World Traditions

Okay people, this took me 2 hours to finish because the sensus data wasn't working 4 me so I had to look up the 3 least populated counties for each state. If I got one wrong, don't blame me, blame google

i did it

Every October, we hear the same Pine Barrens campfire tale: a stormy night in 1735, a dark cabin in Leeds Point, an exhausted Mother Leeds, and an unholy 13th child that sprouted wings, hooves, and horns before vanishing up the chimney.

It’s iconic South Jersey folklore. But if you dig into the contemporary 18th-century paper trail—specifically colonial Quaker meeting minutes, early almanacs, and land patents—you won’t find a cursed newborn.

Instead, you find a venomous religious smear campaign, an ugly printing rivalry, and Benjamin Franklin essentially trolling his South Jersey business competitor into mythological monster hood.

Here is how the archival paper trail actually breaks down:

1. The "Occult" Stigma (1688–1700)

Daniel Leeds settled land around Great Bay (now Leeds Point) in the late 17th century. A prominent surveyor and early settler, Daniel ran into immediate trouble with his local Quaker community. He published an astrological almanac that the Burlington Friends Meeting condemned as "heathenish and ungodly."

According to Burlington Monthly Meeting minutes, the Friends actually seized and burned his copies. Daniel broke away from the Quakers, aligned with the royal governor, and published blistering criticisms of his former community. In response, the local Quaker majority branded him an apostate, a turncoat, and an evil occultist. The family name was tainted in the region before the 1700s even began.

2. Enter Ben Franklin’s Long-Running Prank (1732–1738)

Decades later, Daniel’s son, Titan Leeds, inherited the family trade, publishing the top-selling American Almanack.

In 1732, a 26-year-old Benjamin Franklin launched Poor Richard’s Almanack. Franklin needed market share, so he turned to satirical character assassination. Under his pseudonym Poor Richard Saunders, Franklin publicly "predicted" the exact moment of Titan Leeds's death: October 17, 1733, at 3:29 PM.

When that date came and went and Titan stayed very much alive—and furiously blasted Franklin in print as a liar and a scoundrel—Franklin pulled off a legendary bit of satire. Franklin deadpanned in his next issue that the real Titan Leeds had, in fact, died right on schedule, and that the person writing angry rebuttals was an imposter, a ghost, or an evil specter haunting the colony.

Franklin kept the "Titan Leeds is a walking phantom" gag going for years, cementing the idea in popular Philadelphia and Jersey print culture that the Leeds house was associated with the undead.

3. The Family Crest and Visual Literacy

Early colonial land patents and surveys at the New Jersey State Archives reveal that the Leeds family seal featured three wyverns—mythological winged dragons with serpent tails and talons. In an era when most common laborers and baymen couldn't read, visual marks mattered. An ostracized, "evil" family whose paperwork literally bore images of winged reptilian monsters was all the oral tradition needed to anchor the visual description of a "monster."

By the early 19th century, the political ghost, the Quaker heresy charges, and the winged crest had fully fused in the Pine Barrens into the "Leeds Devil."

I’m an educator and researcher with a background in archives (MLIS), and I recently launched a new project called The Archival Detective on Substack to dig into historical cold cases through actual primary sources, finding aids, and repository records.

If you want to see the citations, meeting minutes breakdown, and the full research methodology, you can read the complete write-up here:

https://thearchivaldetective.substack.com/p/case-file-0-how-ben-franklin-and?r=93bc5i&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

Has anyone else here ever fallen down the rabbit hole of colonial South Jersey records or the Leeds family papers?

We took the ferry from Kos for a day trip, not really knowing what to expect and it ended up being one of the absolute highlights of our time in Greece.

The most surreal part was visiting the volcanic crater and actually walking down into it. Standing inside an active volcanic system, surrounded by this almost otherworldly landscape, with steam rising from the ground and the smell of sulfur in the air, was an experience I won’t forget anytime soon.

But Nisyros is so much more than its volcano.

We explored Mandraki with its whitewashed houses, narrow streets and beautiful seaside atmosphere, and then headed up to Nikia a tiny mountain village overlooking the caldera.

The views from up there are absolutely insane, and the little main square might be one of the prettiest I’ve seen on a Greek island.

And then there’s the mythology behind the island, which makes the whole place even cooler: according to Greek mythology, during the battle between the gods and the Giants, Poseidon tore off a piece of Kos and threw it at the giant Polybotes, trapping him underneath it. That piece of land became Nisyros and the volcano’s eruptions were said to be the movements of the defeated giant beneath the island. 🌋⚡

Volcanic landscapes, Greek mythology, beautiful villages and hardly any of the mass-tourism feeling you get on some of the bigger islands.

We only had one day here, but Nisyros genuinely stayed with me. One of those places you visit without huge expectations and leave thinking: “How did I not know about this island before?”

Definitely one of my favourite discoveries in the Dodecanese. ❤️

Wish we stayed longer. 🥲

Picture Order:

1 to 9: Mandraki

10 to 11: Volcano Crater

12 to 19: Nikia

We were off to a great start after boarding an A380 to Qatar that was empty enough for everyone on board to have had three or four seats each. Even better was the fact that the flight to Kathmandu was overbooked, and so we were asked if it would be acceptable to place us in business class. It seemed churlish to say no, so we risked it up front.

Kathmandu! The stuff of legend and a mental image of mysterious monasteries surrounded by misty mountains. The reality was a city of a million people, and a sharp divide between the tourist areas and the other 99% or so. There were plenty of mountains at least.

