Today Is... 📆

GregRedd · January 24, 2021, 7:03am

Good morning!

It’s Sunday, 24 January 2021 (W3/D24)

Today is:

Peanut butter’s divisive love-it-or-hate-it nature has been around since before the recipe for peanut butter much as we know it today was patented-yes, I said patented-in 1922 by Joseph Rosefield (who later went on to found the Skippy Peanut Butter brand).

Peanut butter was first introduced to the public at the 1904 Universal Exposition in St. Louis at C.H. Sumner’s concession stand. But it was only in 1922 when, through homogenization, Rosefield was able to keep the peanut oil from separating from the peanut solids.

Since then, we’ve been spreading on our sandwiches, mixing it into our baking, using it in our cooking, and even eating it straight out of the jar as an energy snack.

Whether creamy or chunky, mixed with chocolate spread or with jam, peanut butter deserves a little annual recognition.

Have a nutty and chilled Sunday!

FarligOpptreden · January 24, 2021, 7:17am

I’ll definitely have some today. I have it most days…

SIGSTART · January 24, 2021, 8:15am

There are only two ways to enjoy peanut butter: smooth spread on bread, and as an ice cream flavour.

I Have Spoken - Kuill riding - Mandalorian

Beo · January 24, 2021, 10:47am

I thought peanut butter was originally invented/designed as a source of protein to those who had such bad teeth they couldn’t bite or chew meats.

GregRedd · January 24, 2021, 10:58am

Partially. That was Kellogg’s marketed contribution to things. Two others, Edson and Straub, are also credited with creating peanut butter.

However, modern peanut butter, its process of production and the equipment used to make it, can be credited to at least three inventors.

In 1884 Marcellus Gilmore Edson of Canada patented peanut paste, the finished product from milling roasted peanuts between two heated surfaces. In 1895 Dr. John Harvey Kellogg (the creator of Kellogg’s cereal) patented a process for creating peanut butter from raw peanuts. He marketed it as a nutritious protein substitute for people who could hardly chew on solid food. In 1903, Dr. Ambrose Straub of St. Louis, Missouri, patented a peanut-butter-making machine.
Source

I mentioned Rosefield though specifically because he’s the one who figured out how to stop the paste separating from the oil, and created a brand that’s still around today.

GregRedd · January 25, 2021, 6:31am

Good morning!

It’s Monday, 25 January 2021 (W4/D25)

Today is:

Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day

I kid you not - today is Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day. Celebrated on the last Monday in January, this popping day allegedly began when a local radio station once inadvertently unwrapped bubble wrapped microphones on air. Listeners loved it, and the tradition stuck.

Bubble Wrap ® was originally formed in 1957 from two shower curtains being sealed together. The inventors, engineers Marc Chavannes and Alfred Fielding, tried to market this as wallpaper. Then they tried to market it as greenhouse insulation. Thankfully for bubble popping appreciators both of these efforts were largely unsuccessful.

Then, in 1960, the inventors established the Sealed Air Corporation, and perfected the Bubble Wrap manufacturing process. A year later the IBM Corporation, sensing an opportunity, became the first major company to use the product to protect their IBM 1401 computers during shipment.

Since, the largely unchanged product has been used to protect countless products in transit and storage in its air-cushioned embrace. And of course, it’s provided thousands of people hours of pointless, yet somehow therapeutic, popping fun.

I hope you don’t need too much Bubble Wrap to get through Monday. Have a great day!

Beo · January 25, 2021, 6:43am

Never understood the fascination of the stuff, all it does for me is make me salivate.

SIGSTART · January 25, 2021, 7:24am

QI confirmed!

Also, let me wreck your YouTube recommendations:

GregRedd · January 26, 2021, 6:04am

Good morning!

It’s Tuesday, 26 January 2021 (W4/D26)

Today is:

Spouses Day

Perhaps the most significant of the days of the year that we’ve noted so far - today is Spouses Day.

Dedicated to recognizing spouses, significant others, and partners, today reminds us to take time for our mate. From being thankful for the fulfillment and security of a long-term relationship to the boost of morale and well-being provided by those we share our lives with, there are many reasons to celebrate. This day is a time to show your spouse that you care and appreciate all of the things that they do for you, for the family, and for your home.

