<> Tomorrow's food holidays(s):
* 'National Hard Candy Day'.
- From Wikipedia (Hard candy):
'A hard candy, or boiled sweet, is a sugar candy prepared from one or more
sugar-based syrups that is boiled to a temperature of 160 °C (320 °F) to
make candy. Among the many hard candy varieties are stick candy (such as
the candy cane), lollipops, aniseed twists, and bêtises de Cambrai.
Hard candy is nearly 100% sugar by weight Recipes for hard candy may use
syrups of sucrose, glucose, fructose or other sugars. Sugar-free versions
have also been created.
Once the syrup blend reaches the target temperature, the candy maker
removes it from the heat source and may add citric acid, food dye, and some
flavouring, such as a plant extract, essential oil, or flavorant. The syrup
concoction, which is now very thick, can be poured into a mold or tray to
cool. When the syrup is cool enough to handle, it can be folded, rolled, or
molded into the shapes desired. After the boiled syrup cools, it is called
hard candy, since it becomes stiff and brittle as it approaches room
temperature.
Chemically, sugar candies are broadly divided into two groups: crystalline
candies and amorphous candies. Crystalline candies are not as hard as
crystals of the mineral variety, but derive their name and their texture
from their microscopically organized sugar structure, formed through a
process of crystallization, which makes them easy to bite or cut into.
Amorphous candies have a disorganized crystalline structure. Hard candies
are non-crystalline, amorphous candies containing about 98% (or more) solid
sugar.
Hard candies and throat lozenges prepared without sugar employ isomalt as a
sugar substitute, and are sweetened further by the addition of an
artificial sweetener, such as aspartame, sucralose, saccharin, or a sugar
alcohol, such as xylitol'.
[The Hankster says] The only kind of hard candy I don't like is the candy that's hard to get. Cherry, that's my favorite.
* 'National Oatmeal Muffin Day'.
- From Wikipedia (Muffin):
'Muffins in the United States are similar to cupcakes in size and cooking
methods, the main difference being that cupcakes tend to be sweet desserts
using cake batter and which are often topped with sugar frosting. Muffins
are available in both savory varieties, such as cornmeal and cheese
muffins, or sweet varieties such as blueberry, chocolate chip or banana
flavours. Muffins are often eaten as a breakfast food. Coffee may be served
to accompany muffins. Fresh baked muffins are sold by bakeries, donut shops
and some fast food restaurants and coffeehouses. Factory baked muffins are
sold at grocery stores and convenience stores and they are also served in
some coffee shops and cafeterias.
Outside the United Kingdom, an English muffin is a flatter disk-shaped,
typically unsweetened bread of English origin. These muffins are popular in
Commonwealth countries and the United States. English muffins are often
served toasted for breakfast. English muffins may be served with butter or
margarine. English muffins may be topped with sweet toppings, such as jam
or honey, or savoury toppings (e.g., round sausage, cooked egg, cheese or
bacon). English muffins are typically eaten as a breakfast food.
Recipes for quick bread muffins are common in 19th-century American
cookbooks. Recipes for yeast-based muffins, which were sometimes called
common muffins or wheat muffins in 19th-century American cookbooks, can be
found in much older cookbooks. In her Boston Cooking-School Cook Book,
Fannie Farmer gave recipes for both types of muffins, both those that used
yeast to raise the dough and those that used a quick bread method, using
muffin rings to shape the English muffins. Farmer indicated that stove top
baking, as is done with yeast dough, was a useful method when baking in an
oven was not practical.
The name is first found in print in 1703, spelled moofin it is of uncertain
origin but possibly derived from the Low German Muffen, the plural of Muffe
meaning a small cake, or possibly with some connection to the Old French
moufflet meaning soft as said of bread'.
[The Hankster says] I'll have mine hot, with raisins and nuts, please. The tall glass of cold milk is not optional.
<> Other holidays / celebrations
* 'Look for an Evergreen Day'.
Get your tree for the holidays.
- From Wikipedia (Evergreen):
'In botany, an 'evergreen is a plant that has leaves throughout the year,
always green. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose
their foliage during the winter or dry season. There are many different
kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs. Evergreens include:
most species of conifers (e.g., pine, hemlock, blue spruce, red cedar, and
white/scots/jack pine), but not all (e.g., larch)
live oak, holly, and ancient gymnosperms such as cycads
most angiosperms from frost-free climates, such as eucalypts and rainforest
trees
clubmosses and relatives
The Latin binomial term sempervirens, meaning always green, refers to the
evergreen nature of the plant, for instance
Cupressus sempervirens (a cypress)
Lonicera sempervirens (a honeysuckle)
Sequoia sempervirens (a sequoia)
Leaf persistence in evergreen plants varies from a few months to several
decades (over thirty years in the Great Basin Bristlecone Pine)'.
