A Year in Wacky History, from Renaissance “Hell Banquets” to Georgia’s Muddy Spring Rites

For decades, the Indian city of Mumbai operated under multiple time zones. In the Middle Ages, pilgrims wore bawdy badges to ward off the plague. In ancient Georgia, spring was ushered in with whips, wine, and mud. WWII “houses of horrors” trained American spies for combat using cardboard Nazis. Here at Atlas Obscura, it’s no secret that we like to explore the unexpected side of history. So as one more year drifts into the historical record, we’re here to celebrate some of our most fascinating history stories from 2021. In…

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