Browsing: Lifestyle

A Brief History On February 2, 2023, while the US celebrates Groundhog Day, more serious Americans are celebrating a much more important “national day,” namely National Heavenly Hash Day! Digging Deeper You may immediately think of the common offering by ice cream manufacturers, consisting of vanilla ice cream with some combination of marshmallow, chocolate, and nuts whipped together in a gustatory delight, but Heavenly Hash can be so much more than that! Heavenly hash can be concocted from some kind of marshmallow crème or whip mixed with your choice of ingredients, and ice cream is NOT mandatory.  Cakes, fruit salads,…

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A Brief History On January 31, 1915, the German Army, in violation of the 1899 Hague Declaration Concerning Asphyxiating Gases, launched 18,000 artillery shells containing xylyl bromide tear gas against Russian positions, the first truly large scale use of poison gas in combat. Digging Deeper While people have used various poisons to deny the use of water wells as far back as 600 BC and to foul the air with toxic sulfur fumes in 479 BC, the 19th and 20th Centuries saw efforts to outlaw such use of poisons. In World War I, the first and most common use of…

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A Brief History On January 26, 2009, a single California woman gave birth to 8 babies at one time, becoming the first mother of octuplets that survived infancy. Digging Deeper Nadya Suleman was born a native Californian to parents of Lithuanian and Palestinian descent, and while she was married from 1996 to 2008, she was single when she underwent fertility treatments prior to having her 8 babies.  She attended Mt. San Antonio College and earned a BS and a psychiatric technician license, applying her education to a job in a mental health facility for 3 years. Prior to the record…

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A Brief History On January 25, 1585, Walter Raleigh, an English explorer and adventurer, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I of England, perhaps because he named a region of North America “Virginia” in honor of the Virgin Queen. Digging Deeper Helping to suppress Irish rebellion, defending England against the Spanish Armada, and being a key figure in the colonization of North America, Raleigh became somewhat of a celebrity of his time, although he also had some problems along the way. Plunked into jail for marrying without the Queen’s permission, Raleigh was released and chased after the mythical city of gold,…

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A Brief History On January 24, 2023, Americans celebrate National Peanut Butter Day, a day when we can savor the flavor of our favorite bread spread that lends itself to making cookies, pies, candies, and other foodstuffs.  Who do we have to thank for this wonderful food? Digging Deeper It may surprise you that George Washington Carver did not invent peanut butter, since he was such an influential proponent of the “Goober Pea” and is often erroneously given credit for this particular advance in eating pleasure. The ancient Aztecs and Incas made a form of peanut butter about 1000 BC,…

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