history of homophobia in Hollywood, she figured a story centering on the intimate relationship between two male characters—Louis and Lestat, played by Tom Cruise—would’ve been a tough sell.

“The whole idea was that Louis would be a transvestite woman,” Rice told Movieline in 1994. “At that time in history, you could own your own plantation and run things if you were a man, [but] you couldn’t if you were a woman. It was the French law. So this was a woman who dressed like a man, and otherwise it was exactly the same as Interview With the Vampire.”

At some point in the film’s development, Cher and Eikhard wrote “Lovers Forever.” In its original form, it was a dramatic piano ballad that might have gotten some play on pop radio—circa ’94, Meat Loaf was enjoying a resurgence with similarly styled theatrical ballads. Alas, it wasn’t to be. Cher got nixed from the film and its soundtrack.

“They didn’t love it and there were no other vampire outlets then, so I held it,” Cher told USA Today in 2013, while promoting Closer to the Truth. It was one of three songs she co-wrote for the album, and explaining why she seldom records her own material, Cher described her songwriting as “moody and introspective, a bit dark and very personal.”

“I write about Kurt Cobain’s death and homeless people,” she said. “It’s not for everybody.”

By the time Cher finally got around to releasing “Lovers Forever,” she might’ve had better luck finding a vampire flick to place it in. The late 2000s had brought about a vampire boom, as writer Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series spawned five blockbuster movies, and shows like True Blood and The Vampire Diaries sucked in viewers on the small screen. This time, though, Cher kept it for herself. She tweeted in August 2012: “Beautiful vampire song that a friend and I wrote for Interview With the Vampire—[my assistant] Jen loves it, brought it out, so I’m going to re-record it with today’s sound! Who knows?”

Production on the retooled dance-pop version was handled by Mark Taylor, who’d worked on Cher’s 1998 chart-topping comeback single “Believe.” Because surely not all vampire songs need to be dark and broody, Taylor took a similar tack with this tune, creating what Idolator called “a swirling Europop anthem with retro Italo disco touches.”

“I thought it was cool that it didn’t work,” Cher told Radio.com of her long-dormant creation, “but now it does.” Perhaps it worked because vampires, like Cher, are masters of reinventing themselves each generation.

Springy, sweet, and puffed full of air, marshmallows as we know them are a pretty unnatural (albeit delicious) treat. It turns out, though, that the campfire-friendly confections originated thousands of years ago with the most basic of ingredients.

Start with the fact that the marshmallow is actually a plant. Found mostly in Europe and western Asia, Althaea officinalis grows as high as six feet tall and sprouts light pink flowers. A member of the mallow family, it grows mainly in wet or marshy areas—and thus, “marsh” meets “mallow.”

Beginning around 9th century BCE, the Greeks used marshmallows to heal wounds and soothe sore throats. A balm made from the plant’s sap was often applied to toothaches and bee stings. The plant’s medicinal uses grew more varied in the centuries that followed: Arab physicians made a poultice from ground-up marshmallow leaves and used it as an anti-inflammatory. The Romans found that marshmallows worked well as a laxative, while numerous other civilizations found it had the opposite effect on one’s libido. By the Middle Ages, marshmallows served as a treatment for everything from upset stomachs to chest colds and insomnia.

The Ancient Egyptians were the first ones to make a sweet treat from the plant, when they combined marshmallow sap with nuts and honey. The dish bore no resemblance to today’s marshmallows, and was reserved for the nobility. The gods were supposedly big fans, as well.

For centuries afterwards, the plant served as a food source only in times of famine. In contrast to the marshmallow candy, the marshmallow plant is tough and very bitter. In 19th century France, confectioners married the plant’s medicinal side with the indulgent qualities revealed by the Egyptians. Pâté de guimauve was a spongy-soft dessert made from whipping dried marshmallow roots with sugar, water, and egg whites. Sold as a healthful treat in lozenge and bar form, the guimauve, as it was known, quickly became a hit. There was just one problem: Drying and preparing the marshmallow stretched production to a day or two. To cut down the time, confectioners substituted gelatin for the plant extract.

With production streamlined, marshmallows made their way to the U.S. in the late 1800s. Soon after arriving, the recipe was tweaked to make marshmallow crème (which, in keeping with the marshmallow’s health food origins, was once advertised as a wrinkle cream). In 1927, the Girl Scouts Handbook came out with a recipe for “Some More.” It instructed readers to “toast two marshmallows over the coals to a crisp gooey state and then put them inside a graham cracker and chocolate bar sandwich.” The name was soon shortened, and s’mores have been an American campfire tradition ever since.

The next leap for marshmallows came in the 1950s, when manufacturer Alex Doumak developed a process called extrusion that forced marshmallow mixture through metal tubes, shaping it into long ropes that were then cut to uniform size. The process gave marshmallows their cylindrical shape and it pumped even more air into them, giving them the soft-but-firm quality that we associate with the treat today. Kraft’s “Jet Puffed” tagline rebranded this process, which subjects the marshmallow mixture to gas blasts at 200 pounds per square inch.

Thanks to the wonders of industrial processing, Americans today consume more than 90 million pounds of marshmallows every year. Companies now make all-natural marshmallows using vegan gelatin and alternative sweeteners. You can also make your own marshmallows with some corn syrup, granulated sugar, gelatin, and a few other ingredients.

