The Carp in the Bathtub By Hallel Yadin If there’s an obscure historical phenomenon you’d ever like to trick people into asking you about, wear a cute hat depicting it. That’s what I learned when I acquired this cap, which features an appliqué of a fish perched over a tub. It’s [...]
Newsletter updates! The Smart Mouth newsletter schedule is changing, as are the paid subscription benefits. The free edition, with articles by freelancers, will now publish three times per month. Once per month, paid subscribers will get an edition written by me. Sometimes it will be something quippy, sometimes it’ll be something [...]
This week’s Nintendo Direct featured news that a lot of gamers had been waiting for: that the company was putting to use its vast library of handheld games by making them available for the Nintendo Switch Online library. As of the end of the presentation on Wednesday, you could hop onto [...]
New Smart Mouth Newsletter Pitch Guidelines Hello freelance writers: here is a submission guide, should you want to contribute to Smart Mouth. It’s lengthy but I think covers everything. Please email pitches to katherine at tablecakes dot com. Read the submission guide here: Smart Mouth Newsletter Pitch Guidelines iTunes • Google [...]
A Cake Named for a Man, Baked by His More Interesting Wife By Stacy Brooks Runebergintorttu is an iconic Finnish dessert: the miniature cake is made with ground almonds and cookie crumbs or breadcrumbs, often flavored with punsch or rum, always topped with a circle of raspberry jam ringed with icing. [...]
Nebraska's Fast-Food Chain with Volga German Roots By Kara Elder Whether you tuck into one at a Cornhusker football game or from one of 88 locations in Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa and Colorado, the Runza sandwich, a savory stuffed bun from the fast-food chain of the same name, is pure Nebraska. To [...]
The Origins of Portugal’s Iconic Foods By Melissa Haun In this seaside country of sailors, Catholics and conquerors, everything you eat is intertwined with the past. Here are five essential Portuguese treats, plus the strange stories behind them. Read the article here: The Origins of Portugal’s Iconic Foods iTunes • [...]
Here’s a funny story about how video games can make for some very weird cross-cultural connections. Specifically, going deep on Final Fantasy VI taught me the word jihad back before many non-Muslims living in America would have a reason to learn it. But that doesn’t mean I encountered it in a [...]
A Canadian Pie That Isn’t Pie, but Is Comforting Would you like some excellent and useful Smart Mouth swag, good for both commuting and being outdoors? Respond to this newsletter with your mailing address and I’ll ship it out to you. Thank you so much for being a Smart Mouth [...]
"This is not an etymology blog. This is a video game history blog. However, in looking into the histories of things, we often end up examining the roots of the language we use to describe them. I think the intersection of the Final Fantasy versions of Bahamut, Behemoth, Leviathan and Kujata [...]
