A Brief History of the Baldersquash Medal Legend has it that, one day in early 1894, Dr. Heinrich Hoffman heard a knock at his door in Frankfurt, Germany. On his porch he found a single chicken, holding in its beak what appeared to be a golden coin. Fifty years earlier, Dr. Hoffman had published his classic book of poetry Struwwelpeter (or Shock-headed Peter in English). Two days later, an anonymous letter arrived at the offices of the Boston Globe, addressed to the editor-in-chief. It anno...