I am a ketchup fiend. When I was a kid, I wanted to put it on everything: french fries, beans, cornbread, you name it. I'll even admit to sneaking a little onto my macaroni and cheese as an adult. Yesterday, I started flipping through one of our new non-fiction books, 1,000 Common Delusions and the Real Facts Behind Them and ran across an interesting nugget about my favorite condiment. It seems that good ol' Mom-and-apple pie ketchup didn't start life in the United States. What's that you say?! Treason!
Apparently there are several theories floating around as to where ketchup got its start. According to Delusions, "the word ketchup was introduced to the United States in the 19th century by Chinese immigrants, who referred to a particular condiment as ke-tsiap, which means 'sauce,' although it was made from eggplants, not tomatoes" (209). Hmm... Eggplants you say? I had always thought that they were pretty tasteless. (That's what chefs say about me when they see me applying ketchup to their steaks.) Even though some citations are missing, you can read about the other ketchup theories over at wikipedia.
Need a few more facts to feed your need for ketchup kitsch? How about this one that I gleaned from the Heinz website: Ketchup at Heinz is tested to make sure that it comes out of the bottle at .028 miles per hour. That's about the same speed as the common garden snail! If it comes out any faster, which you know we all try to make it do, it doesn't make the grade.
I also ran across the biggest and best-kept ketchup secret ever. Ever shake and shake and shake and shake, trying to get your ketchup fix? Here's the skinny from the big cheese themselves: "To release ketchup faster from the glass bottle, apply a firm tap to the sweet spot on the neck of the bottle— the '57.' Only 11% of people know this secret. Now you're 'in-the-know.' "
They seem kind of smug about keeping us in the dark about that. Ketchup lovers of the world, revolt! Go home tonight and tap the neck of the bottle, not the bottom, and report back to me! Go, I tell you, go!
The Mississippi Library Commission is committed – through leadership, advocacy, and service – to strengthening and enhancing libraries and library services for all Mississippians.
JavaScript disabled or chat unavailable.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
A Few Things, Quickly.
Here’s a quick post to tell you that today, in the span of a few hours, I learned the following:
That in 1864, Nathan Bedford Forrest captured some Union troops in Tennessee. He sent the enlisted men to Selma to the Cahaba prison camp and the officers to Enterprise, Mississippi. Why is this interesting? One of the officers was Eli Lilly, future pharmaceutical giant.
That the Webster’s New International Dictionary, Second Edition, published in 1934, contained an error: the word dord, which was defined as density. The chemistry editor at Webster’s sent in a slip that said, “D or d” – meaning the letter d in both capital and lowercase form – with the intention that the definition “density” would be added to the list of things the letter d can abbreviate.
That last fiscal year (July 2008-June 2009), MLC’s reference department answered 5693 questions! (Can you tell I’m working on my annual report?)
Back to it!
That in 1864, Nathan Bedford Forrest captured some Union troops in Tennessee. He sent the enlisted men to Selma to the Cahaba prison camp and the officers to Enterprise, Mississippi. Why is this interesting? One of the officers was Eli Lilly, future pharmaceutical giant.
That the Webster’s New International Dictionary, Second Edition, published in 1934, contained an error: the word dord, which was defined as density. The chemistry editor at Webster’s sent in a slip that said, “D or d” – meaning the letter d in both capital and lowercase form – with the intention that the definition “density” would be added to the list of things the letter d can abbreviate.
That last fiscal year (July 2008-June 2009), MLC’s reference department answered 5693 questions! (Can you tell I’m working on my annual report?)
Back to it!
Word Up!
We just received three new books about language and thought it would be fun (ok, what we mean is that it would be fun for us) if we each chose one and shared our favorite words. I chose I Love it When You Talk Retro: Hoochie Coochie, Double Whammy, Drop a Dime, and the Forgotten Origins of American Speech. Tracy was lucky enough to read through Foyle’s Philavery: A Treasury of Unusual Words. That left Jesse with Weasel Words: The Dictionary of American Doublespeak. It was a coincidence, Jesse, promise!
