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If It Weren't For You
Building a Mystery
100
The original legend was brought to the United States by German settlers. He was originally known as Sinter Klaas.
Who is Santa Claus
100
Because they were viewed as as bumbling idiots, erratic, and ignorant drunks, cartoonist in the 19th century often portrayed Irish as apes and as sea creatures drowning in oceans of alcohol. Often posted next to "No Dogs Allowed" signs, NINA signs began to spring up due to the negative perception of the Irish which stood for this.
What is No Irish Need Apply
100
The famously known American one was once not so known in the states. The German product was brought to New York City by immigrant Charles Feltman, who opened up the first Coney Island stand for it in 1871.
What is a hot dog
100
A barber from Poland who later became the world's most famous cosmetologist developing movie make-up and hairstyles for most notably Jean Harlow, Joan Crawford, and Bette Davis.
Who is Max Factor
100
This project was tailor-made for the new pool of Chinese labor. In the middle of the nineteenth century, this was expanding at a breakneck pace, straining to span the continents as quickly--and cheaply--as could be done. The work was brutally difficult, the pay was low, and workers were injured and killed at a very high rate. For Chinese laborers, though, it represented a chance to enter the workforce, and they accepted lower wages than many native-born U.S. workers would have. When, in 1869, the final spike was driven into the rails after a record-breaking five years of construction, few Chinese faces appeared in photographs of the event. But it could never have been completed as quickly as it was without the toil of Chinese men--unknown hundreds of whom lost their lives along its route.
What is the Transcontinental Railway
200
This is a custom brought to Pennsylvania by German immigrants. Originally called Candlemas Day because a candle-lit mass was held to lighten up the dark days of winter. People took particular note of the weather, as well the supplies on hand for the duration of the winter by looking for signs of spring, or the continuation of winter. By catching the sight of originally a bear, if it was sunny and a shadow was cast, then winter would last six more weeks.
What is Groundhog Day
200
Because Jewish immigrants were often unable to sign their names, they often drew a circle instead. This derogatory term for Jews spawned from the Yiddish word, "keikl" which meant circle.
What is a kike
200
In 1896, Italian immigrant Italo Marchiony created a flat bottom one with tapered sides. In 1904, Syrian immigrant Ernest Hamwi rolled up some of his “zalabia” (a waffle-like pastry) and gave them to Arnold Fornachou, who had run out of paper dishes. Though they share the same name now, in 1910, Hamwi opened his own company and called his container this.
What is the ice cream cone
200
A Jewish Russian immigrant who God blessed America and had us all Dreaming of a White Christmas
Who is Irving Berlin
200
Viewed with suspicion, hostility, and as a threat to American jobs and the established way of life, A substantial number of southern Italian immigrants had only worked as farmers, and were thus qualified only for unskilled, and more dangerous, urban labor. Many Italians went to work on the growing city’s municipal works projects, digging canals, laying paving and gas lines, building bridges, and tunneling out this famous subway system.
What is the New York City Subway System
300
Most 19th-century Americans found these to be an oddity. The first record of one being on display was in the 1830s by the German settlers of Pennsylvania, although they had been a tradition in many German homes much earlier. In the 1840s, they were seen as pagan symbols and not accepted by most Americans. But by the 1890s they began to gain popularity in America. It was noted that Europeans used small ones about four feet in height, while Americans liked them to reach from floor to ceiling.
What are Christmas Trees
300
Considered lazy, uneducated, and violent, one 1891 cartoon claimed that “If immigration was properly restricted, you would never be troubled with anarchism, socialism, the Mafia and such kindred evils!” Hence the name WOP became a common derogatory name for Italians which was the acronym for this phrase.
What is With Out Papers
300
Hoping to ease the anxiety about this unfamiliar style of cooking, the owner of a Chicago restaurant offered patrons lessons on how to properly this potentially messy dish in 1910. In the 1920s, it underwent a transformation from being something only eaten rarely in Italian neighborhood restaurants to having recipes being featured in women’s magazines and becoming something that home cooks were finally willing to prepare.
What is Spaghetti
300
A Jewish German immigrant who invented blue jeans
Who is Levi Strauss
300
German Immigrant Wilhelm Rittinghausen was a papermaking apprentice in Germany where he worked at one of these and later developed the first one in America.
What is the paper mill
400
During the mass Irish and Scottish immigration in the 19th century this holiday was brought to North America. Confined to the immigrant communities during the mid-19th century, it was gradually assimilated into mainstream society by the first decade of the 20th century. In Scotland and Ireland, children went "guising" from door to door carrying lanterns made out of scooped out turnips, in search of cakes, fruit and money.
What is Halloween
400
Many prejudice Americans were offended and appalled by the smell of this emitting from Italian kitchens and satirically called it "Italian perfume" or "Bronx vanilla."
What is garlic
400
After being brought to America by Jewish immigrants in the early 20th century, the recipe was fiercely safeguarded. This Jewish bread, apparently originating in South Germany, migrating to Poland and thence to North America has become the most famous and archetypal Jewish food. Its name derives from a Yiddish word meaning ring' or bracelet.'
What is the bagel
400
Born Ettore Boiardi, this Italian immigrant's pasta label became popular at a time when Italian food was mostly found only in restaurants in Italian neighborhoods.
Who is Chef Boyardee
400
According to the Civil Engineer Group, "Few creations of man define a place, an era, and a people like an icon bridge." John A. Roebling, a Jewish German immigrant was a bridge designer and invented a wire-twisting machine to make the steel cables to build suspension bridges. He was responsible for bridges crossing the Niagara River and Ohio River, but he died in 1869 while building this iconic bridge in New York City
What is the Brooklyn Bridge
500
In the early 1900's, an Irish couple would walk to church together on their Wedding Day. If the people of their parish approved their union they would throw rice, pots, pans, brushes and other household items at the couple as they approached their church. As the custom worked its way into mainstream America, this was thrown in replacement of the original practice.
What is a Bridal Shower
500
A political cartoon from 1882, showing a man being barred entry to the "Golden Gate of Liberty's" caption reads, "We must draw the line somewhere, you know." This is in reference to the first immigration exclusion act against this group of people.
Who are the Chinese
500
Recipes for these came to America with the Dutch and English, who had eaten them in the old country and on the ships coming over. They were made by one of the oldest ways of preserving food which actually dates back 5,000 years in the Middle East. They became popular in the Jewish communities on the Lower East side because they were also very popular in Poland. Given the importance them in most cultures and for thousands of years, it seems odd that between about the 1820s and 1920s, many American reformers, dieticians, and food faddists rejected them. They were said to have interfered with “assimilation,” of food into the body and the assimilation of foreigners into American culture. Like alcohol, strong flavors or stimulants of any kind (spices, coffee, vinegar) seemed likely to overstimulate the senses, the stomach—and the social order.
What is the pickle
500
A Jewish immigrant from Bialystok, Russia (Today Poland) who developed the Polio Vaccine
Who is Albert Sabin
500
Irish immigrant architect James Hoban designed and helped to build this famous home on Pennsylvania Avenue.
What is the White House
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