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Waffle

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Waffle

The mouth-watering fragrance really lifts from the waffle iron.

  • Waffles are relatively flat baked goods, with an embossed lattice-like pattern, made of flour; and they are often associated with Belgium.
  • ‘Waffles’ have also been known as ‘wafles’, while variants include ‘Belgian’, ‘American’, ‘Brussel’ and ‘Flemish’.
  • The ingredients of waffles are usually a cooked batter of wheat flour, eggs, salt, milk, sugar and sometimes yeast.
  • Waffles are commonly spread or covered with cream, butter, icing sugar, fruits including berries, syrup, jam or ice-cream.
  • The term ‘waffle’ was derived from the Dutch word ‘wafel’, which itself came from the Proto-Germanic word ‘wabila’, meaning ‘web’ or ‘honeycomb’.
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Image courtesy of TheCulinaryGeek/Flickr
  • Waffles typically have a light or airy feel with a crisp texture, and are golden brown in colour and are cooked in a variety of shapes, including squares and hearts.
  • Waffles are cooked by pouring the batter in a patterned waffle iron that generally has a base and a lid that encloses the batter, and when heated, cooks the batter.
  • The ancestor of the waffle was the ‘obleios’, a wafer cake from Ancient Greece, which from the 1200s AD became a patterned form similar to the modern one.
  • The earliest known printed recipe of the waffle can be found in the late 1300s book Le Ménagier de Paris.
  • The waffle’s correlation to Belgian culture was created in the World Fairs of 1962 and 1964, where Belgian cooks would serve delicious Belgian-style waffles, which became popular in America.
Bibliography:
Han E, From Wafers to Cones: A Short History of the Waffle, 2010, Kitchn, http://www.thekitchn.com/from-wafers-to-cones-a-short-h-113627
The History of the Waffle, 2015, Hub Pages, http://hubpages.com/education/The-History-of-the-Waffle
Waffle, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waffle
Waffle History, 2016, Lifestyle Direct Inc, http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/cereals/waffle-history.asp

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Stress Ball

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Stress Ball

How much stress can a stress ball take?

  • Stress balls are objects that fit in the palm of one’s hand, and are used primarily to relieve stress by manipulating or throwing the item.
  • ‘Stress balls’ are also known as ‘stress relievers’, and they are commonly found in both offices and homes.
  • Although typically of a spherical shape with a diameter of approximately 5.7 centimetres (2.25 inches), stress balls can come in all shapes, colours, designs and sizes.
  • Stress balls can range from soft and squishy to hard, and depending on their firmness, they can provide noise, texture, absorb force, be smooth, or have a weightiness, that helps to relieve stress.
  • Many stress balls contain gel or other substances, which affect the density and flexibility of the object, and they may also include noisemakers including chimes.
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A Stress Ball
Image courtesy of J E Therlot/Flickr
  • Stress balls originated in Anicent China around 1368 AD as hard Baoding Balls, that are still used today, and these traditional balls are intended to be rotated in one’s palm, and are said to stimulate a person’s acupressure points on the hand.
  • Stress balls are among the most common promotional objects, often featuring company logos as a marketing strategy, and they are frequently given as gifts.
  • American Alex Carswell invented the first of the modern style stress balls, in 1988, and his invention contained a microchip that when thrown at something, activated a glass shattering sound, as Carswell wanted to convey the sense of something breaking.
  • In addition to relieving stress and muscle tension, stress balls are commonly recommend by doctors and physiotherapists for hand rehabilitation, while other benefits may include hand coordination.
  • Modern stress balls are typically made of foam, rubber, plastic, and synthetic textiles, or a combination of these materials, while the traditional style Chinese balls are often formed from stone or metal.
Bibliography:
Arthurton D, Using Stress Balls to Experience Relaxation, 2016, Out of Stress, http://www.outofstress.com/do-stress-balls-work/
Chetwynd J, The Secret History of Balls, 2011, Penguin Group, New York. Accessed at: https://books.google.com.au/books?id=4YXTQxelfmYC&lpg=PP1&pg=PT5#v=onepage&q&f=false
Morris S, The History of the Stress Ball (and Why They’re So Popular), 2015, Quality Logo Products Inc., http://www.qualitylogoproducts.com/blog/history-of-stress-balls-why-theyre-popular/
Stress Ball, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress_ball

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Kiwi

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Kiwi

A kiwi is not your typical bird, that’s for certain!

