Tidbits...

1
In 1928, What did women want?
In a story dug up from a 1928 newspaper file, a question asking women to clarify what they most wanted. I found the results interesting and fun, so I thought I'd share them. Here were the most common answers among housewives in 1928.

• To make ordinary foods more appealing
• To make better cakes than Mrs. So and So.
• To achieve "the different" (the way they described unique) in giving parties
• To add those little decorative touches to the home that cost "no money" and mean so much
• To keep herself in the pink (yes, the pink! now we say "peak") of condition despite the fact that she does her own work.

2
Appetite-Controlling Gene Discovered
Australian scientists discovered a new gene responsible for controlling appetite in humans. This discovery could lead to the first gene-based drug to treat obesity and diabetes. The gene is called Beacon. What it does is up your appetite and is found in greater abundance in people suffering from obesity.
This is the third gene discovered that affects appetite. The other two are called leptin and NPy. Of these three, however, this new gene discovery of Beacon is the most promising for getting on the market sooner due to genetic factors. Scientists are very excited about it and say it could be a very important step in the whole obesity, diabetes pathway.

3
Now You Have a Diagnosis: What's next?
Get yourself a reliable resource for free - a booklet titled *"Now You Have a Diagnosis: What's next?" The booklet explains how to find important information in evaluating the risks and benefits of varety of ailments, their diagnosis and their treatment options. Personal copies can be obtained by calling the Federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality toll free at (800) 358-9295 or by visiting their website at AHRQ.gov
*Unsure if offer is still valid.

4
Eating Out
Eating out can be an adventure for many and who better to give advice on how to make the most of your dining experience than gourmet chefs from across the country?
The Relais and Chateaux Association asked their member chefs what piece of advice they would give to people who dine out. Here are their tips:

• Never order fish on Mondays.
• If you are unhappy with a dish, send it back.
• Go to restaurants with an open mind.
• Eat each dish the way the chef prepares it.
• Be patient. Good food takes time.
• Taste the fod before adding salt and pepper.

5
Chocolate Cream Coffee Shake
This variation on a Kraft recipe for a shake is quite tasty but leaves behind a lot of the fat and calories, allowing you to indulge in a shake when the craving hits. Give it a try, you may be surprised! This has the taste of mocha and gives fat-free ice cream a great boost in both flavor and texture.
Chocolate Cream Coffee Shake
Place 3/4 cup of chilled, strong coffee and three , low-fat chocolate sandwich cookies such as Snackwells, broken into three or four pieces, into a blender. Blend well. Add one pint, (2 cups) fat-free vanilla, chocolate or if available, coffee flavored reduced-fat ice cream. Blend until smooth.

6
Cancer Fighting Raspberries
Luscious raspberries kill cancer cells. Cancer cells forget how to die, they just grow and grow. But raspberries have a chemical called ellagic acid that kills cancer cells by reinstituting their ability to die. So far, ellagic acid has worked in test-tube and animal studies and is now being tested to see if it will reduce the number of colon polyps in people at risk for colon cancer. If you can't find raspberries or they are out of season, strawberries have nearly as much ellagic acid. The top source is Pomegranates.

7
Best selling cereals in the United States!

1. General Mills Cheerios
2. Kellogg's Frosted Flakes
3. General Mills Honey Nut Cheerios
4. Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheats
5. Kellogg's Raisen Bran
6. General Mills Lucky Charms
7. Kellogg's Corn Flakes
8. General Mills Cinnamon Toast Crunch
9. Kellogg's Rice Krispies
10. Post Honey Bunches of Oats

See also: The History of Cereal

8
Father's Day
"Be kind to thy father,
for when thou wert young,
Who loved thee so fondly as he?
-- Margaret Courtney

9
Obesity a Legitimate Disabilty
In Canada, the Canadian Transportation Agency has decided by law that obesity is a legitimate disability and that charging extra for another extra seat on airplanes is illegal.

10
Happy Feet?
A new scale has recently come out with foot implants in it because so many people complained that their weight shifted when they moved their feet on the scale!

11
Traveling this summer?
Do you enjoy trying different restaurants on the road? If so, here is where you can find the best roadside restaurants:
Where We Eat
OR
Roadfood.com.
Reviews of restaurants across the country can be found easily at both sites.