Overall, Weasel Words has a strong right-leaning agenda with a healthy disdain for the dreaded “academic and governmental bureaucracies” whom, I suppose, these folks spend their time raging against. Maybe not for everyone, but either way, Weasel Words does contain some interesting phrases. Jesse’s favorite is “pulse,” which the authors define as “an inside the beltway term for pestering, as in ‘why don’t you pulse the Department of Justice about that?’” I think I’ll “pulse” Tracy to fix my grammar.
I was especially tickled by the entry on mattresses in the furniture section of I Love it When You Talk Retro. It seems that before the insides of mattresses were monitored by any sort of law, many new owners would wake up itching. I suppose that this is why the phrase “Don’t let the bedbug bite” first appeared. States started to require that a list of mattress contents be attached to new mattresses. This solved the original problem and opened a whole new can of bedbugs. It seems that the warnings against removing the content labels were so dire that the mattress-buying public was afraid to do so. A whole generation of mattress label hilarity was born.
Now, not to steal Tracy’s thunder, but I did find two words that I couldn’t resist in her book, Foyle’s Philavery. Bedizen means “to ornament or dress up in a gaudy and tasteless manner,” as in, Jethro has bedizened his lawn with one too many pink flamingos. Blennophobia also caught my eye. It refers to “an abnormal fear of slime or mucous,”as in, Sally’s blennophobia took hold when she was confronted with the ten-foot tall giant slug.
Tracy, who unfortunately had to go to the dentist, chose an especially apt word: haptodysphoria. This quirky word describes “an unpleasant sensation felt by some people in response to certain tactile sensations." Tracy said that she has a friend that experiences this around cotton balls, but I think she was foreshadowing something that happens at the dentist! Her other word of choice? Dringle. Dringle “means to linger, to trickle, or to expend time lazily or slowly.” I must say that this one might be my new favorite word. In fact, I think it might be my own personal mantra: dringle, dringle, dringle, dringle…
Foyle, Christopher. Foyle’s Philavery: A Treasury of Unusual Words. Edinburgh: Chambers, 2007.
Keyes, Ralph. I Love It When You Talk Retro: Hoochie Coochie, Double Whammy, Drop a Dime, and the Forgotten Origins of American Speech. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2009.
Wasserman, Paul and Don Hausrath. Weasel Words: The Dictionary of American Doublespeak. Sterling, VA: Capital Books, Inc. 2006.
Overall, Weasel Words has a strong right-leaning agenda with a healthy disdain for the dreaded “academic and governmental bureaucracies” whom, I suppose, these folks spend their time raging against. Maybe not for everyone, but either way, Weasel Words does contain some interesting phrases. Jesse’s favorite is “pulse,” which the authors define as “an inside the beltway term for pestering, as in ‘why don’t you pulse the Department of Justice about that?’” I think I’ll “pulse” Tracy to fix my grammar.
I was especially tickled by the entry on mattresses in the furniture section of I Love it When You Talk Retro. It seems that before the insides of mattresses were monitored by any sort of law, many new owners would wake up itching. I suppose that this is why the phrase “Don’t let the bedbug bite” first appeared. States started to require that a list of mattress contents be attached to new mattresses. This solved the original problem and opened a whole new can of bedbugs. It seems that the warnings against removing the content labels were so dire that the mattress-buying public was afraid to do so. A whole generation of mattress label hilarity was born.
Now, not to steal Tracy’s thunder, but I did find two words that I couldn’t resist in her book, Foyle’s Philavery. Bedizen means “to ornament or dress up in a gaudy and tasteless manner,” as in, Jethro has bedizened his lawn with one too many pink flamingos. Blennophobia also caught my eye. It refers to “an abnormal fear of slime or mucous,”as in, Sally’s blennophobia took hold when she was confronted with the ten-foot tall giant slug.
