h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: The Tootsie Roll Battle and the Chosin Few - A87870036
Author: Dmitri Gheorgheni - U1590784

Since the Guide Editors have added a category for 'Snack Food', I thought you should have another snack-food-related entry.

This one's hard to believe. Could we say,'Only on Planet Earth?'

Another great Entry. Could you include an explanation of the name 'Chosin'? Is it the same as the Chinese / Korean definition?

I like the irony that it sounds almost the same as 'chosen'

Now I want a tootsie roll

F S

Hi, FS, thanks.

I can't explain the name - it's just the Japanese name of the reservoir. And I don't know anything about Japanese or Korean linguistics.

I reworded that to make it clear that Chosin is the Japanese name for the reservoir - sorry I couldn't do more than that.

That's fine Dmitri, that was why I phrased it in the form of a question. I thought it might have been in some of your support documents.

I love learning the origin of names. We have a local river named the 'Pithlachascotee', it was only recently I found out it means 'The place where they make canoes' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pithlachascotee_River

Most of us locals just call it the 'cotie'

F S

American Indian toponymy is great. I enjoy Punxsutawney, which means 'village of the biting sandflies'. There's even a ridiculous legend to go with it, which I suspect was made up by the Lenape as a joke.

Monongahela is well-named: it means 'falling banks'. Sometimes, knowing these things can be useful...sort of like travel advisories...

This is a great junk food story - to go with your entry on cheese puffs!

One stupid question. What are C-rations?

C-rations are the World War II and Korean War version of what are now called MREs: Meals Ready to Eat.

Only back then, they actually had to cook them. Today, I believe, they are self-heating.

So The K-rations WWII were just ingredients then, interesting

No, I think they could eat most of them without cooking - but I think cold pork and beans sounds pretty unpalatable. The packages also had things in them like cigarettes, chewing gum (that sine qua non of the US military), coffee, sugar, candy, and toilet paper.

Here's something on them:

http://www.usarmymodels.com/ARTICLES/Rations/crations.html

The main problem with them in the extreme cold of Korea was that the cans would freeze.

I believe the 'c' in c-rations was an abbreviation of canned. They had a main course, vegetable, fruit, instant coffee, a heating block, candy and a small package of cigarettes (3 or 4 as I recall).
We had them as emergency rations when I was working on an island we were turning into a state park. I won't tell which was the favourite part for teenage boys

There were 'k-rations' that came in boxes for a brief period before the foil wrapped MRE's they use today.

F S

Thanks, FS.

Baked beans eaten cold were a favourite with many. In WWII in Europe, the US army corps often shared their rations with UK troops, cold beans straight from the tin were a firm favourite.

No accounting for tastes, I guess, Bob. Although I never minded Dinty Moore beef stew cold.

Food was very bland during the war

I've had a read through and realised that you don't mention the direction they retreated, I mean 'attacked in a different direction' in. I assume it was south or southeast?

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I assume so, too, but I didn't think it was important...to the tootsie roll story, that is. Obviously, it was important to the Marines.

Nobody else seems to think it's important enough to say, either. Look at the Britannica article:

http://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-the-Chosin-Reservoir

Of course, they have maps...

I just said 'to the sea', which I thought made it clear what you needed to know. This source merely says 'to the Sea of Japan'.

http://www.homeofheroes.com/brotherhood/chosin.html

But on that map, it's also clearly SE. Do you think it's important enough to mention?

Korea's a squiggly peninsular – in places you can reach the sea (whether Yellow, East China or Japan) if you go north, south, east or west.

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Okay, then, I'll work it in.

Re-read and no further comments

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