If you’ve got time and the right equipment, you can even make marshmallows the really old-fashioned way, using marshmallow root. Step one: “Make sure the marshmallow roots aren’t moldy or too woody.” Good luck with that!

A hundred years ago, school lunch as we know it didn’t exist. Most children went home for their meal, or if they had a few cents in their pocket, they bought a less-than-healthy treat from a street vendor. In the decades that followed, the forces of business, public health, and politics would transform school lunches into a communal experience filled with adolescent power struggles, branded lunch boxes, and heaping portions of mystery meat. Here’s how the midday meal has evolved through the years.

1900s

The vast majority of children in the early 1900s went home for lunch. In some rural communities, children would bring food from home or, if their teacher was industrious, bring ingredients for a communal stew cooked over a kettle. As more and more parents took jobs in factories and elsewhere outside the home, many children were left without food options. In cities like Boston and Philadelphia, organizations like the Women’s Education and Industrial Union began providing meals for schoolchildren. Elementary school children were given crackers, soup, and milk. At Boston’s Trade School for Girls, lunch selections included celery soup with croutons, stuffed tomatoes, apple shortcake, baked beans and brown bread, and cocoa to drink—prepared by the girls as part of their domestic science program.

1910s

Volunteer organizations became the main source for low-cost and subsidized school lunches. By 1912, more than 40 cities across the U.S. offered programs through groups like the New York School Lunch Committee, which offered 3-cent meals. Kids didn’t get much for their money [PDF]: Pea soup, lentils, or rice and a piece of bread was a common offering. If students had an extra cent, they could spring for an additional side like stewed prunes, rice pudding, or a candied apple. In rural communities, parent-teacher committees pooled their resources. Pinellas County in Florida started a program that served meat-and-potato stew to schoolchildren using ingredients donated by parents. Even with these innovative efforts, there was still massive concern about hunger and malnutrition amongst America’s schoolchildren.

1920s

The emphasis on providing a “hot lunch” took hold during this era. By the early ’20s, more and more kids were chowing down on stews, boiled meats, creamed vegetables, and bread. But health experts warned that these meals were nutritionally deficient. In an editorial, The Journal of Home Economics had earlier worried that parents and community lunch programs, left to their own devices, would let children consume nothing but coffee, potato chips, pickles, and “frankforters.” Schools listened, and many began tracking students’ health and teaching them how to cook. The practice of home economics teachers having girls prepare nutritionally balanced lunches became even more widespread, and these kitchens gradually became professional operations, paving the way for the modern cafeteria-and-kitchen setup.

1930s

In the wake of the Great Depression, the federal government authorized the U.S. Department of Agriculture to buy up surplus food from farmers and funnel it into school lunch programs. As a result, schools began serving a lot more beef, pork, butter, and other commodities. But public health advocates like Margaret Mead still pushed for balanced meals. Relief organizations in New York City served up fresh apples, bananas, vegetable soups, and peanut butter sandwiches to children. Some of these early attempts to produce nutritious meals on a budget produced oddball recipes. One guide published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, for instance, recommended combining peanut butter with cottage cheese or salad dressing to make a sandwich filling.

1940s

By the early 1940s, every U.S. state had federally supported lunch programs in place. However, during World War II, funding and the number of available workers dropped, leaving many children without meals. After the war, Congress passed the National School Lunch Act, which further expanded the availability of school lunches. The program still relied on agricultural surplus, which meant schools often got food they couldn’t use. “Perishable foods rotted en route to schools or arrived unannounced at schools that could not refrigerate them,” wrote Harvey Levenstein in Paradox of Plenty: A Social History of Eating in America. A USDA guide to menu planning using farm surpluses included recipes for creamed chipped beef, Spanish rice and bacon, cornmeal pudding, fruit shortcake, and a pork mush known as scrapple. During WWII, the government recognized the need to balance rationing and children’s nutrition, so the War Food Administration began offering financial aid to certain agencies to buy school food locally.

1950s

Feeding the baby boom meant school districts had to ramp up production in a big way. In addition to traditional hot lunches, many began serving cold lunches, which included a variety of sandwiches, cottage cheese, pork and apple salads, tomato wedges, and ice cream. By 1952, school lunch had become a $415 million business. Private companies, eager for a slice of the action, began contracting with school districts. Branded lunchboxes themed to TV shows like Gunsmoke and Hopalong Cassidy began appearing on lunch tables. With postwar industry zipping along, children were fed rich, protein-heavy dishes like cheese meatloaf, sausage shortcake, ham and bean scallop, and orange coconut custard with cottage cheese.

1960s

Foods once considered ethnic, like pizza, enchiladas, and chili con carne, made their way onto school menus. Kids could also rely on traditional favorites like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, meatloaf and mashed potatoes, and fish sticks with tartar sauce. Many school districts centralized their lunch production. In New York’s central facility, 100 workers each produced 300 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches per hour, while dozens of vats hard-boiled eggs en masse. At the same time, national attention turned to the millions of needy schoolchildren who still didn’t receive federally funded lunches. In 1966, Lyndon Johnson signed the Child Nutrition Act, which expanded the availability of school lunches across the country.

