The origins of contemporary bingo go back to 16th century Italy, where the lottery game Lo Giuoco del Lotto dItalia was introduced. The popular chance game was introduced to North America in the late 1920s by the name of Beano. A toy salesperson of New York was responsible for changing the name of the game into Bingo and to the increase of its popularity throughout the US.
In the late 18th century, the original Italian lotto game made its way to France. Historical evidence shows that a game called Le Lotto was popular among the French high society who used to play the game in parties and social gatherings.
Le Lotto used to be played with special cards that were divided into three rows and nine columns. Each of the three columns consists of 10 numbers, while each column had five random number and four blank spaces in it. Each player had a different lotto card where he used to mark the number announced by the caller. The first player to cover one row won the game.
By the 19th century, the lotto game spread around Europe and started to serve as a didactic childrens game. In the 1850s, several educational lotto games had entered the German toys market. The lotto games purpose was to teach children how to spell words, how to multiply numbers, etc.
By 1920s, a similar version to the lotto game, known as beano was popular at county fairs throughout the US. In beano, the players placed beans on their cards to mark the called out number. The first player who completed a full row on his card, used to yell out Beano!, until one night in December 1929, when a New Yorker toys salesperson by the name of Edwin S. Lowe visited a country fair outside Jacksonville, Georgia.
On his way back to New York, Lowe had purchased beano equipment including dried beans, a rubber numbering stamp and cardboard. At his New York home, Lowe has been hosting friendly beano games. During one game, one excited winner who had managed to complete a full row stuttered out Bingo, instead of Beano. Listening to the excited stuttering girl, Edwin S. Lowe thoughts went away. Lowe decided to develop a new game that would be called Bingo.
While Lowe’s Bingo game was making its first steps in the market, a Pennsylvanian priest asked Lowe to use the game for charity purpose. After a short tryout period, the priest had found out that the bingo game causes the churches to lose money. Since the variety of bingo cards was limited, each bingo game ended up in more than five winners.
In order to develop the game and to lower the probabilities of winning, Lowe approached Prof. Carl Leffler, a mathematician from Columbia University. Leffler was asked to create bigger variety of bingo cards that each of them will have unique combination of numbers. By 1930, Lowe had 6,000 bingo cards and Prof. Leffler went insane.
Since then, the popularity of the bingo game as a fundraiser continued to grow. In less than five years, about 10,000 weekly bingo games took place throughout North America. Lowe’s company grew to employ several thousands of employees and to occupy more than 60 presses 24 hours a day.
Now, bingo is one of the most popular chance games in the world. It is played in churches, schools, local bingo halls and land based casinos in the US, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and other parts of the world.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Beware The Food Pyramid
The food pyramid was issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the early 1990s as part of a program to encourage the growth of healthy eating habits from a young age. From the outset schools that were keen to introduce healthy eating habits from junior school level upwards embraced it. We all accepted that USDA had produced a new key to guide us in how to eat healthily and start the battle against obesity from a young age. Time has since taught us that the Food Pyramid was based upon some unsound scientific data and the Department of Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health has since corrected the base knowledge by using up to date scientific data that has now replaced the original Pyramid. On a personal note I think the original Food Pyramid was great and a definite step in the right direction. This new approach is based upon more accurate scientific data and is therefore better to use.
The Five Food Groups
Fruits: Eat a variety of fruits rather than fruit juices for most of your fruit needs. Apart from fresh fruit you can also use canned fruit, dried fruit or frozen fruit. But try to have at least one item of fresh fruit each day.
Vegetables: Dark green vegetables are especially good for you; spinach, broccoli and kale lead the way together with any other dark leaf greens. Orange vegetables should also form a major part of your diet: Carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and winter squash. Don't forget beans and peas such as kidney beans, pinto beans, black beans, split peas and lentils.
Calcium foods: You need at least three cups of fat free or low fat milk each day. You can substitute an equal amount of low-fat yoghurts or cheese. One and a half ounces (42.5 grams) of cheese equals a cup of milk.
Grains: Minimum three ounces (85 grams) of whole-grain cereal. This can be substituted by pasta or rice. 1/2 cup of pasta or rice equals 1 cup of whole-grain breakfast cereal. Harvard School of Public Health suggests that you should read the content labels to be sure that grains such as wheat, rice, oats and corn are referred to as "whole".
