Contrary to common legend, it was not created in the shape of a stirrup to commemorate the victory of Poland’s King Jan Sobieski over the Ottoman Turks in 1683. It was actually invented much earlier in Kraków, Poland, as a competitor to the obwarzanek, a lean bread of wheat flour designed for Lent.
There was a tradition among many observant Jewish families to make them on Saturday evenings at the conclusion of the Sabbath. Due to Jewish Sabbath restrictions, they were not permitted to cook during the period of the Sabbath and, compared with other types of bread, it could be baked very quickly as soon as it ended.
The name orginates both from the similarities of the word to an old word meaning 'bow' and because traditionally they are not handmade perfectly circular but rather slightly stirrup-shaped.
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Thursday, July 9, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
283. Horny Heave ho!
In old navy ships, high ranking officers would be lifted onto the ships instead of climbing on board. The artifact shown in the top picture would be attached to a block on the davit with a line. The officer would have the chair put under him, and then sideboys would lift him onto the deck of the ship on the command of the instrument shown in the bottom picture.
It is from the instrument that the artifact gets its name. Identify.
PS: Nowadays you might run into one of these when someone is trying to paint or clean a multi-storey building et al....
Monday, July 6, 2009
282. 10 Ideas changing the world right now....
Catherine Mayer writing in a Time Article entitled “10 Ideas changing the World Right now” in March 2009:
You may not have heard of X before—mainly because I’ve just coined the term. It’s about more than just the ripple effect of baby boomers” resisting the onset of age. It is a stranger, stronger alchemy, created by the intersection of that trend with a massive increase in life expectancy and a deep decline in the influence of organized religion—all viewed through the blue haze of Viagra. In their teens and 20s, they may seem preternaturally experienced. In later life, they often look young and dress younger. They have kids early or late—sometimes very late—or not at all. Their emotional lives are as chaotic as their financial planning. Their defining characteristic is to live in the same way, at the same pitch, doing and consuming much the same things, from late teens right up until death.
What is the term X that Ms Mayer coined?
You may not have heard of X before—mainly because I’ve just coined the term. It’s about more than just the ripple effect of baby boomers” resisting the onset of age. It is a stranger, stronger alchemy, created by the intersection of that trend with a massive increase in life expectancy and a deep decline in the influence of organized religion—all viewed through the blue haze of Viagra. In their teens and 20s, they may seem preternaturally experienced. In later life, they often look young and dress younger. They have kids early or late—sometimes very late—or not at all. Their emotional lives are as chaotic as their financial planning. Their defining characteristic is to live in the same way, at the same pitch, doing and consuming much the same things, from late teens right up until death.
What is the term X that Ms Mayer coined?
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