1970s

Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains didn’t stand a chance against the rising tide of fast food. Impressed with the efficiency and popularity of Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonald’s, schools put hamburgers, French fries, and other greasy fare on their menus. A 1974 lunch menu from the Houston school district included chiliburgers, hamburgers, oven fried chicken, buttered corn, and fruit gelatin. As federal nutrition standards continued to weaken, vending and foodservice companies brought chips, candy bars and other treats to schools as well. In 1979, the USDA put out guidelines that said school lunches needed only to provide “minimum nutritional value.”

1980s

In 1981, the federal lunch program made headlines after changes to nutrition guidelines classified ketchup as a vegetable. The guidelines were a response to early ’80s budget cutting, which reduced the school lunch program by $1 billion. It was also a defining moment for an era when processed food creations ruled the cafeteria. Chicken nuggets, cheeseburgers, and rectangular pizza slices were always on the menu, along with chocolate pudding, Jell-O, and sliced fruit drenched in syrup. Those that brought their lunch sported Handi-Snacks, Fruit Roll-Ups, and pouches of Capri Sun. In the late ’80s, a handful of Oscar Mayer employees tasked with selling more of the company’s bologna came up with one of the best-selling kids’ products of all time: Lunchables.

1990s

Rather than try to imitate fast food, in the ’90s many schools simply let fast food operators into their cafeterias. Federal government standards allowed McDonald’s, Little Caesar’s, Chick-fil-A, and others to set up shop. The exchange was agreeable for both sides: Schools happily accepted funding, while fast food companies were eager to reach young consumers. For their subsidized lunches, schools increasingly turned to foodservice companies like Marriott and Sodexo. Lunch bags and boxes, meanwhile, overflowed with indulgent gems like Dunkaroos, Gushers, Teddy Grahams, Ecto Coolers and bottles of Squeeze-It. It was a delicious time for kids, but with obesity rates on the rise, certainly not the healthiest.

2000s

By 2005, half of all U.S. schools offered fast food in their cafeterias, with an even higher percentage carrying soda and snack vending machines. School districts across the country were conflicted. On the one hand, they needed the revenue that companies like Pepsi and McDonald’s provided. But on the other hand, they couldn’t overlook soaring obesity rates. Many began tweaking their menus, hoping to entice kids with dishes like grilled jerk chicken, barbecued pork sandwiches, and fresh (instead of canned) fruits and vegetables. Natural and organic food companies like Stonyfield Farm and Annie’s entered the kids’ snack market.

2010s

In 2010, President Obama signed the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, a politically contentious bill that required officials to revamp the federal lunch program’s nutrition standards, while First Lady Michelle Obama made kids’ nutrition and fitness a priority with her Let’s Move campaign. Healthy eating gained cultural momentum, too, with celebrity chefs like Jamie Oliver promoting fresh, local dishes for kids. Some schools installed vegetable gardens, and many began feeding students meals that would have seemed downright strange two decades prior. Houston’s schools, for one, now offer turkey hot dogs, roasted summer squash, and fresh broccoli florets in addition to pizza, cheeseburgers, and chicken nuggets. Although the ultimate impact of school lunch reform isn’t clear, one thing is: At more than $10 billion a year, school lunch is a big business.

There’s nothing more uplifting than an underdog story—especially when the underdog is furry, four-legged, and maybe also an actual dog. Take the rescue canines below, all of whom managed to paw their way into America’s hearts. (No—you’re crying!)

1. BUDDY THE WONDER DOG

In 1989, Kevin di Cicco was visiting his grandfather’s cabin near Yosemite in northern California when he came upon a disheveled-looking Golden Retriever. Di Cicco took him in, named him Buddy, and started bonding with him by playing catch. He tossed tennis balls and baseballs to Buddy, who caught them in his mouth, and spent six months teaching Buddy how to use his snout to hit a basketball into the basket.

In the early ’90s, Buddy (with di Cicco) showed off his basketball, baseball, and soccer skills on two episodes of The Late Show with David Letterman. Buddy went on to play Comet on Full House, and starred in the 1997 film Air Bud. Because Buddy died of cancer the year after his big screen debut, other Golden Retrievers portrayed him (and his puppies) in the many Air Bud sequels and spin-offs. Over the years, di Cicco has trained some of Buddy’s biological puppies to play sports, continuing Buddy’s stellar athletic legacy.

2. RIN TIN TIN

 
On September 15, 1918, an American corporal named Lee Duncan came across a dog kennel inside the ruins of a German encampment near Lorraine, France. There, he found a German Shepherd mother with her litter of newborn puppies. Duncan rescued the dogs, keeping two of the puppies for himself. He named them Rin Tin Tin and Nanette, and brought them home to the U.S. after the war. Nanette fell ill during her trip to Duncan’s home in California and passed away, but Duncan continued to raise Rin Tin Tin, teaching him to do tricks and signing him up for dog shows.

The expressive German Shepherd went on to appear in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and early ’30s, helping Warner Bros. earn huge profits (some even credit Rin Tin Tin with saving the then-struggling studio). In 1932, millions of fans mourned Rin Tin Tin’s death, news of which interrupted radio broadcasts across the country. His descendants have carried on his legacy, and today, you can see Rin Tin Tin’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

3. MARNIE

With a book, an app, and 2 million Instagram followers, Marnie the Dog has solidified her place in pop culture. But her path to Internet stardom wasn’t always so certain. In 2012, Animal Control in Connecticut came across a dirty, 10-year-old shih tzu living on the streets. After spending about four months in a shelter, she was adopted by a woman by the name of Shirley Braha, who named her Marnie and started posting photos of the unusual-looking pup online. According to Braha, Marnie’s head is likely tilted due to a bout with a prior illness called Vestibular Syndrome. (As for that permanently stuck-out tongue? Marnie was just born that way.) These days, Braha and Marnie (who is now 14) use Marnie’s fame to encourage people to adopt senior dogs.

