Welcome to Aaron Manky's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of I Heart Radio and

Grim and Mild. Our world is full of the unexplainable.

And if history is an open book,

all of these amazing tales are right there on display,

just waiting for us to explore.

Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. When there's snow in the forecast, many kids hope that school will be cancelled.

Some kids do anything they can to increase the chance of snow. They may bang pots and pans or wear their pajamas inside out.

Of course, it's unlikely that these small rituals will have any effect, but they are a fun way to make a wish about the weather.

And while today it's common for people to wish for enough snow to cancel school,

these kinds of customs go all the way back to ancient times but back then such customs were a bit more trying.

Every fall in ancient Greece a strange event took place in the city of Alusus just outside

Athens. The event lasted nine days and consisted of a series of

rituals to honor Demeter, the goddess of harvest and Earth's fertility. Now according to the

myth Demeter's daughter Persephone was kidnapped by

Hades and brought to the underworld. Demeter embarked on a heroin search for her

daughter and after nine days they were reunited in El Yussis.

Thousands of people participated in the rituals.

Despite this though, little is known about what actually took place there.

But here's what we do know.

On the first day, people gathered at the Agora,

the marketplace located within the Acropolis in Athens.

And once there, a magistrate made a welcome speech.

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