Did you know...

While both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer each year, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game,male reindeer drop their antlers at the beginning of winter, usually late November to mid-December. Female reindeer retain their antlers until after they give birth in the spring.

Therefore, according to every historical rendition depicting Santa's reindeer, every single one of them, from Rudolph to Blitzen - had to be a girl. We should've known. Only women would be able to drag a fat man in a red velvet suit all around the world in one night and not get lost.

Fortune Cookies

Anyone who has been to a Chinese restaurant has had, or at least seen, fortune cookies. These almond or vanilla flavored treats not only taste great, but they have a surprise inside – a small strip of paper with a prediction or saying printed on it. The fortune cookie is a cookie with a piece of paper inside with words of supposed wisdom and/or prophecy.

Theories abound to the origin of the fortune cookie, but what is certain is that no matter how the cookie originated, it has become a permanent part of Chinese-American culture.

Theory 1:     It is believed that fortune cookies first appeared in the United States in 1914, made by Makoto Hagiwara, a Japanese man in San Francisco. He owned the business that is now known as the Golden Gate Park Japanese Tea Garden and served the cookies with tea.

Theory 2:     However, there is another belief that the cookies did not make their first American appearance until 1918, when the Chinese-American man David (Tsung) Jung, who also owned the Hong Kong Noodle Company in Los Angeles, began serving cookies stuffed with biblical passages to his customers.

Theory 3:     The 49er theory also originates in northern California. In the mid-1800s, many Chinese immigrants worked to build the country's railways in Nevada and Canada. They wanted to celebrate the Moon Festival, a holiday where it is customary to give special cakes with messages inside. Seeing as they had only biscuits, they improvised and created the fortune cookie.

Up until World War II fortune cookies where mainly popular in San Francisco area restaurants. Soldiers returning from World War II , would go to their local Chinese restaurants and inquire as to why they did not serve the same cookies that the shops in San Francisco did. A number of Americanized Chinese restaurants copied the idea and fortune cookies became very popular. Mainly served as a dessert after every meal at many restaurants. In addition to a fortune, fortune cookies may also contain lucky numbers (used by some as lottery numbers) and a Chinese phrase with translation.

The first automated production of Fortune Cookies took place in America in 1964 before that they were made by hand.

Although they are served almost exclusively in Chinese restaurants abroad, fortune cookies are almost unknown in China. Places that serve them call them "Genuine American Fortune Cookies."

Fortune cookies were actually invented in America, not China!

Mount Washington Current Conditions

Current Summit Conditions

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Preventing pollution requires broad approach | SeacoastOnline.com

Preventing pollution requires broad approach | SeacoastOnline.com

By Lief Friedrichs

December 09, 2011 2:00 AM

I am an environmental science major at Wesleyan University. As part of my Introduction to Environmental Studies class, I am writing to you with regards to the state of the Great Bay estuary.

I have seen the decline of the Great Bay first hand. Mud flats have replaced my childhood memories of boating through eelgrass.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has identified nitrogen as a primary culprit for the decline of the estuary's ecosystem. The ripple effect of nitrogen on marine ecosystems is well documented, but successful remediation efforts are hard to achieve. Nitrogen is not the sole contributor to the decline of Great Bay. Decreasing levels of nitrogen inflow would help, but it would not by itself bring the Great Bay back to its previous level of health. It is important to try to revive Great Bay through a holistic approach.

A balanced approach with improvements to the way we handle wastewater, storm water and human-produced contaminants is needed. The EPA can only influence the health of Great Bay through the permitting of wastewater treatment plants, but town incentives such as a rebate for decreased treatment demand could be equally effective. It is also important that there be a consensus among the towns in the watershed to try and mitigate this problem.

Storm water management is critically......CONTINUED

Fancy that six-pack

Fancy that six-pack

Is there anyone out there who still cuts up those plastic six-pack ring carriers used to hold cans or bottles in a multi-pack? It’s quite noble of you, but apparently not necessary.
The story used to be that if we let them go uncut into our garbage, and thus into the landfill, poor birds and other creatures would get their poor heads stuck in them and die a horrible, starving death. Six-pack rings today, however, are photodegradable, nontoxic and recyclable. That means they break down in sunlight. They are also approved by the EPA for packaging use.
Some people even applaud the use of the ring carriers as a way to minimize packaging, rather than using fiberboard and corrugated packaging.
Piqued your interest in plastic carriers? Log on to hi-cone.com to get more information. And lose yourself in the many styles and persuasions of six-pack ring carriers.