You Would Get A Bang Out Of This Bread...!

Never doubt that mankind can get very sneaky when it comes to making new ways to kill.

Given the right incentive, something as simple as freshly baked bread could be turned into a weapon. Don't believe me...? Take a gander at this article from my friends over at Listverse.

Aunt Jemima Flour Bomb

During World War II, George Bogdan Kistiakowsky, a soldier and scientist working for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the forerunner to the CIA, developed an edible baking flour that doubled as a bomb. The flour was called Aunt Jemima, after a popular brand of flour sold in the United States, and was a mixture of normal baking flour and a deadly explosive called HMX.

Aunt Jemima could be baked into bread or muffins like normal flour and eaten, even though resistance fighters were severely warned against doing so, since it could cause serious stomach upset. It was supplied to Chinese resistance fighters during the war and was intended for use against the occupying Japanese forces.

When the flour wasn’t baked into bread or muffins, it was made into an improvised bomb. And when it was baked into bread or muffins, the “baker” only needed to add a detonator to turn it into a bomb.

The worse thing you can get from my baking is a tummy ache, but it won't explode...at least, I hope it won't!

Coffee out on the patio this morning. With my AC still down, it's cooler out there than inside!

Ishi Discovered In California...!

Can you imagine being alone and just wandering around, knowing you are the last of your people?

That was the case when they discovered Ishi, the last Stone Age Indian known to exist. What a startling culture shock that must have been for Ishi. Here is his story.

1911

Ishi discovered in California

Ishi, described as the last surviving Stone Age Indian in the contiguous United States, is discovered in California.

By the first decade of the 20th century, Euro-Americans had so overwhelmed the North American continent that scarcely any Native Americans remained who had not been assimilated into Anglo society to some degree. Ishi appears to have been something of an exception. Found lost and starving near an Oroville, California, slaughterhouse, he was largely unfamiliar with white ways and spoke no English.

Authorities took the mysterious Indian into custody for his own protection. News of the so-called “Stone Age Indian” attracted the attention of a young Berkeley anthropologist named Thomas Waterman. Gathering what partial vocabularies existed of northern California Indian dialects, the speakers of which had mostly vanished, Waterman went to Oroville to meet the Indian. After unsuccessfully hazarding words from several dialects, Waterman tried a few words from the language of the Yana Indians. Some were intelligible to Ishi, and the two men were able to engage in a crude dialogue. The following month, Waterman took Ishi to live at the Berkeley University museum, where their ability to communicate gradually improved.

Waterman eventually learned that Ishi was a Yahi Indian, an isolated branch of the northern California Yana tribe. He was approximately 50 years old and was apparently the last of his people. Ishi said he had wandered the mountains of northern California for some time with a small remnant of the Yahi people. Gradually, accident or disease had killed his companions. A white man murdered his final male companion, and Ishi wandered alone until he reached Oroville.

For five years, Ishi lived at the Berkeley Museum. He and Waterman became close friends, and he spent his days describing his tribal customs and demonstrating his wilderness skills in archery, woodcraft, and other traditional techniques. He learned to understand and survive in the white world, and enjoyed wandering the Bay area communities and riding on the trolley cars. Eventually, though, Ishi contracted tuberculosis. He died on March 25, 1916, at an estimated age of 56. His body was cremated according to the customs of his people.

What a feeling of loneliness Ishi must have felt, given the circumstance. Tragic to say the least. At least he had a friend to assist him.

Coffee out on the soggy patio this morning. I'm hoping to see a little sunshine today, since the rain seems to have stopped!

9 Trillion Gallons And Counting...!

There is no way I can explain how totally devastating the storm called Harvey continues to be. I found the best article in the Washington Post that puts it in much better perspective than I can. Here is an excerpt from them, with a link to the whole article.

Putting this much rainfall into perspective is challenging; after all, the sheer volume of water is incredibly tough to visualize. Fortunately, we crunched the numbers — here’s how they stack up.

So far, just the rain that has already fallen across the greater Houston area and Southeast Texas tallies to 9 trillion gallons. That’s only what has already come down, and keep in mind that 5 trillion to 10 trillion additional gallons could fall before things wrap up midweek.

The 9 trillion gallons of water dispensed so far is enough to fill the entire Great Salt Lake in Salt Lake City — twice! It would take nine days straight for the Mississippi River to drain into Houston and equal the amount of water already there. If we averaged this amount of water spread equally over the lower 48 states, that’s the equivalent of about 0.17 inches of rain — roughly the height of three pennies stacked atop each other — occupying every square inch of the contiguous United States. Imagine one downpour large enough to cover the entire country!

