Vanilla Truth

Vanilla comes from a special species of orchid. Consuming natural vanilla causes the body to release catecholamines, including adrenalin and for this reason it is considered to be mildly addictive.


When vanilla plants were first exported from Mexico to other tropical climes, they flowered, but wouldn’t produce vanilla pods. It was discovered that a bee native to Mexico was the only creature that could pollinate vanilla flowers.


Attempts to move the bee to other countries failed and it was not until a slave boy discovered a method of artificial pollination that Mexico lost its monopoly on vanilla. As well as being mildly addictive, vanilla has also been found to block bacterial infections. Ice cream with real flecks of vanilla beans (and maybe some bacon bits) is probably doubly addictive.

USA Today

The Gannett media empire published USA Today for the first time on September 15, 1982. The paper was called 'The Nation’s Newspaper'. Critics called the satellite-transmitted, colorful, splashy publication, 'News McNugggets', and 'The Nation’s Comic Book', but it has withstood the test of time while many others have failed.

Several books have been written about the newspaper that is read by millions each day. USA Today has editions throughout the world and has changed the game for newspapers everywhere. Many have imitated the fast-reading format pioneered by USA Today.

Top Ten Toys of All Time

There is minimal agreement on the top toys of all time among many adults. Some are obviously biased, such as the first poll which includes Star Wars Figures. They have not been in existence long enough to even be considered by others.

Poll 1	Poll 2	Poll 3
1. Hula Hoop	1. Bike	1. G.I. Joe
2. Barbie	2. LEGO	2. Transformers
3. LEGO	3. Teddy Bear	3. LEGO
4. G.I. Joe	4. Crayons	4. Barbie
5. Mr. Potato Head	5. Slinky	5. View-Master
6. Monopoly	6. Ball	6. Bike
7. Star Wars figures	7. Etch A Sketch	7. Cabbage Patch Kids
8. Yo-Yo	8. Yo-Yo	8. Crayons
9. Slinky	9. Barbie	9. Play-doh
10. Wiffle ball, bat	10. Hula Hoop	10. Monopoly

The only 2 toys included on all three lists, in order are LEGO (introduced in 1947) and Barbie (introduced 1959).

I tend to agree with the following list according to another source, which lists the best 5 toys of all time. They are: Stick, Cardboard Box, String, Cardboard Tube, and Dirt. I would add rocks, water, and snow. All have withstood the real test of time, are played with around the world, provide for endless enjoyment and evoke magnificent flights of imagination.

Print a Book While You Wait

Here is a concept that has been bubbling for a while and might be soon at a store near you. On Demand company has signed an agreement with Kodak that could make CVS, and other retailers into instant bookstore as well.

On Demand Books said it hopes to begin wrapping its Espresso Book Machine into Kodak's retailer-based photo kiosks. The unit can print, bind, and trim a softbound book within a couple of minutes. By adding in Kodak picture kiosks, the Espresso would also be able to turn out other photo-related merchandise like photo books. No word on pricing, but this is great technology.

False Folding Paper Fact Debunked

The statement that "you can’t fold a piece of paper in half more than 7 times has been around for a long time." Many still believe it.

However, in 2002 a US high school student Britney Gallivan bought a large roll of toilet paper on the internet and along with her family took it to the local mall, where they toiled for seven hours and folded it into 12 folds. She also folded a piece of thin gold leaf more than 7 times with the use of tweezers.

Download vs. Upload

These words seems to confuse many people when discussing computer usage.

Download is taking something on the Web/Internet or a main company computer and putting it on your personal computer, such as programs or updates. Think of the Web/Internet as the big computer in the sky that drops stuff down to your device.

Upload is taking something on your computer and putting it on the Web/Internet or company computer, such as photos or files.

Donut Bacon Burger Breakfast

This is a great twist on an old idea. Southern Californian burger chain Slater’s 50/50 now offers a Donut Burger on its weekend breakfast menu during regular season football.