[The Hankster says] I may have to settle for an evergreen this year. I' can't find an aluminum tree farm anywhere.
<> Awareness / Observances:
<> Historical events on December 19
* 'In 1732, Benjamin Franklin under the name Richard Saunders begins
publication of 'Poor Richard's Almanack'.
- From Wikipediaa: 'Poor Richard's Almanack (sometimes Almanac) was a
yearly almanac published by Benjamin Franklin, who adopted the pseudonym of
Poor Richard or Richard Saunders for this purpose. The publication appeared
continually from 1732 to 1758. It was a best seller for a pamphlet
published in the American colonies print runs reached 10,000 per year'. .
* 'In 1918, Robert Ripley began his Believe It or Not feature in The New
York Globe.
- From Wikipedia: 'Ripley first called his cartoon feature, originally
involving sports feats, Champs and Chumps, and it premiered on December 19,
1918, in the New York Globe. Ripley began adding items unrelated to sports,
and in October 1919, he changed the title to Believe It or Not. When the
Globe folded in 1923, Ripley moved to the New York Evening Post. That same
year, Ripley hired Norbert Pearlroth as his researcher, and Pearlroth spent
the next 52 years of his life in the New York Public Library, working ten
hours a day and six days a week in order to find unusual facts for Ripley'.
.
* 'In 1924, The last Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost is sold in London, England.
Production began in 1906. .
- From Wikipedia: 'The Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost name refers both to a car
model and one specific car from that series.
Originally named the 40/50 h.p. the chassis was first made at Royce's
Manchester works, with production moving to Derby in July 1908, and also,
between 1921 and 1926, in Springfield, Massachusetts. Chassis no. 60551,
registered AX 201, was the car that was originally given the name Silver
Ghost. Other 40/50 hp cars were also given names, but the Silver Ghost
title was taken up by the press, and soon all 40/50s were called by the
name, a fact not officially recognised by Rolls-Royce until 1925, when the
Phantom range was launched.
The Silver Ghost was the origin of Rolls-Royce's claim of making the Best
car in the world – a phrase coined not by themselves, but by the
prestigious publication Autocar in 1907.
The chassis and engine were also used as the basis of a range of
Rolls-Royce Armoured Cars'.
* 'In 1928, The first autogyro flight is made in the U.S.
- From Wikipedia: 'An autogyro (from Greek a’?t?? + ?????, self-turning),
also known as gyroplane, gyrocopter, or rotaplane, is a type of rotorcraft
which uses an unpowered rotor in autorotation to develop lift, and an
engine-powered propeller, similar to that of a fixed-wing aircraft, to
provide thrust. While similar to a helicopter rotor in appearance, the
autogyro's rotor must have air flowing through the rotor disc to generate
rotation.'. .
* 'In 1962, Transit 5A1, 1st operational navigational satellite, launched.
- From Wikipedia: 'The TRANSIT system, also known as NAVSAT or NNSS (for
Navy Navigation Satellite System), was the first satellite navigation
system to be used operationally. The system was primarily used by the U.S.
Navy to provide accurate location information to its Polaris ballistic
missile submarines, and it was also used as a navigation system by the
Navy's surface ships, as well as for hydrographic survey and geodetic
surveying. '. .
* 'In 1971, CBS airs 'Homecoming A Christmas Story,' (introducing the
Waltons). .
- From Wikipedia: 'The Waltons is an American television series created by
Earl Hamner, Jr., based on his book Spencer's Mountain, and a 1963 film of
the same name. The show is centered on a family in a rural Virginia
community during the Great Depression and World War II.
The series pilot aired as a television movie entitled The Homecoming: A
Christmas Story and was broadcast on December 19, 1971. Beginning in
September 1972, the series originally aired on CBS for a total of nine
seasons. After the series was canceled by CBS in 1981, NBC aired three
television movie sequels in 1982, with three more in the 1990s on CBS. The
Waltons was produced by Lorimar Productions and distributed by Warner Bros.
Domestic Television Distribution in syndication'.
* 'In 1971, Stanley Kubrick's, A Clockwork Orange, movie premieres. .