Tracy, who unfortunately had to go to the dentist, chose an especially apt word: haptodysphoria. This quirky word describes “an unpleasant sensation felt by some people in response to certain tactile sensations." Tracy said that she has a friend that experiences this around cotton balls, but I think she was foreshadowing something that happens at the dentist! Her other word of choice? Dringle. Dringle “means to linger, to trickle, or to expend time lazily or slowly.” I must say that this one might be my new favorite word. In fact, I think it might be my own personal mantra: dringle, dringle, dringle, dringle…
Foyle, Christopher. Foyle’s Philavery: A Treasury of Unusual Words. Edinburgh: Chambers, 2007.
Keyes, Ralph. I Love It When You Talk Retro: Hoochie Coochie, Double Whammy, Drop a Dime, and the Forgotten Origins of American Speech. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2009.
Wasserman, Paul and Don Hausrath. Weasel Words: The Dictionary of American Doublespeak. Sterling, VA: Capital Books, Inc. 2006.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Semi-Mesopotamia
Earlier this afternoon, a Meebo patron asked Tracy for help finding the identity of the last queen of Mesopotamia. Unfortunately, the great and mighty internet powers that be were rendered temporarily frozen, making it impossible for her to retrieve this knowledge seeker's email address. The answer will, hopefully, be found (at least in some part) below.
According to A Dictionary of World History, Mesopotamia "is an ancient region of southwest Asia in present-day Iraq." Great! This brings to mind vague memories of Western Civ classes and talk of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The end is in plain sight, right? Ah, contraire, say you who remember a bit more from those long ago classes. It seems that there were at least four civilizations in ancient Mesopotamia: Akkad, Sumer, Babylonia, and Assyria. Holy sand castles (to borrow a phrase from my neighbor)! Which civilization did this person want to track down?
Luckily, another library assisting our Meebo patron discovered that they only wanted to know about a queen named Semiramis. So, here's the skinny on Ms. Semi. Philip's World Encyclopedia claims she was the "daughter of a fish goddess and the god of wisdom," but Knowles asserts that her father was just an Assyrian. The World Encyclopedia also says that she was "raised by doves." She co-founded Nineveh with her husband Ninus, but according to Hutchins this is just Greek myth. Philip's says that she founded the city of Babylon. My favorite account of her life, though, comes from Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. According to them, Semiramis married a guy named Menones. The Assyrian king came along and wanted to marry her, so Menones conveniently hanged himself. (Very reminiscent of David and Bathsheba, no?) Then Semiramis married the Assyrian king, Ninus, who gave her his crown. Then she had him killed. (Who was this woman, that men would do these incredibly inane things when she was around?) Apparently, she was later killed by her own son, Ninyas. What a great, homey little family tale! There's sort of a happy ending, though. When Ninyas killed Semiramis, she turned into a dove and flew away. Awww! Check out these two sites for more information: http://www.historyfiles.co.uk/MainFeaturesMesopotamia.htm and http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/lesson2.html
I hope this completely answers your questions, Meebo patron. By the way, Tracy found one last Semiramis nugget for you. It seems that Ricardo Montalban was in a 1954 called The Queen of Babylon. His love interest's name? Semiramis! She sure seems to enjoy the menfolk.
"Mesopotamia" A Dictionary of World History. Oxford University Press, 2000. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Mississippi Library Commission. 5 August 2009 http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t48.e2396
"Semiramis" A Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Edited by Elizabeth Knowles. Oxford University Press, 2006. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Mississippi Library Commission. 6 August 2009 http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t214.e6351
"Semiramis" World Encyclopedia. Philip's, 2008. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Mississippi Library Commission. 6 August 2009 http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t142.e10460
Semiramis. (2005). In Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (17th ed). London: Chambers Harrap. Retrieved August 06, 2009, from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/orionpf/semiramis
Semiramis. (2009). In The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather guide. Abington: Helicon. Retrieved August 06, 2009, from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/heliconhe/semiramis
According to A Dictionary of World History, Mesopotamia "is an ancient region of southwest Asia in present-day Iraq." Great! This brings to mind vague memories of Western Civ classes and talk of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The end is in plain sight, right? Ah, contraire, say you who remember a bit more from those long ago classes. It seems that there were at least four civilizations in ancient Mesopotamia: Akkad, Sumer, Babylonia, and Assyria. Holy sand castles (to borrow a phrase from my neighbor)! Which civilization did this person want to track down?