12
Smile and eat comfort food!
A recent study shows that 86-percent of people turn to comfort foods when they are happy. Out of that 86-percent, 40-percent said they turned to comfort foods that were healthy. Age was a factor. People between the ages of 18 to 34 said they turned to ice-cream and cookies while those between 34 and 54 preferred soup and pasta. Those older than 54 went for soup and mashed potatoes. Women were more likely to reach for snack foods and sweets, while men looked to hot meals for comfort.

13
July is:
National Parks and Recreation Month
National Bison Month
Anti-Boredom Month
National Hot Dog Month
July 9-15 - National Farrier's Week
Special Days in the rest of July!
11 - World Population Day
Bowdler's Day
15 - Cow Appreciation Day
St. Swithun's Day
11 - Apollo 11-First Man Sent to the Moon
22 - Rat Catchers Day
24 - Cousins Day
27 - Take Your Houseplant for a Walk Day
28 - Parent's Day

14
Do you have grilling questions?
Weber has a help line open through Labor Day for you. For additional information, call the Weber Grill Line: 1-(800) GRILL-OUT or 1 (800) 474-5568. The help line is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. central time, seven days a week until Labor Day. A team of home economists staffs it.
*NOTE: Unsure if the telephone numbers are available every year.

15
Tea Jug
If you enjoy iced tea, you can now purchase what is called a "Tea Jug". It has a filter and offers a new way to make iced tea. Just put loose tea or tea bags into the filter, pour 3 to 4 ounces of boiling water over the tea and wait about ten minutes. Then take out the filter and fill the remainder of the jug with cold water or ice cubes. The Tea Jug makes 50 ounces of tea.

16
Condiment Survey
Every year Bon Appeitit does a reader/Internet user survey about favorite condiments, snacks, etc. According to the 2001 survey, mustard came first with 69-percent of the participants as a favorite condiment. Salsa took second place, ketchup fell to fourth.
In the take-out category, pizza came in at number one, followed by Chinese and rotisserie chicken.
Favorite fruit and vegetable were strawberries and asparagus.
Broccoli and green beans followed asparagus.
For a favorite dessert, cheesecake topped the list followed by creme brulee and fresh fruit.
For snack foods, potato and tortilla chips were favored.
The favorite cookie is chocolate chip which took a whopping 70-percent of the vote.

17
What is thick, purple and comes out of a squeeze bottle?
New EZ Squirt Funky Purple ketchup from Heinz. Last year's green squeeze was a hit with kids and like the green stuff, the purple product is touted as a way for kids to artistically decorate their food. The ketchup is actually a tastefully muted shade of purple, more like indigo than a neon fuchsia.

18
Life Savers candies - without the hole!
Lifesavers is putting over 1-million candies with no hole in it randomly in packages of Life Savers. Five contain the symbol of a car in the middle. Those are each worth a grand prize of a Volkswagon New Beetle GLX 1.8T. The others are redeemable for a "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" CD-rom game.

19
Free Health Check!
Do you have pain, swelling, numbness and skin-color changes in your legs? This could mean blocked arteries, otherwise known as peripheral vascular disease - PVD. This condition puts one at increased risk for heart disease, stroke or an aneurysm. The Society of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology will offer free, ten-minute screenings nationwide, September 15-21.

20
You ARE your favorite ice cream!
Research conducted for Edy's by the Smell and Taste Treatment Research Foundation determined characteristics to go along with your favorite flavor of ice cream. They are as follows:

• Butter Pecan: You are devoted, conscientious, respectful and fiscally conservative and show integrity in all you do. Chances are, you deserve a raise.
• Strawberry: You are a thoughtful, logical person who weighs each option before making decisions. In relationships, you are loyal and supportive.
• Mint chocolate chip: You are ambitious and confident, yet skeptical about life. Your stubbornness aids you in business but can be a challenge in relationships.
• Rocky Road: In social situations, you are charming and engaging. But in business, you are aggressive and goal- oriented.
• Coffee: You are lively, dramatic and flirtatious, thriving on the passion of the moment.
• Vanilla: You are a colorful, dramatic risk taker who relies more on intuition than logic. You are emotionally expressive and idealistic.

