Mass Mysteries Website

Thanks to everyone who has visited - and continues to visit - this blog. In keeping with the times, we have decided to migrate over to a website, which we hope to keep up to date more regularly.

Sure, this spot will still exist as an archive, but all of the information on this site - and more now - are part of the Massachusetts Mysteries website.

Come check us out at THIS LINK

The Massachusetts Yeti

The blizzard of 2015 - aka snowstorm Juno - brought a ton of snow, some wind, and a lot of drifts to the Boston area.

However, it brought something a little different.

The Boston Yeti.

Now, if you have not seen it, this is not your typical monster. And no, the cousin of Bigfoot was not roaming the streets of Boston. However, there was a very incredible hoax - well really not a hoax because it was done as a joke - performed in the city on purpose

A guy bundled up to defeat the cold and wind in his very best abominable snowman suit. He seemed to roam many streets and the premise was to make people stop, take notice, and smile.

It did.

If you haven't seen the pics of this rogue creature who got the laughs and smiles he was looking for amidst a blizzard, check out the links below.

Fox TV link
Boston Globe Link

The Sacred Cod of Massachusetts

January 11 1798....

It is the day that a fish was literally paraded through the city of Boston and brought to a new resting place in the current State House under the golden dome of Beacon Hill where it sits to this day in the House of Representatives.

The Sacred Cod is one of those symbols of Massachusetts that has a little bit of mystery to it. It is a nearly five foot pine symbol of the old Bay colony. The cod is a symbol that seems to have existed since the early 1700s. It was chosen as a bastion of pride for the Bay State because of the economic importance of the fish. After all, cod is what lured some of the first explorers, such as John Cabot, to visit and explore the region at the end of the 15th century. It is the reason why Cape Cod is so named.

As Massachusetts became to evolve as a colony and develop its economic industry, cod-fishing became a vital economic institution in Massachusetts. According to records, in the 1640s, when the colony was still in its infancy, cod fishers were able to sell 300,000 cod. The demand for cod grew, as did Massachusetts wealth and prominence.

As Massachusetts became a powerful colony and established its seat of government, the cod became a symbol sometime at the turn of the 18th century. That is when the Sacred Cod began being hung as a symbol. Three iterations of the Sacred Cod have existed. The first was destroyed in a fire in 1747. The second disappeared mysteriously in the early to mid 1770s when the British occupied Boston following the Boston Tea Party. It was never found. After the war, the Massachusetts legislature promised to renew the symbol and built the one that currently stands out of pine. John Rowe proposed the construction of a new one in 1784 and the rest is history.

This particular cod still exists, but is not without mystery as well. In 1933, as a possible college prank, it was cod-napped. Because of popular outcry, it was later returned by two people who slowly handed it over in a car, then left. Exactly who they were still remains a mystery.

So today is the day to honor the Sacred Cod - part of the state's legacy...not without its own bit of mystery.

Want to learn more? Check out these sites:

Mass Moments
Celebrate Boston
MSP Site

One of the world's biggest chairs

The next time you are in Gardner, Massachusetts, you can check out one of the regions most unique roadside sites...the region's biggest chair.

It may look like a mystery left behind by Paul Bunyan, but it is actually a man-made landmark.

Originally a little more than one hundred years ago (in 1905), the large, red chair as long been a landmark of the town. The chair has encountered troubles over the years and is currently in its third iteration. The large, red chair stands 20 feet tall, weighs 3000 pounds, and is visited by many.

Technically, it was the world's largest chair, too, until the 1970s. In 1976, the chair was listed in the Guinness Book. Then, a chair in Alabama took the throne before relinquishing it to a chair in Italy.

It was closed down in 1998, but it was refurbished and reopened in 2001. So, the next time you are passing through the chair city - hence the chair - check out this roadside attraction.

Want to learn more. Check out these sites.

Boston Globe article.
Roadside America
Worcester Telegram article

The Man Who was Attacked for his Beard.

John Palmer is one of those legendary figures of Massachusetts that is often forgotten, but he has one of those unusual stories that should be remembered.

Palmer lived in Massachusetts and fought for the United States in the War of 1812. In the years that followed the war, he returned home to Leominster and began growing...a beard. Now, this should not be considered anything out of the ordinary, except that beards had gone out of style. Still, that should not be cause for concern.

