Touching Braille

Louis Braille invented Braille, an alphabet using raised dots, at the age of 15. Prior to that, each letter was raised and to read, one had to feel out each letter. The books were heavy and took a long time to read.

Braille was actually born with sight, but became blind at age three after an eye injury. At the age of 10, he entered the Royal Institute for the Blind in Paris and five years later, invented Braille. He was offered a full-time teaching job at the institute at age 19. The Braille method didn’t become widely used until after he died at the age of 43.

What's in a Name, Spooning

When Welsh couples talk about “spooning,” they’re not discussing cuddling. Since at least the 17th century, the Welsh have exchanged “lovespoons,” intricately hand-carved wooden spoons, as signs of romantic intentions. Young men spent hours meticulously crafting their spoons so they could offer their favorite girl the most magnificent utensil imaginable. If she accepted the spoon, the courtship was on.

The courtship aspect of the spoons has since faded, but lovespoons are still given on special occasions as tokens of admiration and affection.

Natural Flavors

'Natural flavor' can, literally be anything. It can be made in laboratories, like chemicals or gasses, or taken from animals, or boiled from bats.

Here is the actual definition from the federal regs, “The essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional.”

That was a mouthful. No wonder we get full when foods and drinks have natural flavors. The natural flavoring in orange juice could actually be pigs feet, as long as they were ground, distilled, etc. The good news is that anything not listed in the reg above must be listed as 'artificial'. I feel so much better.

Artificial flavorings are safety tested and natural flavorings are not. This is our government at its finest. For the curious, there are more FDA definitions here LINK

if you have children in school and they are looking for jobs for the future, tell them to become a 'flavorist'. It is more fun than being just a chemist and pays well, especially for flavorists in the perfume industry. The need for flavorists is growing. Luckily, bacon still does not contain any natural or artificial ingredients.

Winnie the Poo

Honey is a natural flavor as any Poo Bear knows. A.A. Milne's book, Winnie-the-Pooh, about the adventures of his son, Christopher and his stuffed animals made its debut on this day in 1926. The great actor Sterling Holloway was Winnie's voice for years, among the many other voices he did for Disney.

Casmir Pulaski Memorial Day

I hope you celebrated General Pulaski Memorial Day this past Tuesday. It is a United States holiday in honor of General Kazimierz Pułaski, a Polish hero of the American Revolution. This holiday is held every year on October 11 by Presidential Proclamation, to commemorate his death from wounds suffered at the Siege of Savannah on October 9, 1779 and to honor the heritage of Polish Americans.

It is also celebrated as a legal holiday in Illinois on the first Monday of March with street parades and celebrations. Illinois has a large Polish population.

The observance was established in 1929 when Congress passed Public Resolution 16 of 1929 designating October 11 as General Pulaski Memorial Day. Every President has issued a proclamation for the observance annually since (except in 1930). His death was October 11, 1779 and he was buried at sea.
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Bacon Candy

Speaking of natural flavors, for the true bacon lovers, bacon candy has arrived. 

If you want something smoky, meaty, and sweet you should try Bacon Candy. 12 bacony treats for $5.95. Mmmm.

Solar Windows

3M has developed a see-through film that turns ordinary windows into solar panels. It will go on sale next year.

The solar film, on display at the Ceatec electronics conference in Japan, is arrayed in narrow, translucent green strips with clear gaps between and then glued to windows in large patches. A square meter of the film can generate roughly enough electricity to charge an iPhone under peak sunlight, but still allows for high visibility.

The film might cost about half as much as solar panels, but will produce less electricity. It is easier to install and takes up no additional space.

"An average person could go to the store, buy some of this, and then bring it home and install it themselves," said Yasuhiro Aoyagi, a senior manager in the company's construction markets division.

The film blocks or absorbs about 80% of visible light and over 90% of infrared light, so it also acts as a sunshade. Demonstrations showed a difference of 10 degrees Celsius between two sides of a window it was attached to.

What's in a Name, Pennsylvania

William Penn was born in London.  He studied briefly, was thrown in jail a few times for his religious beliefs and became a Quaker. He sailed to America, while still in his thirties, along with others searching for religious freedom.

By coincidence, he later received a large piece of land as repayment for a debt that King Charles II owed his father, Admiral William Penn. The King's charter named the piece of land Pennsylvania. He preferred the name Sylvania so that people didn't think he chose the name after himself.

He was a prolific writer and many of the ideas in Pennsylvania's constitution found their way into the US Constitution.   Sylvania means 'forest land' in Latin.

Happy Friday

Give a man health and a course to steer, and he'll never stop to trouble about whether he's happy or not.
I am healthy and steering in the direction of a Happy Friday!