Saturday, July 31, 2010

No. 212 - Speckled Peach

I read the following quote today at the beginning of Chapter 2 in the novel Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult:
"Sure, lots of people believe in God. Lots of people used to believe the world was flat, too."
-Ian Fletcher in The New York Times, June 14, 1998
I don't know who Ian Fletcher is and I don't know if the quote is real or part of the story's fiction. Nonetheless I thought it was a thought-provoking quote.

Later I read an article on NPR.org that said that tomatoes were once considered poisonous, even dangerous.

It is quite interesting how our views on things change over time as we acquire more knowledge in a particular subject.

The NPR article referenced a new book by Arthur Allen called Ripe: The Search For The Perfect Tomato. The author said that one of his favorite tomato varieties is the Speckled Peach. It's a German-bred tomato that packs a wallop of tang and sweetness. They supposedly have a melon taste described as a combination of a cantaloupe and a peach.

Friday, July 30, 2010

No. 211 - Nurdle

I read an article today about a legal battle between the makers of Colgate and Aquafresh concerning the use of a design on their toothpaste package.

The fight is over what is referred to as the nurdle, which I learned is the name given to the perfectly-shaped curvy squirt of toothpaste that people use to brush their teeth.

I also learned that a nurdle is a play in the game of tiddlywinks, a type of batting in cricket and the name given to the cylindrical-shaped resin pellet used in plastics manufacturing. It is believed that billions of these tiny plastic nurdle pellets find an eventual home in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the subject of Post No. 171.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

No. 210 - Droid

To be honest, I'm getting a bit bored with this blog. I started it as a personal goal in 2010 to chronicle at least one new thing that I learn each day. The problem is that I can't quit anything I start. My head would explode hearing the words of my dad over and over again: Winners never quit and quitters never win. And: If at first you don't succeed, try try again. And my favorite: Whether the job be large or small, do it right or not at all.

So here it goes. I learned that there's yet another Droid-model smart phone hitting the market. I first learned about smart phones based on the Android operating system just a few months ago before getting a Droid Incredible. Then a few weeks ago the Droid X hit the stores. Today a guy asked me to take a look at a video of the soon-to-be-released Droid Desire and to let him know how it might be better or worst than my Incredible.

It appears that we are being bombarded by Droids. Watch out for the newest Droid coming to a store near you. It might just be incredible, x-ceptional, or desirable.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

No. 209 - Yo-Yo

I caught a program on the radio this morning that was discussing genealogy. You probably know someone who compiled a family tree that goes back several generations, but how about tracing your ancestors back 800 years?

The program focused on the genealogy of Yo-Yo Ma, the world-famous Chinese-American cellist.

Apparently, Yo-Yo's paternal ancestry can be traced back more than twenty-five generations to the year 1217. This genealogy was compiled in the 18th century by an ancestor who also mandated the generational names for all of his descendants, including "Yo" for the generation born in the middle of the 20th century, and for 30 generations after that. Yo-Yo's sister's name is Yo Chang.

I also learned that the word "Yo" in Chinese means "friendly" and the word "Ma" means "horse," which means Yo-Yo Ma means friendly-friendly horse.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

No. 208 - NuVal

I don't count calories. But I do try to eat healthy. Everything in moderation, nothing in excess. I have occasionally glanced at the nutritional information on a food package. My eyes would gloss over. It's like information overload. Fat. Saturated Fat. Cholesterol. Sodium. Dietary Fiber. Who really takes the time to understand all that information?

Today I learned about a system that simplifies the nutritional information into one number. It's called NuVal.

NuVal is a nutritional scoring system. Their website says:

NuVal Scores summarize comprehensive nutritional information in one simple number between 1 and 100.  Each NuVal Score takes into account more than just the nutrition fact panel. It considers 30-plus nutrients and nutrition factors – the good (protein, calcium, vitamins) and the not-so-good (sugar, sodium, cholesterol). And then it boils it down into a simple, easy-to-use number; a number you can trust to make better decisions about nutrition in just a few seconds.

I like this for its simplicity. See Post No. 155. One. Number.

So when you are walking down the fruit and vegetable isle you can quickly see the scores on fresh blueberries (100), fresh broccoli (100), strawberries (100), tomatoes (96), bananas (91), and iceberg lettuce (82).