If you’re going be adventurous in Nepal and your life will depend on the quality of your equipment, then make sure you buy it from a shop with windows and a door. There are any number of open-air shops selling rugged-looking clothes with rugged-sounding names, but suspiciously cheap, sometimes misspelled, and insulated with something akin to shredded newspaper. The real deal may cost a lot more, but you’ll die a lot less.

We boarded a bus for the seven-hour journey to Pokhara, on a highway that would have benefited from some serious repair. Large rocks were used to warn drivers of potholes, and the surface was rough enough that by the time we arrived, my watch had registered 11,000 steps. The town was scenic, peaceful after the chaos of Kathmandu, and popular with paragliders who drifted by the dozen in the skies around the nearby hills.

The mountain Machapuchare, also known as The Fish’s Tail, has never officially been climbed to the top. In 1957, the Nepalese king granted permission for a British team to make the ascent on the proviso that they not set foot on the summit. The team complied and stopped 50 metres short, but there are reports that a New Zealand climber successfully and illegally completed the climb in the early 1980s.

Next up was Chitwan National Park, which was reputedly home to a lot of wildlife. A rhinoceros wandered by us seconds after getting off the bus, so full marks to the tour documentation. She was something of a local celebrity, judging by the local visitors taking selfies with her, although I used a zoom lens and kept my distance. I like a rhino, but I don’t like to take liberties. 

Our accommodation for the night made a decent attempt at Western-style food, but we requested local cuisine for the next day, and it was fantastic. The chef was duly summoned and given a standing ovation. It’s always worth trying the local specialties in any country you happen to visit.

Nepal is dusty, bumpy, occasionally chaotic, and highly recommended.

1 - A view over the Pokhara Valley.

2 - Kathmandu seen from Swayambhunath, aka The Monkey Temple.

3 - A very chill Rhino in Chitwan National Park.

4 - The Local kids were always keen to have their photo taken.

5 - Machapuchare has possibly been summited once, but probably never.

6 - A colourful local in Kathmandu.

7 - A menacing local in Chitwan.

8 - The tourist area of Kathmandu, identified by English signs and dodgy Goretex.

9 - An elephant calf being roused from sleep by its mother.

10 - Incense sticks and candles are a major business in Nepal.

11 - The Monkey Temple was aptly named.

12 - Prayer flags at the 14th century Boudha Stupa. 

Is it Palm? Is it Kush? What’s goin on out there in that Marshall Island ring?

9/14-9/18

Had an incredible trip to visit the North Cascades which I’ve been hoping to do for a few years. There is always the risk of fires/smoke this time of year and while there was a bit of smoke on certain days and in certain areas, I lucked out in general. Flew into Seattle then made my way to SR-20 which becomes the North Cascades Hwy at some point and which is just an incredibly beautiful drive with quite a bit to see with many hikes and views conveniently right off of the highway. I stayed in Winthrop for 4 nights which was a very small “western” town on the eastern side and not exactly nice, but it was quiet and peaceful and gave the opportunity to drive the highway several times to see it in all kinds of light and conditions. I was a bit worried about rain/cloudiness/fog since it is all about the big Mountain Views out here, but I found the clouds provided some beautiful atmosphere and the bit of rain made everything lush and I saved the hikes with big views for the sunny days I was lucky to get.

Here are the photo locations and these were just a fraction of the good ones. Pretty much everything is right off the North Cascades Highway.

1. Ann Lake from Heather-Maple Pass

2. Blue Lake

3. Diablo Lake

4. Skagit River

5. Cutthroat Lake

6. Washington Pass overlook

7. North Cascades Hwy

8. Maple Pass view

9. Maple Pass view

10. Rainy Lake

11. View from Washington Pass overlook in the fog

12. Ross Dam

13. North Cascades Hwy

Our first trip ever to Egypt, and my first time bringing my Fujifilm camera overseas. The view was truly incredible as it woke up the kid inside me who was obsessed with Ancient Egyptian history. Seeing these magnificent structures and tombs in person was like seeing a place you always knew for a long time come to life.

First half from the Great Pyramids of Giza to King Tut’s legendary mask in Egypt’s Grand Museum (largest museum in the world) was in Cairo.

Second half starting from the Nile River view was in Luxor where we visited Valley of the Kings, Karnak Temple, and even Hatshepsut’s Temple.

I commute from my home to work and encounter this on my way. I reside in State of Madhya Pradesh in India. The white line beneath the Plaque is the Tropic of Cancer

I had a layover in Istanbul and three days to explore the city. I was overwhelmed by its sheer size. Even though I only saw a very small part of it, I was amazed by all the impressions and experiences. I especially enjoyed taking the ferry across the Bosphorus.

Vancouver, BC Proper Population: 662,248
Seattle, WA Proper Population: 784,777

Vancouver Metro Population Estimate: 3,108,926
Seattle Metro Population Estimate: 4,145,494

Seattle has over 100,000 more people inside its city limits than Vancouver and over one million more people in its metro area.

Apple is very detail-oriented. I don’t know what the criteria is on Apple Maps for the text size of cities because it doesn’t appear to be population.

Looks like there are more examples of this happening such as DC and Philly but this is the one that caught my eye.

The Boreal Forest in Canada could be the same size or larger size than some countries, larger than the Amazon Rainforest. It has a million lakes inside the forest and has the Canadian Shield.