Wellies

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Got your Wellies?? Hope so!!! With the snow out there today I’ve got mine. Who’d have thought that The Duke of Wellington (second row right, above) would have started a fashion revolution. While they are definitely practical, They’re now a super fashion statement. Just look at that Vogue cover on the next row. At the bottom is the design I thought my wife would like. I’ll let you know. 

 

With this crazy snow dump going on around us, I like most of you, was out in the driveway with my trusty shovel.  Part of growing up and living in Cleveland is the annual snow ritual – sometimes with the snowblower, and sometimes just by hand. I’m not sure if you are aware, but there is an interesting history about the rubber snow boot.  Perfect in design, excellent in repelling water, and “sometimes” fashionable, rubber boots simply rock. From the little yellow and pink ones my girls used on rainy and snowy days, to the more industrial (just keep my feet dry) designs, we can thank a Duke and some engineers at the BF Goodrich (Ohio -yea!) company (today marks the patent anniversary).  Here’s some history, and some cool production videos on “wellington” style boots.  Enjoy, and thanks to Wikipedia, Scientific American and YouTube for the info.

Manufacturing Video  (I like the melt boot index!)

  1. Wellington boots in contemporary usage are waterproof and are most often made from rubber or polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a halogenated polymer. They are usually worn when walking on wet or muddy ground, or to protect the wearer from heavy showers and puddles. They are generally just below knee-high although shorter boots are available.
  2. The “Wellington” is a common and necessary safety or hygiene shoe in diverse industrial settings: for heavy industry with an integrated reinforced toe; protection from mud and grime in mines, from chemical spills in chemical plants and from water, dirt, and mud in horticultural and agricultural work; and serving the high standard of hygiene required in food processing plants, operating theatres, and dust-free clean rooms for electronics manufacture.
  3. Sailing wear includes short and tall sailing wellingtons with non-marking, slip-resistant soles to avoid damage to a boat’s deck. These boots require thermal socks to be worn underneath as the rubber does not provide enough warmth.
  4. The Duke of Wellington instructed his shoemaker, Hoby of St. James’s Street, London, to modify the 18th-century Hessian boot. The resulting new boot was fabricated in soft calfskin leather, had the trim removed and was cut to fit more closely around the leg. The heels were low cut, stacked around an inch, and the boot stopped at mid-calf. It was suitably hard-wearing for riding, yet smart enough for informal evening wear. The boot was dubbed the Wellington and the name has stuck in English ever since. In the 1815 portrait by James Lonsdale, the Duke can be seen wearing the more formal Hessian style boots, which are tasselled.
  5. Wellington’s utilitarian new boots quickly caught on with patriotic British gentlemen eager to emulate their war hero.  Considered fashionable and foppish in the best circles.
  6. From the Amazonian Indians’ pain of roasting rubber over fire, modern society may have gained the rubber boot. That’s the best guess, anyway, of experts who know their latex. “When the New World was discovered by Columbus and his followers, one of the first things they found was rubber,” says Joe Jackson, author of The Thief at the End of the World: Rubber, Power, and the Seeds of Empire. “There were two things reported back: bouncing balls and boots.”
  7. Indians would go out and slice into the bark of a rubber tree, collecting the white latex sap in a process similar to tapping maple syrup, Jackson explains. Then they would turn to the fire. “And, for hours, they would just sit there turning this stick over a smoky fire,” he says. “Then they would take a cup from a bigger basin of latex and pour more on the stick until they had a black ball of rubber,” to be sold for or used in games.
  8. Whether or not this boredom was the inspiration, historians do believe that Indians created makeshift boots by hanging their rubber-coated feet over fires. “It may have taken an awful lot of will power,” Jackson guesses. “Maybe they dipped them in until they couldn’t stand it anymore. Took a break. Then dipped them back in.”
  9. The result was a crude form of what would later evolve into high men’s fashion, a farmer’s standard, and a kid’s rainy-day footwear. None of them would come until centuries later, however, after Charles Goodyear improved on the Amazonian technology.
  10. “Goodyear was obsessed with rubber,” says Chris Laursen, the science and technology librarian for the Rubber Division at the University of Akron, a professional organization for the rubber industry within the American Chemical Society. “He foresaw a world in which everything was made out of rubber.”
  11. Before he could make that world a reality, Goodyear first needed to find a way to keep rubber from cracking in the cold and melting in the heat. The solution came to him by accident in 1839, according to his own book, Gum-Elastic and Its Varieties. Goodyear spilled a concoction of rubber, sulfur and white lead onto a hot stove and witnessed the mixture charring around the edges but, surprisingly, not melting.
  12. In this eureka moment, Goodyear managed to cross-link rubber molecules via sulfur bridges into one large macromolecule—creating a stronger, more thermal-resistant material. “Under a powerful microscope,” Laursen says, “it would look like a cooked plate of spaghetti all intertwined.” Goodyear would later fine-tune the process and coin it “vulcanization,” after the Roman god of fire.
  13. Wellington boots were at first made of leather. However, in 1852 Hiram Hutchinson met Charles Goodyear, who had just invented the sulfur vulcanisation process for natural rubber. Hutchinson bought the patent to manufacture footwear and moved to France to establish À l’Aigle (“to the Eagle”) in 1853, to honor his home country. Today the company is simply called Aigle. In a country where 95% of the population were working on fields with wooden clogs as they had been for generations, the introduction of the wholly waterproof, Wellington-type rubber boot became an instant success: farmers would be able to come back home with clean, dry feet.
  14. Production of the Wellington boot was dramatically boosted with the advent of World War I and a requirement for footwear suitable for the conditions in Europe’s flooded and muddy trenches. The North British Rubber Company (now Hunter Boot Ltd) was asked by the War Office to construct a boot suitable for such conditions. The mills ran day and night to produce immense quantities of these trench boots. In total, 1,185,036 pairs were made to meet the British Army’s demands.
  15. In World War II, Hunter Boot was again requested to supply vast quantities of Wellington and thigh boots. 80% of production was of war materials – from (rubber) ground sheets to life belts and gas masks. In the Netherlands, the British forces were working in flooded conditions which demanded Wellingtons and thigh boots in vast supplies.
  16. By the end of the war in 1945, the Wellington had become popular among men, women and children for wet weather wear. The boot had developed to become far roomier with a thick sole and rounded toe. Also, with the rationing of that time, labourers began to use them for daily work.
  17. The lower cost and ease of rubber “Wellington” boot manufacture, and being entirely waterproof, lent itself immediately to being the preferred protective material to leather in all forms of industry. Increased attention to occupational health and safety requirements led to the steel toe or steel-capped Wellington: a protective (commonly internal) toe-capping to protect the foot from crush and puncture injuries.
  18. Green Wellington boots, introduced by Hunter Boot Ltd in 1955, gradually became a shorthand for “country life” in the UK.  In 1980, sales of their boots skyrocketed after Lady Diana Spencer (future Princess Diana) was pictured wearing a pair on the Balmoral estate during her courtship with Prince Charles.
  19. While usually called rubber boots, but sometimes galoshes, mud boots, rain boots, mucking boots, or billy boots, in the United States, the terms “gumboots”, “wellies”, “wellingtons”, and “rainboots” are preferred in Canada. Gumboots are popular in Canada during spring, when melting snows leave wet and muddy ground. Young people can be seen wearing them to school or university and taking them to summer camps. They are an essential item for farmers, and many fishermen, often being accompanied by hip waders.
  20. While green is popular in Britain, red-soled black rubber boots are often seen in the United States, in addition to Canadian styles. Rubber boots specifically made for cold weather, lined with warm insulating material, are especially popular practical footwear for Canadian winters. This same style of lined boot is also popular among those who work in or near the ocean as one can wade in and out of shallow, but cold, ocean water, while staying dry and warm.  In the US white mid-calf rubber boots are worn by workers on shrimp boats and yellow boots for construction workers pouring concrete.
  21. Boots, including rubber boots, are an $8 billion-dollar worldwide industry.  Emerging markets in China, India, and Africa account for the largest growth estimates through 2025.

