6/14/2006 – Editorials
By Richard Peterson
What next?
Winkler, Manitoba is observing its centennial this year and on Saturday, Aug. 5 a quarter section of cropland will be combined in less than 15 minutes with at least 100 combines. This will be a world’s record for the fastest harvest on a quarter section. Proceeds will go to Children’s Camps International to help kids go to camp.
For information call Ray Wieler @ (204) 331-4003, or visit www.worldharvestforkids.com.
—000—
Republican candidate for Congress Matt Mechtel came up with a truly laughable spin on politics last week.
The senate passed a disaster relief program for all farmers in the nation, but the house balked at this and passed a bill which only provides relief to farmers affected by Hurricane Katrina. Mechtel says the problem is that Democrat Earl Pomeroy was unable to get disaster relief for farmers outside the Gulf Coast Region through the Republican House of Representatives. It’s Pomeroy’s fault, Mechtel says.
He neglects to point out that the Republican leadership opposed disaster relief for farmers outside the Gulf Coast Region. President George W. Bush, a Republican, threatened to veto any bill which contained such relief for farmers. So the Republican-dominated House of Representatives, like good lapdogs, obeyed the president.
Does it make any sense to replace Pomeroy with another yes man for the president?
—000—
We don’t have the results of the primary election in this issue of the Farmers Press. However, we will put the results on our Web site as soon as possible, more than likely by mid-morning Wednesday. You should be able to see the results at www.bensoncountynews.com
—000—
Here are some trivia items about food which came from a very interesting Web site at http://www.corsinet.com/trivia/v-triv.html:
A honey bee must tap two million flowers to make one pound of honey.
A typical American eats 28 pigs in his/her lifetime.
Americans spend approximately $25 billion each year on beer.
Americans spent an estimated $267 billion dining out in 1993.
An etiquette writer of the 1840’s advised, "Ladies may wipe their lips on the tablecloth, but not blow their noses on it."
Astronaut John Glenn ate the first meal in space when he ate pureed applesauce squeezed from a tube aboard Friendship 7 in 1962.
Aunt Jemima pancake flour, invented in 1889, was the first ready-mix food to be sold commercially.
Caffeine: there are 100 to 150 milligrams of caffeine in an eight-ounce cup of brewed coffee, 10 milligrams in a six-ounce cup of cocoa, 5 to 10 milligrams in one ounce of bittersweet chocolate and 5 milligrams in one ounce of milk chocolate.
California’s Frank Epperson invented the Popsicle in 1905 when he was
11 years old.
Capsaicin, which makes hot peppers "hot" to the human mouth, is best neutralized by casein, the main protein found in milk.
China’s Beijing Duck Restaurant can seat 9,000 people at one time.
Chocolate contains phenylethylamine (PEA), a natural substance that is reputed to stimulate the same reaction in the body as falling in love.
Chocolate manufacturers currently use 40 percent of the world’s almonds and 20 percent of the world’s peanuts.
During the Alaskan Klondike gold rush (1897-1898), potatoes were practically worth their weight in gold. Potatoes were so valued for their vitamin C content that miners traded gold for potatoes.
During World War II, bakers in the United States were ordered to stop selling sliced bread for the duration of the war on January 18, 1943.
Only whole loaves were made available to the public. It was never explained how this action helped the war effort.
Fortune cookies were invented in 1916 by George Jung, a Los Angeles noodle maker.
Fried chicken is the most popular meal ordered in sit-down restaurants in the US. The next in popularity are: roast beef, spaghetti, turkey, baked ham, and fried shrimp.
Haggis, the national dish of Scotland: take the heart, liver, lungs, and small intestine of a calf or sheep, boil them in the stomach of the animal, season with salt, pepper and onions, add suet and oatmeal. Enjoy!
Hostess Twinkies were invented in 1931 by James Dewar, manager of Continental Bakeries’ Chicago factory. He envisioned the product as a way of using the company’s thousands of shortcake pans which were otherwise employed only during the strawberry season. Originally called Little Shortcake Fingers, they were renamed Twinkie Fingers, and finally "Twinkies."
In 1860, Godey’s Lady’s Book advised US women to cook tomatoes for at least three hours.
In 1926, when a Los Angeles restaurant owner with the all-American name of Bob Cobb was looking for a way to use up leftovers, he threw together some avocado, celery, tomato, chives, watercress, hard-boiled eggs, chicken, bacon, and Roquefort cheese, and named it after himself: Cobb salad.