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Marmalade

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Marmalade

No slice of toast for breakfast is complete without marmalade.

  • Marmalade is a special citrus jam that is made from the peel and juices of citrus fruit, as well as sugar and water.
  • The word ‘marmalade’ comes from the Portuguese word ‘marmelada’, which means ‘quince jam’.
  • Marmalade has been the most popular among the British, but in recent years it has seen a decline in sales, due to the younger generation favouring other spreads and breakfast options.
  • In the 1500s, the use of the term ‘marmalade’ became a common term for jam or fruit preserves, not just quince or citrus jam, and depending on the country you live in, ‘marmalade’ today, can be a reference to only citrus preserves, or it can be a broad term for any fruit jams.
  • Preserves have been made for hundreds of years, and by the 1400s, quince pastes (like thick jam) were being made, and were known as ‘marmalade’.

Marmalade, Homemade, Orange, Citrus, Jar, Peel, Jam, Preserves, Ten Random Facts, Spread,

  • Scottish Janet Keiller of Dundee city made a jam out of oranges, most likely adapting a quince recipe, and commercialised the marmalade in the late 1700s.
  • Marmalade is popularly used as a spread on toast or bread, commonly at breakfast.
  • Marmalade often has a tangy taste, particularly when using tangier oranges such as the traditionally used, Seville oranges.
  • It is said that marmalade was originally a type of sweet, and that it was beneficial for digestive issues.
  • Marmalade is typically orange in colour, but it can be red, brown or many other colours, depending on the fruit used, the length of time cooked, and the ingredients included.
Bibliography:
Marmalade, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmalade
Marmalade: A preserve we must preserve, 2010, The Telegraph, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/7175487/Marmalade-a-preserve-we-must-preserve.html

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Petra

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Petra, Front, Rose, Ten Random Facts, New Seven Wonders of the World, Jordan, City,

Awe-inspiring, ancient city… Petra

  • Petra is an ancient city fortress located in southern Jordan in the Middle East, on the side of the mountain Jebel al-Madhbah, in amongst valleys and hills.
  • ‘Petra’ is an Ancient Greek word meaning ‘rock’ or ‘stone’, and is also known as the ‘Rose city’, describing the rock colour that is best seen at sunrises or sunsets.
  • Petra was built in an area that was a significant city on the trade route and had a good supply of water all year round from a stream, and the city was well known for its ancient and unique water and farming systems.
  • Historically, Nabataean folk populated the city of Petra and made it their capital, and at its most populated, the city accommodated 20,000 people.
  • Petra is said to have been established around 600 BC, and was occupied at one stage by the Romans, and later, Arabs.

Petra, Front, Rose, Ten Random Facts, New Seven Wonders of the World, Jordan, City,

 

City front
Image courtesy of Maureen/Flickr
  • Petra was struck by an earthquake that weakened the city’s structure near the end of the Roman reign, and afterwards many valuable items were stolen from the numerous city tombs.
  • Petra became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985, and gained recognition as one the New 7 Wonders of the World in 2007.
  • As well as damage from tourism and earthquakes, Petra suffers from erosion, flooding, structure collapse and the like, which has caused much deterioration of the city.
  • The first Western explorer to record the discovery of Petra was from Switzerland, by the name of John Burckhardt, in 1812.
  • One of the entrances to the city of Petra, known as Al-Khazneh, the ‘treasury’, has the dimensions of 30 by 43 metres (98 by 141 feet), which looks like the front of a mansion.
Bibliography:
Petra, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petra
Petra, n.d, Jordan, http://www.visitjordan.com/default.aspx?tabid=63

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Trilobite Cockroach

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Trilobite cockroach, Giant Cockroach, Black, Female, Wingless, One, Wood, Ten Random Facts, Animal, Insect, Bug, Australia

Unlike trilobites, trilobite cockroaches are not extinct.

  • Trilobite cockroaches are usually dark brown, flat, oval shaped roaches that appear to have armour, and they sit close to the ground and are not usually fast movers.
  • Trilobite cockroaches are from the family Blaberidae, the family of giant cockroaches.
  • Trilobite cockroaches range from a size of 1 to 2.5 centimetres (0.4 to 1 inches) in length.
  • ‘Trilobite cockroaches’ are named after ‘trilobites’ due to the females looking like the extinct, unrelated, aquatic species.
  • There are approximately 15 species of trilobite cockroaches, all of which are native to Australia except two that can be found in Papua New Guinea.

Trilobite cockroach, Giant Cockroach, Black, Female, Wingless, One, Wood, Ten Random Facts, Animal, Insect, Bug, Australia

  • Trilobite cockroaches can be found in wooded areas, forests and gardens, and are often found underneath objects such as leaves, bark and wood or rotting vegetation.
  • The scientific name of trilobite cockroaches is ‘Laxta’, or ‘Laxta Walker’, the genus named after the British entomologist Francis Walker, who worked for the British Museum in the 1800s.
  • Trilobite cockroaches are also known as ‘bark cockroaches’, ‘woodroaches’ and ‘flat cockroaches’.
  • Trilobite cockroaches live in little groups that communicate via smell and their diet typically consists of fibres from wood.
  • Trilobite cockroach female adults do not have wings, while males do; therefore the wings significantly change the appearance of the two genders.
Bibliography:
Bark Cockroach, 2011, Brisbane Insects, http://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_cockroaches/BarkCockroach.htm
Flat cockroach, 2009, AustralianMuseum, http://australianmuseum.net.au/Flat-Cockroach
Trilobite Cockroach, n.d, Oz Animals, http://www.ozanimals.com/Insect/Trilobite-Cockroach/Laxta/sp.html

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Bamboo

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Bamboo, Tall, Green, Leaves, Grass, Hollow, Running, Ten Random Facts, Australia.

