#chowhound

During the winter of 1944/45 approximately 20,000 citizens died in the so-called Hunger Winter, the Dutch famine. A German blockade cut off food and fuel shipments from farm towns. Some 4.5 million were affected and survived thanks to soup kitchens. As the war was wrapping up in April of 1945, in an effort to alleviate the suffering of the Dutch, the Allies devised a plan to deliver much-needed…

Ilene V. Smith writes on the origin of the Easter Bunny

...a tradition thought to be German in origin. Germans had celebrated Ostara, the ancient goddess of spring, herself a symbol of renewal and fertility. According to legend, Ostara turned a wounded bird into a rabbit in order to save its life. The rabbit retained the bird's ability to lay eggs and, to thank Ostara, decorated and gifted her the eggs. The rabbit eventually became known as Osterhase — a folkloric figure Germans brought with them when they settled in the United States, particularly in Pennsylvania, during the 18th century.

The Osterhase tale was eventually woven into Easter celebrations. In either the late 19th or early 20th century, chocolatiers celebrated Osterhase by creating hollow chocolate stand-ins using newly developed molding techniques.

Antarctic Penguin Visits Minneapolis

A penguin, named "chowhound," was brought back from a recent expedition to Antarctica by United States Coast Guard Lieutenant Gershowitz (shown here holding the bird) and is stopping in Minneapolis on its way to the International Ice Patrol week in New York. Gershowitz served as helicopter pilot with Rear Admiral Richard Byrd (not pictured) on the trip.

Minneapolis Newspaper Photograph Collection

During the winter of 1944/45 an approximate 20,000 citizens died in the so called hunger winter, the Dutch famine.A German blockade cut off food and fuel shipments from farm towns. Some 4.5 million were affected and survived thanks to soup kitchens. As the war was wrapping up in April of 1945, in an effort to alleviate the suffering of the Dutch, the Allies devised a plan to deliver much needed…