Texas has long been a destination for would-be colonists, who revere the Lone Star landscape for its thick rivers of barbecue sauce and sloping baby back hills. Feast on local history and culture with today’s Groupon: for $10, you get admission for two to The Sophienburg Museum and Archives in New Braunfels (a $20 value). Each admission includes a visit to the museum and the archives. Active-duty members of the military are admitted free.
When Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels arrived in central Texas in 1845 to build an opulent home for his new fiancée, the German colonist could hardly have imagined that he would instead establish a town whose vibrant history carries on to this day. The Sophienburg—named after the Princess of Salm-Salm who would never see her castle in person—now overflows with photographs, maps, and documents that chronicle the early days of New Braunfels and Comal County. The area’s cultural heritage is on full display in museum exhibits that house artifacts ranging from an antique carriage to Price Carl’s extensive collection of pickled lederhosen.
After exploring the intimate museum galleries, visitors can head to the archives to peruse one of the world’s largest repositories of information about the wave of German migration that swept over central Texas in the 19th century. A veritable forest of family trees and county records take root in a 1,200-book reference library, where visitors can hack through the genealogical fauna to trace their ancestry back to famous explorers and exiled Prussian pop stars.
Groupon Says
The Groupon Guide to: Professions of the Past
As technology changes, professions either evolve—like when basketball became baseball when the sporting-goods industry invented smaller balls—or they fade away. Here are some jobs that no longer exist:
Milkman: The milkman's reign ended when doorstep-resting milk theft escalated, resulting in unstoppable strong-boned super criminals. These lawbreakers proved to be too much for the penal system, as they could easily escape prison by removing a femur and using it to dig through the thick concrete walls.
Elevator Operator: This was considered one of the most dangerous professions because the operators' primary duty was to offer their bodies to the riders as nourishment should the elevator stall for more than 30 seconds. In recent years, upscale office buildings have attempted to recapture the lift-attendant era by placing an old truck tire with drawn-on eyes and a mouth in each elevator car.
Football-Field Painter: Now that scientists have discovered that grass will naturally grow white if it's initially watered with bleach, decorating a field with yard lines and hash marks requires no upkeep. Fortunately, many former football-field artists were able make a living using their spray-painting skills by waiting at busy intersections and repainting people's cars while they were stopped at the red light.
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