Proteins: Choose only lean meats and poultry and it is preferable to bake, broil or grill it. You can vary your protein intake with fish, beans, peas, nuts and seeds.
A healthy diet requires a daily intake from each of the five food groups listed above. It also requires that you eat in moderation and should never eat until you feel full. It takes around twenty minutes for your stomach to get the full message to your brain. It is this time lapse that is to blame for the majority of cases of obesity. Today many of the top dieticians are advocating that you eat more meals each day rather than less. For instance, if you eat six small meals each day with a controlled calorie intake you are less likely to eat too much at any meal. This is far more helpful to losing weight than taking 3 meals each day and being so hungry when you sit down that you eat until the brain gets the message that you are full because that is already too late and the damage will takes months to undo.
This article is © copyright David McCarthy 2005. It may be reproduced in its entirety with no additions.
The Five Food Groups
Fruits: Eat a variety of fruits rather than fruit juices for most of your fruit needs. Apart from fresh fruit you can also use canned fruit, dried fruit or frozen fruit. But try to have at least one item of fresh fruit each day.
Vegetables: Dark green vegetables are especially good for you; spinach, broccoli and kale lead the way together with any other dark leaf greens. Orange vegetables should also form a major part of your diet: Carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and winter squash. Don't forget beans and peas such as kidney beans, pinto beans, black beans, split peas and lentils.
Calcium foods: You need at least three cups of fat free or low fat milk each day. You can substitute an equal amount of low-fat yoghurts or cheese. One and a half ounces (42.5 grams) of cheese equals a cup of milk.
Grains: Minimum three ounces (85 grams) of whole-grain cereal. This can be substituted by pasta or rice. 1/2 cup of pasta or rice equals 1 cup of whole-grain breakfast cereal. Harvard School of Public Health suggests that you should read the content labels to be sure that grains such as wheat, rice, oats and corn are referred to as "whole".
Proteins: Choose only lean meats and poultry and it is preferable to bake, broil or grill it. You can vary your protein intake with fish, beans, peas, nuts and seeds.
A healthy diet requires a daily intake from each of the five food groups listed above. It also requires that you eat in moderation and should never eat until you feel full. It takes around twenty minutes for your stomach to get the full message to your brain. It is this time lapse that is to blame for the majority of cases of obesity. Today many of the top dieticians are advocating that you eat more meals each day rather than less. For instance, if you eat six small meals each day with a controlled calorie intake you are less likely to eat too much at any meal. This is far more helpful to losing weight than taking 3 meals each day and being so hungry when you sit down that you eat until the brain gets the message that you are full because that is already too late and the damage will takes months to undo.
This article is © copyright David McCarthy 2005. It may be reproduced in its entirety with no additions.
Lobster Was Not Always The King Of Seafood
Lobster wasn't always a top dish....
The succulent shellfish started out branded as a scavenger, bottom feeder and food for the impoverished. However, thanks to the progress of modern transportation, lobster could be shipped from Canada to the upper northern states to become the luxury food we now appreciate. These days the finest restaurants take pride in their lobster recipes and Surf and Turf presentations.
Besides being a versatile and delicious meal, shellfish such as lobster, shrimp and oysters, have a good taste for health. Recent studies have dismissed the connection between higher blood cholesterol and the consumption of shellfish. Milligram for milligram, lobster is only slightly higher with 81 milligrams per 3 ounce serving compared to lean ground beef and chicken at 78 milligrams per 3 ounces. Lobster and shrimp are low in fat and coupled with moderate portions it can be enjoyed up to three times a week. Remember that it's the sauces and butters that increase fat and cholesterol. Try different methods of cooking, such as steaming or in salads and soups or even on the grill.
It is best to cook the lobster alive, don't worry too much about being cruel; lobsters and most shellfish can not feel pain because of their underdeveloped central nervous system. A good trick is to drop the lobster in a pot of boiling water upside down... that is head first. This stops the tail from splashing hot water out of the pot. A live lobster will have a better sweeter flavor. You can tell if the lobster has been cooked alive if the tail curls under.
