Doug Mack
@douglasmack.bsky.social
Probably down a research rabbit hole.
📖 The Not-Quite States of America, about the U.S. territories (W. W. Norton).
🍟Agreeably nerdy food history newsletter: https://snackstack.net
He/him, just another dad in Minneapolis.
📖 The Not-Quite States of America, about the U.S. territories (W. W. Norton).
🍟Agreeably nerdy food history newsletter: https://snackstack.net
He/him, just another dad in Minneapolis.
Pinned
Doug Mack
@douglasmack.bsky.social
· Oct 5
The Not-Quite States of America
'To truly understand the United States, one must understand the 'not-quite states of America.' —Mark Stein, best-selling author of <em>How the States Got Their Shapes</em>, The Not-Quite States ...
wwnorton.com
Anyway, if you want to learn about the U.S. territories, read my book!
I traveled more than 30,000 miles to report it. Deep-dive history. Legal analysis. Tons of interviews. Funny travel stories.
Smithsonian said it was one of the 10 best travel books of the year!
wwnorton.com/books/978039...
I traveled more than 30,000 miles to report it. Deep-dive history. Legal analysis. Tons of interviews. Funny travel stories.
Smithsonian said it was one of the 10 best travel books of the year!
wwnorton.com/books/978039...
Reposted by Doug Mack
We could have been a civilized society with honey seals
* Before patenting the now-iconic bear-shaped honey container, the inventor also patented other honey bottle designs. We could've had penguins or creepy clowns instead!
November 25, 2025 at 3:54 PM
We could have been a civilized society with honey seals
Reposted by Doug Mack
Surely one of them would just make like, a seven-foot-long party sub and make it the super party sub
* Two brothers in NYC both claimed to have invented the six-foot-long party sub. Their shops were in adjacent storefronts and they tried to sabotage each other in various ways for decades. They didn't speak to each other directly for many years, but they did take their feud to court.
November 25, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Surely one of them would just make like, a seven-foot-long party sub and make it the super party sub
I know you have meticulously researched this subject but have you considered that I, an aggressive stranger, half-remember a shitty article from 20 years ago that I think contradicts your claim
November 25, 2025 at 3:04 PM
I know you have meticulously researched this subject but have you considered that I, an aggressive stranger, half-remember a shitty article from 20 years ago that I think contradicts your claim
Reposted by Doug Mack
Love the old streetcars they still use in Freiburg Germany
November 25, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Love the old streetcars they still use in Freiburg Germany
Reposted by Doug Mack
Reposted by Doug Mack
Snow totals have gone up in the Twin Cities. 3-4” for most, some 5” totals in the north metro.
What’s still the same: Snow begins after 7:00 PM, ends around sunrise Wednesday, and wind gusts of 40+mph will blow snow around.
What’s still the same: Snow begins after 7:00 PM, ends around sunrise Wednesday, and wind gusts of 40+mph will blow snow around.
November 25, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Snow totals have gone up in the Twin Cities. 3-4” for most, some 5” totals in the north metro.
What’s still the same: Snow begins after 7:00 PM, ends around sunrise Wednesday, and wind gusts of 40+mph will blow snow around.
What’s still the same: Snow begins after 7:00 PM, ends around sunrise Wednesday, and wind gusts of 40+mph will blow snow around.
Reposted by Doug Mack
As someone who references the VH M&Ms story a lot, now that I see Doug Mack has debunked the stated purpose of the clause in the rider, I will now shift to Kansas' Tutti Fruiti clause when wanting to explain clever riders
* You know how Van Halen had a contract rider demanding bowls of M&Ms with the brown ones removed?
They later claimed that was all a test to make sure venues were reading their contracts. Clever!
BUT WAIT, that claim itself is actually false. I fact-checked it.
Snack Stack exclusive:
They later claimed that was all a test to make sure venues were reading their contracts. Clever!
BUT WAIT, that claim itself is actually false. I fact-checked it.
Snack Stack exclusive:
In Search of Van Halen's Brown M&Ms
Contract riders and the meaning of a modern pop star
snackstack.net
November 25, 2025 at 10:49 AM
As someone who references the VH M&Ms story a lot, now that I see Doug Mack has debunked the stated purpose of the clause in the rider, I will now shift to Kansas' Tutti Fruiti clause when wanting to explain clever riders
Reposted by Doug Mack
Also interesting: in recent years the winners of the Best Pie in New Zealand awards have usually been Cambodian www.rnz.co.nz/life/food/wh...
November 25, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Also interesting: in recent years the winners of the Best Pie in New Zealand awards have usually been Cambodian www.rnz.co.nz/life/food/wh...
Reposted by Doug Mack
ooo this is a good one
"thousands of pages of documents that were, literally, rolled into State Supreme Court last year in a wheelbarrow."
snackstack.net/2023/07/14/t...
"thousands of pages of documents that were, literally, rolled into State Supreme Court last year in a wheelbarrow."
snackstack.net/2023/07/14/t...