- From Wikipedia: 'A Clockwork Orange is a 1971 dystopian crime film
adapted, produced, and directed by Stanley Kubrick, based on Anthony
Burgess's 1962 novel A Clockwork Orange. It employs disturbing, violent
images to comment on psychiatry, juvenile delinquency, youth gangs, and
other social, political, and economic subjects in a dystopian near-future
Britain.
Alex (Malcolm McDowell), the main character, is a charismatic, sociopathic
delinquent whose interests include classical music (especially Beethoven),
rape, and what is termed ultra-violence He leads a small gang of thugs
(Pete, Georgie, and Dim), whom he calls his droogs (from the Russian word
friend, buddy). The film chronicles the horrific crime spree of his gang,
his capture, and attempted rehabilitation via controversial psychological
conditioning. Alex narrates most of the film in Nadsat, a fractured
adolescent slang composed of Slavic (especially Russian), English, and
Cockney rhyming slang.
The soundtrack to A Clockwork Orange features mostly classical music
selections and Moog synthesizer compositions by Wendy Carlos (then known as
Walter Carlos). The artwork for the now-iconic poster of A Clockwork Orange
was created by Philip Castle with the layout by designer Bill Gold'.
* 'In 1972, Apollo program: The last manned lunar flight, Apollo 17, crewed
by Eugene Cernan, Ron Evans and Harrison Schmitt, returns to Earth. .
- From Wikipedia: 'Apollo 17 was the final mission of NASA's Apollo
program, the enterprise that landed the first humans on the Moon. Launched
at 12:33 am Eastern Standard Time (EST) on December 7, 1972, with a crew
made up of Commander Eugene Cernan, Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans, and
Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt, it was the last use of Apollo hardware
for its original purpose after Apollo 17, extra Apollo spacecraft were used
in the Skylab and Apollo–Soyuz programs.
Apollo 17 was the first night launch of a U.S. human spaceflight and the
final manned launch of a Saturn V rocket. It was a J-type mission which
included three days on the lunar surface, extended scientific capability,
and the third Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). While Evans remained in lunar
orbit in the Command/Service Module (CSM), Cernan and Schmitt spent just
over three days on the moon in the Taurus–Littrow valley and completed
three moonwalks, taking lunar samples and deploying scientific instruments.
Evans took scientific measurements and photographs from orbit using a
Scientific Instruments Module mounted in the Service Module.
The landing site was chosen with the primary objectives of Apollo 17 in
mind: to sample lunar highland material older than the impact that formed
Mare Imbrium, and investigate the possibility of relatively new volcanic
activity in the same area. Cernan, Evans and Schmitt returned to Earth on
December 19 after a 12-day mission.
Apollo 17 is the most recent manned Moon landing and was the last time
humans travelled beyond low Earth orbit. It was also the first mission to
be commanded by a person with no background as a test pilot, and the first
to have no one on board who had been a test pilot X-15 test pilot Joe Engle
lost the lunar module pilot assignment to Schmitt, a scientist. The mission
broke several records: the longest moon landing, longest total
extravehicular activities (moonwalks), largest lunar sample, and longest
time in lunar orbit'.
No. 1 song
Top movie
Monthly holiday / awareness days in December
Food
Buckwheat Month
Worldwide Food Service Safety Month
Health
Aids Awareness Month
National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month
National Impaired Driving Prevention Month
Safe Toys and Gifts Month
Animal and Pet
Operation Santa Paws
Other
National Tie Month
National Write A Business Plan Month
Universal Human Rights Month
Youngsters on The Air Month
December is:
December origin (from Wikipedia): '
December gets its name from the Latin word decem (meaning ten) because it was originally the tenth month of the year in the Roman calendar, which began in March. The winter days following December were not included as part of any month. Later, the months of January and February were created out of the monthless period and added to the beginning of the calendar, but December retained its name.
'
'
December is the first month of meteorological winter in the Northern
Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, December is the seasonal equivalent
to June in the Northern hemisphere, which is the first month of summer. D
ecember is the month with the shortest daylight hours of the year in the
Northern Hemisphere and the longest daylight hours of the year in the
Southern Hemisphere.
'
December at Wikipedia: More
If you couldn't afford 90 cents for a movie ticket, 50 years ago,
or your 45 RPM record player was broke, you might watch one of these shows on TV.
From this Wikipedia article: More
Best selling books of 1966 More
Sites for downloading or reading free Public Domain eBooks. Available in various formats. More