Who would have thought?

You will have to forgive us the frivolity of this week’s column if you feel it is a bit over the top. You see, we are both a bit overwhelmed by the work of summer and the ensuing work of harvest. As a result, we are just giving you some interesting (if possibly useless) things to think about. They could always be good conversation starters if you find yourself at an awkward dinner party!

Did you know that peanut butter was invented by a doctor who wanted his toothless patients to have something easy to eat? It was popular in the USA as far back as the 1800’s but interestingly enough, before the Great Depression it was considered more of a luxury product. Nowadays, with the increase of between 130 and 330 percent of items on restaurant menus that have peanuts or peanut butter, I think it is safe to say we have moved past the ubiquitous peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Here’s a good one if you believe it all: When the English colonist pilgrims sat down for their first Thanksgiving dinner in February of 1630, one of the offerings from an Indian Chief in attendance was popped corn. (I don’t know whether popcorn being around at an important food occasion is the cool part of this story, or if it is more interesting that we could have had Thanksgiving in February!) Note: popcorn has actually been around for 6000 years. On September 19, 1995 a great popcorn celebrity died – Mr. Orville Redenbacher. Please have a moment of silence before you set your microwave to pop this weekend.

Something to try at a boring cocktail party: a raisin dropped in a glass of fresh champagne will bounce up and down continually on the bubbles. (If this doesn’t work, you can always just say you need a fresher glass!)

Okay, I am sure you can have fun with this: “In the Middle Ages, chicken soup was considered an aphrodisiac.” Is that what all that talk about Chicken Soup for the Soul really means? (wink wink) One wonders – does this mean they didn’t have much imagination when it came to setting a mood, or that they had plenty?

Lastly, here is one that begs the question, who got paid to figure this out and what were they trying to prove? Talk about having an interesting job…
“If Jello is hooked up to an EEG (heart monitor), it registers movements virtually identical to the brain waves of a healthy adult.”

I hope these little tidbits will give you some fun simple moments to share with a friend or family member. Think of them as no-calorie ways to use food as a stress reliever!

Kristin

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.