 

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DO YOU LIKE CONTESTS?
Me, too.
As you may know the Kowalski Heat Treating logo finds its way
into the visuals of my Friday posts.
I.  Love.  My.  Logo.
One week there could be three logos.
The next week there could be 15 logos.
And sometimes the logo is very small or just a partial logo showing.
But there are always logos in some of the pictures.
So, I challenge you, my beloved readers, to count them and send me a
quick email with the total number of logos in the Friday post.
On the following Tuesday I’ll pick a winner from the correct answers
and send that lucky person some great KHT swag.
So, start counting and good luck!  
Oh, and the logos at the very top header don’t count.
Got it? Good.  :-))))
Have fun!!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Play Well

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Legos…are they for kids? Sure. But adults around the world are building amazing sculptures with them. And the Lego global manufacturing processes and distribution system is nothing short of astonishing. Check it out. And if you have a Lego build you’re proud of, send me a picture. I’d love to see it. The one I’m proud of is my logo made from Legos near the bottom above. The one on the left is 20×20 single blocks. The one on the right is 70×70. Cool, huh??  :))))  If you want to see more Lego creations, kits and fun, Google it.

In these cold, wintery days, I find myself more interested in staying inside and relaxing (especially after shoveling) – staying warm, reading a book, or playing a game.  Games and toys are a big part of the Kowalski traditions, especially around the holidays when we’re all together.  Since Jackie and I are blessed to have the grandkids close by we have been able to introduce them to many of the wonderful toys our girls grew up with.  Jackie pulled out our collection of Legos this past weekend.  I must say we do have a significant collection!  After washing them all after years in storage…  I got thinking about how cool, and simple, these toys are and then of course took to the “net” and did some digging. Lego, was founded in the workshop of Ole Kirk Christiansen (1891–1958), a carpenter from Denmark, who began his career making wooden toys. In 1934, his company came to be called “Lego”, derived from the Danish phrase leg godt [lɑjˀ ˈkʌt], which means “play well”.  In the late 40’s Lego expanded from wooden toys to producing plastic toys and in ‘49 Lego began producing, among other new products, an early version of the now familiar interlocking bricks, calling them “Automatic Binding Bricks”.  Fast forward to today, and Lego has become a global brand (ranks in top 5 awareness) manufacturing “bricks” by the billions.  For my manufacturing and engineering buds out there, be sure to watch the production videos below … talk about PIA (pain in the @%$) Jobs! – the inventory, quality control, packaging and distribution logistics are absolutely remarkable. I have to say the level of automation / technology in their facilities make me a little jealous!  Below is some history and trivia on that first simple patent (1/28/58) for little stackable bricks.  Enjoy! And thanks to YouTube, Wikipedia and Lego for the info.

VIDEO: Bricks in the making
VIDEO: Making the little people
VIDEO: Technic in action  
***Caution:  these videos are amazing – may impact your afternoon productivity!!

The Lego Group began in the workshop of Ole Kirk Christiansen (1891–1958), a carpenter from Billund, Denmark, who began making wooden toys in 1932. In 1934, his company came to be called “Lego”, derived from the Danish phrase leg godt [lɑjˀ ˈkʌt], which means “play well”.In 1947, Lego expanded to begin producing plastic toys. (FYI – plural for Lego … Lego)

In 1949 Lego began producing, among other new products, an early version of the now familiar interlocking bricks, calling them “Automatic Binding Bricks”. These bricks were based on the Kiddicraft Self-Locking Bricks, which had been patented in the United Kingdom in 1939 and released in 1947 (oops! bad decision). Lego had received a sample of the Kiddicraft bricks from the supplier of an injection-molding machine that it purchased – and purchased, and purchased – (see videos!)

The Lego Group’s motto is “only the best is good enough” (Danish: det bedste er ikke for godt, literally “the best isn’t excessively good”). This motto, which is still used today, was created by Christiansen to encourage his employees never to skimp on quality, a value he believed in strongly.

By 1951 plastic toys accounted for half of the Lego company’s output, even though the Danish trade magazine Legetøjs-Tidende (“Toy Times”), visiting the Lego factory in Billund in the early 1950s, felt that plastic would never be able to replace traditional wooden toys (oops! bad insight).

By 1954, Christiansen’s son, Godtfred, (I love it when sons’/family step in) had become the junior managing director of the Lego Group. It was his conversation with an overseas buyer that led to the idea of a toy system. Godtfred saw the immense potential in Lego bricks to become a system for creative play, but the bricks still had some problems from a technical standpoint: their locking ability was limited, and they were not versatile. In 1958, the modern brick design was developed; it took five years to find the right material for it, ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) polymer. A patent application for the modern Lego brick design was filed in Denmark on January 28, 1958, and in various other countries in the subsequent few years.

Lego pieces of all varieties constitute a universal system. Despite variation in the design and the purposes of individual pieces over the years, each piece remains compatible in some way with existing pieces. Lego bricks from 1958 still interlock with those made in the current time, and Lego sets for young children are compatible with those made for teenagers. Six bricks of 2 × 4 studs can be combined in 915,103,765 ways (I knew that – just do the math silly!).

The Lego Group’s Duplo product line was introduced in 1969 and is a range of simple blocks whose lengths measure twice the width, height, and depth of standard Lego blocks and are aimed towards younger children.  (Yep, we have mostly these in the house).

In 1978, Lego produced the first minifigures, which have since become a staple in most sets.

In May 2013, the largest model ever created was displayed in New York City and was made of over 5 million bricks; a 1:1 scale model of an X-wing fighter. Other records include a 34-metre (112 ft) tower and a 4 km (2.5 mi) railway. See top 20 World Records Here – unreal!!

In February 2015, Lego replaced Ferrari as the “world’s most powerful brand.”

Lego’s popularity is demonstrated by its wide representation and usage in many forms of cultural works, including books, film & TV and artwork, theme parks, retail stores (over 700!), books, apparel and more. It has even been used in the classroom as a teaching tool.

Each Lego piece must be manufactured to an exacting degree of precision. When two pieces are engaged they must fit firmly, yet be easily disassembled. The machines that manufacture Lego bricks have tolerances as small as 10 micrometers.

The average development period for a new product is around twelve months, split into three stages. The first stage is to identify market trends and developments. The second stage is the design and development of the product based upon the results of the first stage.. These prototypes are presented to the entire project team for comment and for testing by parents and children during the “validation” process.

In 1998, Lego bricks were one of the original inductees into the National Toy Hall of Fame at The Strong in Rochester, New York.

Lego factories recycle all but about 1 percent of their plastic waste from the manufacturing process. If the plastic cannot be re-used in Lego bricks, it is processed and sold on to industries that can make use of it. Lego has a self-imposed 2030 deadline to find a more eco-friendly alternative to the ABS plastic it currently uses in its bricks.

 

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DO YOU LIKE CONTESTS?
Me, too.
As you may know the Kowalski Heat Treating logo finds its way
into the visuals of my Friday posts.
I.  Love.  My.  Logo.
One week there could be three logos.
The next week there could be 15 logos.
And sometimes the logo is very small or just a partial logo showing.
But there are always logos in some of the pictures.
So, I challenge you, my beloved readers, to count them and send me a
quick email with the total number of logos in the Friday post.
On the following Tuesday I’ll pick a winner from the correct answers
and send that lucky person some great KHT swag.
So, start counting and good luck!  
Oh, and the logos at the very top header don’t count.
Got it? Good.  :-))))
Have fun!!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Stayin’ Alive

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Just WOW!!!! If you’ve never seen this movie, get it. Watch it five times…then shoot me an email with your thoughts. Soooo much fun!!! At the bottom is John Travolta in “Welcome Back Cotter”

Sometimes the songs of our youth ring true, even today.  With all the pain, isolation, coughing, tests, headaches and heartache, I got thinking about the times when we could just go out, be free, dance and have some fun.  Today marks the anniversary when the album Saturday Night Fever hit #1 on the billboard charts – and those silly songs still play in my head.  When “Saturday Night Fever”, starring John Travolta, was released in 1977, few could have expected the cultural phenomenon it would become. The soundtrack by British band the Bee Gees (how did he hit those high notes??) was also an enormous hit: You would not believe the looks and faces that Jackie and my girls give me when I try to hit those notes!  its songs, including “Stayin’ Alive”, “How Deep Is Your Love”  and “Night Fever”, epitomized the disco era and the album hit #1 on billboard charts, spending 24 consecutive weeks at No. 1, selling more than 45 million units. Like I do, I dug into the internet and found some great info – so click on the links, crank up the music and “dance” – Enjoy!  And thanks to Wikipedia and YouTube for the info and videos.

