And the number one best invention from a jail cell is ...

The toothbrush.

William Addis of England is credited with creating the first mass-produced toothbrush in 1780. In 1770 he had been placed in jail for causing a riot. While in prison, he decided that the method for teeth brushing of the time – rubbing a rag on one's teeth with soot and salt – could be improved. So he took a small animal bone, drilled small holes in it, obtained some bristles from a guard, tied them in tufts, then passed the bristles through the holes on the bone and glued them. He soon became very wealthy. He died in the year 1808 and left the business to his eldest son, William II.

From Wikipedia

By the dark of night ...

Through the gloom of the evening I plodded along, pushing my wheelbarrow loaded high with black plastic bags.

I passed two neighbors out for a walk. I bid them a cheery good evening. They mumbled some response and kept going.

I can't blame them. Who pushes a wheelbarrow around the neighborhood in the middle of the night -- well, at least, late in the evening?

It was the only time I had available, to retrieve the sacks of lawn clippings and shredded leaves from my father-in-law's yard that will make fine mulch for my garden.

If I ever get a moment to pull up the weeds, that is. Might have to start doing that by moonlight as well.

Fifteen more years til I can retire.

What are you feeding your pet?

I just learned about this controversy today. If you have a pet, you should do your own research. Apparently, some big name pet foods on the market may contain the processed carcasses of diseased animals, roadkill, even euthanized animal carcasses from shelters still containing the drugs used to put them to sleep.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1607483,00.html

And you thought being a teenager was tough in your part of the world?

From Wikipedia:

The Satere-Mawe people of Brazil use intentional bullet ant stings as part of their initiation rites to become a warrior. The ants are first rendered unconscious by submerging them in a natural chloroform, and then hundreds of them are woven into a glove made out of leaves (which resembles a large oven mitt), stinger facing inward. When the ants regain consciousness, a boy slips the glove onto his hand.

The goal of this initiation rite is to keep the glove on for a full ten minutes. When finished, the boy's hand and part of his arm are temporarily paralyzed because of the ant venom, and he may shake uncontrollably for days. The only "protection" provided is a coating of charcoal on the hands, supposedly to confuse the ants and inhibit their stinging. To fully complete the initiation, however, the boys must go through the ordeal a total of 20 times over the course of several months or even years.

A sure money-maker, rent-a-duck

Intriguing entrepreneurial concept discovered on an Internet gardening forum:

How do you deal with snails in your garden?

"I have heard that a pet duck or chicken cleans out snails quite nicely. But I do not want a pet duck. Must be a nice income situation for a kid with a rent-a-duck."

Strange trivia: Molasses on the Move

"It is not often that a fateful tragedy occurs that centers around a food, but unfortunately, in 1919, one such event did occur.

"The event is referred to as the Great Molasses Flood and occurred when a molasses storage tank holding over two million gallons of molasses broke, and its sticky content came pouring throughout the city streets of Boston, Massachussetts, traveling as fast as 35 miles per hour and creating a thirty foot tidal wave of sweetener.

"Unfortunately, this was not a sweet matter as twenty-one people died and significant amounts of property was destroyed."
-- from www.whfoods.com

I have learned from multiple sources this week that -- except in the form of urban tidal waves -- molasses is very good for you. It is rich in iron and other minerals, and also assists in the absorption of calcium. Unfortunately, it happens to be one of those foods that people either love or hate. Fortunately for me at least, it does not fall on the list of all the foods in the world that I don't like, which consists of the following:

1. Mayonnaise
2. Radishes

An old book I am reading recommends that one stir it into milk. Instant malted milk -- not bad at all. I tried it for the first time yesterday and intend to make a habit of it.

Weird discovery of the day

In my local library recently, I stumbled upon a book published in 1889, by T.F. Thiselton-Dyer, called "The Folklore of Plants."

As if I don't have enough to read already.

After Sweetie and I watched a Walton's episode together tonight, I browsed through the book, which begins with an exposition of ancient religious beliefs regarding plants.

In Vienna, Austria, preserved behind glass, there stands a very, very old stump. Thiselton connects it to the ancient trees that Europeans once held sacred or even worshipped. This specimen, it seems, would receive a nail from each journeyman of the city setting out to make his way in the world.

If that poor tree could speak, it might have asked for less violent veneration.

Locally, it is called: Stock im Eisen, or The Nail Studded Stump.

A website which I browsed to glean more information, stays strictly secular:

"This memorial, at the corner of Kaernter street allegedly marks the spot where the forest which once surrounded the medieval city of Vienna came to an end. Attempts to analyse the roots of this single remaining tree show that it has a spruce weighing 75 kilos which must have been felled around 1440. A wider ring of iron encircles the base of the tree and in it there are a handful of old fashioned nails. This 'tree in iron' was first mentioned in the documentation of the area in 1533."

A new name?

Adena thinks I am a weird little crumpet.

I shall henceforth be "ECD, aka (also known as) Weird Little Crumpet." Or WLC for short.