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Back when we wrote Signing Their Rights Away, a Quirk book about the signers of the U.S. Constitution, we visited Philadelphia’s famous Christ Church Burial Ground, the final resting place of some Declaration and Constitution signers. Tourists typically make a beeline for Ben Franklin’s grave. Most never think to check out the stone of Major William Jackson—even if they’d know where to find it.

Jackson was the official secretary to the Constitutional Convention back in 1787, and served as George Washington’s “writing-aide” during that summer-long session to craft the U.S. Constitution. Jackson’s signature appears in the bottom-left corner of the U.S. Constitution. Since he was not a delegate from a particular state, historians don’t regard him as an official signer of the document. But people sometimes call him the “40^th signer”—in quotes.

Jackson has laid in the Christ Church’s Burial Ground since his death in 1828, but the stone on his grave (and that of his wife Elizabeth) has, over time, suffered damage and erosion. (See photo here.) Historians at the church recently did some detective work among their records to identify the precise location of the Jacksons’ grave. They then donated their own money to commission a new plaque, which will be installed and dedicated this weekend, Sunday, May 18.

The event is open to the public, so come check it out: 1:00 pm at

Christ Church Burial Ground, 5^th and Arch Streets, in Quirk’s hometown of Philadelphia, PA.

Ever wondered how to wrestle an alligator if the situation presented itself? Well, for just $1.99, now you can find out. David Borgenicht and Joshua Piven’s The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook is featured as today’s NOOK Daily Find.

The book prepares you for everything and anything that could go wrong, from fending off a shark to landing a plane. With summertime quickly approaching, you must expect the unexpected. Luckily, the Survival Handbook will make sure you are ready.  

Download the book for your NOOK, and you’ll be armed for whatever life throws at you today!

Quirk published the debut cookbook from Russell van Kraayenburg. Haute Dogs.

Now, every time we have a cookbook come out, we always try to do a little something fun. Contests, giveaways, blog tours… you know, things like that. The food blog community is just so full of fun, excited people, that we love launching these kind of fun campaigns to get them involved.

For Russell's book, we put together a fun Haute Dog Blog Tour, and a handful of blogs joined up to make an Ecuadorian Street Dog together. One blog made the salsa, another made the condiments, and so on. Today's final stop hits Russell's website, Chasing Delicious, where you can learn how to make the actual hot dog. But all the rest? Read on. 

Huge thank you to everyone who played along. This was a lot of fun. 

Image via Kitchen Daily

For many, there is nothing better than the smell of a grill firing up, followed by the taste of any assortment of food straight off the fire. Grilling is synonymous with summertime, barbeques, and delicious meals. There always seems to be “that person” at the party that takes on the title of “grill master.”

Somehow, they remain unfazed by the fire and heat and manage to know exactly how long to cook everything. There is, of course, nothing worse than someone who thinks they are up for the task, and manages to either overcook or undercook everything.

Don’t be that person. If you are ready to be the hero or heroine of every backyard party, read on for The Ultimate Survival Man-ual’s easy tips for how to achieve grilling perfection every time.