Did You Know... 18
by Andrew Barrow (Subscribe to Andrew Barrow's posts)
Posted Aug 12th 2006 2:03PM
Filed under: Cheese, Food Oddities, Did you know?
Did you know -
- that Bangladesh used to have a large export industry of frogs to the USA, until the government noted a vastly increased fly population. Frogs (the flies' natural predator) were cheaper than insecticides and so the export of frogs was banned.
- that there is a special verb (and perhaps a special utensil), invented just for kiwis: sloop. (from Toast Point)
- that the first reference to Welsh Rabbit (as in Welsh Rarebit) was in 1725, sixty years before "rarebit". There are also English and Scottish Rarebits too - see The Old Foodie for details.
- that you can walk on custard. Custard is a non-Newtonian fluid. When thickened with starch, custard's physical properties change from those of liquid to those of a solid depending on the amount of pressure applied to it, so much so that a person is able to walk across a swimming pool full of custard.
- that Thyme was one of the ingredients used to preserve and embalm mummies in ancient Egypt. The Ancient Greeks believed that thyme was a source of courage and, in the Middle Ages, the herb was placed beneath pillows to aid sleep and ward off nightmares.
- that in the UK there are over 11,500 shops selling more than 250 million fish and chip meals annually. The sector employs around 61,000 people. [From Seafish]
- today (August 12th) is The Glorious Twelfth the official start of the game season in the UK. [more info]
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