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Trafalgar: Not a Gentle Battle

6/28/2015

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In the 1805 battle of Trafalgar, Admiral Viscount Lord Nelson was killed. For non-history buffs, this was the battle of the British against France and Spain.

In comparison to a battle on land, think of the difference of  being onboard a ship during warfare. The enemy could board a disabled ship and the combat could become head-on with no retreat. Chains could be shot into rigging to destroy a ship's sails. Death could come from above as the rigging fell. Grapeshot hitting the deck could cause splintering shrapnel so death could come from the back. The ship could sink—death from below.

After the battle, a man named Sam penned a letter to his father. Sam lost three fingers during the fighting but he didn't know how it happened. He just realized they were missing when he needed them. To experience an event like that and not be able to recall the exact moment, tells a large amount about the emotions of war.

Sam's letter is reprinted in the book Life Before the Mast, Edited by Jon E. Lewis.

Paintings of the battle and more details, including the fact that all three armies had a ship named Neptune, can be found at this site:
http://www.britishbattles.com/waterloo/battle-trafalgar.htm

If you don't know what broadsides meant to a sea captain during the Trafalgar battle, this video is a wonderful explanation:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/animations/trafalgar/index_embed.shtml



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Pets and Authors

6/19/2015

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Charles Dickens' pet raven, Grip, meant enough that the author wrote about Grip's death in a letter. He seemed more concerned over Grip's death than his children did.

Novelist Dean Koontz's dog, Trixie, has her own web page.

Ernest Hemmingway had Manx cats with an extra toe. Descendants of those cats are supposedly still roaming the area where he lived.


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                    I would enjoy having one of the descendants of the Hemmingway cats,
                                                   but my cat doesn't like the idea.
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Chocolate: The Sweet Success of Progress

6/7/2015

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Imagine a cookbook of sweets, and no mention of chocolate cake, or chocolate fudge or chocolate anything...  

Chocolate has been consumed for at least 2000 years--but it wasn't sweetened at first. People realized the food, or drink, did seem to add energy to their body. Yet it was an acquired taste and beyond the scope of most.

One of the first recorded comments concerning chocolate refers to it as suitable for pigs. This may not have been a reference to the fact that pigs are lowly animals, but because sows can be quite unparticular about their diet.
 
If you've ever tasted cocoa powder straight, you can understand this. The bitter taste will convince you that a sweetener is needed. Sugar wasn't as plentiful in earlier times. Cacao seeds needed to be roasted and ground. Pre-industrialization this wasn't as simple as it is today. It's easy to see why chocolate wasn't a food for the masses.

With the advent of steam power, desserts had a chance to change.

The first European chocolate drinks were spiced and made with water. Some people included port or brandy with their beverage--but only the more affluent could afford to indulge at first. With the price of chocolate and sugar both reduced and more readily available, it would be only a matter of time until consumption grew.

As of 2014, Switzerland consumed the highest amount of chocolate per capita according to The Chocolate League tables. That's not so surprising. But the USA ranked  17th which made me realize my neighbors might not have the same dietary habits I have.


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