Border Collies, a New Library Pod, Stroopwafels, Santa History & More: Endnotes 26 November

Every Friday, we celebrate the weekend — and all the reading and relaxing and daydreaming time ahead — with Melissa's favorite book- and travel-related links of the week. Why work when you can read fun stuff?!

This post is part of our Endnotes series.

What’s even better than whipped cream on top of pumpkin pie? Watching the National Dog Show and eating pie with whipped cream! The annual competition of adorableness has been held each year since 1879 (minut an interruption for the Great Depression from ‘28 to ‘32). The 2021 show was filled with as much cuteness as you could hope for with 4-year-old Scottish wolfhound named Claire taking the coveted Best in Show title for the second consecutive year. But really, they’re all good dogs. That cutie above is a border collie, also from Scotland.

• The Rosenbach, a museum and library in Philadelphia, is launching a new podcast on 01 December. Members of Collections staff will share behind-the-scenes info, including ‘Dr. Rosenbach’s tragic connection to the sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic, his work in refugee resettlement on the eve of the Second World War, and more. Watch the trailer and get the schedule of topics.

• The tale of a teddy bear that made its way home from Glacier National Park.

• Here’s a glossary to help us all remove ableist terms from our vocabulary.

• Everything you need to know about Banff National Park.

• A look at how being an outsider helped Maurice Sendak write the beloved book Where the Wild Things Are. (Maybe you want to make this carrot soup to enjoy while you read?)

• Reese’s Peanut Cups with peanut brittle! Kit Kat gingerbread minis! Hershey’s Sugar Cookie bar! Whoppers Snowballs! And more new Hershey’s Christmas candy!

• I feel like you should click through and look at the gorgeous Sheldon Chalet in Alaska.

• The magic of mushrooms:

• What?! The Library of Congress had a Cooking Club. The Library of Congress has 500,000 food books and ‘a lot of librarians, with expertise in just about every region, culture, and period of history you can think of. Since 1949, the library’s cooking club has drawn on that diversity of knowledge to bring together foods from all over the world.’

• This reverse dictionary/thesaurus is super handy. (ht Clever Manka)

• Monstreal-based artist and photographer Raku Inoue creates beautiful images with flowers and plants. National Geographic has the story and amazing photos.

• Getty shows us what’s found on the back of paintings. ‘These histories contained in an object give us a snapshot of the past… By tracing an object as it passed between hands from its maker up until the present, we can see how it was valued over time and how it came to be known to us today.’

• This love letter to stroopwafels, a sweet treat from the Netherlands, is a delight. ‘It’s a deceptively simple creation that doesn’t look all that appetizing: no colorful glaze or appealing sprinkle of sugar or nuts, just a plain brown disc. But then you take a bite, and you realize that the stroopwafel doesn’t need flashy looks, because its substance is a buttery dream of two wafer-like parts that hold a rich layer of syrup, each bite perfectly proportioned and satisfying.’

• Merriam-Webster challenges you to Name that Emotion.

• Obvs: Life’s too short to finish books you don’t like.

• Here’s a very helpful Covid-risk calculator.

• This short story on Twitter tugged at my heartstrings.

• A fascinating look at the changing face of Santa Claus.

Stay safe out there, friends.

Top image courtesy of Marie Hein/Shutterstock.