Luckily, another library assisting our Meebo patron discovered that they only wanted to know about a queen named Semiramis. So, here's the skinny on Ms. Semi. Philip's World Encyclopedia claims she was the "daughter of a fish goddess and the god of wisdom," but Knowles asserts that her father was just an Assyrian. The World Encyclopedia also says that she was "raised by doves." She co-founded Nineveh with her husband Ninus, but according to Hutchins this is just Greek myth. Philip's says that she founded the city of Babylon. My favorite account of her life, though, comes from Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. According to them, Semiramis married a guy named Menones. The Assyrian king came along and wanted to marry her, so Menones conveniently hanged himself. (Very reminiscent of David and Bathsheba, no?) Then Semiramis married the Assyrian king, Ninus, who gave her his crown. Then she had him killed. (Who was this woman, that men would do these incredibly inane things when she was around?) Apparently, she was later killed by her own son, Ninyas. What a great, homey little family tale! There's sort of a happy ending, though. When Ninyas killed Semiramis, she turned into a dove and flew away. Awww! Check out these two sites for more information: http://www.historyfiles.co.uk/MainFeaturesMesopotamia.htm and http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/lesson2.html
I hope this completely answers your questions, Meebo patron. By the way, Tracy found one last Semiramis nugget for you. It seems that Ricardo Montalban was in a 1954 called The Queen of Babylon. His love interest's name? Semiramis! She sure seems to enjoy the menfolk.
"Mesopotamia" A Dictionary of World History. Oxford University Press, 2000. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Mississippi Library Commission. 5 August 2009 http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t48.e2396
"Semiramis" A Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Edited by Elizabeth Knowles. Oxford University Press, 2006. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Mississippi Library Commission. 6 August 2009 http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t214.e6351
"Semiramis" World Encyclopedia. Philip's, 2008. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Mississippi Library Commission. 6 August 2009 http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t142.e10460
Semiramis. (2005). In Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (17th ed). London: Chambers Harrap. Retrieved August 06, 2009, from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/orionpf/semiramis
Semiramis. (2009). In The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather guide. Abington: Helicon. Retrieved August 06, 2009, from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/heliconhe/semiramis
Monday, August 3, 2009
The Ungaudy Gaudi
Last year, I went to see Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona with a friend and became an immediate admirer of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí's work. I was lucky enough to travel to Spain a few weeks ago and see his masterpieces up close. Even though trudging around Barcelona earned me a bum ankle and lost me several gallons of sweat, it was definitely worth seeing this master's works in person. If you're not familiar with his buildings, this website has some excellent information and pictures. After I returned home, I decided to read up a little on the man himself and have been increasingly impressed. Here are two of my favorite facts:
- For the last twelve years of his life, Gaudí turned down all commissions and lived, at least on occasion, in the basement workshop of the Sagrada Familia. Talk about some serious devotion!
- Gaudí was hit by a streetcar while walking to church. Apparently he was a bit of a crusty looking character and was taken to a charity hospital ward. His friends found him there the next day, where he uttered these stirring words marking his intention to stay there: I belong here amongst the poor. He died due to his injuries.
I'll leave you with a view of my favorite Gaudí building, Casa Mila. What do you think?
http://www.barcelona-life.com/barcelona/gaudi
"Antoni Gaudí i Cornet." Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed. 17 Vols. Gale Research, 1998. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC
Friday, July 31, 2009
Mlcref is Tweeting!