  • Kiwis are a genus of birds that do not have the ability to fly, and they are endemic to New Zealand’s forests.
  • The scientific name of a kiwi is Apteryx and it is from the family Apterygidae, of which it is the sole member.
  • Kiwis range from 25 to 45 centimetres (9.8 to 17.7 inches) in height, and they weigh from 1.3 to 3.3 kilograms (2.9 to 7.3 pounds).
  • A kiwi lacks a tail, and it has open, narrow feathers that hide its small wings; and the bird is unique in that it has nostrils located at the tip of its beak, giving it a good sense of smell, which it uses to find food like insects, worms, and seeds.
  • Kiwis are primarily active during the night, however when kept in captivity or in wildlife parks where threats by other animals are scarce, they become increasingly active during the day.
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A Kiwi
Image courtesy of denisbin/Flickr
  • Female kiwis typically lay a single egg per season, although some species may lay up to three or four, and the eggs can reach 15 to 20% of the female’s weight and as such, of all living birds they produce one of the largest eggs in proportion to the adult bird.
  • For approximately two or three days before laying an egg in a burrow, a female kiwi must sacrifice eating as there is not enough space inside the bird to hold food.
  • Kiwis were first scientifically described in 1813 by English botanist George Shaw, who had not viewed a live specimen, but rather only the skin of the bird.
  • Kiwis are highly symbolic of New Zealand culture, present in many designs including the New Zealand crest and featured on the New Zealand dollar, while New Zealanders themselves are nicknamed ‘kiwis’.
  • Deforestation and introduced predators have caused four of the five kiwi species to be listed as either endangered or vulnerable, and due to such threats, only one in twenty chicks are expected to reach adulthood, although there is considerable effort, some of which has been successful, to improve this statistic.
Bibliography:
About Kiwi, 2016, Kiwis for Kiwi, https://www.kiwisforkiwi.org/about-kiwi/
Facts and Threats to Kiwi, n.d, New Zealand Department of Conservation, http://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/kiwi/facts/
Kiwi, 2016, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/kiwi/
Kiwi, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiwi

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Parrot’s Beak

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Parrot’s Beak

Parrot’s beaks are delicate bursts of vivid colour.

  • Parrot’s beaks are a species of perennial flowering plant, native solely to the Canary Islands, located off the north-west coast of Africa.
  • The scientific name of the parrot’s beak plant is Lotus berthelotii and it is from the family Fabaceae, the family of legumes.
  • The blooms of parrot’s beaks are red to orange coloured and resemble the beak of a parrot.
  • ‘Parrot’s beaks’ are also known as ‘coral gems’, ‘pelican’s beaks’,  ‘lotus vines’, ‘cat claws’, and ‘pigeon beaks’ or by the Spanish for the same name – ‘pico de paloma’.
  • A parrot’s beak plant will generally grow to a height of 15 to 30 centimetres (6 to 12 inches), and it is a creeper, so it tends to spread to a diameter of approximately 61 cm (24 inches) if grown on the ground.
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Parrot’s Beak
Image courtesy of Emma Forsberg/Flickr
  • Parrot’s beaks typically bloom during the late spring and early summer months.
  • Parrot’s beaks grow best in conditions of full sun, and while they can be grown in part shade, they will usually not produce as many flowers.
  • The leaves of parrot’s beaks are small and very narrow, and are a green-grey in colour.
  • Parrot’s beaks are fittingly pollinated by birds, and are extremely rare or extinct in the wild.
  • The parrot’s beak plant is typically grown for ornamental purposes, especially as a ground cover or carpet, and it is also grown in hanging baskets or pots.
Bibliography:
Lotus berthelotii, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_berthelotii
Parrot’s Beak, 2016, Better Homes & Gardens, http://www.bhg.com/gardening/plant-dictionary/annual/parrots-beak/
Parrot’s Beak, Coral Gem, Pelican’s Beak, 2016, Dave’s Garden, http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1250/#b
Plant Profiles: Lotus Berthelotii, 2013, Garden at Heart, http://gardenatheart.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/plant-profiles-lotus-berthelotii.html

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Kolmanskop

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Kolmanskop

Kolmanskop is a shadow of its former self.

