There’s a town in northern Japan that bills itself as the actual hometown of Jesus, and points visitors to a place named the tomb or grave of Christ. Not the Easter story most of us have heard. Plus: just outside the Austrian town of Gmünd, there’s a divided chapel, with parts on both sides of a road.

Weird Legend of Jesus in Japan (ABC News)

The Divided Church of Gmünd (Amusing Planet)

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We're just a few days away from Easter for many people around the world. For kids in Finland and Sweden, the Thursday before Easter is itself a pretty important time: it’s when they turn themselves into witches. Plus: today in 1967 was the last episode of the sitcom Gilligan’s Island. So we've got a story about a time the TV audience of the 60s stood up for the Skipper and his little buddy.

Easter in Sweden comes in many shapes and forms. But there's no getting around the eggs (or the witches). (Sweden.se)

Little witches in Finland cast good spells before Easter (Seattle Times)

‘Gilligan’s Island’: Secrets From the Set, Including Who Thought the Show ‘Would Never Be Picked Up’ (Yahoo!)

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This is Money Smart Week, so we're going to look at what exactly money is and what it means, by looking at a kind of money on a Pacific island made out of huge stones. Plus: a shopping plaza in Greenfield, Massachusetts includes an ATM nestled inside a large fiberglass tree.

The Island Of Stone Money (NPR)

WOW: You Can Get Money Out of a Tree in This Massachusetts Town (WSBS)

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It's National Ham Day, so we've got the story of a ham in Smithfield, Virginia that’s stood the test of time for over 120 years. Plus: if you build the LEGO Colosseum set, and you have a cat, that set could quickly turn into a cat bed.

Isle of Wight Museum adds a new historic ham to the collection (WTKR) 

LEGO’s Colosseum Becomes a Regal Nap Spot for Cats Everywhere (My Modern Met)

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Lots of teams have fans try really difficult challenges to win big prizes. Nearly all of them fail, but today in 1993, a guy in Chicago stepped onto the Bulls' home court for a million dollar shot… and made it. Plus: today in 1983, the release of “Murmur,” the first full album by rock greats R.E.M. And during the making of that record, a member of the band helped a very different recording project happen.

The $1 million shot that changed sports contests forever (ESPN)

R.E.M. Share Memories Of Debut Album Murmur Released 40 Years Ago Today (Stereogum)

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It's National Board Game Day, so we’re going back in time to the very first board game in US history. Though explaining which game was the very first is slightly complicated. Plus: opening tomorrow in Kansas City, it’s the Museum of BBQ.

What America’s first board game can teach us about the aspirations of a young nation (The Conversation)

Museum of BBQ

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Today in 1849, the US issued a patent for one of the smallest big ideas of the century: the safety pin. And a big factor behind that little invention was paying off a big debt. Plus: today in 1921, the birthday of Robert Wade, a chess master who once proved that even top notch players can have a bad day.

Three Millennia of Safety Pins (The Atlantic)

Worst chess defeat (Generalist Academy)

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Today in 1843, the birthday of Samuel W. Pennypacker. When he was governor of Pennsylvania his supporters tried to make certain types of editorial cartoons a crime (!) Plus: today in 1942, a funeral for John Pecinovsky, known as “the Half-and-Half Man,” because he would wear clothes that were white on one side and black on the other.

When Cartoonists Were Criminals (Historical Society of Pennsylvania) 

John Pecinovsky, the Half-and-Half Man (Weird Universe) 

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This month in 1920, the magazine Electrical Experimenter featured the physiophone. It was a Hugo Gernsback invention that turned sound into electrical impulses, so Deaf people could feel the music. Plus: for National Library Week, a visit to the central library in Kansas City, where the building itself looks like a bookshelf.

This Invention From the Grandfather of Science Fiction Was Promoted as Music For the Deaf (Paleofuture)

Here’s The Story Behind the Kansas City Public Library’s Giant Community Bookshelf (Kansas City Library)

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Happy International Beaver Day! These toothy, flat-tailed rodents are some of the greatest builders on earth, and, as some scientific research has shown us, they build for the long term. Plus: for National Beer Day, the story of a beer receipt from ancient Mesopotamia.

Beaver Dams Can Last Centuries, 1868 Map Shows (Treehugger)

The Oldest Beer Receipt (Circa 2050 BC) (Open Culture)

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