Video – Stayin’ Alive
Video – More Than A Woman

Saturday Night Fever is a 1977 American dance drama film directed by John Badham and produced by Robert Stigwood, staring John Travolta as Tony Manero, a young Italian-American man from Brooklyn who spends his weekends dancing and drinking at a local discothèque while dealing with social tensions and general restlessness and disillusionment with his life, and feeling directionless and trapped in his working-class neighborhood. The story is based upon “Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night”, an article by music writer Nik Cohn, first published in a June 1976 issue of New York magazine. The film features music by Bee Gees and many other prominent artists of the disco era.

A major critical and commercial success, Saturday Night Fever had a tremendous effect on popular culture of the late 1970s. The film helped significantly to popularize disco music around the world and made Travolta, who was already well known from his role on TV’s Welcome Back, Kotter, a household name. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance, becoming the fifth-youngest nominee in the category.

Disco was already a popular genre by 1977 but the film’s success broke it into the mainstream, and it would remain dominant for the next three years. According to Rolling Stone, top three disco songs are Stayin’ Alive, Gloria Gaynor “I Will Survive” and Donna Summer “I Feel Love”

The album revitalized the Bee Gees. They had experienced significant success in the 1960s with songs like “Massachusetts” and “New York Mining Disaster 1941” but Saturday Night Fever took them to another level, and their sound was virtually inescapable for months after the album’s release. The Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, featuring disco songs by the Bee Gees, is one of the best-selling soundtracks of all time.

Just look at this musical line up – (bet you know almost all of the songs).
“Stayin’ Alive” performed by Bee Gees – 4:45
“How Deep Is Your Love” performed by Bee Gees – 4:05
“Night Fever” performed by Bee Gees – 3:33
“More Than a Woman” performed by Bee Gees – 3:17
“If I Can’t Have You” performed by Yvonne Elliman – 3:00
“A Fifth of Beethoven” performed by Walter Murphy – 3:03
“More Than a Woman” performed by Tavares – 3:17
“Manhattan Skyline” performed by David Shire – 4:44
“Calypso Breakdown” performed by Ralph MacDonald – 7:50
“Night on Disco Mountain” performed by David Shire – 5:12
“Open Sesame” performed by Kool & the Gang – 4:01
“Jive Talkin’” performed by Bee Gees – 3:43 (*)
“You Should Be Dancing” performed by Bee Gees – 4:14
“Boogie Shoes” performed by KC and the Sunshine Band – 2:17
“Salsation” performed by David Shire – 3:50
“K-Jee” performed by MFSB – 4:13
“Disco Inferno” performed by The Trammps – 10:51

The film’s relatively low budget ($3.5 million) meant that most of the actors were relative unknowns, many of whom were recruited from New York’s theatre scene (for more than 40% of the actors it was their film debut). The only actor in the cast who was already an established name was John Travolta, thanks to his role on the sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter. His performance as Tony Manero brought him critical acclaim and helped launch him into international stardom. (he would repeat the success the following year with another musical smash, Grease).

Travolta researched the part by visiting the real 2001 Odyssey discotheque , rehearsing his choreography with Lester Wilson and Deney Terrio for three hours every day, losing 20 pounds in the process.

Karen Lynn Gorney was nine years older than Travolta when she was cast as his love interest Stephanie. (Jessica Lange, Kathleen Quinlan, Carrie Fisher, and Amy Irving were all considered for the part before Gorney was cast – good decision!).

The film was shot entirely on-location in Brooklyn, New York at the 2001 Odyssey Disco – a real club located at 802 64th Street, which has since been demolished. The interior was modified for the film, including the addition of a $15,000 lighted floor, which was inspired by a Birmingham, Alabama establishment. Since the Bee Gees were not involved in the production until after principal photography wrapped, the “Night Fever”, “You Should Be Dancin'”, and “More Than a Woman” sequences were shot with Stevie Wonder tracks that were later overdubbed in the sound mix. During filming, the production was harassed by local gangs near of the location, and was even firebombed.

The film grossed $25.9 million in its first 24 days of release and grossed an average of $600,000 a day throughout January to March going on to gross $94.2 million in the United States and Canada and $237.1 million worldwide This would be worth $1,090,800,000 today!!

In 2010, Saturday Night Fever was deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

“…. You should be dancin’, yea … dancin’ – dance the night away….”  

 

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

DO YOU LIKE CONTESTS?
Me, too.
As you may know the Kowalski Heat Treating logo finds its way
into the visuals of my Friday posts.
I.  Love.  My.  Logo.
One week there could be three logos.
The next week there could be 15 logos.
And sometimes the logo is very small or just a partial logo showing.
But there are always logos in some of the pictures.
So, I challenge you, my beloved readers, to count them and send me a
quick email with the total number of logos in the Friday post.
On the following Tuesday I’ll pick a winner from the correct answers
and send that lucky person some great KHT swag.
So, start counting and good luck!  
Oh, and the logos at the very top header don’t count.
Got it? Good.  :-))))
Have fun!!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
 

Chips

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Chips are wonderful!!! But who made the first chip???? 

Supply chain mishaps.  Stranded shipping containers.  Logjams at the terminals. Millions of products waiting on the shelf.  Consumer frustration on low inventory.  All because of chips.  That’s not good for business or customers.  So, how did America respond?? – by increasing chips sales by over $400 million dollars in ’21, with a global projection to be four-fold that by 2026. According to people who track things, when Covid-19 forced people to stay home, many of us found solace in a snack: potato chips. I guess you can say, when the chips are down, American’s gobble them up. So, I did some digging, got some sound history and good explanations on the category.  So, grab a bowl, pour out some chips, and enjoy. Thanks to Brandon Tensley from Smithsonian, YouTube, Cleveland.com, thoughtco.com and foodandwine.com for the info.  Now, if we can only find enough dip!!  My favorite dip is still French Onion from Dairymens here in Northeast Ohio.  It pairs perfectly with ridged or kettle chips!

