Random Things

[Sideburns]

Whilst watching an antique auction type programme on TV, I saw something called a Penny Lick. Essentially it was a very small piece of glass with a shallow concave void on its top that could hold an incredibly small portion of ice cream and called a Penny Lick . Though the one I saw was from the Victorian period and pre-ice cream cone days, they actually can date back earlier. Essentially a glass ice cream cone.
This method for street selling ice cream was eventually outlawed, because sellers were found to be regularly reusing the glasses without washing them thus potentially spreading disease.

Penny lick - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Victorian-Era Ice Cream Was So Unsanitary That It Spread Disease - Food Republic

Ice cream wasn't always a delicious treat; in fact, shockingly unsanitary practices on the part of vendors gave it a terrible reputation for carrying germs.

www.foodrepublic.com

 

[JamieM]

Heatwave reveals lost archaeological sites across Wales


Lost archaeological sites have emerged in grasslands across Wales after a prolonged spell of hot and dry weather.

Wales has seen about 5% of the average rainfall for July, after a series of back-to-back heatwaves and a drier than usual April to June. A drought has also been triggered in parts of Wales.

Experts said these dry conditions have brought to light a range of hidden archaeological remains, including Roman buildings and practice trenches from World War One.

Many are only visible from the air as distinctive marks in crops and grass, with some not being seen for "two or three decades", according to the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW).

The crop marks are made by vegetation drawing on better nutrients and water supplies trapped in long-gone fortification ditches - leading to green growth that stands out.

But they can disappear as quickly as they emerge once the weather conditions change.

Archaeologist Dr Toby Driver has been racing against the heat to record and study the monuments.

He said they would normally have to wait every five to seven years for "a record heatwave summer for aerial archaeology", but now they come "every year".

Heatwave reveals lost archaeological sites across Wales

The Royal Commission of Wales said some of these known sites have not been seen clearly in decades.

www.bbc.co.uk

My home town has a significant Roman history, so I’m not surprised they’re still finding evidence of further remains not that far from me.

Just up the road from me, I have walked around there many times, over the years. Llwyn-Onn Reservoir: a 200-year-old bridge hidden for a century, seen again after the drought. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqlxxggvdwko

 

[Sideburns]

Just up the road from me, I have walked around there many times, over the years. Llwyn-Onn Reservoir: a 200-year-old bridge hidden for a century, seen again after the drought. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqlxxggvdwko

I caught the tail end of a report of fires that sounded as though they were in that general area so I wanted to check their location and found this incredibly helpful if not depressing world map of where the fires are currently burning.

FireMap: Track Wildfires in Real-Time with NASA & Local Data

Explore real-time global wildfire tracking with data from NASA FIRMS, EFFIS, and local authorities on FireMap.live.

firemap.live

 

[JamieM]

I caught the tail end of a report of fires that sounded as though they were in that general area so I wanted to check their location and found this incredibly helpful if not depressing world map of where the fires are currently burning.

FireMap: Track Wildfires in Real-Time with NASA & Local Data

Explore real-time global wildfire tracking with data from NASA FIRMS, EFFIS, and local authorities on FireMap.live.

firemap.live

That map is very useful. There were a few big mountain fires around my way.

 

[TobyC]

I caught the tail end of a report of fires that sounded as though they were in that general area so I wanted to check their location and found this incredibly helpful if not depressing world map of where the fires are currently burning.

FireMap: Track Wildfires in Real-Time with NASA & Local Data

Explore real-time global wildfire tracking with data from NASA FIRMS, EFFIS, and local authorities on FireMap.live.

firemap.live

A hotspot is a heat detection, not a confirmed fire. Each point marks the centre of a satellite pixel roughly 375 m to 2 km across. The heat source sits somewhere inside that footprint, not necessarily at the centre.

No detection does not mean no fire. Cloud, thick smoke and dense canopy all hide fires, and each satellite only sees a given location on its overpass.

Do not use this layer for evacuation or life-safety decisions. Follow your local fire agency.

 

[TobyC]

"The allegations of diluted syrup first came to light after an investigative report by Radio-Canada on April 2. According to the report, independent testing of a sample of cans purchased from a local store revealed the syrup labelled as “pure maple syrup” allegedly contained at least 50 per cent cane sugar.

The report also claimed that in conversations with a journalist, the owner, Steve Bourdeau, allegedly admitted that he purchased syrup from Ontario and sold it in cans labelled “product of Quebec,” which is illegal."

