Team Marco Polo

History Schmistory: October 29. Evil Opera

Tuesday, October 29, 2024 by teammarcopolo

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1787: Mozart’s opera Don GiovanniÂ is performed for the first time in Prague, a show chock-full of murder and mayhem, masquerade parties, demon choruses, graveyards, ghostly statues, and ultimately a first class ticket to hell. Top it off with an appropriate moral; he who lives wickedly, dies wickedly, and you’ve got yourself a fulfilling Halloween experience, wouldn’t you say?

History Schmistory: October 28. “This one’s for all the ladies out there.”

Monday, October 28, 2024 by teammarcopolo

1886: In New York Harbor, President Grover Cleveland dedicates the beautiful bronze Statue of Liberty. Always ahead of her time, Lady Liberty went green long before the rest of us.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:POTD/2009-10-28

GO THERE! Halloween in Jersey?

Sunday, October 27, 2024 by teammarcopolo

Sure, there’s probably a “zombie walk” happening in a city near you, but the turnout in New Jersey for last year’s zombie walk in Asbury Park earned them a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records. So, if you want to spend Halloween with the most dedicated of zombies, you might finally have a reason to visit New Jersey.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Asbury_Park_Zombie_Walk_2010_(5139059306).jpg

GO THERE! A Truly Haunted Mansion!

Sunday, October 27, 2024 by teammarcopolo

We mentioned this place a while back, and if you haven’t been there yet, Halloween is your golden opportunity!!!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Winchester_House_910px.jpg

TheÂ Winchester Mystery House is the former home of widow Sarah Winchester, who in 1881, upon the death of her husband, inherited 50% of the Winchester Repeating Arms company. Mrs. Winchester believed her family was cursed and that her Northern California mansion was haunted by all the victims who died at the muzzle of a Winchester rifle. So she began adding rooms to the property in order to accommodate all of them. By the time she died in 1922 the house had 160 rooms, 2,000 doors, 10,000 windows, 47 stairways, 47 fireplaces, 13 bathrooms, and 6 kitchens, along with plenty of secret passageways, trap doors, and stairways leading to nowhere. Plenty of ghost stories up in this crib.

Are you for real?

Sunday, October 27, 2024 by teammarcopolo

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Ray Villafane is not your mamma’s pumpkin carver (who is most likely you.) This sculptor used two giant 1600+ lbs pumpkins to make this zombie themed carving, the largest in the world.

History Schmistory: October 27. One Philly to go!

Sunday, October 27, 2024 by teammarcopolo

1682: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is founded. Eventually followed by the cheesesteak,Â because honestly, how could we not mention it?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Cheesesteak_Hamburg_Opole.jpg

History Schmistory: October 26. …it was OK.

Saturday, October 26, 2024 by teammarcopolo

1881: The famous gunfight at the OK Corral takes place in Tombstone, Arizona, lasting only 30 seconds. A shame Kevin Costner’s movie wasn’t that short.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tombstone,_Arizona#/media/File:Allen_Street_Tombstone.jpg

(GO THERE!) The well-preserved town still stands as a major tourist attraction.
-And Val Kilmer still stands as Doc Holiday, in our book.

GO THERE! (without the little ones)

Friday, October 25, 2024 by teammarcopolo

If you are the kind of person who actually enjoys being frightened out of your wits, there’s no better place to be on Halloween than the Headless Horseman Hayrides & Haunted Houses attraction in Ulster Park, New York. Be prepared for an intense night of thrills as you explore 6 themed haunted houses, a corn maze and a haunted hayride, where the Headless Horseman himself may leave you screaming like a little Marco.

History Schmistory: October 25. Priceless.

Friday, October 25, 2024 by teammarcopolo

1993: The master of macabre, classic horror film actor Vincent Price, well known for his creepy characters and distinctly chilling voice, dies of lung cancer. And Halloween just wasn’t the same without him.