And when you are walking down the cookie isle you can also easily see the scores on Nabisco Mini Teddy Grahams Honey Snack Cookies (24), Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookies (10), Nabisco Nilla Wafers (8), and Nabisco Chips Ahoy Chewy Real Chocolate Chip Cookies (1).

Monday, July 26, 2010

No. 207 - Skishing

I learned a new word today -- skishing. It came from an article in the WSJ. It's a sport that combines swimming, fishing and skiing.

Normally a fisherman would hook a fish from the shore, or from a boat, with his feet firmly planted on the ground, or on the boat. If the fish is large enough it can be quite tough to reel it in. But imagine how much tougher it would be to reel it in if you were in the water with the fish!

Skishing is extreme fishing. It's a variant on saltwater fishing that involves wearing a buoyant wetsuit and swimming out from shore with flippers to fish with rod and reel, often using live eels. It is practiced as a means of getting farther out to sea in order to increase the chances of catching a fish and can be dangerous. Oh yeah, and it's mainly done at night.

The activity was invented by Paul Melnyk, a cabinet maker from Montauk, New York. Melnyk has explained that the activity is similar to skiing because "if you hook a fish over thirty pounds, it will generally take you for a ride."

Sunday, July 25, 2010

No. 206 - Midsummer

I'm still reading The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. It's been three weeks since I started it but it feels like three months. It rarely takes me this long to read a book. I just can't get into it. It came highly recommended by two different people. I think it stinks. Not terribly rotten and decaying, but it has a mild odor to it.

I'm beginning to think that some juggernaut advertising campaign was behind this overly-hyped book that convinced people to read it and then tell others that it's great. And how convenient was it that the author delivered all three completed novels to his publisher just before he died? That makes for a good story too. I wouldn't be surprised if Stieg Larsson shows up alive in a few years. All part of an elaborate PR stunt.

I have more than a hundred pages to go, so who knows? Maybe it has a fantastic surprise ending, like the Statue of Liberty toppled and buried in the sand. That would REALLY be a surprise ending since the story takes place in Sweden.

On the positive side, the book taught me several things. First, I learned about the tea tree in Post No. 185. Then I learned about kitsch in Post No. 194. Then today I read a word that has showed up at least a dozen times -- Midsummer -- mentioned in the context of some form of holiday. I figured it was time to learn more about it.

I learned that Midsummer is a holiday mainly celebrated in Europe to recognize the summer solstice -- the day of the year with the longest period of daylight. In Sweden it is celebrated on the Friday and Saturday that fall between June 19 and June 26. It is one of the most important holidays of the year in Sweden. The main celebrations take place on Friday and the traditional events include raising and dancing around a huge maypole.

There's that maypole again. It was mentioned back in Post No. 119 as being used in Beltane, or May Day, celebrations. Most other countries raise their maypoles in May, but Swedes wait until Midsummer. One explanation for this is that the leaves and flowers needed to decorate the poles aren't made available until June by Sweden's late-arriving summer.

There are strong pagan elements to the Midsummer festival, also similar to Beltane. Connections to fertility and fire are part of Midsummer, again similar to Beltane. And of course, alcoholic beverages are consumed during both as well.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

No. 205 - Formosa Tree

I was sitting at the pool today enjoying the vitamin D boost from the gorgeous sunny day. I checked my phone to see what my Facebook friends were up to. One of them posted that he "went outside to find a large part of the Formosa tree in the backyard was ripped away during the storms last night. Hopefully it doesn't kill the entire tree..."

I recently got a new HTC Incredible smart phone. It has an app called Voice Search. I tapped it. I spoke the words "formosa tree." It quickly returned several internet links. I tapped the first one. This phone is, indeed, incredible.

It learned that "Formosa" is the Portuguese word for "beautiful." The tree is also called a mimosa (yes, spelled like the drink) or silk tree. It is a medium-sized deciduous tree that blooms in the summer. It has fallen out of favor amongst southern gardeners and now it is often considered a weed-tree. The Formosa tree is capable of reaching 20-40 feet in height with a spread of 50 feet on old trees. It is usually low-branched, forking from near the ground and makes a great climbing tree for children.