Traditional chips
Stackable chips

  1. Potato chips are thin slices of potato that have been either deep-fried or baked until crunchy. They are commonly served as a snack, side dish, or appetizer. The potato chips market is segmented by product type (fired or baked), flavor (plain, salted and flavored), distribution channel (supermarkets, convenience stores, online, etc.), and geography – think globally.
  2. Americans consume about 1.85 billion pounds of potato chips annually, or around 6.6 pounds per person. (just one more reason for all those early morning runs!)). Add to that worldwide crunching, with explosive growth in Asian countries – and that’s a lot of chips!
  3. Any search for the origins of this signature finger food must lead to George Crum (born George Speck), a 19th-century chef of Native and African American descent who made his name at Moon’s Lake House in the resort town of Saratoga Springs, New York. As the story goes, one day in 1853, the railroad and shipping magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt was eating at Moon’s when he ordered his fried potatoes be returned to the kitchen because they were too thick. Furious with such a fussy eater, Crum sliced some potatoes as slenderly as he could, fried them to a crisp and sent them out to Vanderbilt as a prank. Rather than take the gesture as an insult, Vanderbilt was overjoyed. (think this is where “crumbs” came from??)
  4. Other patrons began asking for Crum’s “Saratoga Chips,” which soon became a hit far beyond Upstate New York. In 1860, Crum opened his own restaurant near Saratoga known as Crum’s House or Crum’s Place, where a basket of potato chips sat invitingly on every table. Crum oversaw the restaurant until retiring over 30 years later; in 1889, a New York Herald writer called him “the best cook in America.”
  5. Still, historians who have peeled the skin off this story have hastened to point out that Crum was not the sole inventor of the chip, or even the first. The earliest known recipe for chips dates to 1817, when an English doctor named William Kitchiner published The Cook’s Oracle, a cookbook that included a recipe for “potatoes fried in slices or shavings.”
  6. And in July 1849, four years before Crum supposedly dissed Vanderbilt, a New York Herald reporter noted the work of “Eliza,” also, curiously, a cook in Saratoga Springs, whose “potato frying reputation” had become “one of the prominent matters of remark at Saratoga.” Yet scholars are united in acknowledging that Crum popularized the chip.
  7. For a long time, chips remained a restaurant-only delicacy. But in 1895 a Cleveland, Ohio entrepreneur named William Tappenden found a way to keep them stocked on grocery shelves, using his kitchen and, later, a barn turned factory in his backyard to make the chips and deliver them in barrels to local markets via horse-drawn wagon. Countless other merchants followed suit.
  8. In 1926, Laura Scudder, a California businesswoman, began packaging chips in wax-paper bags that included not only a “freshness” date but also a tempting boast—“the Noisiest Chips in the World,” a peculiarly American marketing breakthrough that made a virtue of being obnoxious.
  9. The snack took another leap the following year, when Leonard Japp, a Chicago chef and former prizefighter, began to mass-produce the snack—largely, the rumor goes, to serve one client: Al Capone, who allegedly discovered a love for potato chips on a visit to Saratoga and thought they would sell well in his speak-easies. Japp opened factories to supply the snack to a growing list of patrons, and by the mid-1930s was selling to clients throughout the Midwest, as potato chips continued their climb into the pantheon of America’s treats; later, Japp also created what can be considered the modern iteration by frying his potatoes in oil instead of lard.
  10. When Lay’s became the first national brand of potato chips in 1961, the company enlisted Bert Lahr, (famous for playing the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz), as its first celebrity spokesman, who purred the devilish challenge, “Betcha can’t eat just one.”
  11. The U.S. potato chip market—just potato chips, never mind tortilla chips or cheese puffs or pretzels—is estimated at $10.5 billion. And while chips and other starchy indulgences have long been criticized for playing a role in health conditions such as obesity and hypertension, the snack industry has cleaned up its act to some extent, cooking up options with less fat and sodium, from sweet potato chips with sea salt to taro chips to red lentil crisps with tomato and basil.
  12. Still, for many Americans, the point of chips has always been pure indulgence. Following a year of fast-food buzz, last October Hershey released the most sophisticated snack mashup since the yogurt-covered pretzel: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups stuffed with potato chips. Only history can judge whether this triple-flavored calorie bomb will be successful. But more than a century and a half after Crum’s peevish inspiration, the potato chip isn’t just one of our most popular foods but also our most versatile.
  13. For those who plan ahead, National Chip Dip Day is Wednesday, March 23rd

 

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

DO YOU LIKE CONTESTS?
Me, too.
As you may know the Kowalski Heat Treating logo finds its way
into the visuals of my Friday posts.
I.  Love.  My.  Logo.
One week there could be three logos.
The next week there could be 15 logos.
And sometimes the logo is very small or just a partial logo showing.
But there are always logos in some of the pictures.
So, I challenge you, my beloved readers, to count them and send me a
quick email with the total number of logos in the Friday post.
On the following Tuesday I’ll pick a winner from the correct answers
and send that lucky person some great KHT swag.
So, start counting and good luck!  
Oh, and the logos at the very top header don’t count.
Got it? Good.  :-))))
Have fun!!

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BRAVO ON PIA JOB!

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Exploring space is cool!!! Humans of all ages have been wondering what’s out there for a very long time. If you can’t physically be there, a super high-powered telescope in space is the next best thing. When the James Webb Space Telescope is fully deployed in June, we’re going to be in for some really interesting info. IMAGES: (second from top) The Hubble Telescope; (third from top) Rendering of the James Webb Space Telescope being deployed; (fourth from top) Size comparison of adult human to the Hubble mirror to the Webb mirror; (fifth from top) rendering of the Webb telescope fully deployed. (bottom left) The Webb logo; (bottom right) My logo. :))))

Happy New Year to all.  Hope you had a fun and safe holiday break – I sure did!  Over the past few weeks, I’ve been geeking out a bit, and following the amazing story and success of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).  Talk about a PIA Job! – a project that began over 25 years ago and will exceed $10B in costs.  Think about the logistics, planning, coordination, problem solving, creativity, and final solutions – (I thought the rover on Mars was something, until I learned more about this project).  Several thousand scientists, engineers, and technicians spanning 15 countries have contributed to JWST – a total of 258 companies, government agencies, and academic institutions are participating in the project; 142 from the United States, 104 from 12 European countries, and 12 from Canada (so glad I’m not in the accounting dept for this one).  Solving PIA Jobs! is at the heart of everything here at KHT.  Our ongoing “mission” is to recruit and train our teams to not only perform their jobs, but to also bring a fresh perspective of problem solving and creativity to the job.  While our solutions are not “cosmic” they often follow the same pattern – challenge, experiment, trial and error, test, solve, engineer, produce and deliver.  Hats off to the amazing engineers, project managers, builders and thinkers on the JWST project – we marvel at what’s been accomplished so far and look forward to seeing the amazing images.  Here’s just a bit of information on the project – be sure to click on the links that can take you further into the story – NASA and Space.com really have this tracked and covered.  And thanks to wikipedia.com, youtube.com, webbtelescope.org and iflscience.com for the info and links.

Quick Overview Video

Full JWST Story

Cool Deployment Video  (Filmed from Ariane 5’s upper stage, the video was transmitted in near real-time during the launch on Christmas Day)

Neil deGrasse Tyson Explainer Video

What is the James Webb Space Telescope?
The JWST a space telescope developed by NASA with contributions from the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) named after James E. Webb, who was the administrator of NASA from 1961 to 1968 and played an integral role in the Apollo program. It is designed to provide improved infrared resolution and sensitivity over the Hubble telescope, and will enable a broad range of investigations across the fields of astronomy and cosmology, including observations of some of the most distant events and objects in the Universe such as the formation of the first galaxies, and detailed atmospheric characterization of potentially habitable exoplanets.

When was the James Webb Space Telescope launch and how long to reach orbit?
Webb launched at 7:20 a.m. EST (1220 GMT) on December 25, 2021.  Webb travels for about a month to reach its orbit at the second Sun-Earth Lagrange point (L2), 1.5 million kilometers (940,000 miles) from Earth.

How big is the Webb telescope?
The sunshield dimensions are 21.2 by 14.2 meters (69.5 by 46.5 feet) and the height of the entire observatory is 8 meters (28 feet).

How does Webb deploy in space?
Webb’s deployment in space involves unfolding the sunshield and mirrors, a process that must be carefully conducted over nearly a month. The sequence is best explained visually in this deployment animation.

What is the size of Webb’s mirror?
Webb’s segmented primary mirror has a diameter of 6.6 meters (21.7 feet). Each of the 18 segments is 1.32 meters (4.3 feet) across. The area of the mirror is approximately 25 square meters (270 square feet) and the mass is 705 kilograms (1,550 pounds on Earth).

Why does Webb need a sunshield?
To accurately and precisely detect faint infrared light from distant objects in the universe, Webb must be shielded from the strong infrared light emanating nearby from the Sun, Earth, and Moon. The sunshield’s five layers block the light from these nearby objects.