  • Kolmanskop is an abandoned diamond mining town, located in the Sperrgebiet National Park, found in the south of the Namib Desert, in Namibia, in southern Africa.
  • The first diamond discovered in the area of Kolmanskop was uncovered in 1908 by railway worker Zacharias Lewala, and this news quickly reached the ears of German miners who then settled at the site.
  • The former residents of Kolmanskop became very wealthy, which resulted in the town being quite luxurious, and it included a school, hospital, pub, casino, ice factory, bowling alley, music hall and one of the first x-ray machines in the southern half of the world.
  • Kolmanskop became an oasis during its peak, with many buildings featuring rich gardens, sustained by water that travelled a distance of 120 kilometres (74.6 miles) by a railway network.
  • In the 1920s, at least 1140 individuals, as well as an ostrich, resided in Kolmanskop, and the town is believed to have had a maximum population of 1300 people in its history.
Kolmanskop, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Place, Africa, Desert, Abandoned, Sandy, Dune, Inside, Ghostly, Eerie
Inside a Part of Kolmanskop
Image courtesy of Michiel Van Balen/Flickr
  • Kolmanskop, also known as ‘Kolmannskuppe’ in German, or ‘Coleman’s kop’ or ‘Coleman’s hill’ in English, was named after Johnny Coleman, a transport driver who provided services before the railway was built, after he abandoned his ox cart in the area, during a sandstorm.
  • Kolmanskop is slowly being engulfed by desert sand, yet many buildings still stand.
  • The population of Kolmanskop reduced after World War I, as miners began to journey south to richer and unexplored diamond fields.
  • The final residents left Kolmanskop in 1956, a date that marks the total abandonment of the town.
  • Kolmanskop is a popular destination for tourists and photographers alike, however a permit is required to visit the area, significant rates are charged for photographers, and guided tours are available for a fee.
Bibliography:
About Kolmanskop, n.d, NamibEYE, http://kolmanskuppe.com/about-kolmanskop
Evans B, Swallowed by the desert: Eerie pictures from the ghost town that was abandoned to the sand 50 years ago, 2013, Daily Mail Australia, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2302018/Kolmanskop-Stunning-pictures-Namibias-ghost-town-abandoned-sand-wind-50-years-ago.html
Kolmanskop, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolmanskop
Kolmanskop, n.d, Kolmanskop, http://www.kolmanskop.net/

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Chocolate Chip Cookie

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Chocolate Chip Cookie

How can you resist a warm chocolate chip cookie?

  • Chocolate chip cookies are a variant of cookie, identifiable by its inclusion of chocolate pieces.
  • ‘Chocolate chip cookies’ are also known as ‘choc chip cookies’, ‘chocolate chip biscuits, ‘Toll House chocolate crunch cookies’, ‘Toll House cookies’, and ‘Toll House biscuits’.
  • Sugar, flour, eggs, butter, baking powder and chocolate bits are the typical ingredients used for baking chocolate chip cookies.
  • The chocolate pieces of chocolate chip cookies can be replaced with white chocolate or M&Ms, while a popular combination is white chocolate with the addition of macadamia nuts; or the dough can be flavoured with chocolate or peanuts, for an interesting variant.
  • Chocolate chip cookies were invented in the 1930s by Ruth Wakefield of the United States, then owner and chef of Massachusetts’ Toll House Inn restaurant, and despite various stories of the invention being an accident, it is said to have been a deliberate alteration of a butterscotch cookie recipe.

Chocolate Chip Cookie, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Food, Baked, Homemade, Biscuit, Golden

  • The first recipe for chocolate chip cookies was published in the 1938 edition of Ruth Wakefield’s cookbook “Toll House Tried and True Recipes”.
  • Around 1939, as chocolate chip cookies grew popular, Ruth Wakefield exchanged the rights for her cookie recipe with the Nestlé company, for a lifetime supply of their semi-sweet chocolate, and they printed her cookie recipe on their packaging.
  • Shortly after obtaining rights to the chocolate chip cookie recipe, Nestlé reconfigured their semi-sweet chocolate from a bar, to small chocolate pieces purposed for cooking in the cookies, naming them ‘Toll House Semi-Sweet Morsels’.
  • As of 2015, the largest biscuit ever made in the world, happens to be a chocolate chip cookie, which was baked in 2003 by the United State’s Immaculate Baking Company as a museum fundraiser, and it was approximately 31 metres (102 feet) in diameter.
  • The chocolate chip cookie is the official state cookie of Massachusetts of the United States, while it was proposed that it also be the state cookie of United States’ Pennsylvania.
Bibliography:
The Accidental Invention of the Chocolate Chip Cookie, 2013, Today I Found Out, http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/03/the-accidental-invention-of-the-chocolate-chip-cookie
Chocolate Chip Cookie, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate_chip_cookie
The History of the Chocolate Chip Cookie, 2012, The Nibble, http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/cookies/cookies2/chocolate-chip-cookie-history.asp
The World’s Biggest Cookie, 2016, Immaculate Baking Company, https://www.immaculatebaking.com/goodies/the-worlds-biggest-cookie/
Wyman C, The Woman Who Invented the Chocolate Chip Cookie, 2014, The Slate, http://www.slate.com/articles/life/food/2014/03/who_invented_the_chocolate_chip_cookie_ruth_wakefield_and_no_it_wasn_t_an.html
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