Friday, July 23, 2010

No. 204 - Slinky

A Facebook friend posted today: I somehow never realized the slinky was a Pennsylvania product.

Neither did I.

The idea for the slinky came in 1943 when Richard James, a Naval mechanical engineer stationed at the shipyards in Philadelphia, was developing springs that could support and stabilize sensitive instruments aboard ships in rough seas. He accidentally knocked one of the springs from a shelf, and watched as the spring "stepped" from a stack of books, to a tabletop, to the floor, where it re-coiled itself and stood upright. Or so the story goes.

His wife, Betty, came up with the word Slinky (meaning "sleek and graceful") after finding the word in a dictionary, and deciding that the word aptly described the sound of a metal spring expanding and collapsing.

The toy made its debut at Gimbels department store in Philadelphia in November 1945. They were priced at $1.00 each and all 400 Slinkys sold within ninety minutes. In 1995, Betty explained the toy's success by saying, "It's the simplicity of it."

The Slinky has been made in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania since 1964.

I also learned that in 2001 the elected officials in Pennsylvania wasted time selecting, designating and adopting the Slinky as the official toy of Pennsylvania.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

No. 203 - Booty Pop

I'm not sure if today was a slow news day at The Wall Street Journal, or whether this article deserved its prominent front page (below the fold) display. It was titled Goodbye, Girdle: Curvy Stars Spark A Raid on Padded Panties.

I learned about a new product for women called Booty Pop, apparently for those times when you absolutely, positively must make your "booty pop."

Plain and simple, these are underwear with extra padding sewn into them to give your bottom a rounder, fuller, bigger look.

So when guys are asked the question, "Does my butt look big in these jeans?" the correct answer might now be "Yes, yes it does!"

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

No. 202 - Nobel Moment

I was listening to a program on the radio today and someone said that he had a Nobel Moment. Then he went on the explain what he meant.

He was referring to Alfred Nobel, the guy who instituted the Nobel Prizes.

The story he told went something like this:

In 1888 Alfred's brother Ludvig died while visiting Cannes and a French newspaper erroneously published Alfred's obituary instead of Ludvig's. It condemned Alfred for his invention of dynamite. The obituary stated, "The merchant of death is dead." And went on to say, "Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday."

It was Nobel's moment. This event is said to have brought about Nobel's decision to leave a better legacy after his death.

A little more than a decade later Nobel signed his last will and testament and set aside the bulk of his estate to establish the Nobel Prizes. He died a year later. After taxes and bequests to individuals, Nobel's will gave the equivalent of $250 million (in 2008 dollars) to fund the prizes.

The Nobel Prizes are awarded for cultural and scientific advances. The prizes in physics, chemistry, physiology and medicine, literature and peace were first awarded in 1901.

I suppose that was a pretty significant moment. I knew about the Nobel Prizes. I did not know about the dynamite.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

No. 201 - SUP

After recently returning from a family vacation in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, my wife said to me that we should take surfing lessons one of these years. Now I can't really see my wife, or me, on a surfboard so I kind of dismissed the comment without giving it much thought. I am willing to try anything once, as long as it doesn't involve jumping out of an airplane. I'm just not willing to take the chance that someone else packed the parachute properly.

I read an article in the WSJ today that taught me about a surf-like sport that looks fun and can be done in the ocean, as well as in rivers and lakes. It's known as SUP (pronounced like the "sup" in "supper"), or stand up paddle surfing.

I learned that the sport is an ancient form of surfing, and began as a way for surfing instructors to manage large groups of beginner surfers, as standing on the board gave them a higher viewpoint, increasing visibility of what was going on around them such as an approaching wave.

The boards are generally between nine and twelve feet long with padded decks 

The article talked about the fitness benefits of SUP'ing. A 44-year-old triathlete is quoted as saying "For my money it's the best total body workout you can get."

Whereas I did not have a great desire to learn how to surf, I think I would really like to give SUP'ing a try.

Monday, July 19, 2010

No. 200 - The Colony

I learned today about a reality show on the Discovery Channel called The Colony.

I'm not a fan of reality shows, or television in general for that matter, but this one caught my attention because it's supposed to simulate life after a global catastrophe. I'm thinking reality television meets Cormac McCarthy's novel The Road.