How is Webb powered?
The Webb telescope is powered by an on-board solar array. It also has a propulsion system to maintain the observatory’s orbit and attitude. The solar array provides 2,000 watts of electrical power for the life of the mission, and there is enough propellant onboard for at least 10 years of science operations.

What is the destination for Webb?
By the end of January 2022, the telescope is set to reach its final destination – L2, the second Lagrangian Point, around 1.5 million kilometers (932,056 miles) from Earth. This is significantly further from Earth than its predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope, which orbited just 547 kilometers (340 miles) above Earth.

Which cameras (instruments) are on the Webb telescope and what do they do?
Webb has four scientific instruments, the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), the Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec), the Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS), and the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). Each of these instruments uses infrared detectors to capture light from distant astronomical sources.

How much data will Webb transmit each day?
Webb can downlink at least 57.2 gigabytes of recorded science data each day, with a maximum data rate of 28 megabits per second.

How are Webb’s mirrors aligned after the rigors of launch?
The primary mirror segments and secondary mirror are moved by six actuators that are attached to the backs of the mirrors. The primary segments have an additional actuator at the center of the mirror to adjust their curvature. Those seven spots are adjustable to align the 18 segments of the primary mirror to each other, and adjust the primary and secondary mirrors to the fixed tertiary mirror and the instruments.

How much gold is used to make the Webb telescope?
A little more than 48 grams of gold are used in the Webb mirror. This is equivalent to the mass of a golf ball, which would fill a volume the size of a marble. This gold is a thin (100 nanometers) layer that is vacuum vapor deposited on each of the 18 primary mirror segments and the single secondary mirror. Gold is a highly reflective material at infrared wavelengths, helping to focus light from distant objects onto Webb’s sensitive instruments.

How much of the sky can Webb see?
Over the course of six months, as Webb orbits the Sun with Earth, it has the ability to observe almost any point in the sky. Webb’s field of regard is limited to a 50-degree swath of the celestial sphere: About 39% of the sky is potentially visible to Webb at any given time. Because Webb must face away from objects that are warm and close enough to interfere with its ability to observe faint infrared light, it cannot observe the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, or the Moon.

When will we see the first images from Webb?
After reaching its orbit, Webb undergoes science and calibration testing. Then, regular science operations and images will begin to arrive, approximately six months after launch. However, it is normal to also take a series of “first light” images that may arrive slightly earlier.

Who was James Webb?
The Webb telescope is named after James E. Webb (1906–1992), NASA’s second administrator. James Webb is best known for leading Apollo, the series of exploration programs that landed the first humans on the Moon. He also initiated a vigorous space science program that was responsible for more than 75 launches during his tenure, including America’s first interplanetary explorer spacecrafts. Read more about the life and impact of James Webb.

Which areas of science will Webb explore?
Webb will explore: Early Universe, Galaxies Over Time, The Star Lifecycle, Other Worlds

 

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DO YOU LIKE CONTESTS?
Me, too.
As you may know the Kowalski Heat Treating logo finds its way
into the visuals of my Friday posts.
I.  Love.  My.  Logo.
One week there could be three logos.
The next week there could be 15 logos.
And sometimes the logo is very small or just a partial logo showing.
But there are always logos in some of the pictures.
So, I challenge you, my beloved readers, to count them and send me a
quick email with the total number of logos in the Friday post.
On the following Tuesday I’ll pick a winner from the correct answers
and send that lucky person some great KHT swag.
So, start counting and good luck!  
Oh, and the logos at the very top header don’t count.
Got it? Good.  :-))))
Have fun!!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

HNY

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Read on to make sense of the images above They’re in order, top to bottom. It’s been a busy, busy holiday, my friends. Enjoy.

HNY It’s kind of fun that our final blog post of the year falls on the last day of the year and New Year’s Eve. And with all the ups and downs of the past year, it’s a good time to reflect and appreciate our health and our blessings – (I know of no one who doesn’t have “something” going on with family and friends).  Now, I’m not a big “tradition” guy for New Years.  Some years we will get together with friends, some years it’s all family. One constant is lots of food! (Shocking for me I know!).  When I’m lucky enough to be together with family, it takes about 19 minutes to hug and kiss everyone in the room – big family and now REALLY big extended family.  New Year’s Day starts the second the clock strikes midnight on January 1 in most countries, but the celebrations undertaken to usher in the new year at different corners of the globe couldn’t be more unique.  Here are some fun trivia to share. Thanks to bestlifonline.com, allrecipes.com, youtube.com, crystalvaults.com for the info/links.  Enjoy!

  1. In Spain, locals will eat exactly 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight to honor a tradition that started in the late 19th century. Back in the 1800s, vine growers in the Alicante area came up with this tradition as a means of selling more grapes toward the end of the year, but the sweet celebration quickly caught on. Today, Spaniards enjoy eating one grape for each of the first 12 bell strikes after midnight in the hopes that this will bring about a year of good fortune and prosperity.
  2. In Scotland, the day before January 1 is so important that there’s even an official name for it: Hogmanay. On this day, the Scottish observe many traditions, but easily one of their most famous is first footing. According to Scottish beliefs, the first person who crosses through the threshold of your house after midnight on New Year’s Day should be a dark-haired male if you wish to have good luck in the coming year. Traditionally, these men come bearing gifts of coal, salt, shortbread, and whiskey, all of which further contribute to the idea of having good fortune.  (But why dark-haired men? Well, back when Scotland was being invaded by the Vikings, the last thing you wanted to see at your doorstep was a light-haired man bearing a giant axe. So today, the opposite—a dark-haired man—symbolizes opulence and success.)
  3. The reasoning behind this Dutch New Year’s Eve tradition is slightly odd, to say the least. Ancient Germanic tribes would eat these pieces of deep-fried dough during the Yule so that when Germanic goddess Perchta, better known as Perchta the Belly Slitter, tried to cut their stomachs open and fill them with trash (a punishment for those who hadn’t sufficiently partaken in yuletide cheer), the fat from the dough would cause her sword to slide right off. Today, oliebollen are enjoyed on New Year’s Eve, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a Dutch food vendor in the winter months who isn’t selling these doughnut-like balls.  RECIPE
  4. In Poland (yea!) a fun tradition that has been popular for centuries is the kulig (sleigh rides). Many people celebrate New Year’s Day with dances, concerts, and meals featuring traditional Polish dishes including bigos (hunter’s stew).  We like to make Pork Roast, Sauerkraut and dumplings!  (I am only allowed a little sauerkraut).
  5. In Russian culture, it is a New Year’s Eve tradition for folks to write their wishes down on a piece of paper, burn them with a candle, and drink the subsequent ashes in a glass of champagne.
    For the past 25 years or so, it has been a Russian holiday tradition for two divers, aptly named Father Frost and the Ice Maiden, to venture into a frozen Lake Baikal, the world’s largest freshwater lake, and take a New Year Tree—typically a decorated spruce—more than 100 feet below the surface. Though the temperature is normally well below freezing in Russia on New Year’s Eve, people travel from all over the world to partake in this frozen fête.
  6. If you happen to be in Brazil for New Year’s Eve, don’t be surprised to find the oceans littered with white flowers and candles. In the South American country, it is commonplace for citizens to take to the shores on New Year’s Eve in order to make offerings to Yemoja, a major water deity who is said to control the seas, to elicit her blessings for the year to come.
  7. Italians have a tradition of wearing red underwear to ring in the new year. In Italian culture, the color red is associated with fertility, and so people wear it under their clothes in the hopes that it will help them conceive in the coming year.
  8. The Greeks believe that onions are a symbol of rebirth, so they hang the pungent vegetable on their doors in order to promote growth throughout the new year. Greek culture has long associated this food with the idea of development, seeing as all the odorous onion ever seemingly wants is to plant its roots and keep growing.
    In ancient Greek mythology, the pomegranate symbolizes fertility, life, and abundance, and so the fruit has come to be associated with good fortune in modern Greece. Just after midnight on New Year’s Eve, it is customary for Greeks to smash a pomegranate against the door of their house—and it is said that the number of pomegranate seeds that end up scattered is directly correlated with the amount of good luck to come.
  9. In Chile, New Year’s Eve masses are held not at church, but in cemeteries. This change of scenery allows for people to sit with their deceased family members and include them in the New Year’s Eve festivities.
  10. In Japanese culture, it is customary to welcome the new year with a bowl of soba noodles in a ritual known as toshikoshi soba, or year-crossing noodles. Though nobody is entirely sure where toshikoshi soba first came from, it is believed that the soba’s thin shape and long length is meant to signify a long and healthy life. Many folks also believe that because the buckwheat plant used to make soba noodles is so resilient, people eat the pasta on New Year’s Eve to signify their strength.
  11. In Denmark, people take pride in the number of broken dishes outside of their door by the end of New Year’s Eve. It’s a Danish tradition to throw china at your friends’ and neighbors’ front doors on New Year’s Eve—some say it’s a means of leaving any aggression and ill-will behind before the New Year begins—and it is said that the bigger your pile of broken dishes, the more luck you will have in the upcoming year. (nice way to get a new set of dishes too!)
  12. In Ecuador, New Year Eve festivities are lit up (quite literally) by bonfires. At the center of each of these bonfires are effigies, most often representing politicians, pop culture icons, and other figures from the year prior. These burnings of the “año viejo,” or “old year,” as they’re called, are held at the end of every year to cleanse the world of all the bad from the past 12 months and make room for the good to come.
  13. In Germany, all of the New Year’s Eve Festivities center around a rather unique activity known as Bleigießen, or lead pouring. Using the flames from a candle, each person melts a small piece of lead or tin and pours it into a container of cold water. The shape that the lead or tin forms is said to reveal a person’s fate for the upcoming year, not unlike tasseography.
  14. One-hundred-and-eight. That’s how many times Buddhist temples in Japan ring their bells on New Year’s Eve—107 times on New Year’s Eve, and once when the clock strikes midnight. This tradition, known as joyanokane, is meant to both dispel the 108 evil desires in each and every person and cleanse the previous year of past sins.
  15. The Czech prefer to predict their future fortunes on New Year’s Eve with the assistance of an apple. The night before the new year begins, the fruit is cut in half, and the shape of the apple’s core is said to determine the fate of everyone surrounding it. If the apple’s core resembles a star, then everyone will soon meet again in happiness and health—but if it looks like a cross, then someone at the New Year’s Eve party should expect to fall ill.
  16. If breakfast, lunch, and dinner are hardly enough to satiate you, then you’ll want to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Estonia. There, people believe that eating seven, nine, or 12 meals will bring about good things in the year to come, seeing as those numbers are considered lucky throughout the country. And if you can’t finish your food, worry not: People often purposefully leave food on their plates in order to feed their visiting family members—the ones in spirit form, that is. (I like this one!)
  17. When people in Armenia bake bread on New Year’s Eve, they add a special ingredient into their dough: luck. Of course, they don’t literally add an ingredient called luck into their batter, but it is tradition for metaphorical good wishes to be kneaded into every batch of bread baked on the last day of the year.
  18. In Turkey, it’s considered good luck to sprinkle salt on your doorstep as soon as the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Day. Like many other New Year’s Eve traditions around the globe, this one is said to promote both peace and prosperity throughout the new year.
  19. In Ireland, it’s customary for single gals to sleep with a mistletoe under their pillow on New Year’s Eve. Supposedly, sleeping with the plant helps women to find their future husbands—in their dreams, at least.  What about us guys??

