2019 Tedium Highlight by Andrew Egan: The strange roots behind modern-day holiday traditions. 

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Andrew Egan’s 2019 Highlights

December 2019

Four Things A-Weirdin’

The roots of a whole bunch of holiday-season things we do without even bothering to question their origins. Use this knowledge to sound smart this year.
November 2019

A Parade Of Ragamuffins

Before the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade became a New York City icon, another holiday event once took place at the same time. The department store won.
October 2019

Shear Moonlight

Deep into Queens, there's a business operating 24 hours a day that most wouldn't expect. But in the city that never sleeps, should you expect anything else?
September 2019

Record Refresh

Is it a good thing when new types of statistics allow sports fans to see old players in a whole new way? Because that’s what’s happening with sports stats.
August 2019

Risk, Reassessed

A recent paramotoring tragedy involving a well-known YouTuber highlights the complex relationship we have with risk—even when the stakes are clear to us.
July 2019

You Never Know What You’re Gonna Get

An inside look at one of the strangest restaurant chains in recent history in honor of the 25th anniversary of the movie that inspired its existence.
June 2019

It’s Just A Swipe Away

Vintage technology has powered the innards of the NYC subway system for decades—and sometimes, it surfaces in interesting ways. This one’s for you, OS/2 fans.
April 2019

The Imperfect Perfect

In 2012, pitcher Justin Verlander did something unprecedented for a sport that had seen nearly everything—and a new breed of baseball stat nerds noticed.
March 2019

Playing Around Throughout History

Educational toys are preferred by ambitious parents looking for an edge. Their recent history is marked by upheaval, mimicry, and bloodthirsty competition.
February 2019

The Ice King Cometh

Why are ice cubes seemingly as American as unnecessary medical debt? Perhaps it’s all the hard work we used to put into acquiring all that ice back in the day.
January 2019

It’s An Illusion, Michael

The important—and sometimes controversial—role that toy magic kits have played for magicians. (Never reveal a magician's secrets, right?)

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