The first season followed a group of 10 people stuck in a Los Angeles warehouse without water or electricity. Gangs roam outside and threaten to steal their resources. The colonists are left to fend for themselves and must figure out how to collect, purify and store water, build a fish net to catch food, and make soap, among other things.

The trading/bartering was of particular interest to me. I often wonder what would happen if we had a currency crisis and must trade with others for the things we need. It appears that there were a few notable trades in the first season:

Trade #1 - The colonists traded an air compressor and a jackhammer for a ten kilowatt generator and five gallons of gasoline.

Trade #2 - The colonists traded 157 oranges, eight cans of food, one bag of flour, and one bag of salt for two chickens, one jug of cooking oil, one box of toiletries and nine yuccas.

Trade #3 - The colonists traded two solar panels, two tires, a bag of salt, a box of baking soda, and a kiss from a female colonist for ten gallons of propane, five gallons of gasoline, twenty gallons of water, one pound of beans and a jar of peanut butter.

The second season is scheduled to air starting on July 27. It was filmed on ten acres of abandoned neighborhood on the Gulf Coast of Louisiana, an area which was decimated by Hurricane Katrina.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

No. 199 - Tableau Vivant

My mom and I are reading the book of short stories that I mentioned back in Post No. 142 together. The author told us that day that she thought the best way to enjoy a book of short stories was not to plow through them from cover to cover, but to read one and then take some time before starting the next one. So we have been reading one story each week. This week's story is called Tableau Vivant.

I learned that tableau vivant is French for "living picture." The term describes a group of costumed actors carefully posed and often theatrically lit. Throughout the duration of the display, the people shown do not speak or move.

Before radio, film and television, tableaux vivants were popular forms of entertainment. They were sometimes used to recreate paintings on a stage, based on an etching or sketch of the painting. This was done as an amateur venture in a drawing room, the subject of Post No. 82, or as a more professionally produced series on a theater stage, one following another, usually to tell a story without requiring all the usual trappings of a "live" theater performance.

The accompanying photo is a tableau vivant of The Flight of Icarus, the subject of Post No. 158.

The person who re-created the painting had this to say about it:

This was surely a test of patience and endurance. The whole project was done in 90 minutes and I was awkwardly and unnaturally laying like that for about an hour. I’m wearing black napkins on my feet and hands, a blazer on backwards, a dress over my head and an apple is cut in half to make the heart.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

No. 198 - Vidalia

A few weeks ago we were out to eat and my daughter asked if we could order onion rings. We did. They were yummy. And she loved them.

So we started experimenting at home with some recipes. Today we tried one from Bobby Flay. We used white onions instead of the recommended Vidalia. Most recipes either call for white or Vidalia onions.

I learned today that the Vidalia onion gets its name from Vidalia, Georgia where the onions were first grown in the early 1930s. It is an unusually sweet variety of onion, due to the low amount of sulfur in the soil in which the onions are grown.

Mose Coleman is believed to have been the first grower of the now popular onion. In 1931 Coleman discovered that his onions were not hot, but rather mild. He managed to sell his onions for $3.50 per fifty-pound bag, a very good price at the time. Other farmers in the area, who through the depression years had not been able to get a fair price for their produce, thought Coleman had found a gold mine. They soon began to produce onions too.

The Vidalia onion is Georgia's official state vegetable.

Friday, July 16, 2010

No. 197 - Fifth Business

A Facebook friend posted this today:

That lust for books which rages in the breast like a demon, and which cannot be stilled save by the frequent and plentiful acquisition of books. This passion is more common, and more powerful, than most people suppose. Book Lovers are thought by unbookish people to be gentle and unworldly, and perhaps a few of them are so. But there are others who will lie and scheme and steal to get books as wildly and unconscionably as the dope-taker in pursuit of his drug. They may not want the books to read immediately, or at all; they want them to possess, to range on their shelves, to have at command. They want books as a Turk is thought to want concubines-not to be hastily deflowered, but to be kept at their master's call, and enjoyed more often in thought than in reality. ~ Robertson Davies

I read this post. Then read it again. That's exactly how I feel about books. I love to collect books. I love to be around books. I love the feel and smell of books. If I was addicted to something it would be books. I know there's a good chance I'll never read some of them but I keep acquiring more, to have at command.

