Trivia and Amazing Facts 25-02-08

• The word "snorkel" comes from the German word Schnorchel, which was a tube used by German submarine crews in WWII. The subs used an electric battery when travelling underwater, which had to be recharged using diesel engines. The engines needed air to run. To avoid the hazard of surfacing to run the engines, the Germans used the schnoerkel to feed air from the surface into the engines.

• India ink (sometimes called "Chinese ink") was not known until recently in either China or India.

• During the bubonic plague of London, the city was sealed off to avoid contamination. This meant no food was permitted in. The only people willing to trade with London were the Dutch, who left food on jetties and then would take the money left there. They used to steel their nerves with liquor before landing on the plague-infested shores, hence "Dutch courage." To this day, the Dutch still have the freedom of the river Thames, which was granted as a reward for their courage and kindness.

• The verb "traduce" means to say untrue or malicious things about someone or something; if you have been "traduced," you have been slandered or vilified.

• Papaya leaves and unripe papaya have an enzyme called papain that breaks down protein in meat to make it tender. That's why papaya can be used as a meat tenderizer.

Tips & Tricks

Trivia and Amazing Facts 18-02-08

• When sailors speak of sheets (as in "four sheets to the wind"), they are not talking about sails. A sheet in nautical terminology is a rope or chain.

• Corks A wine cork costs about 10 cents if it is made from pressed cork scraps, and about 45 cents if it is one of the extra-long corks used to close the bottles at famous wine estates in Bordeaux, Burgundy, Italy, and California.

• Andrew Jackson was the first U.S. President to ride in a railroad train.

• According to legend, Paris fired the arrow that hit Achilles in the heel, his only vulnerable spot.

• The word "karate" means "empty hand."

Pasta Recipes

Trivia and Amazing Facts 11-02-08

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• Something that is of or based on the number twenty is said to be "vigesimal" or "vicenary."

• HOW LARGE IS THE MOON? Its diameter is 2,160 miles. The earth's diameter at the equator is 7, 926.68 miles.

• The numbers "172" can be found on the back of the US 5 dollar bill, in the bushes at the base of the Lincoln Memorial.

• WHY DO OLD FIREHOUSES HAVE CIRCULAR STAIRCASES? Because in days of yore the horses that pulled fire engines were stabled on the ground floor of fire houses and figured how to work up straight staircases

• WAS THE CHILD WHO PLAYED LITTLE RICKY ON "I LOVE LUCY" THE SON OF LUCILLE BALL AND DESI ARNAZ? No. Originally, Little Ricky was played by a doll wrapped in a blanket. Later, two six-month-old twins, Richard and Ronald Simmons, took the part, followed by three-year-old twins Michael and Joseph Mayer. The last child to play Little Ricky was Richard Keith, whose real name was Keith Thibodeaux.

Free Recipes - Pan Isleta (Isleta Bread)

Trivia and Amazing Facts 04-02-08

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• Other names for a railroad caboose are crumb box, brain wagon, bazoo wagon, strawberry patch, and loose cage.

• The word "geriatrics" was not coined until 1951.

• WHICH CONTINENT IS THE MOST POPULOUS? Asia, by far. Its population in 1989 - including the Soviet Union's - was estimated at 3.35 billion. The next most populous country, Africa, had only 646 million people. Antarctica, the least populous continent, is virtually uninhabited.

• There are no words in the dictionary that rhyme with orange, purple and silver.

• HOW MANY STARS ARE TOO FAINT TO BE SEEN? In our galaxy alone, there are about 100 billion stars. In the universe that we can see, the number of stars is estimated at 10 to the 22nd power.

Maxine