The International Space Station was built and continues to be maintained as an international effort that includes the USA, Canada, Russia, Japan, and the European Space Agency, with Italy providing some of the equipment. It was built in stages over several years and finally completed by the final Space Shuttle missions in 2011. … [Read more…]
Looking for a convenient finger food to have for supper? According to foodie lore, the Earl of Sandwich was in the exact same predicament in the year 1762. This Earl, named James Montague, was playing poker into the early hours of the morning when he asked somebody to bring him a slab of roast beef … [Read more…]
Garlic is a popular ingredient in many dishes and goes well in most soups, stews and main dishes. According to folklore, it can ward off vampires and some scientific studies suggest that eating a clove of garlic every day can be good for your heart. It’s not everybody’s favorite spice and some people can be … [Read more…]
When most people think of bison or buffalo, they usually think of the huge herds that used to thunder across the American plains. You can still see that in movies and documentaries. These majestic animals were almost hunted to extinction by white settlers but have just recently begun to make a comeback. Some people even … [Read more…]
Dates are a tasty and nutritious fruit of the type known as “drupes,” in which an outer flesh layer surrounds the pit or stone, which in turn contains the seed. They grow, naturally, on the date palm tree known as Phoenix dactylifera. The date is believed to have originated in Africa along the banks of … [Read more…]
Believe it or not, this strange looking tuber is actually edible! It’s called celery root or celeriac and is actually tastier than it looks. It is quite popular in French cuisine and is beginning to catch hold in America. As you might guess, it is related to celery. The main difference is that most of … [Read more…]
Sunchokes, also called Jerusalem artichokes, are tubers that come from the plant that looks like the picture on the left. They are often mistakenly destroyed as a weed when it is actually edible and quite tasty. They are ready to harvest right before they bloom. They have a slightly nutty flavor and you can use … [Read more…]
You might have seen a segment on the 6 O’Clock News about this idea called “Mars One” and now you’re scratching your head. Send people to live on Mars by 2023? It sounds like science fiction. However, the founders of the non-profit organization Mars One are perfectly serious. They’re just starting to get rolling on … [Read more…]
“Woooormhooole!” It’s a common enough scene in science fiction movies. A spaceship is about to activate its warp drive and falls into a wormhole. Somebody discovers a stable wormhole with an alien civilization inside. My favorite? Contact. They build a spacecraft that makes use of a wormhole “transit system.” Have you ever wondered how much … [Read more…]
For as long as our ancestors have been recording history, they have been looking up at the night sky. They were curious about the little twinkling lights they saw far above them. Over time, they began to notice that some of those twinkling lights moved in relation to the others. The Greeks called these moving … [Read more…]