This morning I was thinking of a question that goes something like this: If you could only choose one of the following what would it be? Your favorite book, or your fifth favorite friend? I was thinking of fifth favorite friend because no one should trade their best friend, or second best friend, for a book but maybe by the time you get to your fifth favorite friend that book starts to look interesting.

OK. So where's the tie-in and what did I learn today?

I looked up Robertson Davies, the guy who is quoted above, since I had never heard of him. I learned he was a Canadian and a novelist so I was intrigued to read a little more.

Then my eye was drawn to that word: Fifth. 

As in Fifth Business, a novel he wrote in 1970 which is the first book in The Deptford Trilogy. The series revolves around a simple act - a young boy throws a snowball at another, but it misses its intended target - and the effect this act has on a number of characters. Fifth Business is his best known novel, and considered his finest.

So the demon in my chest raged, and I knew that I just had to have that book, whether I read it immediately, or not at all.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

No. 196 - Cave of the Apocalypse

I was flipping between radio stations this morning when I heard someone talking about a cave. Since my post yesterday was on another kind of subterranean formation, my ears perked up.

The cave they were discussing was called the Cave of the Apocalypse. I learned that this cave is situated about halfway up a mountain, on the Greek island of Patmos. It is believed to mark the spot where John of Patmos received visions that he recorded in the Book of Revelation, or the Apocalypse, the last book of the Christian Bible. The place is also known as the Holy Grotto.

John of Patmos is traditionally believed to be the same person as both John, the apostle of Jesus and John, the author of the Fourth Gospel.  However, some biblical scholars now contend that these were separate individuals.

Christians believe that the Book of Revelation was dictated by God to John, who was exiled on the island, through a crack in a rock in the cave.

"I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet." (Revelation 1:9-10)

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

No. 195 - Lost Dutchman Mine

I heard on the radio this morning that three men remain missing after reportedly hiking in Arizona to search for the Lost Dutchman Mine.

I learned that the Lost Dutchman Mine is reportedly a very rich gold mine hidden in the Superstition Mountains, east of Phoenix, Arizona. The mine has a long history of men dying in search for gold, dating back to the gold rush days of the 1800s. It is perhaps the most famous lost mine in American history.

The Dutchman himself was Jacob Waltz, who lived in Phoenix. Some stories say Waltz died with gold under his bed and left behind 19 clues where to find the supply in the Superstition Mountains. Some think the gold is left over from Mexican or Spanish explorers. According to many versions of the tale, the mine is either cursed, or protected by mysterious guardians who wish to keep the mine's location a secret.

While learning about the Lost Dutchman Mine, it reminded me of the novel Earthcore by Scott Sigler, one of my favorite science fiction authors. In Earthcore, a platinum mining expedition in Utah goes horribly awry when the mining party bumps into an ancient race of violent creatures that live in an immense underground network of caves three miles below the surface of the earth.

I hope these three Arizona hikers didn't stumble upon Sigler's platinum mine by mistake. It would not be a happy ending for them :(

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

No. 194 - Kitsch

This morning I read the following passage in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo:

It's a miserably draughty hovel that functions as living quarters year-round. That's where Eugen Norman lives. He's in his late seventies and is a painter of sorts. I think his work is kitsch, but he's rather well known as a landscape painter. You might call him the obligatory eccentric in the village.

I did not know what type or style of art is referred to as kitsch.

Dictionary.com defines "kitsch" as something of tawdry design, appearance, or content created to appeal to popular or undiscriminating taste. It is the German word for trash. 

I learned that kitsch is a form of art that is considered an inferior, tasteless copy of another style of art. It is used to describe objects of poor taste and poor quality that are cheap, mass-produced, and unoriginal.

The term "kitsch" or "kitschy" is considered derogatory, denoting works executed to pander to popular demand alone and purely for commercial purposes rather than works created as self-expression by an artist.

Garden gnomes and other lawn ornaments are consider kitsch.

Monday, July 12, 2010

No. 193 - Wheel Position

My wife called me today to say that, while sitting in the parking lot at Target, our daughter pointed out dragonflies mating. We later asked her how she knew they were mating, and she said because they were "stuck" together.