4. SERGEANT STUBBY

 
In 1917, John Robert Conroy was a 25-year-old soldier in the 102nd Infantry, 26th Yankee Division. During basic training in New Haven, Connecticut, he spent long, grueling days preparing to ship overseas for WWI. While training on a field at Yale University, Conroy befriended a stray bull terrier mutt who had taken to hanging around the soldiers. He affectionately called the puppy Stubby, after the dog’s short tail. When training ended, Conroy decided to bring Stubby with him to France by smuggling him on the ship. Although dogs were forbidden, Stubby allegedly gave a paw salute to the officer who found him, and Stubby was allowed to stay with Conroy and the rest of the 102nd Infantry.

On the battlefield and in the trenches, Stubby did more than simply boost morale. He served on the front lines, leading soldiers to the wounded. Heroically, Stubby barked to alert his fellow soldiers of an unexpected mustard gas attack, thus saving his entire infantry, and even helped catch a German spy. After the war, Stubby received a hero’s welcome: He met with U.S. presidents, marched in American Legion parades, and received honors from the Red Cross, Humane Society, and YMCA. If you visit the Smithsonian, you can see Stubby with his coat of medals, thanks to the work of a taxidermist.

5. TUNA

In late 2010, Courtney Dasher was shopping at a Los Angeles farmer’s market when she came across an adoptable four-month-old Chihuahua/Dachshund mix, who had been picked up by the rescue group after being abandoned by the side of a road. Dasher fostered the puppy for a week, decided to permanently adopt him, and named him Tuna. Tuna’s comical appearance—his prominent overbite, wrinkled neck, and recessed jaw—has earned him 1.8 million Instagram followers. Dasher uses Tuna’s fame to raise money and awareness for animal rescue organizations and inspire people to focus on inner beauty.

6. HIGGINS

 
By 1960, animal trainer Frank Inn had coached hundreds of animal actors. After working for the legendary Weatherwax family for 14 years, helping to train some of the collies that played Lassie, Inn became his own boss, getting dogs, cats, pigs, snakes, and chimpanzees ready for their big- and small-screen close-ups. One day, in a Burbank, California, animal shelter, Inn came across a cute brown puppy. Doing what he did best, Inn taught the dog—who he named Higgins—a variety of tricks and landed him gigs on TV shows, including a part on Petticoat Junction.

Higgins’s biggest role emerged towards the end of his life. He was tapped to star in Benji, a popular 1974 film about a stray dog who rescues two kidnapped children. Higgins passed away in 1978, but his offspring were tasked with portraying Benji in the movie’s sequels.

7. WHEELY WILLY

 
In the early 1990s, a woman stumbled upon a taped-up cardboard box left on a busy street in Los Angeles. Inside she found a gaunt, bald Chihuahua puppy, whose back had been broken and vocal cords cut. The dog lived at an animal hospital for a year, until Deborah Turner, a groomer and pet store owner, heard about Willy. She adopted him and outfitted him with a wheelchair so he could move around on his own. News of “Wheely Willy” spread, and he appeared on news shows, Animal Planet, and in two popular children’s books. He and Turner also visited hospitals and schools, spreading a message of hope to the ill and disabled. Wheely Willy passed away peacefully in Turner’s bed in 2009.

8. JAKE

 
In 1995, Mary Flood, a Utah-based emergency worker, came across an abandoned black Labrador puppy lying on the street with a broken leg. She adopted the dog, named him Jake, and nursed him back to health. Eventually, Flood began training him to aid search and rescue during natural disasters, including avalanches and floods. After passing a rigorous examination, in which he was tested on his obedience and agility, as well as his ability to follow commands, bark, and find victims under piles of rubble, Jake became a different kind of rescue dog entirely—an elite U.S. government-certified rescue dog.

Under Flood’s handling, Jake got to work saving lives. Most notably, he aided search and rescue teams at the World Trade Center on September 11 and during Hurricane Katrina. During training sessions, he also served as a model to younger search and rescue dogs, showing them how to find a trapped victim and bark to get help. After Jake died of cancer in 2007, Flood recalled how he boosted morale: “He was always ready to work, eager to play—and a master at helping himself to any unattended food items.”

As you chow down at your local Chinese restaurant, Indian eatery, or Mexican joint, are you eating dishes that are truly authentic to their countries of origin? From corned beef to chicken tikka masala to chimichangas, here are six national dishes that didn’t originate in the region you’d expect.

1. CRAB RANGOON

Deep-fried anything tastes good, so when you deep-fry a dumpling stuffed with cream cheese and crab meat, prepare your taste buds for a heavenly experience. Crab Rangoon is often on the menu at Chinese and Thai restaurants in the U.S., but you probably won’t find it in Asia. Although wontons are popular in China, the idea to put cream cheese inside them probably emerged in the 1950s, thanks to a chef at Trader Vic’s, a Polynesian restaurant chain in San Francisco. They claimed that the recipe was a traditional one from Burma (now Myanmar) and named it after the former capital Rangoon (now Yangon).

2. CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA

Along with tandoori chicken and saag paneer, chicken tikka masala has become synonymous with Indian food. But the dish of chicken in a spicy, savory tomato sauce was probably invented in the UK, not in India. Food historians debate the dish’s exact origin, but a Pakistani or Bangladeshi restaurateur chef in either London or Glasgow, Scotland probably invented it in the 1960s or ’70s, possibly heavily inspired by butter chicken, which was a dish that was becoming popular in India a few years before. There’s more at stake than mere bragging rights, though. The dish’s invention became contentious in 2009 when a Scottish member of Parliament failed to convince the European Union to grant the dish a Protected Designation of Origin, which would have given Scotland the patent for chicken tikka masala’s name.

3. GENERAL TSO’S CHICKEN

You can find General Tso’s chicken—pieces of fried chicken coated in a sweet, tangy sauce—in just about any Chinese restaurant in the U.S. Although the dish takes its name from a real Qing dynasty military commander, Zuo Zongtang (also spelled Tso Tsung-t’ang), General Tso’s chicken as we know it was first created in America. Stories vary, but the dish is believe to have emerged in Taiwan during the 1950s, after chef Peng Chang-kuei fled China in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. But his original version wasn’t fried and wasn’t sweetened. Those changes would be made when the dish migrated to New York in the 1970s in order to suit the American palate. And it succeeded.

4. CHIMICHANGA

What’s better than a regular burrito? A deep-fried one, of course! Historians aren’t sure who invented chimichangas, but they might have been created in the 1940s or ’50s when a cook in Tucson, Arizona accidentally dropped a burrito into a nearby fryer. The nonsensical curse word she shouted when she realized her mistake? Chimichanga! Another theory is that a restaurant owner in Phoenix, Arizona deep-fried burritos to make them last longer. While burritos are an authentically Mexican food (albeit not the hyper-stuffed burritos popular in the States), it seems that chimichangas are solidly American.

5. CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE

Touristy pubs and restaurants in Ireland probably have corned beef and cabbage on their menus, but the dish doesn’t exactly hail from Ireland. Historically, the Irish used cows for dairy rather than meat and celebrated St. Patrick’s Day by eating pork or lamb. To escape the Great Famine in the mid-19th century, many emigrants who left Ireland for the U.S. settled in New York City. When these Irish-Americans combined traditional vegetables from their homeland, such as cabbage and potatoes, with kosher brisket, a meat dish that was popular amongst Jewish immigrants in New York, they created a novel twist on salt-cured meat. Corned beef and cabbage caught on, and President Lincoln chose corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes for his first inauguration’s luncheon menu in 1861.

6. CHOP SUEY

Unlike the other entrants on this list, food historians are increasingly coming around to the idea that chop suey is actually Chinese—which makes it doubly ironic because chop suey has long been sold as the definitive Chinese-American dish. According to the most popular legend, chop suey was invented when a group of American miners were in the the Golden City hoping to hit pay dirt during the Gold Rush. One evening, the miners were drunk and hungry, so they made a late-night stop at a local Chinese restaurant. The owner quickly plated a mixture of scraps that had already been cooked, and the miners loved the meal mash-up. Chop suey caught on, and it became incredibly popular across the rest of the U.S. But a few food scholars have traced it to a dish called tsap seui from the Toisan district of China. And as Joseph Conlin points out in Bacon, Beans, and Galantines, “It does seem hard to believe that a people wracked by poverty had not thought to put together ‘miscellaneous stuff’ before they arrived at the ‘Golden Mountain.'”

Open any pantry in New England and chances are you’ll find at least one jar of Marshmallow Fluff. Not just any old marshmallow crème, but Fluff; the one manufactured by Durkee-Mower of Lynn, Massachusetts since 1920, and the preferred brand of the northeast. With its familiar red lid and classic blue label, it’s long been a favorite guilty pleasure and a kitchen staple beloved throughout the region.

This gooey, spreadable, marshmallow-infused confection is used in countless recipes and found in a variety of baked goods—from whoopie pies and Rice Krispies Treats to chocolate fudge and beyond. And in the beyond lies perhaps the most treasured concoction of all: the Fluffernutter sandwich—a classic New England treat made with white bread, peanut butter, and, you guessed it, Fluff. No jelly required. Or wanted.

There are several claims to the origin of the sandwich. The first begins with Revolutionary War hero Paul Revere—or, not Paul exactly, but his great-great-great-grandchildren Emma and Amory Curtis of Melrose, Massachusetts. Both siblings were highly intelligent and forward-thinkers, and Amory was even accepted into MIT. But when the family couldn’t afford to send him, he founded a Boston-based company in the 1890s that specialized in soda fountain equipment.

He sold the business in 1901 and used the proceeds to buy the entire east side of Crystal Street in Melrose. Soon after he built a house and, in his basement, he created a marshmallow spread known as Snowflake Marshmallow Crème (later called SMAC), which actually predated Fluff. By the early 1910s, the Curtis Marshmallow Factory was established and Snowflake became the first commercially successful shelf-stable marshmallow crème.

Although other companies were manufacturing similar products, it was Emma who set the Curtis brand apart from the rest. She had a knack for marketing and thought up many different ways to popularize their marshmallow crème, including the creation of one-of-a-kind recipes, like sandwiches that featured nuts and marshmallow crème. She shared her culinary gems in a weekly newspaper column and radio show. By 1915, Snowflake was selling nationwide.

