Journal Entries
Caramel
Posted Jun 30, 2000
An often tan and sticky substance, caramel is named after the process in which heated sugar blackens slightly, as the carbon within it starts to break away from its molecular bonds. This process is called carmelization, and may be witnessed if you sautee onions in a frying pan until they've browned. Carmelization refers to this slight blackening process in any carbon-based plant sugar, but this term is most often used to refer to the carmelization of the sugars derived from the sugar cane plant.
Caramel is often sold in cellophane wrappers, but can also be found in or on various commercial (and fine) candies and chocolates made throughout the world.
Caramel is available in several textures:
--> Some are very soft, frequently this is the case in manufactured chocolate and
caramel bars available near the register at your local grocery store.
--> As is common among the packaged sweets industry, however, it may be
semi-soft. This sort of caramel is popular at Halloween in the United States, as
it is easy to chew, and does not usually stick to your teeth for more than a
second or two. This is also the sort of caramel that is usually melted-down
in many recipes, not the least known of which is the Caramel Apple.
--> Sometimes, caramel may have a harder, almost taffy-like but not as sticky,
texture; this seems to be most common among fancier boxed chocolates.
Recently, some companies have taken to coating Green-Apple-flavored lollipops with caramel and calling it a caramel-apple-pop. The presence of other sucrose-type sugars, besides those already in the caramel, and in addition to the saliva in your mouth, can turn this treat into a harrying experience. If you should happen to take leave of your senses, chancing to bite this confection at any time, you should expect your top teeth to fuse immediately to your bottom teeth; expect to remain this way for at least another five to ten minutes. Separating your teeth before your saliva dissoves a sufficient amount of the sugars is painful and is not generally recommended.
Just as there are warnings on everything these days, from cups of fresh-made coffee to packages containing scissors, there are warnings to heed about caramel as well. It is a known fact that the breakdown of certain types of carbon molecules may be carcinogenic. (Remember that study a few years ago about using charcoal for barbecuing?) This basically means that caramel has been shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals if ingested in larger quantities.
What I want to know is why are they feeding my caramel to lab rats, and where can I get a job like that?
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Latest reply: Jun 30, 2000
Weevil (Boll Weevil)
Posted Jun 16, 2000
Boll Weevil, n. An insect associated with the destruction of cotton crops, the boll weevil gets its name from its consumption of the buds, or *bolls* that bloom and ultimately produce the lint that is commonly known as cotton.
Ugly little buggers, too. But, as with many other things, the history of the boll weevil is both curious and interesting.
The boll weevil first arrived in the Americas in the 1700s, probably in South America, and probably brought in cotton shipments from Egypt, and spreading into Mexico by the early 1800s. By the late 1800s, the weevil had made its way across the Rio Grande, and had spread like wildfire throughout Texas and the southeast. The Weevil, however, never made it west of the Rocky Mountains, probably due to the desert conditions prevalent throughout New Mexico and Arizona, not to mention the colder mountain climates.
Despite the malicious tendencies of the weevil, the change that followed in the wake of its destruction was a welcome breath of fresh air in a few places. The most notable of these locations is Alabama, where, in a town called Enterprise, the Boll Weevil Monument stands as a tribute to ensuing economic redevelopment of that area.
However, despite the celebration, the Boll Weevil is still an unwelcome guest at farms across the United States, and causes millions of dollars in damage to cotton (and some other) crops throughout the land. In the last few years, however, scientists and entomologists have been working to remove the annual threat that the boll weevil poses to cotton crops throughout the US. Companies have recently introduced cotton that has been genetically altered to produce a natural chemical that deters the pest, called BT cotton for the bacillus thuringiensis it produces, and other types of pesticide pre-treated cotton. Additionally, the USDA and EPA-sponsored Boll Weevil Erradication Program is in full-swing, and has reduced the presence of this pest almost completely in several states east of the Mississippi River.
Need to add remarks about Development and Exponential Infestation.
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Latest reply: Jun 16, 2000
Ironing
Posted Jun 13, 2000
The iron is a most expedient item. It is especially efficient at putting more wrinkles in your clothes far faster than you could previously have imagined.
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Latest reply: Jun 13, 2000
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