Whatever YOUR tradition, peace and good will to you all.  Looking forward to better times in ’22.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

DO YOU LIKE CONTESTS?
Me, too.
As you may know the Kowalski Heat Treating logo finds its way
into the visuals of my Friday posts.
I.  Love.  My.  Logo.
One week there could be three logos.
The next week there could be 15 logos.
And sometimes the logo is very small or just a partial logo showing.
But there are always logos in some of the pictures.
So, I challenge you, my beloved readers, to count them and send me a
quick email with the total number of logos in the Friday post.
On the following Tuesday I’ll pick a winner from the correct answers
and send that lucky person some great KHT swag.
So, start counting and good luck!  
Oh, and the logos at the very top header don’t count.
Got it? Good.  :-))))
Have fun!!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Lick and Stick

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No matter how you receive your mail, it’s always nice to receive a card to hold in your hand. Read on to see how this wonderful tradition got started. 

In this digital, video screens, “always on” world we live in, there’s still something special about going to the mailbox and receiving a stack of holiday greetings.  Whatever your religion, holiday blessings or new year’s wishes, I just like getting and sending folks cards.  Now of course, I’ll admit, it’s Jackie’s organizational skills that gets the cards out – with over 100 brothers, sisters, in-laws, babies, grand babies, cousins, aunts and uncles, AND an extensive friendship circle, it’s quite the chore to keep everybody straight. Some families like to tuck an “update” recap in with their cards (not really for me) – you know the ones – “after completing our 2nd climb to the peak of Kilimanjaro last month, we sauntered through the French wine region and ended up meeting the kids, vacationing in the Alps, for an eco-ski-dinner.  Jimmy, receiving his third PHD in nuclear medicine, and his lovely wife and astronaut Becky, just had their third child, Einstein, and are struggling to decide which e-Land Rover buggy to get him – couple that with Billy surfing in Hawaii, Sandra walking the Appalachian Trial and Fluffy the Cat competing in online meoworamma competitions ….”  You get the picture.  I’m pretty traditional in my cards (kids and grandkids are great!), I’m more about the “reason for the season”– birth of Christ, love of Jesus, all things family and doing my best to pass along my heartfelt blessings and prayers for a fun filled holiday and a safe, prosperous New Year.  I found some fun tips about Christmas cards and just had to share.  Enjoy, and thanks to smithsonianmag.com and usps.com for the info and history.

  • Christmas cards were originally penned in England by boys who were practicing their writing skills and would present these handmade cards to their parents.
  • Postmen in Victorian England were called robins because their uniforms were red. Many Christmas cards from that time depicted a robin delivering Christmas mail.
  • Sir Henry Cole commissioned the first Christmas card in London, featuring artwork by John Callcott Horsley. The hand-colored card was lithographed on stiff, dark cardboard with the message: “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You.”  It provoked controversy in England because it pictured a company of people holding glasses of wine. Putting alcohol and holy Christmas in one picture was deemed offensive. (In 2001 it became world’s most expensive Christmas card when it was sold for $35,800 at auction).
  • A prominent educator and patron of the arts, Henry Cole travelled in the elite social circles of early Victorian England and had the misfortune of having too many friends. During the holiday season of 1843, those friends were causing Cole much anxiety.  With the introduction of the “Penny Post,” it allowed Henry to send a letter or card anywhere in the country by affixing a penny stamp to the correspondence.  He took Horsley’s illustration—a triptych showing a family at table celebrating the holiday flanked by images of people helping the poor—and had a thousand copies made by a London printer with the word “TO:_____” at the top – allowing Cole to personalize his responses, which included the generic greeting “A Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year To You.”
  • While Cole and Horsley get the credit for the first, it took several decades for the Christmas card to really catch on, both in Great Britain and the US. Once it did, it became an integral part of our holiday celebrations—even as the definition of “the holidays” became more expansive, and now includes not just Christmas and New Year’s, but Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and the Winter Solstice.
  • In 1875, Louis Prang, American printer, lithographer and publisher, brought Christmas card production to the US at his workshop in Boston, Massachusetts. By 1881 he was printing more than 5 million Christmas cards per year.
  • The modern Christmas card industry arguably began in 1915, when a Kansas City-based fledgling postcard printing company started by Joyce Hall, later to be joined by his brothers Rollie and William, published its first holiday card. The “Hall Brothers” company (which, went on to become …. come on …. you know …. think, think, think – Hallmark!) soon adapted a new format for the cards—4 inches wide, 6 inches high, folded once, and inserted in an envelope.
  • Between 1948 and 1957, Norman Rockwell (one of our favorites here at KHT) created 32 Christmas card designs, including Santa Looking at Two Sleeping Children (1952) for Hallmark.
  • The introduction, 59 years ago, of the first Christmas stamp by the U.S. Post Office perhaps speaks even more powerfully to the popularity of the Christmas card. It depicted a wreath, two candles and had the words “Christmas, 1962.” According to the Post Office, the department ordered the printing of 350 million of these 4-cent, green and white stamps. However they underestimated the demand and ended up having to do a special printing.
  • There are more than 3,000 greeting card publishers in America, with an unknow number of amateur writers and designers.
  • 15% of Christmas cards are purchased by men (ok, do the math, that means ____ % are purchased by ______. Nice)
  • Over 2 billion Christmas cards are sent in the US each year, with around 500 million e-cards sent as well.
  • Werner Erhard of San Francisco set a world record for sending 62,824 Christmas cards  in December of 1975 (that’s a lot of licking!) At $.58 per stamp this would amount to $36,437.92 worth of stamps in today’s dollars!
  • The most popular Christmas card of all time, however, is a simple one. It’s an image of three cherubic angels, two of whom are bowed in prayer. The third peers out from the card with big, baby blue eyes, her halo slightly askew.
  • Today, much of the innovation in Christmas cards is found in smaller, niche publishers whose work is found in gift shops and paper stores. “These smaller publishers are bringing in a lot of new ideas,” says Peter Doherty, executive director of the Greeting Card Association, a Washington, D.C.-based trade group representing the card publishers. “You have elaborate pop-up cards, video cards, audio cards, cards segmented to various audiences.
  • For me, I’ll stick with the classic.