It consists of two glazed donuts which sandwich their 50/50 half bacon, half beef burger with a sunny side up egg and cheese. It comes with a side of strawberry jelly. Mmmm.

Welcome

Greetings to all my new best friends from Poland. I have seen many new people sign up recently.

Am interested in how you found my blog. Please comment below to tell me the source that sent you.

Thank you and welcome. I hope you continue to enjoy my posts.

The Butler Did It

The phrase "the butler did it" is commonly attributed to Mary Roberts Rinehart (1876-1958). Mary was a very popular writer who authored over 50 books, many of which became best-sellers. Mary (also a playwright) at one point had three plays running simultaneously on Broadway.

She also created a super-criminal called The Bat in 1920, who was cited by Bob Kane as one of his inspirations for Batman. Mary's first book The Circular Stairs was published in 1908.

In 1930, her book The Door was published and in the story the butler really did it. Although Mary Roberts Rinehart is generally credited with the origin of the expression, the words "the butler did it" do not actually appear in the book. Mary used the "butler as criminal" device in other novels as well. After that, the bit became so popular it was considered a cliche and spawned many satirical jabs.

Happy Friday

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.

You cannot fail when you have the courage to have another successful Happy Friday!

Talk Like a Pirate Day

The establishment of International Talk Like a Pirate Day took off in 2002 when Dave Barry mentioned us in his nationally syndicated newspaper column, and the date September 19th was based on someone’s ex-wife’s birthday. There is a Facebook page, Twitter account, and much more on the web. The official website provides lingo in English, German, Dutch, and more. LINK

Here are some origins of pirate words: A starboard is a steering paddle or rudder and in England, it was on the right side of the ship, hence starboard side.

The port side of a ship was originally called the larboard side, or loading side, but became verbally confusing, especially in bad weather or battles, so it was changed to port side.

Duffel is a sailor's personal belongings and the bag that carries them. It is named after the Flemish town of Duffel that produced the woolen cloth which the bags were made of.

Avast comes from the Dutch phrase 'houd vast' which meant 'hold fast' or 'stop'. Over time it became 'hou vast' and later 'avast'.

Poop deck originates from the French word for stern, la poupe. The poop deck is technically a stern deck, which in sailing ships was usually elevated as the roof of the stern cabin, also known as the 'poop cabin'. In sailing ships, an elevated position was ideal for both navigation and observation of the crew and sails.

Ink Jet Printer Origin

A Canon engineer discovered this one when he set a hot soldering iron a bit too close to his pen. The pen reacted by spitting out ink just moments later, and the principle behind a new piece of tech was born.

Why Crustaceans Turn Red

Crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, and some other crustaceans turn red/orange when cooked from their typical blue-green to grayish color.

The exoskeletons of such creatures are made up of several pigments, one of which is a carotenoid called astaxanthin, which provides it’s reddish coloring (astaxanthin is the same carotene that gives salmon its color). At normal temperatures and when alive the astaxanthin pigments are hidden because they are covered with other protein chains that give their shells the bluish-gray or brownish-green color we see.

Exposure to heat destroys this protein coating, while the carotenoid pigment, astaxanthin still remains stable. So when you cook a crab or lobster or other crustaceans,  the heat breaks down all the pigments except for astaxanthin, causing the bright red color we see in cooked lobsters, crabs, and crayfish or the reddish-orange color of cooked shrimp.

Only the albino crab and lobster do not turn red when cooked because they have no pigmentation, so they remain the same white color even when cooked.

A one pound lobster is about seven to eight years old, and a eight pounder may be 20 to 50 years old. Lobsters are capable of living over 100 years.

Swiffer Substitutes

Microfiber cloths are great and cheaper substitutes for disposable cloths. When one side is soiled, turn the cloth over and use the other side, same as with the disposables. Microfiber cloths can be tossed into the wash instead of thrown away and one package of reusable microfiber cloths cost less than a package of disposable wipes for the Swiffer.