Major Canadian grocery chains accused of negligence for selling diluted maple syrup

Canada’s biggest grocery chains are finding themselves in a sticky situation after being accused of negligence for selling watered-down maple syrup in their stores.

www.ctvnews.ca

 

[R181]

Even if the maple syrup was 100% pure you can't import it into Quebec for resale as a product of Quebec. It simply is not.

Bob

 

[Sideburns]

Watched a BBC programme last night called Inside the Factory. For those who haven’t seen it, the programme takes a fairly ordinary household product and looks in detail at how it is made, from the raw ingredients through to the finished product arriving on the shelves.
There are other programmes that do something similar, such as How Do They Do That?, but I think Inside the Factory goes a little deeper. It often wanders off on interesting little side roads to explain the history behind some of the things involved in making the product.
Last night’s subject was Quavers — the famous British bagged, cheese-flavoured snack. They’ve been around in the UK since 1968 and are basically made from potato starch, formed into those familiar little curls.
The programme first showed how the plain potato-starch curls are made. They travel along the production line before being covered with a powdered cheese mixture.
I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting to learn much more than how Quavers are produced. Then the programme cut away to a scientist talking about something that happened during the Second World War.
Apparently, back in the early 1940s, an American had developed a patent for dehydrating cheese. There had been numerous attempts to do this before, but they hadn’t really worked. The problem was how to remove the moisture from cheese while still leaving something useful behind.
The process eventually produced a dried, shelf-stable cheese that could be used in rations for American servicemen. It was much lighter, easier to transport and, importantly, didn’t need refrigeration.
And then the programme cut back to the Quavers factory.
There they were — the plain potato-starch curls travelling along the production line and being covered with the powdered cheese mixture. You were suddenly looking at a modern bag of Quavers and realising that part of what you were seeing had its roots in a food-processing problem being tackled during WWII.
I just found that little bit of history fascinating. You look at something as ordinary as a packet of Quavers and don’t give a thought to where the technology behind its ingredients originally came from.
It made me wonder how many other completely ordinary things we use or eat today have their origins in wartime research.
For anyone interested in following the story a little further:

Quavers – Wikipedia

Inside the Factory – Wikipedia

Cheese – Wikipedia

And here’s the BBC article about the programme:

Inside the Factory with Paddy McGuinness: How Quavers are made – BBC News

 

[AndThatsARockFact]

Watched a BBC programme last night called Inside the Factory. For those who haven’t seen it, the programme takes a fairly ordinary household product and looks in detail at how it is made, from the raw ingredients through to the finished product arriving on the shelves.
There are other programmes that do something similar, such as How Do They Do That?, but I think Inside the Factory goes a little deeper. It often wanders off on interesting little side roads to explain the history behind some of the things involved in making the product.
Last night’s subject was Quavers — the famous British bagged, cheese-flavoured snack. They’ve been around in the UK since 1968 and are basically made from potato starch, formed into those familiar little curls.
The programme first showed how the plain potato-starch curls are made. They travel along the production line before being covered with a powdered cheese mixture.
I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting to learn much more than how Quavers are produced. Then the programme cut away to a scientist talking about something that happened during the Second World War.
Apparently, back in the early 1940s, an American had developed a patent for dehydrating cheese. There had been numerous attempts to do this before, but they hadn’t really worked. The problem was how to remove the moisture from cheese while still leaving something useful behind.
The process eventually produced a dried, shelf-stable cheese that could be used in rations for American servicemen. It was much lighter, easier to transport and, importantly, didn’t need refrigeration.
And then the programme cut back to the Quavers factory.
There they were — the plain potato-starch curls travelling along the production line and being covered with the powdered cheese mixture. You were suddenly looking at a modern bag of Quavers and realising that part of what you were seeing had its roots in a food-processing problem being tackled during WWII.
I just found that little bit of history fascinating. You look at something as ordinary as a packet of Quavers and don’t give a thought to where the technology behind its ingredients originally came from.
It made me wonder how many other completely ordinary things we use or eat today have their origins in wartime research.
For anyone interested in following the story a little further:

Quavers – Wikipedia

Inside the Factory – Wikipedia

Cheese – Wikipedia

And here’s the BBC article about the programme:

Inside the Factory with Paddy McGuinness: How Quavers are made – BBC News

Thanks.

I’ll check that program out today.

AbsoluteHistory has some similar stuff. Their Hidden killers is a fun series. Great content for zoning out while driving or doing house chores.

https://m.youtube.com/@AbsoluteHistory?ra=m

 

[Mark12]

Damn I love Quavers!

Only bacon Frazzles exceed their yumminess!