Thursday Trivia

It’s nearly the end of the week. As I turn my gear down a few notches towards weekend mode (aka total slacker mode), I’m pleased to leave you with a few bites of information to tickle your palate.

1. Hot King, Cool Queen
   In South-East Asia, the durian is known as the king of fruits. The queen of fruits is purportedly the mangosteen. The Chinese consider durians “heaty” while mangosteens are believed to have “cooling” properties. This is why some people believe in eating The Queen after bingeing on The King (to counteract the heatiness). I don’t know how true this cooling/heaty thing is, but I once got sick with a sore throat and fever for 3 days after feasting on durian mooncakes. Then again, I should have stopped at 9 slices(?!!).
2. Get This Monkey Off Your Back
   According to a study conducted with rhesus macaques, eating dinner late doesn’t necessarily lead to weight gain. (This is for S, who insists on having dinner before 6.30. Come on, live a little! :D )
3. Step On the Gas
   Fruits and vegetables release ethylene gas as they ripen. Some fruit, like apples and avocados are high ethylene-producers; others are ethelyne-sensitive. You can speed up the ripening process of some fruits by placing high ethylene-producing fruits near them. Alternatively, sealing an unripe fruit in a paper bag prevents the gas from escaping thus hastening its ripening process.
4. It’s Just Soy
   Edamame is just a fancy name for young soya beans (accept it, Polly).
5. Once in a Blue Lobster
   The odds of finding a blue lobster is about one in two million. A yellow one? One in 30 million.

Related links
Yin and Yang in Chinese Cooking

Random Sunday – Names

Girl names:

Ava
Charlotte
Elisabeth
Lilian / Lily
Sophie
Rose

And boys:

Alexander
Daniel
Edward
Jacob

I might design a character based on one of the following names:

Beatrice
Doris
Edith
Gertrude
Mildred

The theme for the week, starting Monday, is one of my favourite things to talk about – FOOD!

Related Links
Old-Fashioned Name Generator
Why old-fashioned names are cool again

Maybe I Should Go Bananas?

On a box of Post Banana Nut Crunch cereal I was eating:

We should all aspire to live like bananas. They are on permanent vacation, living in lush, tropical rainforests.

I didn’t know bananas lead such enviable lives!

Pencil Thief And A Little Faith

I lose a writing instrument every other day. My cat, Moo Moo, has been stealing my pens, pencils and markers. She used to target only thin cylindrical objects but now she’s expanded her collection to include rulers and erasers. She just grabs the items off my hand while I’m writing or drawing and hides them with the rest of her loot under the bed. I think she’s opening a stationery store.

Moving on to a less scheming animal, this video made me cry…

Renaldo Lapuz (American Idol Hopeful)

“We’re Brothers Forever” is playing repeatedly in my head now. If we had more people like him in the world, there wouldn’t be a need for wars. Seriously! Even Simon Cowell was smiling. Ha ha!
Watch his performance on youtube here