Interesting. The year 1912 brought us both the Oreo and the Titanic. Talk about a year of ups and downs…

Ever wonder what foods the Vikings ate when they set off to explore the new world? How Thomas Jefferson made his ice cream? What the pioneers cooked along the Oregon Trail? Who invented the potato chip…and why?

And when, for that matter. → Check out the Food Timeline.

In case you haven’t had this warning show up in your emailbox in recent years, Cocoa Mulch, which is sold by Home Depot, Foreman’s Garden Supply, and other garden supply stores, contains a lethal ingredient called “Theobromine”. And some dogs find it tasty.

→ Snopes.com has confirmed that Thebromine can be lethal to dogs and cats.

From a circulated email, verified to be true:

Theobromine is the ingredient that is used to make chocolate — especially dark or baker’s chocolate — which is toxic to dogs.

Cocoa bean shells contain potentially toxic quantities of theobromine, a xanthine compound similar in effects to caffeine and theophylline. A dog that ingested a lethal quantity of garden mulch made from cacao bean shells developed severe convulsions and died 17 hours later. Analysis of the stomach contents and ingested cacao bean shells revealed the presence of lethal amounts of theobromine.

It comes in different packages, with various names. “Cocoa Mulch”, “Chocolate Fertilizer”, etc. Bad news. Stay away. Not buying the stuff in the first place is easy enough to remember, but don’t forget to keep tabs on what your gardener is using without your knowledge.

Laughter is the best medicine. For your therapeutic perusal:

→ An archive of the best craigslist ads of all time.

While I doubt there will ever be a craiglist ad as classic as this one, I can’t stop laughing at this gem from the batch:

Free Broken Time Machine

Date: 2008-07-07, 4:33PM EDT

Never got around to fixing it. All the buttons are stuck, so it doesn’t go in Reverse. Only Forward at Normal speed.

Come pick it up whenever.

* Location: Norwalk
* it’s NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

PostingID: 745957971

Looking across the cove from Angels Gate in the AM. Point Fermin blanketed in fog.

This just in from Maryland: the nephew George BRINGING IT. Luke accompanying on harp; Billie in the background.

“How did it get so late so soon? It’s night before its afternoon. December is here before it’s June. My goodness, how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?”
— Theodor Geisel

Fibonacci Thanksgiving
by Jace Daniel (b. 1969)

Upon arrival, start the whole thing off with 1 cocktail, then 1 more. Then another 2. Okay, 3 then. Now take a 5-minute breather before going to the dinner table with the family, which, with guests, is, on average, between about 8 and 13 people. Say a prayer for 21 seconds, and then dig in. About 34 minutes into the meal, you’ll find yourself arguing about 55 different things. Storm out of the house, and peel out of the driveway going 89 miles an hour. But slow down, will ya? For crying out loud. Okay, let’s back up. The freeway’s speed limit is 55 m.p.h. Endure the 34-minute drive home, but allow another 21 for holiday traffic. Create 13 new curse words along the way. When you get home, park in the driveway, and allow yourself to cry for 8 minutes before getting out of the car. Now give yourself a high-5, take a deep breath and count to 3, and go into the house. Throw up 2 times, crawl into your bed for 1, and thank God you don’t have to do this again for 1 more year.