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DO YOU LIKE CONTESTS?
Me, too.
As you may know the Kowalski Heat Treating logo finds its way
into the visuals of my Friday posts.
I.  Love.  My.  Logo.
One week there could be three logos.
The next week there could be 15 logos.
And sometimes the logo is very small or just a partial logo showing.
But there are always logos in some of the pictures.
So, I challenge you, my beloved readers, to count them and send me a
quick email with the total number of logos in the Friday post.
On the following Tuesday I’ll pick a winner from the correct answers
and send that lucky person some great KHT swag.
So, start counting and good luck!  
Oh, and the logos at the very top header don’t count.
Got it? Good.  :-))))
Have fun!!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Stew

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Anyone can make stew. But not like my wife, Jackie, who doesn’t use a recipe. (I get hungry just thinking about it.) She’s just got the touch! Don’t worry though, I found some recipes at the end that will help you cook-up some real tasty stews in your own kitchen. 

It’s right about that time of year for me when I crave another “feel good” food item – (you may have noticed this happens multiple times throughout the year).  With the thermometer going down, and the chilly skies with complete darkness driving home from work, my mind gets focused on thick and steamy, golden delicious, melt in your mouth, give me another helping – stew.  Now, I must admit, I’m REALLY spoiled, as my wife Jackie has a stew “to die for”.  You know, the kind of stew that “sticks to your bones” – sort of like a little internal heater pack.  From my “non-culinary” observations, she puts a whole bunch of browned meat and potatoes and vegies and spices in a big roasting pan, adds water and lets it “gurgle” all day – (that’s my professional cooking term) for a bazillion hours in the oven.   A magical transformation takes place – sort of like my ovens here when we’re solving your PIA (pain in the @%$) Jobs!  The house fills with the pan’s aroma, as the meat and carrots and celery and onions and spices and potatoes all do their thing.  What’s so cool – I asked her for the recipe, and she said – “I don’t really have one – just sort of make it up each time – and throw in what looks good” – (man, did I hit the amazing cooking spouse jackpot or what!).  And throughout the day, I get in trouble for simply wanting to “test” the product! (I think as an officer, I should be able to test what’s in the oven….right?).  When it’s time, I’m so anxious to sit down and do what I know how to do best -EAT!, and remember to have a chunk of your favorite bread so you don’t miss a drop! So, here’s a little history on “stews”. If you have a family favorite, please email it to me at skowalski@khtheat.com – and I’ll be sure to share with the gang and give it a try. Special thanks to one of my favorites – Shel Silverstein for his delightful poem, and delishably.com, tablespoon.com, sunset.com, gimmesomeoven.com, foodnetwork.com, and tasteofhome.com for the info and recipe links. Enjoy!

I have nothing to put in my stew, you see,
Not a bone or a bean or a black-eyed pea,
So I’ll just climb in the pot to see
If I can make a stew out of me.
I’ll put in some pepper and salt and I’ll sit
In the bubbling water—I won’t scream a bit.
I’ll sing while I simmer, I’ll smile while I’m stewing,
I’ll taste myself often to see how I’m doing.
I’ll stir me around with this big wooden spoon
And serve myself up at a quarter to noon.
So bring out your stew bowls,
You gobblers and snackers.
Farewell—and I hope you enjoy me with crackers!

    — Shel Silverstein

Stew (the noun) is “a dish of meat, fish, or other food, cooked by stewing.” (this reads like a definition a kid would make up when they didn’t know the answer).  So, for you newer chef’s out there … basically, any combination of two or more ingredients simmering in a liquid (broth) is a “stew.”

On the other hand, Soup is “a liquid food made by boiling or simmering meat, fish, or vegetables with various added ingredients.”) – when asked, I’m a “stew” guy for sure!

Many people and cultures present soup as an appetizer—a clear broth with or without a few beautifully prepared vegetables simmered within, or a cold vegetable or fruit appetizer (great in summer!).  Stew is not an appetizer, nor a light introduction to the main course.  It is the main course, the star of the show, and the perfect comfort food for those days when there is more darkness than daylight, when outdoor temperatures begin their descent toward freezing.

Historians agree, there is no way to come up with a definitive answer of when stew was invented, but the advent of combining ingredients in a pot to create a nutritious, filling, easy-to-digest meal (“stew”) probably occurred some moments after the discovery of fire, or perhaps more precisely, when prehistoric man took that first step in learning how to cook—learning how to boil water.

In her book, Food in History, Raey Tannahill states that we knew about boiling water long before the invention of pottery (about 6,000 B.C.). She believes that prehistoric men used reptile shells or the stomachs of animals they had killed as vessels in which to boil liquid.

After learning to boil water, humans made another discovery. Boiling foods not only makes them taste better, it creates new flavors. Cereal grains and some root vegetables, when heated in water, break down, soften, and release starchy granules. These starches then thicken the cooking liquid, the flavors of the individual ingredients combine, and a stew is created.

Couple passed down through the ages:  Beef Stroganoff, Coq au Vin, Paella, Hungarian Goulash — in essence, all of these are a stew.

Archeological remnants have been found to show that stew was a common food for Vikings and our European ancestors throughout the Middle East. Stew was eaten by princes and paupers alike, carried to the New World, and travelled across the Great Plains to the Pacific Ocean. It sustained cowboys on the cattle drive, nourished a generation through the Great Depression, and has been a part of human existence for millennia.  And still today, it makes this “heat-treater” a happy man!

Links to some favorites:
All-American Beef Stew (jampacked with 13 “Must Do” Tips for great stew – be sure to read it!)
Julia Child’s Beef Bourguignon (she’s genius – and so fun to watch)
No Meat – Earthly Mushroom Potato Stew/Soup

 

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DO YOU LIKE CONTESTS?
Me, too.
As you may know the Kowalski Heat Treating logo finds its way
into the visuals of my Friday posts.
I.  Love.  My.  Logo.
One week there could be three logos.
The next week there could be 15 logos.
And sometimes the logo is very small or just a partial logo showing.
But there are always logos in some of the pictures.
So, I challenge you, my beloved readers, to count them and send me a
quick email with the total number of logos in the Friday post.
On the following Tuesday I’ll pick a winner from the correct answers
and send that lucky person some great KHT swag.
So, start counting and good luck!  
Oh, and the logos at the very top header don’t count.
Got it? Good.  :-))))
Have fun!!

