A link dump even more instructive than usual

— How Charlotte got to be CHARLOTTE (while somehow retaining an amazing microhabitat or two).

— How Asheville came to host its first  flash mob pillow fight (while still honoring its more traditional pastimes).

—  How a covered wagon from Rowan County ended up on the second floor of a restaurant in New Washington, Indiana.

— How Benny from Lexington became “the old man” on “Pawn Stars.”

— How North Carolina lost  — to Ohio! — its official unofficial state  “ready-to-eat spiced sausage treat.”