I learned that when dragonflies mate, they assume the Wheel Position, which looks like a head-to-tail, heart-shaped stance. The male grips the female by the head and holds her in a tandem position. The female then bends up her abdomen to the genitalia of the male to form the wheel position.

What is even more interesting than this twisted position is that dragonflies can fly while mating, providing for a unique display of aerial acrobatics. Our daughter apparently witnessed some form of this stuck-together-ness while they were flying.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

No. 192 - Benedict Arnold

The news this week was dominated by a story of a basketball player who was leaving one team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, to go to another team, the Miami Heat.

I found it amusing that of all the important things that could be covered, including the endless wars, the explosive growing deficit, the sky-high unemployment rate, the 40 million Americans on food stamps or food assistance, etc. etc. many Americans were fixated by some guy switching basketball teams. At least our priorities are in order -- not.

I picked up the WSJ Weekend Edition and found the following blurb:

$17.41
Price of a life-size LeBron James wall sticker being sold online by Fathead, a company owned by Dan Gilbert, who also owns the Cleveland Cavaliers. 1741 is the year Benedict Arnold was born.

So the newsworthy story here is that a cry-baby basketball team owner is pouting about his star player leaving for another team - boo hoo - and calling him a traitor.

Benedict Arnold V was a general during the Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While he was still a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted unsuccessfully to surrender it to the British. After the plot was exposed in September 1780, he entered the British Army as a brigadier general.

There are so many other analogies that could be made to the American Revolution, what it stood for, and how our current system is drifting further and further away from the principles our founding fathers fought, and died, for.

A basketball player is not one of them.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

No. 191 - Curling Iron

We had a busy day planned today so I knew I had to learn something early. I asked my wife to give me an idea. She was getting ready and was fixing her hair, so she asked me to learn who invented the curling iron.

But first she told me how acrylic, or artificial, nails were invented. A bonus. She said that acrylic nails were invented by a dentist, when his wife broke a nail before going out one night and he needed to fix it - MacGyver-style - using materials he had readily available. I found this at answerbag.com:

Acrylic, or artificial, nails were invented in the 1970s by a dentist named Stuart Nordstrom. After a patient commented that the smell of the substances he used smelled much like the chemicals used for manicures, he decided to experiment in his garage. The first artificial nails were introduced in 1978.

I learned that curling, or styling, hair probably dates back through all of recorded history. Apparently we always liked to primp. 

And Adam Frisby is credited with creating the curling iron in 1890.

Friday, July 9, 2010

No. 190 - DUKW

Two days ago there was an accident in the Philadelphia area involving a duck boat, the kind that drives on land and then can function as a boat in the water, and a barge. The duck boat was apparently disabled due to an engine fire or failure and was struck by the barge. Thirty five people were rescued. Two died.

I learned that duck tours began by using military surplus DUKWs. The DUKW (pronounced "duck" with a silent "w") was a six-wheel-drive amphibious truck that was designed by General Motors Corporation during World War II for transporting goods and troops over land and water and for use approaching and crossing beaches in amphibious attacks.

The designation of DUKW was not a military acronym – the name came from the model naming terminology used by GMC:

the D meant a vehicle designed in 1942,
the U meant "utility (amphibious)",
the K meant all-wheel drive, and
the W meant two powered rear axles.

The first duck tour company was started in 1946, one year after World War II ended.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

No. 189 - Chokeberry

Naturalnews.com e-mailed me another article today that caught my attention. This one was titled: Chokeberry Extract Helps Maintain Proper Weight and it started out:
Researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently released the results of a study which found that the chokeberry, a Native American fruit also known as Aronia, assists in regulating proper weight and helps balance out blood glucose levels.
I tend to oversimplify things. Refer to Post No.155. Keep it Short and Simple. So for me maintaining proper weight comes down to two things:

1. Don't stuff more food into your mouth than needed. Calories don't just materialize. They come from, tada, food.
2. Exercise. That seems to be self-explanatory.

I have always been on the slender side. But a few years ago I experimented to see what would happen if I exercised more and ate less for thirty days. I did not starve myself, but ate reasonably-sized portions. No second helpings. There were many days when my body yelled "FEED ME!" I yelled back "NO!" I ended up losing a pound every three days for a total of ten pounds. It did not surprise me.