Well, Palmers beard grew a little long. People in town began to consider him sloppy and unkempt. He gained contempt from many people for his appearance. A local minister was even said to be critical of him.

In 1830, Palmer moved to Fitchburg, MA. His problems did not stop there. According to legend, he was the only man who lived there with a beard. In May of 1830, four men in Fitchburg decided to take matters into their own hands. With little regard to Palmer's feelings, they decided he needed a shave. Armed with scissors and razors, they decided to trim his beard for him. Jumping the man, they forcibly tried to cut the beard, but Palmer fought back. He whipped out a pocketknife that he carried and stabbed two of the men who were essentially attacking him for lack of a better term.

Laws were different in Massachusetts and Palmer was arrested. He could have avoided jail time if he paid a fee, but Palmer refused, believing he was innocent (and just protecting himself) and that he had a right to grow the beard. Palmer was actually jailed for fourteen months.  In fact, prisoners and prison guards are said to have tried to shave his beard. Bad publicity caused the jail to release him. In fact, Palmer refused to leave until he received an official proclamation that beards were fine to grow....but none was given. Instead, he was just kicked out of jail. He later paid the fine because his mother asked him to (according to local lore).

We he was released, he joined the Fruitlands Utopian community in Harvard and became friends with Louisa May Alcott. The character Moses White in her story Transcendental White Oats is based on him.

Palmer died somewhere between 1865 and 1875 (depending on the source) and his tombstone even marks the fact that he was persecuted for his beard.

Palmer's story goes to show that Massachusetts has long had people who have had to speak up for right to live how they want to live and fight persecution in the process.


Want to learn more

Story Link
Story Link Two
Story Link Three

Massachusetts and the Origin of Cabbage Night

In Massachusetts, the night before Halloween has often been known for mischief. Although originally connected to Halloween, during the early 1900s, as a quest to turn Halloween into a safer holiday, communities, mischief was eventually abandoned for more fun traditions, including trick-or-treating.

However - sadly- some people still tried to hold onto the mischief making and relegated it to October 30. 

Massachusetts is the home to one community that may have helped to install the tradition of Cabbage Night (at least the name). Framingham, Massachusetts, located in the MetroWest, is home to one of the earliest mention of the terms cabbage night. In the 1930s, when tricks we moved from Halloween night to October 30, it was noted that teenagers in Framingham - like other teenagers in the commonwealth - continued the tradition of playing tricks.

 One of the common tricks played in the town involved a cabbage. Now, a cabbage was thought to foretell the future. By pulling apart a cabbage one could tell what a future spouse might be like (exactly how is left to the imagination and was not included in sources).  In Framingham, in the 1930s, teens still held onto the idea of using cabbage. However, they would pull it out of people's gardens and through it at their front door, then run.

The night in Framingham quickly became known as Cabbage Night. The term was definitely used in towns nearby, including Natick, and has stuck to this day. 

So, if you ever hear the term Cabbage Night, know, in part, that it is connected to the town of Framingham, Massachusetts.

Check out more from these sources.

Legends and Lore of Framingham
Huffington Post

Strange Laws of Massachusetts

Massachusetts is filled with many interesting and unusual laws. This should come as no surprise because, after all, Christmas was once banned here (and some say the law still has not been cleared up). And, there are still old blue laws that forbid alcohol to be sold before 12:00 in most parts of the state on Sunday.

Check out these laws that are still on the books:


1. It is illegal to go to bed without taking a bath.

2. Gorillas cannot ride in the backseat of a car.

3. In Boston, it is illegal to cut wood from a public place.

4. Public boxing matches are against the law and punishable by fine.

5. Unless directed by a physician, it is illegal to give alcohol to patients in a hospital.

6. Candies with syrup cannot contain more than 1 percent alcohol in that syrup.

7. Roosters cannot go into bakeries.  

8. It is illegal to swear in some towns and cities.


This is just a sample of a few unusual ones. Check out these sites for more. Of course, Massachusetts has existed as a colony in one form or another since the 1630s (and earlier if you count Plymouth). There are bound to be countless old laws that are forgotten.

Dumb Laws.com

Strange Laws

Stupid Laws

WCVB TV link