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New Ideas

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Amazing, incredible, astounding, surprising, impressive, astonishing, staggering, stunning, stupefying, mind-boggling, mind-blowing and sometimes bewildering! The new inventions that have come out in the last year are worth your attention & time. Speaking of time, Time Magazing is where I got the list. Link below. Grab a cup of coffee and dig-in.  

 

Shopping Friday.  Cyber Monday.  Deals galore.  It’s hard to visit my emails or watch TV without the onslaught of ads and offers now that the holiday shopping season has begun.  (I skipped the shopping rush this past weekend).  Each year I like to spend time looking for some really different gifts.  One of my inspirations is the “new inventions of the year” lists.  And I found a great one – Time Magazine’s Best 100 Inventions of 2021. I’m continually amazed at the progress of technology, and the visionaries who are behind these things.  Like so many of my great customers, they look for “better, faster, cleaner, smarter” versions of existing products, and also come up with some we’ve not even thought of.  I went through the list and picked out some of my favorites.  Be sure to click the link, and wander through the accomplishments – perhaps some will make it to YOUR shopping list.  Special thanks to TIME magazine for the link, and each of the inventors for their “bring to market” success – (note: deep scrolling may require a subscription to TIME).  Enjoy.

Wheel Me Autonomous Robots
Beeless Honey
Flat Wine Bottles
Non-Soggy Takeout –  This is my favorite!  French Fries – Onion Rings – Calamari!  My list is almost endless!
Better Base Layers for Runners

BONUS:
Biosynthetic Jeans
Bril:  Toothbrush Cleaner (found this one!)

 

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DO YOU LIKE CONTESTS?
Me, too.
As you may know the Kowalski Heat Treating logo finds its way
into the visuals of my Friday posts.
I.  Love.  My.  Logo.
One week there could be three logos.
The next week there could be 15 logos.
And sometimes the logo is very small or just a partial logo showing.
But there are always logos in some of the pictures.
So, I challenge you, my beloved readers, to count them and send me a
quick email with the total number of logos in the Friday post.
On the following Tuesday I’ll pick a winner from the correct answers
and send that lucky person some great KHT swag.
So, start counting and good luck!  
Oh, and the logos at the very top header don’t count.
Got it? Good.  :-))))
Have fun!!

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SNAP!

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To get to the wishbone, one MUST do some serious, serious turkey eating. Then once found, it must dry out for a day or two for the ritual to work properly. So, good luck with your wishbone. And don’t forget the fabulous leftovers! If you’re reading this on the afternoon after Thanksgiving, I’m on my second helping. Enjoy yours!!  :-)))

By now, I hope you have recovered from your Thanksgiving coma – (see science on tryptophan), patched up the inappropriate conversation damage done with the relatives, and gotten your fill of football, stuffing and pie (never enough pie! Pumkin and Apple Caramel!).  Now, as you decide just how much and which of the leftovers you plan to consume today (turkey mayo sandwich, stuffing and gravy, potatoes and jellied cranberry sauce, or just the green bean casserole), I wanted to share a little history and fun facts on the wishbone tradition.  Growing up in the Kowalski house, Thanksgiving is quite the undertaking – making all the food, heading down to the metro parks for the pick-up football game and associated trips to the ER, enough pie for 20.  Today, with all the kids and grandkids and great grandkids, we need an offsite location to feed the 88 who will be able to make it back to Cleveland this year!?.  One of my favorite memories is the breaking of the turkey wish bone.  Mom used to pull it out of the “bird” and set it on the kitchen windowsill to let it dry.  On Friday, she had to choose who got to do the wish ceremony (come to think of it, this could be where Dad got his inspiration for PIA (Pain in the @%$) Jobs!).  The wishbone ritual is much older than you probably suspect, even though it came to America with the pilgrims at Plymouth Rock. In fact, it began thousands of years earlier in the ancient Etruscan civilization.  Enjoy the info below, and thanks to makeitgrateful.com and backyardpoultry.com. Now go get some more pie!

  • Thanksgiving is one of America’s most beloved holidays and is full of traditions. Some are relatively modern additions — but others, like the breaking of the turkey’s wishbone (technically known as the furcula), have ancient origins.
  • Though wishbones are commonly associated with turkeys, all poultry have them — chickens, ducks, broad-breasted vs. heritage turkeys, and even geese — and people have been using these domesticated birds to grant wishes or tell the future since ancient times.
  • The Etruscans were a civilization in ancient Italy (from at least 800 BC) who practiced bird divination — the practice of using birds as oracles to predict the future. Chickens were allowed to peck at Etruscan letters on the ground to divine the answers to questions about the future. When a chicken was killed, the Etruscans laid the wishbone in the sun so the people could touch it and continue to use the chicken’s oracle power even after its death. People who touched the bone made wishes as they did, which is why we now commonly call it the wishbone.
  • Poultry have a long history of being used to grant wishes and tell the future. Ancient Greeks used to place grain on marked cards or mark kernels of corn with letters and carefully record which ones their chickens pecked first. The Roman army carried cages of “sacred chickens” with them — the designated chicken keeper was known as the pullarius. Once, as Andrew Lawler writes in Why Did the Chicken Cross the World?, the sacred chickens suggested a Roman general stay in camp. He fought instead and “he and most of his army were slain within three hours as a devastating earthquake shook Italy.” Obey the chickens, or else became the cry, as  poultry premonitions became so important that many advisers began to game the system. Chickens were often kept hungry or overfed the day before “divining” desired answers.
  • Over time, instead of wishing on bones on the ground, the Romans grappled over the wishbone to break it, with the victor being the person who broke off the larger part of the bone. The Romans brought their culture and traditions with them to the British Isles, and the wishbone tradition caught on there.
  • The first recorded practice of wishbone divination in Britain dates back to 1455; a goose wishbone (called a merrythought) was used to divine the weather on St. Martin’s Day, a harvest celebration that fell in November. Merrythoughts were sometimes broken between two single people, and the person who got the longer side of the bone was then predicted to marry first. The English colonists then brought the poultry bone tradition along with them to America and included it in the first Thanksgiving celebration.
  • The first known mention of the word “wishbone” as it refers specifically to a turkey bone was in an 1842 article in The Sun newspaper of Baltimore, Maryland.
  • Other religions also have ceremonies that involve poultry, many of them controversial. During Yom Kippur, some Jews practice kapparot where a live chicken is swung overhead in a circle three times, taking on that person’s sins, before the bird is slaughtered and given to the poor.
  • Geese helped foretell how bad the coming winter would be in European and Scandinavian traditions. Tate writes that after St. Martin’s Night, a dried goose’s breastbone would be examined to determine “whether the coming winter would be cold, wet, or dry.”
  • Many children like to study the wishbone long and hard before deciding which side they think will win a coveted wish. Today the internet has taken a bit of magic out of the wishbone tradition with tips on winning like choosing the thicker side (obvious) or ones that use the physics of pulling apart a two-pronged bone to your advantage like holding the wishbone closer to the center or letting the other person do most of the pulling.
  • When you face off with someone to break a wishbone, you carry on a tradition that harkens back thousands of years and spans continents. Here’s wishing that you break off the bigger piece this post-Thanksgiving Day!

 

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DO YOU LIKE CONTESTS?
Me, too.
As you may know the Kowalski Heat Treating logo finds its way
into the visuals of my Friday posts.
I.  Love.  My.  Logo.
One week there could be three logos.
The next week there could be 15 logos.
And sometimes the logo is very small or just a partial logo showing.
But there are always logos in some of the pictures.
So, I challenge you, my beloved readers, to count them and send me a
quick email with the total number of logos in the Friday post.
On the following Tuesday I’ll pick a winner from the correct answers
and send that lucky person some great KHT swag.
So, start counting and good luck!  
Oh, and the logos at the very top header don’t count.
Got it? Good.  :-))))
Have fun!!

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