Plant the bamboo… and watch it grow before your eyes!

  • Bamboo are generally very tall, strong, woody, flowering grass plants that are hollow and cylindrical, and those that are particularly sturdy are used as materials in construction and weapons, as well as many other items.
  • There are 1450 species of bamboo, and they come from the family Poaceae, the family of grass, and they fall into two categories, ‘clumping bamboo’ and ‘running bamboo’, which describes the growth pattern of the roots and rhizomes.
  • One species of bamboo grows up to 91 cm (3 feet) in one day, which is the fastest of all plants in the world.
  • Most continents have native species of bamboo, however there are none native to Europe and Antarctica.
  • Bamboo can grow up to 30 metres (98 feet) in height, or more, although common species generally grow a lot less, and can have a diameter of up to 15 to 20 centimetres (6 to 8 inches).

Bamboo, Tall, Green, Leaves, Grass, Hollow, Running, Ten Random Facts, Australia.

  • Bamboo from tropical regions generally can not stand extreme cold, and some other species can survive up to -29°C (-20°F).
  • Bamboo plants are evergreen and may only flower every 30 to 130 years, sometimes with all the same stock plants of a species flowering at the same time throughout the world, and then dying after flowering.
  • Bamboo shoots, although they contain a poison, cyanide, that can negatively affect the digestive system, can be eaten if the shoots are prepared properly, usually by boiling them, and are generally eaten boiled, pickled or fermented .
  • In China bamboo is an important symbolic plant, symbolising moral principles, among others, and it represents friendship in India.
  • Bamboo is used in a similar way to wood, and different species are used for building materials, kitchen utensils, fabric and paper, and are also the food source of a number of animals, including the well known Chinese giant panda.
Bibliography:
Bamboo, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo
The History of Bamboo, 2011, BambooKi, http://www.bambooki.com/blog/the-history-of-bamboo/

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Boxing Day Sales

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Boxing Day Sales, Bag, Clothes, belt, Jacket, Valleygirl, Ten Random Facts

Do line up for the Boxing Day sale facts.

  • Boxing Day sales typically are shopping extravaganzas that occur on the day after Christmas, Boxing Day, but sometimes run for a week.
  • Boxing Day sales generally occur in Australia, Canada and parts of the United Kingdom.
  • The 2009 Boxing Day sales in the United Kingdom, saw approximately 12 million people visit the shops.
  • Popular shops that support the Boxing Day sales generally open as early as 5 am.
  • Boxing Day sales include great bargain priced items and the shops often strategically lower there prices to bring in customers.

Boxing Day Sales, Bag, Clothes, belt, Jacket, Valleygirl, Ten Random Facts

  • Retailers that support Boxing Day sales generally have a limited stock of items, particularly those with the greatest discounts, and they often try to sell those items that did not sell by Christmas.
  • Shops that support Boxing Day sales are often full of people, shoulder-to-shoulder, due to heavily discounted items, and they sometimes limit the customers in the shop at any one time.
  • Boxing Day sales are generally reviewed in news reports, focusing on the crowds, queues, and times of arriving.
  • Boxing Day sales became popular in the 1980s, and were most likely established to encourage consumers to return to the shops after Christmas.
  • In Australia, it was expected that $1.9 billion (AUD) were to be spent in the 2013 Boxing Day sales, with a 1/3 spent in the state of Victoria.
Bibliography:
Boxing Day – Shopping, 2013, Wikipedia,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxing_Day#Shopping
Hutchens G, Boxing Day sales: It’s picnic time for shopaholics – you’re sure of a big discount, 2013, The Sydney Morning Herald, http://www.smh.com.au/business/retail/boxing-day-sales-its-picnic-time-for-shopaholics–youre-sure-of-a-big-discount-20131225-2zwq9.html

Turkey Meat

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Turkey meat, roasted, brown, white, whole, Ten Random Facts, Bird, Australia, Christmas

No Thanksgiving or Christmas is complete without turkey meat!

  • Turkey meat is the cooked meat of turkey, particularly those that are bred on a farm.
  • Turkey meat is commonly eaten at popular celebrations, such as Thanksgiving (USA and Canada) or Christmas, with nearly 8 million turkeys eaten at Christmas time in the UK, in 2009.
  • Most parts of turkey meat are eaten, except the bones, head, feathers and feet, and they can generally be bought whole or ground, with other cuts being available sometimes, as well as already cooked sliced meat.
  • Once cooked, turkey meat from wild turkeys is typically dark-coloured, while domestic meat is usually light-coloured, and the wild turkeys often have a great flavour than the domestic ones.
  • Turkey meat started to be used in celebrations from as early as the 1500s, originally in England.

Turkey meat, roasted, brown, white, whole, Ten Random Facts, Bird, Australia, Christmas

  • Frozen, whole turkey meat generally takes a considerably long time to defrost, and it can take 3 days or more, depending on the size of the bird.
  • Turkey meat is generally cooked by a baking or oven roasting process, although sometimes it is deep-fried, and whole birds are usually stuffed, while the meat is often served with the addition of cranberry sauce or gravy.
  • Turkey meat has a high protein content, more than most commonly eaten meats, and is also high in vitamin B6, niacin, zinc, selenium and phosphorus.
  • Turkey meat contains an amino acid named tryptophan, which causes sleepiness, but the quantity eaten in one meal is not as likely to make you drowsy, than the rest of the carbohydrates and fats on one’s plate.
  • The English author, Charles Dickens, helped to make turkey meat popular, due to turkey featuring in his novel ‘A Christmas Carol’.
Bibliography:
History and Lore, 2013, Turkey for the Holidays, http://urbanext.illinois.edu/turkey/history.cfm
Turkey Meat, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey_meat

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