The old adage is that if it tastes good ... it can't possibly be good for you. Lobster, shrimp, oysters and other shellfish not only taste good but also keep you healthy. So enjoy! Including shellfish in your diet can provide you with the recommended supply of important essential trace elements such as selenium and copper. Selenium, a major antioxidant can rid the body of free radicals and cleanse the body of toxic metals such as mercury, cadmium and arsenic. Copper keeps your bones, blood vessels and nerves healthy.
*If you have gout, you should limit your intake of shellfish.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Beware of Noni Fruit Scams
Multi-level marketing companies came under a lot of fire in the 1990’s and early 2000’s for allowing its distributors to claim cure-all properties for noni. Governmental organizations such as the Food and Drug Administration in the United States, the National Food Administration in Finland, and others have issued warnings to those distributors, forcing them to publish disclaimers about their products. Since then, the market for noni fruit products has shaped up as more people become educated about the truths and falsehoods surrounding the fruit.
Some marketers have claimed that the only real noni fruit, in all of its health benefit glory, is that which comes form the Polynesian Islands. In fact, all noni fruit is the same, wherever in the world it grows. Noni is the Polynesian name for the tree. Its scientific name is Morinda citrifolia, but it is also widely known as Indian mulberry, among other names.
Another noni fruit scam, still in use by various private promoters, is to pollute Internet search engines by directing such phrases as “noni fruit scam” to unrelated websites. Various “warning” sites have cropped up as a result, exposing the scams to consumers.
Unfortunately, the backlash against the noni fruit scam has been too extreme. Many people are going out of their way to prove that noni fruit is actually bad for you. While there are some potential side effects, including diarrhea, noni fruit is a generally nutritious and valuable food overall.
Some marketers have claimed that the only real noni fruit, in all of its health benefit glory, is that which comes form the Polynesian Islands. In fact, all noni fruit is the same, wherever in the world it grows. Noni is the Polynesian name for the tree. Its scientific name is Morinda citrifolia, but it is also widely known as Indian mulberry, among other names.
Another noni fruit scam, still in use by various private promoters, is to pollute Internet search engines by directing such phrases as “noni fruit scam” to unrelated websites. Various “warning” sites have cropped up as a result, exposing the scams to consumers.
Unfortunately, the backlash against the noni fruit scam has been too extreme. Many people are going out of their way to prove that noni fruit is actually bad for you. While there are some potential side effects, including diarrhea, noni fruit is a generally nutritious and valuable food overall.
Like Your Tea Sweet? Add Honey Instead of Sugar
One of life’s purest pleasures is a cup of steaming tea. Some like it pure but most like it sweet. Adding sugar is by far the most common way of sweetening tea. Common table sugar (sucrose) is comprised of fructose and glucose. While sugar satisfies a natural craving, it is not without its downside.
Sugar is the quintessential source of energy and most foods, when digested, are metabolized by the body as basic sugar (glucose). It is a major source of calories in the diet. The body will save the excess energy in sugar as fat. While some stored fat is necessary, too much is undesirable and pose several health concerns especially for diabetics. Sugar also supports the growth of the bacteria that causes tooth decay.
A healthier alternative is honey. Honey is one of the oldest sweeteners used by man and was highly valued by ancient Egyptians for its medicinal and healing properties. It is a sweet, usually viscous, liquid made by bees from flower nectar and stored in the cells of the hive for food. Consumed fresh or after processing, it is usually used as a nutritive sweetener.
“Honey is the ultimate in products derived from herbs. It’s like liquid gold. Fashioned through an ingenious alliance between animal and plant kingdoms, honey delivers a diverse array of phytochemicals in one package. This bounty arrives courtesy of the industrious honeybee, who visits some 2 million flowers to manufacture just one pound of honey” said Dr.Gina Mohammed, a plant physiologist in Sault Ste Marie, Canada. “Honey blends exceptionally well with black and flavored teas and enhances its fragrance”, added Kim Yong, founder of Your Tea Place, an online tea site which focuses on tea and health.
A study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, shows that the level of antioxidants of honey is comparable to that of many fruits and vegetables. And while you are unlikely to devour a cup of honey in lieu of broccoli, the golden liquid may be a respectable alternative to sugar and a healthy supplement to your diet. It has been found that honey lessens the ill effects of radiation therapy in patients with cancer of the head and neck, improves oral health, preserves food, boosts antioxidants and enhances athletic performance.