November 25, 2025 at 11:31 AM
ooo this is a good one
"thousands of pages of documents that were, literally, rolled into State Supreme Court last year in a wheelbarrow."
snackstack.net/2023/07/14/t...
"thousands of pages of documents that were, literally, rolled into State Supreme Court last year in a wheelbarrow."
snackstack.net/2023/07/14/t...
The good people of New Zealand have found this post and apparently object to my description of their pies. My apologies. I will book a plane ticket immediately so that I can try each and every one of your pies myself and get properly educated.
* New Zealand takes pies (namely, handheld meat pies) so seriously that there are National Pie Awards that get major media coverage. The New Zealand National Library has a whole dedicated category for “Pies — Competitions.”
Pie.
Pie.
November 25, 2025 at 7:00 AM
The good people of New Zealand have found this post and apparently object to my description of their pies. My apologies. I will book a plane ticket immediately so that I can try each and every one of your pies myself and get properly educated.
Reposted by Doug Mack
It's a pleasant warm and foggy midnight in the great Purple City. Some bicyclists are on the east river trail. By all accounts by this time tomorrow it will be winter.
November 25, 2025 at 5:55 AM
It's a pleasant warm and foggy midnight in the great Purple City. Some bicyclists are on the east river trail. By all accounts by this time tomorrow it will be winter.
Reposted by Doug Mack
i actually remember reading this years and years ago!
forgot about it until just now, though ^_^;
forgot about it until just now, though ^_^;
* When you bite on a wintergreen Lifesaver, it creates a visible "spark." This phenomenon has been observed with various foods, and scaring the crap out of people in the process, since the 1600s. The science behind it helps us understand how things break in nature.
snackstack.net/2023/06/07/t...
snackstack.net/2023/06/07/t...
November 25, 2025 at 5:23 AM
i actually remember reading this years and years ago!
forgot about it until just now, though ^_^;
forgot about it until just now, though ^_^;
Reposted by Doug Mack
“Rt. 440, Jersey City (Nr. Two Guys)”
Merged with Three Guys a few years later and the rest is history.
Merged with Three Guys a few years later and the rest is history.
* In the early 1980s, the actor Mickey Rooney opened a restaurant (two, actually) called "Weene World," which specialized in hamburger-shaped hot dogs. It was...eccentric. And short-lived.
(And, yes, "Weene," not "Weenie." Reasons unclear!)
Please read this whole menu:
(And, yes, "Weene," not "Weenie." Reasons unclear!)
Please read this whole menu:
November 25, 2025 at 5:06 AM
“Rt. 440, Jersey City (Nr. Two Guys)”
Merged with Three Guys a few years later and the rest is history.
Merged with Three Guys a few years later and the rest is history.
Not that you asked, but here's a thread of intriguing (real!) food facts to amuse/bore your friends and family.
Great for gatherings when you need to change the subject!
Great for gatherings when you need to change the subject!
November 25, 2025 at 4:13 AM
Not that you asked, but here's a thread of intriguing (real!) food facts to amuse/bore your friends and family.
Great for gatherings when you need to change the subject!
Great for gatherings when you need to change the subject!
Reposted by Doug Mack
We could make Minneapolis THE destination for young professionals that want to move to a relatively affordable bike-friendly city.
In fact, it's already happening, but the city should double down to increase the effect and benefits it would have.
In fact, it's already happening, but the city should double down to increase the effect and benefits it would have.
FR that stat of Minneapolis for me, a Missourian, is the #1 reason (if we don't include renting prices) I'm choosing to move to Minneapolis once I'm done with college.
I'm damn sure I'm not the only one in this demo looking to the twin cities area because of wanting to bike as an transit option!
I'm damn sure I'm not the only one in this demo looking to the twin cities area because of wanting to bike as an transit option!
November 25, 2025 at 2:23 AM
We could make Minneapolis THE destination for young professionals that want to move to a relatively affordable bike-friendly city.
In fact, it's already happening, but the city should double down to increase the effect and benefits it would have.
In fact, it's already happening, but the city should double down to increase the effect and benefits it would have.
Reposted by Doug Mack
The other day, I was poking around the archives and found a mention of something called zombie cake.
It was hugely popular in the 1950s, available in bakeries around the USA. And then it disappeared, not just as a product but even as a collective memory.
What the heck happened?
An investigation:
It was hugely popular in the 1950s, available in bakeries around the USA. And then it disappeared, not just as a product but even as a collective memory.
What the heck happened?
An investigation:
Zombie cakes, the dead dessert of the 1950s
The story of a tiki-inspired treat that has vanished from cultural memory
snackstack.net
November 24, 2025 at 11:24 PM
The other day, I was poking around the archives and found a mention of something called zombie cake.
It was hugely popular in the 1950s, available in bakeries around the USA. And then it disappeared, not just as a product but even as a collective memory.
