Did you know...

...that if you don't use corn syrup often, and you end up with a little left in the bottom of a bottle in the back of the pantry, and if that little bit is left there long enough, it becomes so hard it's almost impermeable to water?

Neither did i.

The water doesn't really dissolve it!

The other thing i didn't know was that it would get so hard you could barely stick a knife in it, and you could use the knife, once you jammed it in there, to lift the bottle.

Suspended like magic.

Honey doesn't do that.  If it crystalizes, just warm it up a bit, and it's fine.  This stuff becomes fossilized, like Twinkies, i guess.

This, i guess, means i need to get into the very back of the pantry closet more often and check that those things i use only every once in a while, are still good.

That's what i do with the refrigerator and freezer.  They get emptied out pretty regularly, so i can be sure there's no old bacon grazing on the moldy lettuce and that there isn't intelligent life developing in the leftovers behind the mayonnaise.

Those things that i buy to only use for one recipe, and then the rest sits forever, though, i need to get rid of or give to someone who uses it or maybe just cook more of that recipe until i use it up.

And no more corn syrup -- i don't trust any food that is supposed to pour and instead gets stiff.



Today is:

Ashura -- Islam (optional day of fasting, local observances may vary)

Ides of November -- Ancient Roman Calendar; also
     Epulum Iovis -- Festival of Feronia, Juno, Minerva, and Jupiter
     Fortuna Primigenia -- Fortune of the Firstborn

National Indian Pudding Day

National Reread Old Letters and Magazines Day -- internet generated sentimentality

Pushkar Camel Fair -- Pushkar, India (through the 17th; lots of fun for camels and their two legged friends)

Runic Half Month Nyd begins (necessity)

St. Brice of Tours' Day (Patron against stomach diseases)

St. Homobonus' Day (Patron of business people, cloth workers/garment workers/tailors, cobblers/shoemakers, merchants)

St. Stanislaus Kostka's Day (Patron of aspirants to the Oblates of Saint Joseph, last sacraments; against broken bones)

Tooth Collection Days begin -- Fairy Calendar

World Kindness Day -- promoting a more compassionate world, on the anniversary of the first  World Kindness Movement® conference
     Kindness Day UK


Anniversaries Today:
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is dedicated, 1982
The Holland Tunnel opens, 1927


Birthdays Today:

Monique Coleman, 1980
Jimmy Kimmel, 1967
Whoopi Goldberg, 1955
Chris Noth, 1954
Jean Seberg, 1938
Oskar Werner, 1922
Nathaniel Benchley, 1915
Louis Brandeis, 1856
Robert Louis Stevenson, 1850


Today in History:

English king Æthelred II orders the killing of all Danes in England, known today as the St. Brice's Day massacre, 1002
Lady Jane Grey and Bishop Cranmer are accused of high treason, 1553
Patriot revolutionary forces under Col. Ethan Allen attack Montreal, Quebec, defended by British General Guy Carleton, 1775
Benjamin Franklin says, “Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” 1789
The first US anti-slavery party, the Liberty Party, convenes in New York, 1839
James Braid first sees a demonstration of animal magnetism, which leads him to study the subject and come up with what he later calls hypnosis, 1841
The Denny Party arrives at Alki Point, becoming the first settlers of what would become Seattle, Washington, 1851
The first shipment of canned pineapple leaves Hawai'i, 1895
French cyclist Paul Cornu flies the first helicopter, 1907
Russia completes development of the AK-47, one of the first proper assault rifles, 1947
A 150-mph tropical cyclone hits the densely populated Ganges Delta region of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), killing an estimated 500,000 people in one night. This is regarded as the 20th century's worst natural disaster, 1970
The Double Eagle V becomes the first hot air balloon to make it across the Pacific Ocean, 1981
Xavier Suarez is sworn in as Miami, Florida's first Cuban-born mayor, 1985
The High Court of Australia rules in Dietrich v The Queen that although there is no absolute right to have publicly funded counsel, in most circumstances a judge should grant any request for an adjournment or stay when an accused is unrepresented, 1992
In a referendum voters in Sweden decide to join the European Union, 1994
NASA announces that water has been discoved on the moon, 2009