21
Anger and Your Heart
Angry, hostile men and women are more likely to develop heart disease and suffer heart attacks. People prone to hostility have high levels of homocysteine - a blood chemical linked with heart disease. High stress can also increase homocysteine levels, but folic acid other B vitamins can help keep them in a healthy range. Middle-aged people who get angry easily - - even those with normal blood pressure levels -- are at significant risk of developing and/or dying from heart and blood vessel disease.

22
The Wild Side
The Aborigines' favorite fruit in Australia is the "green plum". A 3-1/2-ounce portion contains 2,300 to 3,150 milligrams of vitamin C. Oranges, which we purchase fresh only contain 50 to 80mg. of vitamin C, if we are lucky enough to buy them freshly picked.
*The Hadza hunters in Tanzania enjoy the "kangaroo fruit". A 3-1/2-ounce serving contains 526 milligrams of calcium. The US RDA is 1,000 milligrams per day for the average adult.
*The South African cape buffalo contains 1.50-percent of its fat in the form of omega-3 fatty acids. One of the best sources we consume is usually from fish oil. Our beef contains hardly a trace. Cod liver oil which is considered one of the best sources contains only 5-percent.

23
Best American Recipes 2001-2002
The "Best American Recipes 2001-2002" compiled a list of the top ten picks of the previous year. They are as follows:

1. Comeback of the year: Souffles. Twice-baked versions eliminate last-minute panic.
2. Herb of the Year: Mint. Find it in soups, salads, fish dishes and more.
3. Spice: Cardamom. Intriguing fragrance in breads and cakes.
4. Vegetable: Beets. The beet enjoys royal status in fashionable restaurants.
5. Technique: Fish cookery. Ingenious methods lock in flavor and succulence.
6. Fruit: Plums. No long a wallflower among fruits.
7. Drink: Dark Rum. Delicious in eggnog, punch and many cocktails.
8. Ethnic cuisine: Southeast Asian. Chefs borrow from Far East traditions.
9. Tool: Spice Spoons. Narrow little shovels dive into spice jars with ease.
10. Addiction: Caramel. Americans cannot get enough of it.

24
You are more likely to snore if:

• You weigh too much
• You are middle-age
• You are male (the sex difference disappears after menopause).
• Other family members snore
• You smoke. (It increases nasal congestion and inflammation, which block air passages).
• You drink too much
• You take sleeping pills, tranquilizers or antihistamines
• You have chronic nasal congestion causing you to breathe through your mouth
• Your neck is thick
• You have an enlarged thyroid gland
• Your tonsils or adenoids are enlarged

25
October Is...
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
National Pizza Month
National Cookie Month
National Dessert Month
Fantasy Month
Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog Month
National Aids Awareness Month
National Apple Jack Month
National Caramel Month
National Communicate With Your Kids Month
Computer Learning Month
National Crime Prevention Month
Dental Hygiene Month
The Month of the Dinosaur
National Disability Employment Awareness Month
Diversity Awareness Month
Family History Month
National Fired-Up Month
Healthy Lung Month
National Liver Awareness Month
National Orthodontic Health Month
National Pasta Month
National Popcorn Poppin' Month
National Pork Month
National Sarcastics Awareness Month
Vegetarian Awareness Month
National Roller Skating Month
National Spinal Health Month
Special Weeks in October
4-10 - World Space Week
7-13 - Fire Prevention Week
Get Organized Week
Squirrel Awareness Week
8-12 - National Pet Peeve Week
Special Days in October
2 - Harvest Moon
3 - National Techies Day
6-7 - Clergy Appreciation Weekend
10 - National Bring Your Teddy Bear to Work Day
12 - Columbus Day
13 - Blame Someone Else Day
Friday the 13th
14 - Be Bald and Be Free Day
15 - National Grouch Day
16 - National Boss Day
18 - Int'l Boost Your Brain Day
19 - Evaluate Your Life Day
20 - Sweetest Day
22 - World's End Day
24 - United Nations Day
29 - Frankenstein Friday
31 - Halloween