Ahoy there, salty snack enthusiasts! It's that time of the year when we celebrate crunchy, crispy, and utterly delicious potato chips, or 'crisps' as we refer to them over here in Blighty. Whether you prefer your chips/crisps plain or flavoured, thick-cut or thinly sliced, there's no denying the satisfying crunch and mouth-watering taste of a good potato chip/crisp.
But have you ever wondered about the origin of this beloved snack? Legend has it that the potato chip was invented in the 19th century by a chef named George Crum, who worked at a resort in Saratoga Springs, New York. The story goes that a customer complained about the thickness of Crum's fried potatoes and sent them back to the kitchen. In a fit of frustration, Crum sliced the potatoes as thinly as possible, fried them to a crisp, and seasoned them with salt. To his surprise, the customer loved the crispy chips and soon everyone was asking for "Saratoga chips."
Fast forward to today, and potato chips have become a staple in households the world over. From classic flavours like salt and vinegar, sour cream and onion and barbecue to more adventurous varieties like dill pickle and jalapeƱo, there's a chip for every taste bud. And then there's the classic debate over whether ridged or flat chips are superior (a battle that's been raging on for decades apparently).
But as much as we love potato chips, we can't deny that they're not the healthiest snack out there. Particularly if you take down an entire sharing bag in one sitting! So if you're looking for a way to celebrate Potato Chip Day without completely derailing your diet, why not try shaking up a Smoked Salty Sour instead? This Scotch whisky sour, influenced by salty Islay peaty malt and Green Chartreuse is a mere 249 calories and rather delicious. Cheers.
The father of modern physics, Albert Einstein, was born in Ulm, Germany, to Jewish parents, on this day in 1879. And we'd imagine that the father of E=MC2 is laughing somewhere over the fact that today is also Pi Day (3.14, you see).
Creator of the special theory of relativity, Einstein was also the father of the atom bomb: he would regret his decision to become involved in the project for the rest of his life.
On his death, Einstein's body was cremated, but the pathologist took it upon himself to remove and preserve his brain for future study. Once he had finished with it, he left it, still pickled, in his garage, and then seems to have forgotten about it: the slices that could be recovered are now at Princeton Hospital.
Tests have failed to find any conclusive differences between his brain and other people's - if anything, it may be slightly smaller - but it still seems appropriate to toast Albert and his cranial mass with a Brainstorm or perhaps a Eureka Cocktail.
Today, one month after Valentine's Day is White Day in Japan and much of South-eastern Asia. This is a day for men to repay the gifts they received from their girlfriends on Valentine's Day.
White Day was a marketing ruse created in 1978 by Japan's National Confectionery Industry Association as payback opportunity for men to return the compliment to women who'd given them chocolate and other gifts on Valentine's Day. The chocolatiers were a full year behind the Fukuoka-based confectionery company who had pretty much the same idea for their marshmallows on March 14 with the cleverly titled "Marshmallow Day".
What might have started with white chocolate now sees men give both white and dark chocolate, and white clothing, particularly lingerie, to women from whom they received chocolate and other gifts from a month earlier?
We do like gifts, giving and chocolate, but White Day screams for a White Lady, Minty White Lady, or even a Fresh White Lady.
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