What the heck happened?
An investigation:
It was hugely popular in the 1950s, available in bakeries around the USA. And then it disappeared, not just as a product but even as a collective memory.
What the heck happened?
An investigation:
Honestly want someone to put the replies/quotes into a 90s-style copied-at-Kinko's zine because there's so much good stuff here and it has the ideal charm and chaos to fit that format
yes, hello, I would like to place an order for everyone’s funniest stories of holiday food-related family grudges / drama / chaotic incidents / lore
I feel like we need this
I feel like we need this
November 25, 2025 at 2:22 AM
Honestly want someone to put the replies/quotes into a 90s-style copied-at-Kinko's zine because there's so much good stuff here and it has the ideal charm and chaos to fit that format
Reposted by Doug Mack
“I refuse to pretend that both of us are dumber than we are” is a tour de force insult, simultaneously respectful and brutal
If Isaac Chotiner ever said this to me, I would move to the woods.
November 25, 2025 at 1:43 AM
“I refuse to pretend that both of us are dumber than we are” is a tour de force insult, simultaneously respectful and brutal
Reposted by Doug Mack
my goodness:
Chotiner: who funds this shit
Ben Smith: How dare you ask such a question. Check your facts!
Chotiner: I have now checked my facts. A thread (1/381)
Ben Smith:
Chotiner: who funds this shit
Ben Smith: How dare you ask such a question. Check your facts!
Chotiner: I have now checked my facts. A thread (1/381)
Ben Smith:
a man in a hospital gown with the words i 've made a huge mistake behind him
ALT: a man in a hospital gown with the words i 've made a huge mistake behind him
media.tenor.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:51 AM
my goodness:
Chotiner: who funds this shit
Ben Smith: How dare you ask such a question. Check your facts!
Chotiner: I have now checked my facts. A thread (1/381)
Ben Smith:
Chotiner: who funds this shit
Ben Smith: How dare you ask such a question. Check your facts!
Chotiner: I have now checked my facts. A thread (1/381)
Ben Smith:
Reposted by Doug Mack
My aunt who famously can’t cook tried to make a pumpkin pie. She didn’t know what cloves were, so she put garlic cloves in it. Whole.
November 24, 2025 at 11:59 PM
My aunt who famously can’t cook tried to make a pumpkin pie. She didn’t know what cloves were, so she put garlic cloves in it. Whole.
I was bracing from the headline but I was absolutely not prepared for how bad this would be.
begins here, over this article: www.semafor.com/article/11/2...
November 25, 2025 at 1:32 AM
I was bracing from the headline but I was absolutely not prepared for how bad this would be.
Reposted by Doug Mack
November 24, 2025 at 11:46 PM
These are all good suggestions but especially the last one. We really need more coverage of the Imperial Moment!
I figure Ken Burns has one, maybe two big documentary series in him before he fully retires. What do you think they should be? My votes include Football, Hip-Hop, World War 1, Reconstruction (though Skip Gates did this one well), Iraq/Afghanistan, 19th Century Expansionism.
November 25, 2025 at 1:08 AM
These are all good suggestions but especially the last one. We really need more coverage of the Imperial Moment!
Reposted by Doug Mack
As a long term transplant, one thing I have noticed is that Minnesotans don't wear their team's gear, unless they are going to the game.
This is in contrast to my IL and IA roots, where your teams' gear is your wardrobe
This is in contrast to my IL and IA roots, where your teams' gear is your wardrobe
Getting on a flight on the east coast and one other person is wearing #mnufc gear.
a man in a suit and tie is standing in front of a crowd of people .
Alt: Tobias Funke shouting "There are dozens of us! Dozens!!" while pointing.
media.tenor.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:53 PM
As a long term transplant, one thing I have noticed is that Minnesotans don't wear their team's gear, unless they are going to the game.
This is in contrast to my IL and IA roots, where your teams' gear is your wardrobe
This is in contrast to my IL and IA roots, where your teams' gear is your wardrobe
The other day, I was poking around the archives and found a mention of something called zombie cake.
It was hugely popular in the 1950s, available in bakeries around the USA. And then it disappeared, not just as a product but even as a collective memory.
What the heck happened?
An investigation:
It was hugely popular in the 1950s, available in bakeries around the USA. And then it disappeared, not just as a product but even as a collective memory.
What the heck happened?
An investigation:
Zombie cakes, the dead dessert of the 1950s
The story of a tiki-inspired treat that has vanished from cultural memory
snackstack.net
November 24, 2025 at 11:24 PM
The other day, I was poking around the archives and found a mention of something called zombie cake.
It was hugely popular in the 1950s, available in bakeries around the USA. And then it disappeared, not just as a product but even as a collective memory.
What the heck happened?
An investigation:
It was hugely popular in the 1950s, available in bakeries around the USA. And then it disappeared, not just as a product but even as a collective memory.
What the heck happened?
An investigation: