Who Invented Peanut Butter?
PG got an email from Uzi, with a list of home remedies, and alternate product uses. Peanut butter has three alternative uses, which is one more than preparation H. No one ever made a preparation H and jelly sandwich.
To remove labels off glassware, rub with peanut butter. To remove ink from the face of dolls, treat with peanut butter. To get the scratches out of CD’s, use peanut butter, and wipe off with a coffee filter.
Peanuts were used by the Incas in 950 b.c. It probably didn’t take much imagination to grind the beans into a paste. To claim inventing peanut butter is like claiming to invent the knot.
In recent times, Dr. Ambrose Straub of St. Louis patented a peanut butter-making machine in 1903. Dr. John Harvey Kellogg patented a “Process of Preparing Nut Meal” in 1895. Kellogg served the patients at his Battle Creek Sanitarium peanut butter.
Joseph L. Rosenfield invented a churning process that made smooth peanut butter smooth. In 1928, Rosenfield licensed his invention to the Pond Company, the makers of Peter Pan peanut butter. In 1932, Rosenfield began making his own brand of peanut butter called Skippy.
Did someone say George Washington Carver? Dr. Carver discovered hundreds of uses for the peanut. However, Dr. Carver did not patent peanut butter, as he believed food products were all gifts from God. The Incas beat all of these men by 2800 years.
In 1976, a peanut farmer from Plains, Georgia was elected President. It is also known the his brother Billy ran the family business, while Jimmy got mixed up in politics. While President, Mr. Carter was revealed to be a major user of Preparation H.
Now that we are confused about who invented peanut butter, the next question is, why butter? In The Netherlands, the product is called Pinda Kaas, or peanut cheese. It could as easily be mud, goo, or cream, as butter.
A google search on “why is peanut paste called peanut butter?” yielded an article about salmonella issues. Wikipedia sheds no light on the subject, but does mention that peanut butter is an effective bait for mouse traps.
Inventors.about.com has a page about “The history of peanut butter”. Portions of the text were copied into this post.
Divas Part Three
It is time for Diva Thursday. It was 64 years ago last night that we dropped the bomb on Hiroshima. On August 6, 1930, Judge Crater got into a taxi and was never seen again. This is the birthday of Lucille Ball (1911), Andy Warhol (1928), and Jon Benet Ramsey (1990). On the first Hiroshima day, Major Bong, ace pilot, was killed while testing a P80 jet.
The first of four divas for today is Joni Mitchell. Born Roberta Joan Anderson on November 7, 1943, she is famously Canadian. The wife of Chuck Mitchell is very much alive today, despite years of chain smoking. All four of today’s divas grace the earth with their presence.
One night in 1976, PG took a study break ( he scored 100 on the test the next day). Joni Mitchell was playing at the UGA coliseum a few blocks away, and the door was not watched after the show started. PG found a place to stand, on the first level of the stands. The LA express was her band that night, and created a tight, jazzy sound. The one line PG remembers is “chicken scratching my way to immortality” from “Hejira”.
The next diva is Etta James. She was born Jamesetta Hawkins on January 25, 1938. PG has no clue how the stage name came about. She was portrayed by Beyonce’ in a recent movie, and Miss James was not pleased.
The next voice on the cd is Francoise Hardy. Francoise Madeleine Hardy was born 17 January 1944 in Paris. There are probably some good stories, but the lady has the grace to keep them out of wikipedia.
This is a four diva thursday, and the last part is Carole King. She was born Carole Klein in Brooklyn February 9, 1942. Three of the four divas today were War Babies, with one born under Nazi occupation. They went on to be popular in the sixties, when the saying was make love, not war. According to Pat Paulson, in France our soldiers did both.
Carole King has had an interesting life, sometimes in the chinese curse sense. There is a book, Girls Like Us, about Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon. All three knew James Taylor. When Mr. Taylor made a tour, after hitting the bigtime, his piano player was Carole King. She sang a couple of songs, and was what people talked about the next day.
Soon “Tapestry” was released, and sold an obscene amount of copies. Miss King was never able to duplicate that success. She still performs sometimes, and still has the power.
Webcam on Twelth Street
There is a nifty webcam up now. It shows the progress of a high rise going up now at 12th and Peachtree in midtown. The location of the camera itself is not certain, with the speculation centering on 999 Peachtree, two blocks south on Tenth Street.
A glance at the image reveals a curve in the road, between the two glass boxes under construction. Atlanta does not have wide, straight boulevards extending to the horizon. It is said that Atlanta did not build roads, but paved the cow paths.
People of a certain age will remember this area as “the strip”. The tenth street district was a neighborhood shopping area, up until the mid sixties. At some point, the old businesses started to move out and the hippies moved in. For a while, it was a festive party. Soon enough reality returned, and the area went into a crime filled decline.
The 999 complex is the neighborhood story in a nutshell. Before 1985, it was a block of small businesses. There was a hardware store, with the peace symbol set in tiles in the sidewalk. On Juniper Street stood the Langdon Court Apartments. They were named for PG’s great uncle Langdon Quin. Ru Paul used to stay there. He would sit out on a balcony, and wave to the traffic going by.
Across the street was a chinese restaurant, the House of Eng. A staircase on the side led to the Suzy Wong Lounge. Behind the building was an apartment building. It was one of the residences of Margaret Mitchell, while she wrote “Gone With The Wind”. She called it “the dump”, which was fairly accurate.
PG went to the House of Eng for lunch one day in 1985. He noticed that he was the only customer in the house, at 12:30 pm on a weekday. After finishing his lunch, PG knew why.
At some point, it was decided to build a high rise there. Heery was one of the equity partners, along with a law firm and an ad agency. The building was designed by Heery (duh).The ad agency folded before the building opened, followed within a couple of years by the law firm. Heery was sold to a British company. PG does not know who owns the building now.
Thank you Atlanta Time Machine for many of the photographs in this feature.
Lenox Square
PG and Uzi were one week past having run out of places to walk on Sunday. Plus, it was raining off and on. It looked bad, until PG suggested Lenox Square. After the usual delays to watch the end of a tv show, they agreed to meet in the parking deck.
PG waded through the traffic, and found a spot in the deck. He called Uzi, who was pulling past Phipps Plaza onto Peachtree. PG later said that he felt so cool walking around the deck, talking on the cell phone. It was almost like he fit in. Uzi assured him it was an illusion.
Lenox Square is 50 years old this month. PG would ride by as a kid while they were building it, seeing the Rich’s, and later the Davison’s. His mother had worked there for 22 years, and PG spent a summer working at Dipper Dan’s and the Theater.
Uzi wondered why there were so many people at the mall. PG later heard something about a no sale tax weekend, which may account for the crowds. People were lined up to get in the apple store, which PG found rather strange. PG has not been caught by the apple allure.
After a trip around the upper and lower levels, it was time to eat. The food court required careful scrutiny. The samples were tasty. A second trip around the block was called for, but the sample ladies remembered them. A southern food outlet was decided on. PG got some chicken concoction, macaroni and cheese, and collard greens. Uzi asked for fried fish, but was told they had run out. He got something else, collards, and white rice that was dyed yellow. PG liked what he got, but Uzi was not impressed by the rice.
One thing that hasn’t changed in fifty years is the traffic. PG left a bit after six, when most of the stores closed. There were long lines of cars wherever he went.
White House Drug Party
Thursday, President BHO had a white man and a black man over to take drugs. They had a rather public disagreement, and BHO stupidly poured gasoline on the fire. Drugs were the answer.
There are those who will immediately scream that beer is legal. Yes, alcohol is legal, advertised on television, and served in the White House. It is also an addictive drug. If you take too much, it will kill you. It is easier to die using hard liquor, but the concept is the same.
There are a lot of people in the legal machinery because of drugs. Some of these drugs are legal, some are not. Your liver is not amused to hear that the alcohol it is processing is legal. Your lungs don’t care if cigarettes are legal. The worst thing about some drugs is the fact that there is a law against them.
In Dekalb County, there is something called drug court. If you are on this program, you go to endless meetings, and get screened for drugs. Every time a person is screened for drugs, a lab charges the county money to process the test. This money could be used to give school teachers a raise, or to repair the roads. Instead, it goes to testing the urine of people who got caught smoking pot.
Thursday, drug court was meeting at the same time as the White House drug party.
The Beltway Wet Hike
PG couldn’t decide whether to go on the beltway hike. The weather radar showed a lot of green and yellow moving into Atlanta. Finally, at 9am, he decided to take the plunge. When he called Angel to confirm the hike was going ahead, the sun came out.
PG got to the West End station first, but did not have to wait long. The other seven hikers arrived shortly. The first part of the walk was down West Whitehall Street. Native PG remembers when Whitehall went all the way to five points. The hike made a slight detour to see part of the beltline site. It is a kudzu study center at the moment.
The sixteen legs moved past Adair Park, and down Allene Street. This is where they first walked on railroad tracks. The story is that, while this is an active track, it only gets about one train a month. This is the same story as the walk a few weeks ago, where there were four trains to go by. The end of Allene Street was the first time anyone heard thunder. Unfriendly clouds appeared at the end of the horizon.
The first bridge was over Stewart Avenue Metropolitan Parkway. No one felt the need to go down to street level. As the crew moved down the tracks, a few drops of rain arrived. On the left appeared a large tract of unused land, waiting for development. In the distance was the overpass for i75-i85. Angel said ” we can take shelter under the freeway, and the bottom dropped out.
After taking a break under the freeway, the rain slacked off and the hike continued. They went over Pryor Street, on a vintage bridge. As they approached the tunnel under McDonough Boulevard, the rain was back. This tunnel was a joy to walk through, a high arch lined with bricks.
The good news is that the rain showers, though sometimes intense, did not last more than a few minutes. The tracks went by the site of Stanton Park, another project the future is waiting for. The rain returned again, and the hikers took shelter in an abandoned city warehouse.
After the clouds passed the third time, the sun came out. Before long, the problem was heat from the sun, compounded by soggy clothes. Going south of Grant Park, PG could see condos in the distance. Somewhere behind Girls High, the group got off of the tracks and moved onto the Glenwood Road Connector to cross i-20.
Passing through a development off Glenwood Road, the team stopped for a break at a coffee shop. Back on the path, there was one last stretch of old railroad land on the other side of Memorial Drive. Soon, this was impassible, and the crew walked around it on a side street. Angel showed where he had been attacked by bees while trying to clear some of the weedage.
By this time, PG was struggling. The heat and the long walk left him feeling ragged. To his delight, before long the Inman Park Marta Station appeared. The bench in the air conditioned train felt so good.
The B 52’s
There used to be a chinese restaurant, on the Atlanta Highway, called Hunan House. One night, a few people shared a flaming volcano, and formed a band. The b52’s played their first show at a valentines day party in 1977. They were named for a bouffant hairstyle, which resembled the front of a b52 airplane.
The b52’s were Ricky Wilson, his sister Cindy, Kate Pierson, Fred Schneider III, and Keith Strickland. The Wilsons and Mr. Strickland were from Athens. Miss Pierson and Mr. Schneider were from New Jersey.
Fred had lived in Atlanta before he moved to Athens. He stayed in an apartment on Monroe Drive, across from S&M clutch and brake company. PG knew some of his neighbors, and once rested his feet on a rug, formerly owned by Fred Schneider.
Somebody had connections, and The b52’s were playing shows in New York before long. They released a 45 on db records, “Rock Lobster” and “52 girls”. The first of the girls mentioned…there are only 23 named…is Effie. There was a famous whorehouse in Athens named Effies.
One night, they played a show at the Big Dipper, on Ponce de Leon Avenue. The Big Dipper was a former Maryland Fried Chicken, and is now a veterinary clinic. After the show, either Kate or Cindy was in the parking lot, talking to a local character named Beulah. As was his way, Beulah was talking about Mick Jagger this, Mick Jagger that. Finally, Kate had enough. ” Fuck Mick Jagger. One day Mick Jagger will come see me, me, me.”
The b52’s were a fun band. Ricky had an unusual style on guitar, and Kate played a farfisa organ. The girls always wore big hair wigs. Fred was somewhere up front singing.
On Labor Day, 1978, PG saw the b52’s in Piedmont Park. There was a third girl that day, Wendy, who wore an inflatable beach float, and danced. The only songs PG is sure they did were “Downtown” and “Rock Lobster”. A few months later, PG saw the b52’s at the Agora ballroom. The Brains opened.
Sometime in late 1979, the eponymous first album came out. It became a hit, with dance clubs all over playing “Planet Claire”, “Dance this mess around”, and “6060-842”. In the summer of 1980, PG talked with a former Athenian in a hostel in Cannon Beach, Oregon. He mentioned that Cindy was the only heterosexual in the band.
The years went by, and more albums were released. On October 12, 1985, Ricky Wilson died of AIDS. He is buried in Oconee Hill Cemetery, behind Sanford Stadium in Athens. He sold bus tickets at the Grayhound station in downtown Athens before he hit the bigtime.
The band continues to this day. At some point, “Love Shack” was released, and became a hit. It is probably the best known b52’s song today.
Tuesday
Today is tuesday. Those people entities in Russia that send spam messages to this blog may disagree. Tuesday is one seventh of reality.
There is a phrase in some circles, “suicide tuesday”. It seems like some people, who chemically enhance their weekends, come crashing down on tuesday. The result is not always pleasant.
To PG, tuesday is an evil day. You are through monday, but have four more days until your weekend. Tuesday is a day of intense reality, with no easy escape. Unless you are on the DOL direct deposit plan, where tuesday is just another day.
In some hispanic cultures, Tuesday is considered an unlucky day. There is a saying “En martes, ni te cases ni te embarques,” meaning, “On Tuesday, neither get married nor begin a journey.”
Elections are traditionally held on tuesday. In november, it is the first tuesday after a monday. The evil that is done on this day is balanced by the relief of the campaigns being over. According to wikipedia “Tuesday was the earliest day of the week which was practical for polling in the early nineteenth century: citizens might have to travel for a whole day to cast their vote, and would not wish to leave on Sunday which was a day of worship for the great majority of them.”
This may be part of why carnival season ends on Mardi Gras, or fat tuesday. It is the day before ash wednesday, or the start of Lent. This is too catholic for PG to comprehend.
Nine Eleven was on a tuesday. D day was on a tuesday. A key day in the Stock Market crash of 1929 was October 29, or black tuesday. In theory, one seventh of all events happen on a tuesday.
The Taxi Crash
It was five years ago tomorrow. A friday like any other, which meant a spell of chaos at Redo blue. Things were starting to clear up about five, and PG had one more chore before he got out. A lady came in with a drawing, and PG groused that this was ten more minutes he would have to stay. That ten minutes may have saved his life.
There was a new school in Gwinnett County, and Redo was printing the plans. On this day it was a preliminary printing. The consultants were sending their work to the printer, who would assemble it. As is the custom, one of the engineers didn’t have their work on time.
Finally, the missing drawings came in an email. PG was going to run a copy of each, and assemble the set to scan and print monday morning. When working with electronic files, it is a mystery whether they will work. PG sent them to the printer, and stood, with his back to the front of the store, watching the first print come out.
PG saw a flash of white light, and heard a loud boom. He jumped up, and made some goofy sounds. There was no pain, and PG realized he was not hurt.
To get out of his work station, PG needed to walk by the front of the store. He looked through an opening and saw the front of a taxi in the lobby. Broken glass was everywhere, but no one had been standing in the lobby. ( The lobby usually had people in it, so this was a miracle) If PG had not had that 5 o’clock customer, he might have been walking out the door when the taxi hit.
West Peachtree Street and Fourth Street was the scene of this incident. West Peachtree had four lanes, and a traffic light every few hundred feet. The speed of the taxi was estimated at 75 mph. The passenger in the back suffered a broken leg. PG later saw a puddle of pink fluid under the taxi, and gasped until he recognized it as transmission fluid.
Once PG realized that it was not a bomb, he calmed down. There was a piece of the taxi that had been knocked off, which PG scooped up as a souvenir. PG called 911, and was told that help was on the way. A person had been counting money on a table, and ran out the door when he heard the boom. PG took some prints on the table, and placed it over the money. PG would be punished for this action on Tuesday.
There wasn’t a lot left for PG to do, but he was reluctant to leave. Finally, after the police and emergency personnel had come and gone, and the construction crew called in, PG left for the night.
People like to say what they would do in a situation. The blowhards of the world get off on that. They forget to include the details.
In the case of the taxi crash at Redo Blue, where you were standing made all the difference. If PG had been where the front counter man was counting money, he would have done the same thing, i.e. get out of the building as quickly as possible. But, where PG stood at the moment of impact, he had to walk by the spot where the taxi entered the building. He saw that there was nothing to fear, and started to make himself useful. There was not much that he could do. PG was not a hero, but did not need to be ashamed.
Twitter Surprise
Saturday morning, PG woke up. Before long he was trolling the internet. He stopped by the Corey Lynxx youtube page. There was a video called “re:Are you Gay”. The sound quality is horrible, although he does have light on his face in this video. Asking Corey if he is gay is like asking him if he is from the south.
The Re: in the title means it is a response to something. In this case, the original “Are You Gay” is from a lady with the handle Spricket24. It seems like she was in a club one night, and a man was hitting on her. She looked at his pink cowboy boots and asked ” Are you gay?”. Later, the pink cowboy came to her table and was rude. The AYG? video has inspired 77 video replies, and been viewed 126k times. A reply called “Lesbian Toe Sucking” has been viewed 125k times.
PG had too much free time, and he went to the Spricket24 youtube page. S24 is a young lady from Minneapolis named Karen Alloy. PG did not think it noteworthy that her videos are shot from the neck up. Then he saw her twitter feed. This has been edited..
01. just uploaded a pic of me & LuLu on 13 hours ago
02. she squeaks in her sleep heheheabout 14 hours ago
03. sitting at the hospital is boring….about 14 hours ago
04. She scratched her face! Poor thing!about 17 hours ago
05. I could stare at her all day long. :) I’m SOOO happy!about 17 hours ago
06. my eyes are getting heavy… where my baby at?!4:39 AM Jul 17th
07. Holy shit! I heard a woman go “AHHHHH!” and then I heard a baby go “Waaaa” right after! A new baby people! LOL!4:29 AM Jul 17th
08. It made me feel stronger, more able, and def more loved! It was wonderful and FYI- you made me cry! <3 <3 <3 <34:26 AM Jul 17th
09. Thank you to everyone who supported me and showed their love for me during this whole process- especially last night! <34:25 AM Jul 17th
10. I got SOME sleep- but I’m awake like it’s Christmas morning and I have the best toy in the world to play with- my baby!4:23 AM Jul 17th
11. I just beeped the nurse and said, “Hi. Can I have my baby?” and she started laughing! Sooo funny!4:21 AM Jul 17th
12. Getting some more pain meds then back to sleep. Just nursed LuLu – she’s so adorable! <32:26 AM Jul 17th
13. 8 lbs 12 oz10:50 PM Jul 16th
14. LuLu born at 11:22 pm10:50 PM Jul 16th
15. iz numb cannot feel legs yea7:34 PM Jul 16th
16. getting the epidural soon :)6:33 PM Jul 16th
17. My water broke6:32 PM Jul 16th
18. my contractions are off the chart! LOL! They go all the way up on the monitor past the line! I’m still chilling thou :)4:29 PM Jul 16th
19. Ouchie! Ouchie! Ouchie!4:13 PM Jul 16th
20. Well the nurse said she’s coming back in 2 hours to break my water. hahaha Let’s get this started! :)3:10 PM Jul 16th
21. Having some painful contractions :)2:25 PM Jul 16th
22. Been awake now for awhile2:25 PM Jul 16th
23. I’m going to take a nap :)11:23 AM Jul 16th
24. video from the hospital http://bit.ly/vaFYf9:26 AM Jul 16th
25. In a room- in a gown- it’s coming soon- with a clown! bahahaha I’m on drugs!8:33 AM Jul 16th
26. I’ll tweet when I’m actually there and I know for sure it’s happening! HAHAHA geeze.6:41 AM Jul 16th
27. yea! Going back to the hospital! I have a 10 am induction now – it’s on the books! :D6:26 AM Jul 16th
Middle Names
Last year, PG heard a lot of fuss about the middle name of Barack Hussein Obama. This led to a post on the subject of Presidential middle names. That post is still getting google hits, and PG appreciates any traffic he can get.