This amount of water could fill 2.3 percent of the volume of the mountain range containing Mount Everest in Nepal and is enough to occupy 33,906 Empire State Buildings, from basement to penthouse.

But here’s the kicker: Just how unprecedented is this? Well, remember the flooding that New Orleans experienced with Hurricane Katrina? Most places saw about 10 to 20 feet of water thanks to levee failure, inundating about 80 percent of the city. Now, if we took the amount of rainfall that Texas has seen and spread it over the city limits of New Orleans, it would tower to 128 feet in height — roughly reaching as high as a 12-story office building.

So there ya have it. A LOT of water has fallen, with more on the way. Pretty damn scary, for sure!

Coffee in the kitchen this morning. You may have to swim to get here, though.

Monday Morning Update...

Sorry that it has taken so long for me to get an update together for everyone, but I just got my internet and all back on.

Not just the Net was down here, but my Television was off the air as well What that means is that for two days (Saturday and Sunday) I couldn't get a weather report or comment on the questions asked on the blog. This morning, though, everything seems to have made it back on...except for the A.C. !

That's right, folks. My AC is kaput for now. However, my house is dry on the inside and I have no leaks in the roof, so I'm in good shape compared to many in this area. From what the weather guys say, we have had around 30 inches of the rain so far, and the end isn't in sight until about Wednesday or so.

So many folks around town are saying that they have never seen the flooding as bad as it is right now, even during past hurricanes. We definitely need a break from the rain. I just heard a report that over the last 24 hours, there have been over 100 tornadoes spotted here in the Texas area. I know of at least 6 or more here in our area. Very nasty things and lots of destructive power in their wake.

Anyway, compared to some, I'm lucky. My home is dry, I have plenty to eat (thanks to my preps), enough coffee to last for a while, and more than enough books to last me.

I would say coffee inside this morning...but the governor is requesting we all stay indoors and avoid traveling. Sounds like good advice to me !

Stormy Sunday Cartoons...!

Before I get back to reading, thought I'd take the time to share some 'toons for a stormy Sunday.

If the weather folks are right, the rains are going to stick around for another couple of days. Got plenty of coffee laid in, so I'm OK.







Maybe just one more...



Well, the rain has started back up, so guess I better get back to my book.

Coffee in the kitchen again.

Glow In The Dark...?

Here is a bit of information I borrowed from the Grunge. I think you'll find it interesting, to say the least!

Sabin Arnold von Sochocky

The awesomely named Sabin Arnold von Sochocky invented glow-in-the-dark paint, which he cleverly called Undark. He imagined entire houses bathed in Undark's glow and had a successful factory producing thousands of glowing watch dials daily. That is, until his workers started dropping dead, because his product was freaking radioactive and, like, super deadly.

Despite a lawsuit being settled in the surviving workers' favor in 1928, these watch dials and many more insane radioactive products continued to be produced right up through the end of World War II. At that point, the dangers of radioactivity began to be a bit more properly understood. Decontamination studies at the site of Sochocky's plant started in 1983, and the site wasn't fully decontaminated until 2016. Sochocky himself succumbed to radiation poisoning in 1928. His time of death was probably noted on one of his stupid killer watches.

Well, here is a little update on what's going on with the hurricane. It's now a category 4, which ain't too good. I'm posting this Friday night to publish on Saturday at 12 a.m. The storm is supposed to move in overnight to make landfall, and that's when the real fun begins. Just a heads-up here...I may lose power and the Internet Saturday or Sunday, so if I don't check in, that's the reason.

Needless to say, coffee in the kitchen this morning. Kinda wet outside, ya know?

Why Are Most Barns Red...?

I've kinda wondered about that myself over the years. Finally, thanks to the folks over at the Farmer's Almanac I have a reasonable answer!

Why Are Barns Painted Red?

Ever wonder why old barns are usually red in color? Red is (or, perhaps, was) a popular color for barns due not to its color shade but for its usefulness.

Many years ago, choices for paints, sealers and other building materials did not exist. Farmers had to be resourceful in finding or making a paint that would protect and seal the wood on their barns. Hundreds of years ago, many farmers would seal their barns with linseed oil, which is an orange-colored oil derived from the seeds of the flax plant. To this oil, they would add a variety of things, most often milk and lime, but also ferrous oxide, or rust. Rust was plentiful on farms and because it killed fungi and mosses that might grow on barns, and it was very effective as a sealant. It turned the mixture red in color.

When paint became more available, many people chose red paint for their barns in honor of tradition.

Well, I am certainly glad we got that out of the way. No more having to lay in bed at night wondering about it, ya know?

Coffee in the kitchen this morning. Maybe you've heard...we have a storm coming in.