So it’s finally happened. Not only do we have this handy blog, along with the very helpful (and entertaining) Meebo chat function, but now, the Library Commission’s reference department is on Twitter! If you’re on, too, you can find us at mlcreference – but if you’re not, you can see our tweets on the left side of the blog’s screen. Hopefully we won’t be like most of the Twitterers out there who create an account, tweet a couple of times, then disappear forever.
If you’re new to Twitter, I recommend Mashable’s Twitter Guide Book. And if you’re a librarian, check out "Working the Social: Twitter and FriendFeed" from Library Journal.
Speaking of the Meebo chat function, we’re currently working on getting a Meebo box inserted into our online catalog as well, so that patrons who are searching and having trouble can instantly connect with staff to get their problems worked out. Is there any other way that we can make chat reference better for you? If so, leave us a comment or email us at mlcref@mlc.lib.ms.us.
If you’re new to Twitter, I recommend Mashable’s Twitter Guide Book. And if you’re a librarian, check out "Working the Social: Twitter and FriendFeed" from Library Journal.
Speaking of the Meebo chat function, we’re currently working on getting a Meebo box inserted into our online catalog as well, so that patrons who are searching and having trouble can instantly connect with staff to get their problems worked out. Is there any other way that we can make chat reference better for you? If so, leave us a comment or email us at mlcref@mlc.lib.ms.us.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Put this Blog Post in File 13.
Jesse received a question on Meebo this morning, but after I saw it, I switched questions with him because I thought it was so interesting! (In exchange, Jesse is now compiling demographic data on all 82 Mississippi counties. Pretty fair swap, I'd say.)
The question was: what's the origin of the term "file 13"?
File 13 is the trash can, as in, "Thanks for your memo; I've put it in File 13." Our friend Wikipedia tells us it's military in nature, so that's the direction I headed to find the rest of the story. A Dictionary of Soldier Talk says that the term simply means "wastebasket" and is synonymous with "circular file," which originated during World War II. It also adds that this is "the most useful article in an office" (61). War Slang: American Fighting Words and Phrases Since the Civil War divides its terms by war, and "file 13" is found in the World War II section. Unfortunately, there are no additional clues to its origin, and our other slang dictionaries are no help, either.
However, looking through these books reveals that soldiers apparently give EVERYTHING a nickname; my guess is that "file 13" was just funny enough to make it out of the barracks and into general use. Some of the other slang terms that soldiers used during World War II that unfortunately never got an honorable discharge are the following:
cootie trap: a bed
drag an anchor: to have a blind date with an ugly or dull woman
dream sack: sleeping bag
eagle day: payday
fighting tools: eating utensils
germ: a person with gonorrhea
shivering Liz: Jell-O
spit kit: ashtray
walrus: one who cannot swim
I can't wait to use my fighting tools to eat some shivering Liz later!
The question was: what's the origin of the term "file 13"?
File 13 is the trash can, as in, "Thanks for your memo; I've put it in File 13." Our friend Wikipedia tells us it's military in nature, so that's the direction I headed to find the rest of the story. A Dictionary of Soldier Talk says that the term simply means "wastebasket" and is synonymous with "circular file," which originated during World War II. It also adds that this is "the most useful article in an office" (61). War Slang: American Fighting Words and Phrases Since the Civil War divides its terms by war, and "file 13" is found in the World War II section. Unfortunately, there are no additional clues to its origin, and our other slang dictionaries are no help, either.
However, looking through these books reveals that soldiers apparently give EVERYTHING a nickname; my guess is that "file 13" was just funny enough to make it out of the barracks and into general use. Some of the other slang terms that soldiers used during World War II that unfortunately never got an honorable discharge are the following:
cootie trap: a bed
drag an anchor: to have a blind date with an ugly or dull woman
dream sack: sleeping bag
eagle day: payday
fighting tools: eating utensils
germ: a person with gonorrhea
shivering Liz: Jell-O
spit kit: ashtray
walrus: one who cannot swim
I can't wait to use my fighting tools to eat some shivering Liz later!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