But I digress.

I learned that the chokeberry is a shrub native to North America. There are two well-known species, named after their fruit color, red chokeberry and black chokeberry, plus a purple chokeberry whose origin is a natural hybrid of the two. The name "chokeberry" comes from the astringency of the fruits which are inedible when raw. The berries can be used to make wine, jam, syrup, juice, soft spreads, and tea.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

No. 188 - Tom and Jerry

I came across something today that said that Tom and Jerry, the cat and mouse cartoon, is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. I didn't think that could possibly be right since I'd thought that the cartoon was from the early 70s, perhaps even the late 60s, which was what my wife also guessed when I quizzed her.

We were off by about two or three decades.

I learned that the first episode, Puss Gets The Boot, was released to theaters on February 10, 1940. In this episode, Tom is told by his mistress that if he breaks anything in the house, he is out the door. This became a repetitive story, and was used several times during the series. Jerry always made Tom make loud noises or break valuable objects. In the episode Tom is referred to as Jasper.

The original Hanna and Barbera cartoon series - totaling 114 episodes - ran from 1940 to 1958.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

No. 187 - Umami

I like to think that I'm a pretty healthy person. I probably mentioned this before but my philosophy on pretty much everything in life is: Everything in moderation, nothing in excess. I am not a health nut by any means, although I try to eat well and avoid putting unnatural substances into my body, like flu shots and over-the-counter drugs. I believe that the human body has a natural ability to heal itself and remain healthy provided you put good things into it.

In order to stay educated on living a healthy lifestyle, I subscribe to e-mail alerts from a website called Naturalnews.com. Today they sent me an article titled Beware of Umami - "Taste No. 5" - It's Just Another Name For MSG.

The article starts off as follows:
The controversial food additive MSG may soon be making its way into consumers' diets in a new form, marketed as the so-called fifth taste, or umami.

Western scientists long believed that the tongue contained only four types of taste receptors -- sweet, salty, sour and bitter -- with the sense of smell supplying the remainder of a food's taste. In 2000, however, researchers at the University of Miami discovered that the tongue also has receptors for the chemical glutamate, and that those receptors fire only in the presence of one of the other four tastes.
Back in Post No. 64 my daughter asked me to learn something new about taste buds. I wrote: "Taste buds help you detect the different kinds of tastes: salty, sour, bitter, sweet and savory."

I was not aware that the fifth taste - savory - was also called umami (pronounced oo-MA-mee). Umami means deliciousness in Japanese, but translates best as 'savouriness' and provides the 'meaty' flavor in meat. It describes flavor which is common to products like cheese, meat, mushrooms, oysters and red wine.

I also learned that every food culture has its own natural umami-rich ingredients, such as seaweed in Japan or Parmesan cheese in Italy. Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce are high in umami and so is human breast milk.

Monday, July 5, 2010

No. 186 - Fava Beans

One of my Facebook friends posted today that she was "shucking fava beans."

I don't recall ever eating fava beans. Although the first thing that came to mind was Hannibal Lecter's famous quote from Silence of the Lambs when he said he once ate the liver of a census taker "with some fava beans and a nice Chianti."

I learned that fava beans are also known as broad beans. The Italian word "fava" means "broad bean." It is a species of bean native to north Africa and southwest Asia. They are high in fiber and iron, and low in sodium and fat. They have no cholesterol but so much protein, they are called the meat of the poor. Apparently, Italians credit the fava bean as a factor in saving Sicilians from starvation during a time of famine. Since then, the fava has been considered good luck.

The magic beans that grew overnight into a beanstalk that reached into the clouds were thought to be fava beans. Some believe that fava beans have other enchanting powers, including being a natural alternative to the drug Viagra.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

No. 185 - Tea Tree

I just started to read Men Who Hate Women by Stieg Larsson, the subject of Post No. 113. The title of the book was changed when it was released in the United States. It is now known as The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

The prologue starts with a man receiving a single flower on his eighty-second birthday. It appears that he has been receiving one on his birthday for many years. The particular flower is described in the book as:
The Latin name was Leptospermum (Myrtaceae) rubinette. It was a plant about ten centimetres high with small, heather-like foliage and a white flower with five petals about two centimetres across.

