BOC#001
2 MINUTE MUNCH
BRAILLE WAS ORIGINALLY INVENTED…
…as a form of ‘night writing’ by French Captain Charles Barbier in 1821. His twelve-dot code permitted communication in battlefield conditions eliminating the need for speaking. During a trial, Barbier visited a blind school where he met Louis Braille (1809-52) who further developed the idea into the six-dot system used today. When Louis Braille was just three, he accidentally blinded himself in one eye with a sharp pointed instrument while playing in his fathers’ workshop. He later lost sight in his other eye due to infection.
VIAGRA WAS ORIGINALLY DEVELOPED BY PFIZER…
…as a treatment for angina. While it didn’t appear to display any intended benefits during clinical trials, there was a marked effect on sexual arousal in male patients. It first became available in the U.S in 1998, hitting the U.K market in 1999.
THE TERM ‘PIPING HOT’…
…was first recorded in the 1300's, and its first use can be found in the Canterbury Tales, ‘Wafers piping hot out of the gleed.’ The pipes that amplified the old pipe organs in churches and cathedrals hissed the same way water did when it steamed. Steaming hot water was thus referred to as "piping" hot.
WILD RICE IS…
…far more nutritious than the ordinary variety. It contains all nine essential amino acids, is richer in fibre, lower in calories, and contains hardly any gluten. Technically speaking, wild rice is classed as water-grown grass seed. If kept covered in a dry, cool place, wild rice keeps forever. Cooked, drained, and sealed, it’ll keep for about a week in a refrigerator, and up to six months in a freezer. - Stirring rice while cooking increases stickiness due to the release of starch. Look out for it next time you're out grocery shopping.
BOOK PASSAGE: MEDITATIONS BY MARCUS AURELIUS
“If anyone can refute me, show me I’m making a mistake, or looking at things from the wrong perspective, I’ll gladly change. It’s the truth I’m after, and the truth never harmed anyone. What harms us is to persist in self-deceit and ignorance.”
“DO NOT EVER ARGUE. EVER.
In an argument, nobody ever comes out the winner.”
“IF YOU WANT TO MAKE GOD LAUGH…
…tell him about your plans” - Woody Allen
BONUS
Did you know that Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36 was a comical portrayal of his bowel movements (hiccups, burps, and rumbles) caused by a depression related gastrointestinal disorder.
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