Today is not about giving gifts but rather spending time together, enjoying each others company, and simply expressing appreciating for each other.

And while the term “spouse” traditionally refers to a marriage partner, Spouses Day is for all. Whether yours is an official marriage, a common-law marriage, a domestic partnership, a civil union, or simply a long term commitment, acknowledge the significance of your partner.

Spend some quality time with your partner. Maybe take the day off and surprise them with a picnic - even indoors if the weather is kak. Take care of all their errands and chores. Make their favorite foods and treats. Whatever you do, make sure you tell them that you appreciate everything they do for you.

Be good to those around you, and have a great day!

SIGSTART · January 26, 2021, 6:44am

Very nice

Beo · January 26, 2021, 7:47am

We were without one kid last night so I showed my appreciation then, does that count?

GregRedd · January 27, 2021, 3:55am

Good morning!

It’s Wednesday, 27 January 2021 (W4/D27)

Today is:

Chocolate Cake Day

It’s not just any old Cake Day. It’s the king of cake’s day, the boss of cakes day, the capo dei capi of cakes day. It’s Chocolate Cake Day.

Chocolate cake has been with us just over 150 years, having first come on the scene in 1764, when it was discovered that grinding cocoa beans between heavy stones produced cocoa powder, which could then become chocolate.

60 years would pass before Conrad Van Houten discovered a method by which he could mechanically extract fat from the cacao liquor which produced cacao butter. Long story short, this man is the reason that chocolate is actually affordable, and we all have him to thank for it!

The first verifiable recipe for chocolate cake appeared in Eliza Leslie’s 1847 cookbook. The actual formula, however, wasn’t quite what we’d recognize as a chocolate cake today. Leslie’s recipe called for chopped pieces of chocolate inserted into a plain sponge, instead of adding cocoa powder to the mix itself.

Have a wonderful chocolate cake filled day!

Wyvern · January 27, 2021, 6:49am

Are you saying I can cheat today and have a slice of chocolate cake?

GregRedd · January 27, 2021, 8:46am

A slice? It’s not “Slice of Chocolate Cake Day”. It’s Chocolate Cake Day

Wyvern · January 27, 2021, 8:52am

But the diet wont let me have a whole cake

SIGSTART · January 27, 2021, 10:00am

FarligOpptreden · January 27, 2021, 11:37am

GregRedd · January 27, 2021, 6:44pm

Classic! I actually met them when they toured SA in 1993. They stayed at the Carlton for a week. I was the Front Office Manager at the time and my then fiancée was the VIP Guest Relations Manager, so we got to spend a fair bit of time with them. Really nice guys. And their entire crew were too. I still have an autographed World Where We Live CD somewhere.

GregRedd · January 28, 2021, 6:29am

Good morning!

It’s Thursday, 28 January 2021 (W4/D28)

Today is:

International Lego Day

On January 28, 1958, the original LEGO brick system patent was filed by Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, a Dane whose father founded the LEGO company. The company originally manufactured wooden toys and was named after the Danish saying “leg godt” meaning “play well.”

63 years and more than 400-billion bricks later, the plastic bricks synonymous with childhood (and later childhood too!) have helped build the Lego Group into a multi-billion dollar organization with one of the strongest and most recognizable brands on the planet.

Celebrate Lego Day with a little random building spree if you have some bricks, or finish that complicated Lego Set that you’ve been putting off for so long, or spend some quality time playing with the kids and “their” Lego.

If you don’t have Lego that you can call your own, there are a number of Lego-themed movies and a large number of Lego games and franchise collaborations for you to while away this Lego Day. So yeah, no excuses.

(And for the love of all that is special about Lego, please don’t be American and refer to them as “legos”. There is no plural for Lego. You “play with my Lego” regardless of how many bricks and elements you have. You don’t “go play with my Legos” in the same way that a Kiwi doesn’t “go play with my sheeps”. )

Have a casually constructive day!

SIGSTART · January 28, 2021, 6:41am