While researching this feature, PG noticed that many of the early presidents did not have middle names. Apparently, before the American Revolution, middle names were seldom given. For some reason the custom caught on during the 19th century. When America started to draft men for World War I, the draft papers included a space for the middle name.
One possible reason for middle names was population density and increased family size. Many people began to have the same first name ( or Christian name) and last name ( Surname). Middle names were a way to distinguish between Jimmy Bob Jones and Jimmy Joe Jones. There was possibly a bit of status involved in having more than one name.
Women have long used the maiden name as a middle name after marriage. Girls were often not given middle names for this reason. The hyphenated Maiden-Married name is a fairly recent custom (Which this author hopes is a fad that will go away).
While middle names were originally a decoration, many are now used as a primary identification. PG is referred to as a diminutive of his middle name, which can be confusing when authorities insist on using his first name. The middle name is also a handy alternative for someone who gets tired of the name they are called by. There is also this thought…”I think parents give kids middle names so the kids will know when they are really p****d at them.” For some reason, people on trial for spectacular felonies are always referred to by all three names.
Bring Your Own Machete
They called it BYOM…bring your own machete. The plan was to meet at the bridge over the tracks on Piedmont Road, just north of the park. Next, go down to the proposed beltway path and clear out enough weeds to make a hike the next week feasible.
PG got to Ansley Mall a bit before 10, and found what looked like a shaded parking spot. The sidewalks were full of people leaving the end of the Peachtree Road Race. PG hung out by the bridge, and waited for hikers. Finally, a few minutes before giving up, Angel showed up.
Angel was the organizer of the hike. A few weeks ago, Creative Loafing called him one of the happiest people in Atlanta. ( PG proceeds to waste 15 minutes trying to find a link to the article). Angel said that others were late because of the Road Race.
PG asked Angel if what they were doing was legal. Angel said he thought so, and the police were probably busy with the Road Race. Within a few minutes the other four choppers had arrived. PG said that someone needs to be first, and started down the hill to the tracks.
PG had brought some loppers, and very quickly found them to be useless. He had a small pair of hand clippers that he used. Clearing weeds from those tracks with hand clippers was like draining a swimming pool with a coffee mug. For a while he was pulling up masses of kudzu with his hands, and had someone else cut them with a machete.
This process very quickly resembled work. Even though it was mild ( by Atlanta July standards), PG was soon light headed and covered in sweat. After a while, one person got out a small saw, and gave PG his machete. Swinging a machete was also a workout, and PG despaired of making much of a dent in the greenery. It was the plant kingdom against the animal kingdom, and the plants were winning.
The good news was, with six people hacking at the underbrush, a surprising amount of progress was made. Before long, the troops reached the Montgomery Ferry Bridge, which was the turnaround. PG went ahead to get some graffiti pictures, and came back to the sweltering choppers. The return trip went much faster than the trip out, even with cutting back the kudzu growth from the previous hour.
At the Piedmont bridge, one person had to leave. The rest went down the rail bed the other way towards Piedmont Park. There is a bit of acreage that is being added onto the park. A new road has been built to provide access to a parking deck. There is a lot of silt fences and bulldozers at the moment, but before too much longer this will be another green space for the city.
One of the cutters is involved in a project with big trees. There was a tulip poplar nearby that he wanted to measure. It was 11 feet around at the base. The remaining hikers walked back on a dirt road. While Piedmont Park is reputed to be air conditioned, the dirt road beside it was hot. When the kudzu killers were back on Piedmont Road, they took “after” pictures of the rail bed. A man from LA fitness came by and gave them 7 day passes. PG wonders if that includes parking at the Spring Street facility.
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