During World War I, when Americans were urged to sacrifice meat one day a week, Emma published a recipe for a peanut butter and marshmallow crème sandwich. She named her creation the “Liberty Sandwich,” as a person could still obtain his or her daily nutrients while simultaneously supporting the wartime cause. Some have pointed to Emma’s 1918 published recipe as the earliest known example of a Fluffernutter, but the earliest recipe mental_floss can find comes from three years prior. In 1915, the confectioners trade journal Candy and Ice Cream published a list of lunch offerings that candy shops could advertise beyond hot soup. One of them was the “Mallonut Sandwich,” which involved peanut butter and “marshmallow whip or mallo topping,” spread on lightly toasted whole wheat bread.

Another origin story comes from Somerville, Massachusetts, home to entrepreneur Archibald Query. Query began making his own version of marshmallow crème and selling it door-to-door in 1917. Due to sugar shortages during World War I, his business began to fail. Query quickly sold the rights to his recipe to candy makers H. Allen Durkee and Fred Mower in 1920. The cost? A modest $500 for what would go on to become the Marshmallow Fluff empire.

Although the business partners promoted the sandwich treat early in the company’s history, the delicious snack wasn’t officially called the Fluffernutter until the 1960s, when Durkee-Mower hired a PR firm to help them market the sandwich, which resulted in a particularly catchy jingle explaining the recipe.

So who owns the bragging rights? While some anonymous candy shop owner was likely the first to actually put the two together, Emma Curtis created the early precursors and brought the concept to a national audience, and Durkee-Mower added the now-ubiquitous crème and catchy name. And the Fluffernutter has never lost its popularity.

In 2006, the Massachusetts state legislature spent a full week deliberating over whether or not the Fluffernutter should be named the official state sandwich. On one side, some argued that marshmallow crème and peanut butter added to the epidemic of childhood obesity. The history-bound fanatics that stood against them contended that the Fluffernutter was a proud culinary legacy. One state representative even proclaimed, “I’m going to fight to the death for Fluff.” True dedication, but the bill has been stalled for more than a decade despite several revivals and subsequent petitions from loyal fans.

But Fluff lovers needn’t despair. There’s a National Fluffernutter Day (October 8) for hardcore fans, and the town of Somerville, Massachusetts still celebrates its Fluff pride with an annual What the Fluff? festival.

“Everyone feels like Fluff is part of their childhood,” said self-proclaimed Fluff expert and the festival’s executive director, Mimi Graney, in an interview with Boston Magazine. “Whether born in the 1940s or ’50s, or ’60s, or later—everyone feels nostalgic for Fluff. I think New Englanders in general have a particular fondness for it.”

Today, the Fluffernutter sandwich is as much of a part of New England cuisine as baked beans or blueberry pie. While some people live and die by the traditional combination, the sandwich now comes in all shapes and sizes, with the addition of salty and savory toppings as a favorite twist. Wheat bread is as popular as white, and many like to grill their sandwiches for a touch of bistro flair. But don’t ask a New Englander to swap out their favorite brand of marshmallow crème. That’s just asking too Fluffing much.

Food brings us together. Whether your tastes trend toward traditional or experimental, there’s universal comfort in joining around a table for a meal. Seasoned travelers know that sampling the local cuisine is one of the easiest ways to experience native culture firsthand. You may not speak the language or know your way around town, but there’s always someone ready to share a bowl of their favorite treat. Sure, it’s increasingly easy to find a McDonald’s no matter where you land, but why not try one of these unique gastronomical experiences?

1. KOPI LUWAK // INDONESIA

Can’t face the day without coffee? Visitors to Indonesia can indulge their caffeine craving with a hot cup of kopi luwak, the most expensive coffee in the world. Why so pricey? Cats, of course! Wild palm civet cats, also known as luwaks, eat the fruity flesh of coffee berries but don’t digest the seeds (what we call coffee beans.) The civet droppings are collected by local farmers to be washed, roasted, and processed as coffee. Why is this “cat-poop coffee” so special? One theory holds that civets eat only the best cherries, creating a natural selection for quality. Others believe that a fermentation process occurs in the luwaks’ digestive tracts, which reduces bitterness and improves the natural flavor. But not everyone agrees; Tim Carman, a food critic for The Washington Post, tried kopi luwak a few years ago and claimed that “It tasted just like … Folgers.”

2. POZOLE // MEXICO

Mexican cuisine continues to be one of the most popular choices in the U.S., so a trip to Mexico might seem like a chance to double-down on well-known favorites like enchiladas or quesadillas. Go looking for authentic Mexican meals, however, and you just might find a steaming bowl of pozole, a soup with significance dating back to the Aztecs. Pozole begins with hominy (a type of dried maize) and meat (typically pork), includes a variety of mouth-watering spices, and is topped with fresh ingredients like lime and radish. Historically, pre-conquest Aztecs may have used freshly sacrificed human flesh in their pozole in lieu of pork, but there’s no need to worry about that these days.