The plant was native to the Australian bush and uplands, where it was to be found among tussocks of grass. There it was called Desert Snow. Someone at the botanical gardens in Uppsala would later confirm that it was a plant seldom cultivated in Sweden. The botanist wrote in her report that it was related to the tea tree and that it was sometimes confused with its more common cousin Leptospermum scoparium, which grew in abundance in New Zealand. What distinguished them, she pointed out, was that rubinette had a small number of microscopic pink dots at the tips of the petals, giving the flower a faint pinkish tinge.

Rubinette was altogether an unpretentious flower. It had no known medicinal properties, and it could not induce hallucinatory experiences. It was neither edible, nor had a use in the manufacture of plant dyes. On the other hand, the aboriginal people of Australia regarded as sacred the region and the flora around Ayers Rock.
I could not confirm that this particular "rubinette" species is real, or just a fictional flower used in the novel.

I did learn though that most species of Leptospermum are endemic to Australia. The common name of "tea tree" was derived from the practice of early Australian settlers who soaked the leaves of several species in boiling water to make a herbal tea rich in ascorbic acid (Vitamin C). It is said that Captain Cook brewed tea of Leptospermum leaves to prevent scurvy amongst his crews.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

No. 184 - In-N-Out Burger

I just recently passed the halfway point. Only 181 posts to go! Woo-hoo! 

This has been an interesting and fun experience so far. I've enjoyed posting about quite a few of the things I've learned. Some of the posts have frustrated me and others have, quite frankly, annoyed me. Like Post No. 183. But no matter what the subject is that I learned about, I tried to make the best of it. You never know where or when you are going to learn something that may make a difference.

Today while driving in the car I heard a radio announcer say that the first drive-thru restaurant was built 60 years ago. The restaurant wasn't named but the town of Baldwin Park, California was mentioned.

After researching it, I learned that In-N-Out Burger claims to have built the first drive-thru restaurant, a little more than 60 years ago, in 1948. 

In-N-Out Burger's website says that:

In-N-Out Burger was founded by Harry and Esther Snyder in Baldwin Park, California. Harry's idea of a drive-thru hamburger stand where customers could order through a two-way speaker box was quite unique. In that era, it was common to see carhops serving those who wanted to order food from their car. Harry's idea caught on and California's first drive-thru hamburger stand was born.

Friday, July 2, 2010

No. 183 - Sugar Daddy Ken

We went to see Toy Story 3 in 3D tonight. I'm not sure what the 3D part was all about. The picture was certainly very crisp and clear, almost like high definition, instead of the somewhat grainy appearance of regular movies in the theater. There were not any amazing 3D special effects to my recollection.

Ken (as in Barbie and Ken) played a prominent role in this one.

I learned that Ken was introduced by Mattel in 1961 as a friend to Barbie who made her debut in 1959. He is also known as Ken Carson. Since his debut, Ken has held at least forty occupations. His most recent one appears to be sugar daddy, but Mattel says that the name "Sugar Daddy Ken" is because the accompanying dog's name is Sugar and Ken is its daddy.

Okie dokie.

Sugar Daddy Ken joined the Mattel Family in April 2010. He comes with a jacket, pink polo shirt, white shoes, a dog and leash, swim trunks, a doll stand, and a certificate of authenticity.

And this box-o-fun can be yours for the low, low price of just $82!

Thursday, July 1, 2010

No. 182 - Monkey Nuts

Each afternoon the kids and I have been snacking on the salted peanuts mentioned in Post No. 177 that we bought earlier in the week.

I don't recall if I knew that peanuts were not nuts - they actually belong to the legume family of beans and peas. Peanuts are known by many local names, including earthnuts, ground nuts, goobers, monkey nuts, and pig nuts.

I think I'll refer to them as monkey nuts from now on.

I learned that the world's top producer of monkey nuts is China. No surprise there. What doesn't China make? China comprises about 33% of the overall world production, followed by India (18%) and then the United States (7%). I also learned that approximately half of the monkey nuts grown in the U.S. are grown within a 100-mile radius of Dothan, Alabama.