I always knew that Cajuns were of French origins, and that the whole Louisiana Territory was French-inhabited, but I thought the French entered the region through the Gulf of Mexico. Nope.
Before they were Cajuns, they were Canadians. Actually, they were Acadians (from which the word "Cajun" is derived), living in what is now Nova Scotia. In the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, the French ceded the Acadia territory to the British. The British leadership eventually ran the French population out in what was known as the Great Upheaval. The Acadians worked their way across the United States to the Gulf Coast, where, to the delight of future generations, they maintained their culinary traditions.
Do you think Bourbon Street would be the same if it was in Nova Scotia?
Ironically, plough rhymes with cow, but not cough.
I visited the Plow & Hearth store in Madison, Virginia, and for some reason I thought it was spelled "Plough." Well, the store doesn't, but it turns out that plough is an alternate spelling of plow, both the noun and verb. The store has always been "Plow & Hearth" so I must have made up my spelling. But here's a new random tidbit I learned:
"Plow and hearth" refers to a stick (plow) that was rubbed in a grooved piece of wood (hearth) by people to start fires.
Don't burn yourself applying that knowledge!
"Plow and hearth" refers to a stick (plow) that was rubbed in a grooved piece of wood (hearth) by people to start fires.
Don't burn yourself applying that knowledge!
I understand Saddam and Santa, but Jerome Bettis???
In 2006, when the Pittsburgh Steelers were in Detroit for Super Bowl XL, Jerome Bettis was given the key to the city by mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. The last recipient? Saddam Hussein in 1980. (Santa Claus was given the key in 1979)
You may ask, why Saddam Hussein??? Well, I'll tell you why. Well, actually the Associated Press will:
"Saddam's bond with Detroit started in 1979, when the Rev. Jacob Yasso of Chaldean Sacred Heart congratulated Saddam on his presidency. In return, Yasso said, his church received $250,000."
"A year later, Yasso traveled with about two dozen people to Baghdad as a guest of the Iraqi government, and they were invited to Saddam's palace."
"Yasso said he presented Saddam with the key to the city, courtesy of then-Mayor Coleman Young."
Even more interesting than that...
Other than Sao Paulo, Brazil, Detroit is the largest Arab city outside of the Arab world. There are at least 200,000 Arab people, including 100,000 Syrian and Lebanese, 60,000 Iraqi-Chaldean, 25,000 Palistinian and Jordanian, 10,000 Yemeni, and 5,000 from other countries. You can read more here.
You may ask, why Saddam Hussein??? Well, I'll tell you why. Well, actually the Associated Press will:
"Saddam's bond with Detroit started in 1979, when the Rev. Jacob Yasso of Chaldean Sacred Heart congratulated Saddam on his presidency. In return, Yasso said, his church received $250,000."
"A year later, Yasso traveled with about two dozen people to Baghdad as a guest of the Iraqi government, and they were invited to Saddam's palace."
"Yasso said he presented Saddam with the key to the city, courtesy of then-Mayor Coleman Young."
Even more interesting than that...
Other than Sao Paulo, Brazil, Detroit is the largest Arab city outside of the Arab world. There are at least 200,000 Arab people, including 100,000 Syrian and Lebanese, 60,000 Iraqi-Chaldean, 25,000 Palistinian and Jordanian, 10,000 Yemeni, and 5,000 from other countries. You can read more here.
The Mormon Card. Don't leave Utah without it.
For years and years I've driven by the Mormon temple off the Capital Beltway in Kensington, Maryland and it has been driven into my head by all who I have asked that only Mormons are allowed into the building. But how do they know if a visitor is a Mormon? I've joked that there must be a Mormon card.
Well, I was actually pretty much right. It turns out that there is a card required to get into the Mormon Temple. The following is an exerpt from an article by Richard Packham.
"Mormons who wish to participate in any of the temple rituals must first request an interview with the bishop of their local ward (that is, the pastor of their local Mormon congregation), who will examine them individually as to their religious beliefs, their loyalty to the church leaders, their abstinence from forbidden things (alcohol, tobacco, coffee, tea), their sexual morality, and the extent of their financial contributions to the church. If the bishop determines from this examination that they are sufficiently worthy, he will issue them a 'recommend,' that is, a pass to the temple, valid for two years. (Until 2002 the recommend was valid for only one year.) The member must then take the recommend to the stake president (the church officer who oversees several local wards), who will conduct a similar interview before countersigning the recommend. Many Mormons always carry their recommend, which is the size of a credit card, in their purse or wallet."
(Interesting sidenote: The temple is closed on Sundays - normal Mormon worship only takes place at churches. Temples are used for "ordinances." See the article for more details.)
Well, I was actually pretty much right. It turns out that there is a card required to get into the Mormon Temple. The following is an exerpt from an article by Richard Packham.
"Mormons who wish to participate in any of the temple rituals must first request an interview with the bishop of their local ward (that is, the pastor of their local Mormon congregation), who will examine them individually as to their religious beliefs, their loyalty to the church leaders, their abstinence from forbidden things (alcohol, tobacco, coffee, tea), their sexual morality, and the extent of their financial contributions to the church. If the bishop determines from this examination that they are sufficiently worthy, he will issue them a 'recommend,' that is, a pass to the temple, valid for two years. (Until 2002 the recommend was valid for only one year.) The member must then take the recommend to the stake president (the church officer who oversees several local wards), who will conduct a similar interview before countersigning the recommend. Many Mormons always carry their recommend, which is the size of a credit card, in their purse or wallet."
(Interesting sidenote: The temple is closed on Sundays - normal Mormon worship only takes place at churches. Temples are used for "ordinances." See the article for more details.)
OK: It ain't just a state over Texas.
Does "OK" stand for something? Is it an acronym? Is it an abbreviation? What's the deal?
Well, Cecil Adams at The Straight Dope has a great explanation of the etymology of "OK":
"The letters, not to keep you guessing, stand for 'oll korrect.' They're the result of a fad for comical abbreviations that flourished in the late 1830s and 1840s."
OK? OK.
Well, Cecil Adams at The Straight Dope has a great explanation of the etymology of "OK":
"The letters, not to keep you guessing, stand for 'oll korrect.' They're the result of a fad for comical abbreviations that flourished in the late 1830s and 1840s."
OK? OK.
Grape-Nuts. Neither grape, nor nut. Discuss.
Where on earth does the name for Post Grape-Nuts cereal come from?
From our friends at Kraft foods:
"Made of wheat and malted barley, Grape-Nuts was so named because its inventor, Charles William Post, said that grape sugar was formed during the baking process and described the cereal as having a nutty flavor."
(Grape sugar is also known as dextrose or dextroglucose.)
Grapefruit, on the other hand, the Library of Congress tells us, is actually named after the grape because they grow in clusters like grapes.
Grape Ape is named for his purple color... but you probably knew that.
From our friends at Kraft foods:
"Made of wheat and malted barley, Grape-Nuts was so named because its inventor, Charles William Post, said that grape sugar was formed during the baking process and described the cereal as having a nutty flavor."
(Grape sugar is also known as dextrose or dextroglucose.)
Grapefruit, on the other hand, the Library of Congress tells us, is actually named after the grape because they grow in clusters like grapes.
Grape Ape is named for his purple color... but you probably knew that.