3. SMALAHOVE // NORWAY

Steaks can be found nearly everywhere, but adventurous carnivores should consider a trip to Norway to track down a hearty plate of smalahove. Literally translated as “sheep’s head,” smalahove is in fact half a lamb’s head (split down the middle with an axe, naturally) that has been torched, dried, smoked, and boiled, then served with potatoes, rutabagas, cream, and butter. The brain and other organs are removed, with the exception of the tongue, eye, and ear, which are generally considered the best morsels. The hearty meal is a Norwegian holiday tradition and is typically consumed the last Sunday before Christmas. (It’s also customary to serve it alongside aquavit, a strong Nordic spirit, perhaps for folks who need a bit of “liquid courage” to face down this intimidating dish.)

4. CARNE ASADA WITH CHIMICHURRI // ARGENTINA

Grilled meat is a staple around the globe, but Argentines take particular pride in their steak traditions. Their outdoor cooking style, known as asado, has a rich heritage and rigorous rules to follow (absolutely no gas, briquettes, or lighter fluid allowed, only wood and hard lump charcoal!). Done properly, asado is an all-day process, where each cut of meat gets plenty of time to slowly roast—Argentines generally prefer their steaks medium-to-well-done.

While the steaks are grilling, Argentine chefs have time to whip up some chimichurri, the country’s “go-to condiment.” A tangy uncooked sauce prominently featuring parsley, garlic, oregano, and red pepper, chimichurri complements nearly any entree, but particularly shines with carne asada.

5. HÁKARL // ICELAND

Speaking of Scandinavia, perhaps no dish has earned quite so fearsome a reputation as hákarl, an Icelandic delicacy first cooked up by the Vikings. Even celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, no stranger to unusual flavors, described hákarl bluntly as “the single worst thing I’ve ever put in my mouth.”

The Vikings found a plentiful supply of Greenlandic shark in the waters around Iceland, but soon discovered that toxins in the shark meat made it poisonous to consume. Their solution was to behead the shark, then bury the carcass underground for six to 12 weeks to allow liquids to seep out and the rotting meat to ferment. (Some modern Icelanders cure the meat in a plastic box rather than underground). After the fermentation process is complete, the shark meat is cut into long strips and hung up to dry for several additional months. The final product, diced into deceptively mild-looking white cubes, is famous for its fiercely pungent ammonia aroma.

6. TRUFFLES // FRANCE AND ITALY

If the odor of rotting shark doesn’t make your mouth water, head south for a famous treat with a much different reputation. By weight, the European white truffle is one of the world’s most expensive delicacies—they can sell for as much as $3600 a pound. That steep price tag is due to the difficulty of finding and harvesting the small treats; truffles grow underground, near the roots of trees, and farmers often need to employ specially trained dogs to sniff them out. The fruit of underground-growing fungi, truffles generally aren’t eaten on their own but are a rich, aromatic addition to any number of dishes, including pasta, eggs, sauces, and even cocktails. Of course, truffle dishes can be found worldwide, but travelers in southern Europe should be sure to sample a few straight from the source.

7. KAPENTA FISH // ZAMBIA AND ZIMBABWE

Kapenta (also called matemba) are tiny freshwater sardines, originally native to southern Africa’s massive Lake Tanganyika but later introduced into other lakes in the region. Despite averaging just 10 centimeters long, kapenta are surprisingly rich in protein and iron, and are an important dietary staple for lakeside regions in Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Mozambique.

Typically kapenta are caught at night, then sun-dried the next day. Dried fish are wonderfully versatile and can be used in any number of contexts, from a basic stew to this sweet curry sauce. Zimbabweans living close to Lake Kariba also enjoy fresh kapenta, pan-seared and served with sadza, a maize porridge. Scoop up some sadza to dip or roll in the fish and sauce, and prepare to get a little messy—locals don’t use utensils for this dish.

8. VIRGIN BOY EGGS // CHINA

Boiled eggs are enjoyed internationally, but folks in the Dongyang province of China have a unique preparation method. Every spring, local vendors collect urine from local elementary schools, specifically from boys under age 10. The eggs are boiled in the urine; after an hour the shells are cracked and they are cooked for another full day.

Although modern science ascribes no nutritional value to this practice, Dongyang residents claim that virgin boy eggs bestow a wealth of health benefits, including improved circulation and resistance to heat stroke. They sell for just 25 cents each on the street (four times the cost of a regular boiled egg) and are so popular they’ve been dubbed an “intangible cultural heritage” for the region.

9. BALUT // THE PHILIPPINES

Travelers to the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, and other southeastern Asian countries will also find plenty of street vendors selling eggs, but with a much different spin. Balut are duck eggs, or more specifically, a mallard duck embryo sold in the shell. Fertilized eggs are incubated for 2-3 weeks (18 days is considered ideal), then boiled alive, sometimes with salt or vinegar added for flavor. The duck embryo is eaten whole; enthusiasts swear by the variety of savory flavors and textures all in one small package. Balut translates to “wrapped,” and comes from the idea that the perfect example should be “wrapped in white”—surrounded by pleasantly chewy boiled egg. Pro tip: if you’re interested in the flavors but squeamish about the embryo, order penoy, a duck egg that didn’t develop into balut and is entirely yolk.

10. PAVLOVA // AUSTRALIA

Visitors to Australia no doubt expect lots of shrimp on the barbie, and perhaps a kangaroo steak, but what about something to cool down after a hot day? Beat the heat with a slice of pavlova, a creamy meringue pie with a crispy crust and topped with any variety of fresh fruit.The story goes that Australian chef Herbert Sachse was inspired by Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova’s visit Down Under in the 1920s and strove to create a dessert as light as the iconic dancer. There’s another side to the story, through—neighboring New Zealand also claims the dish as their own. Hey, everyone just wants their slice of the pie, right?

