Salt, sodium chloride (NaCl), is one of the oldest forms of food seasoning and is essential to human and animal health. Salt is a naturally occurring mineral which breaks into sodium and chloride ions. The salty flavor comes mostly from the sodium . . .
Do you recall the series of 6 red Burma-Shave advertising signs along the country highways?
In 1925, Clinton Odell and his brother, Allan, installed these sequential road signs to market Burma-Shave, a brushless shaving cream. In the early 1920s, their . . .
What did humans use to clean themselves in the days BEFORE toilet paper? Naturally, they used what was readily available. The simplest way was physical use of one’s hand, but any alternative was likely preferred.
Different materials were used depending . . .
Valentine was a common gender-neutral name during 3rd to 6th centuries. It is of Latin origin meaning “strong and healthy”. Valentine was the name of a 3rd century Christian martyr and saint whose feast falls on February 14, the traditional date . . .
The oldest known paper doll card was printed around 1650 with two female figures and numerous dresses, headgear, hairstyles, and accessories. In the 1700s, paper dolls, jointed and mounted on sticks, were called “pantins” meaning dancing, or jumping . . .
The phrase “nutty as a fruitcake” was first used in 1935 in reference to Southern bakers who loaded their fruitcakes with nuts. But what is the history of this heavy, fruit laden cake?
The ancient Romans made a cake called satura to sustain their . . .
The 1862 Homestead Act signed by Lincoln prior to the Civil War was an important piece of legislation about federal land. The Homestead Act provided that any adult citizen who had never borne arms against the U.S. government could claim 160 acres of . . .
A service flag or banner is one that family members of those serving in the U.S. Armed Forces can display. It is officially defined as a white field with a red border, with a blue star for each immediate family member serving during any period of war . . .
For many of us, summer means outings to the state fair and steam engine shows. But what do we know about the story and significance of steam power? For much of history, the only way people traveled was by foot or horse. There were no powered trains, . . .
For the castle lifestyle, gelatin was used to create jelled dishes, typically of savory flavors for glazing meat. Gelatin is a translucent, colorless, odorless, brittle, nearly tasteless solid substance. It is derived from the collagen primarily from . . .
Cracker Jack is an American brand of snack consisting of molasses-flavored, caramel-coated popcorn and peanuts, well known for being packaged with a prize of trivial value. Some food historians consider . . .