In Case You Were Curious… About Strawberries
February 27, 2018
The Bottom Line: Sweet facts about strawberries!
The Full Story:
- Ancient Romans believed strawberries had curative properties and could be used to treat anything from fainting to fever to kidney sores to sore throats. Sort of how the old man in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” thinks about Windex.
- Strawberries are members of the rose family, which raises the question: “Would a strawberry by any other name taste as sweet?”…probably.
- One folk tale says that if you take a double strawberry, cut it in half, and share it with another person you will fall in love. This fact seems pretty obvious – giving away food is a huge emotional commitment.
- 53% of 9-year olds say that strawberries are their favorite fruit. To be fair, though, the same number of 9-year-old girls probably think Justin Bieber is ideal marriage material.
- Madame Tallien, a lady at the court of Emperor Napoleon loved to bathe in the juice of fresh strawberries. Using 22-pounds of strawberries per bath, I would imagine she was not able to bathe very often. No judgment. (Actually – a LOT of judgment).
In Case You Were Curious… About Polar Bears and the North Pole
February 27, 2018
The Bottom Line: Learn something new about Polar Bears and the North Pole.
The Full Story:
- Polar Bear mamas typically nurse their cubs for two and a half years. Just like all those “natural” hipster moms you see at Lamaze classes.
- When an adult male polar bear stands on his hind legs he can be up to 10-feet tall! (No need to lie about his height on OkCupid, then.)
- Polar Bears can swim non-stop for over a week. Michigan had a recent scare when they thought polar bears had swum across the Arctic Ocean and might come near Detroit. It ended up being a false alarm.
- In Churchill, Manitoba, it is customary to leave doors unlocked in case a person is running from a polar bear and needs to duck quickly into your house. If a particular polar bear wanders into town too often, the authorities discourage it from returning with a few months in polar bear jail.
- The North Pole is actually a floating arctic ice sheet.
- Every year, a North Pole Marathon occurs at the geographic North Pole. Competing costs over $15,000, including reservations at a hotel in Greenland and transport to the North Pole.
- The North Pole is the center of an international controversy, since it is claimed by Russia, Canada, Norway, Denmark, and the United States. In 2007, Russia planted its country’s flag on the floor of the Arctic Ocean with a mini-submarine, severely annoying the U.N.