If you’ve never enjoyed a beer inside a cave, at a former train station, or while grocery shopping, well, you just don’t know what you’re missing.

1. FLOSSMOOR STATION RESTAURANT AND BREWERY // FLOSSMOOR, ILLINOIS

Built in 1906, this former train station was headed for ruin before the current owners spruced it up and turned it into an award-winning brewpub. Drink a Station Master Wheat, then watch the 5:15 rumble by mere feet away. With the Metra stop just down the street, it’s a great spot for a last-minute drink before catching a train into Chicago.

2. LUCKY’S MARKET // VARIOUS LOCATIONS

Supermarkets have dutifully followed the craft beer revolution, and some like Whole Foods even have in-store bars where you can grab a pint or fill up a growler. But Lucky’s has upped the ante by encouraging of-age shoppers to enjoy a cold one while they shop. The retailer, which has locations in 11 states, sells the brews for just $2, and has outfitted its shopping carts with cup holders, naturally. Suddenly, shopping for kale just got a whole lot more exciting.

3. SISTER LOUISA’S CHURCH OF THE LIVING ROOM & PING PONG EMPORIUM // ATLANTA

Unusual is certainly one way to describe a bar where patrons regularly don choir robes, sing church-organ karaoke, and play ping-pong on a table surrounded by neon crosses. Opened in 2010 by a former divinity student-turned-artist, Sister Louisa’s is pure southern kitsch, and a favorite amongst Atlanta bar-goers. Craft brews are always on tap, but if beer isn’t your thing, you could always try the Spiritual Sangria.

4. FLORA-BAMA // PERDIDO KEY, FLORIDA

Step out of this Florida beach bar, walk a few feet west, and you’re in Alabama. The establishment opened in 1964, and soon, business was booming, thanks to the fact that Baldwin County, Alabama, was dry at the time. Since then, it’s grown into a sprawling roadhouse with numerous bars and live music stages.

5. THE CAVE BAR & GRILL // LANAGAN, MISSOURI

You won’t find any trendy craft brews on tap here. But true to its name, The Cave offers a one-of-a-kind venue. Owner Chris Black bought the space, formerly known as Truitt’s Cave, in 2011, after he was convinced the world was about to end. When that didn’t happen, he converted the cavern from a bunker into a bar and restaurant with an outdoor area that frequently hosts live music. Adding to the fun: There’s a herd of goats milling around.

6. SAN DIEGO ZOO // SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

One of the world’s premier zoos just so happens to have an incredible beer selection. Locations throughout the park serve up craft brews, from cafes to specialty stands operated by local brewers like Ballast Point and Sierra Nevada. There are also festivals like a recent beer and wine tasting celebrating the zoo’s centennial. Best of all: You can take your beer with you while you tour the park.

7. REVOLUTION CYCLES // GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA

In a town with its fair share of bicycle shops, Revolution offers a little something extra: several taps of cold craft beer. Owner Watts Dixon installed the bar area two years ago, keen to capitalize on the overlap between cycling and beer enthusiasts. Even if you’re not in the market for a new road bike or a tune-up, you can wander in for a pint of Oskar Blues or Sierra Nevada.

8. GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM // NEW YORK CITY

If the thought of viewing fine art while sipping a beer seems like fun, make sure to book a ticket to one of the Guggenheim Museum’s “Art After Dark” parties. In addition to live music and free-roam of the museum’s numerous exhibitions, the event features world-class people-watching from the Guggenheim’s spiral walkway.

9. O’MALLEY’S PUB // WESTON, MISSOURI

This bunker-like bar, formerly a Prohibition-era speakeasy, pays homage to rural Missouri’s drinking past with a lineup of rustic brews. There’s the Ruddy Wheat, a sturdy ale-meets-weiss concoction, and the Rip Van Winkle, first brewed in the early 1900s, when it was billed as “The Richest Bottle of Beer in the World.” Many of the brews come straight from the Weston Brewing Company next door via refrigerated tap lines.

10. UMBRELLA BAR // OLYMPIC VALLEY, CALIFORNIA

From roughly 60 feet underground to high in the mountains: It’s hard to beat the view at this mountaintop bar, perched 8200 feet at the top of the Squaw Valley Resort. With a large hot tub and retractable roof, it’s a popular spot for weary skiers and snowboarders, who can reach the bar from nearby trails. Luckily, there’s also a cable car that provides access for those less inclined to ply the slopes.

11. THE PINE BOX BAR // SEATTLE

This former mortuary did a stint as a nightclub before becoming a craft beer haven—most famously, Bruce Lee passed through the funeral home for his stateside services in 1973. Today, the bar has 30 some beers on tap, a range of dinner and brunch options, and is spending the fall hosting presidential debate watch-parties.

BONUS: CP BREWERY AT BREWS AND CUES // PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII

Drinking a micro-brewed beer is nothing unusual. But drinking a beer micro-brewed on one of America’s most storied military bases? That’s something special. The CP Brewery turns out a limited quantity of ales and IPAs on Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor-Hickham military base, and offers them at the Brews and Cues bar located in the base’s common area. There’s just one catch: Access is limited to military personnel and acquaintances.