Researchers at the University of Illinois studied 25 healthy men who consumed various combinations of hot water, buckwheat honey, black tea and sugar. They found that serum antioxidant capacity increased by 7 percent within two hours of ingesting 2 cups of hot water containing about 4 tablespoons of honey. Those antioxidants also help your arteries as it reduces oxidation of low-density lipoproteins (known as “bad” cholesterol), a benefit which likely thwarts development of atherosclerosis. The findings also show that many varieties are full of phenols and flavonoids – known cancer fighters even more powerful than vitamin E.
So the next time you’re having a cup of tea, do your health a favor by added a spoonful of honey, nature’s liquid gold.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Bells Scotch Whisky
Bells
Caol Ila is an exception though. Most distilleries are stubborn individuals. 'If we seriously wanted to change Mortlach could we do it?' she asks. 'No, you'd get a corrupted spirit. We always have to keep within the parameters of what the distillery character is'.
It's a polite way of responding to criticisms that the bigger the firm the more likely it is that all their whiskies will taste the same. Ask Turnbull the same question and he visibly twitches. 'People think if you're big you don't care about quality and all the whisky is the same,' he says. 'In reality, our size has allowed us to do the opposite. We're more aware than anybody that we need the character of the 27 distilleries to come through. The Walker, Bell's or J&B character is paramount. We won't kill the goose that laid the golden egg'.
But there's no doubt that the in-depth research done by UDV into new make character, distillery character and wood ageing has made the bean counters in head office question the logic of one firm having 27 malt distilleries and two grain plants (and a 50 per cent share in another). After all, with all this research, isn't it possible to take a more cost-effective option and make all the malts and blends on one site? It's what the rest of the world does.
Turnbull's heard it all before. 'I'm always having to deal with people parachuting into this industry with smart ideas,' he sighs. 'They assume they're dealing with a bunch of numpties who have never had a good idea in their puff for the last 100 years.' So he called their bluff. 'I said, fine, let's build the biggest f—in' distillery'in the world. There's just one drawback, you'll have an oil refinery and I don't see many tourists going to Grangemouth. Whisky sells because of the romance'. Scratch any whisky person and a romantic soul peers out, these people have a passion for their job and their product. The men emptying thousands of casks in the disgorging hall, working in the vast warehouses, the coopers in the noisy, steamy joke-filled cooperage are the unsung heroes of the industry.
As for Christine, ask her about Walker and she becomes positively poetic. 'Walker Red is cheeky and in your face, Black is gorgeous, Blue is positively luxurious. They've all got that Islay thread and a different interplay of lingering flavours. Christ!
I'm sounding like someone from marketing!" The bottom line is that in Johnnie Walker and J&B they have two of the greatest blends in the world. To be able to produce them in such volumes and retain such high quality standards is an incredible feat. But who gives them a second thought? 'We've concentrated on malts for 10 years now,' says Christine. 'Classic Malts helped grow the market and that's great, but now it's time to make that link from them into the blends. We've got to recognize blends for what they're worth. I'm proud of these brands, they're not faceless products'.
BLACK & WHITE James Bucbanan was one of blending s greatest characters and the man who, from the 1880s onwards, brought blended Scotch to the attention of the English middle classes - thanks to his creation of a lighter style of blend, which he renamed Black & White, in 1904. Once a major player for DCL, it's now sadly rather lost in UDV's massive portfolio.
TASTING NOTES
Black Sc White A hint of heather on the light nose, with plenty of fresh grain and light smoke. A crunchy almond centre with some mint toffee and a hint of smoke mid-way through. WHITE HORSE Created by Sir Peter Mackie, the despotic, eccentric blender (and owner of Lagavulin), White Horse always wore its Islay heart on its sleeve, until recently. Now repositioned as a 'fighting' blend, it has been toned down slightly to appeal to a new audience.
TASTING NOTES
White Horse
Some ripe apple and a hint of smoke on the nose. The palate has an immediate whack of turf/peat. Dries out in the middle, then broadens and becomes quite sweet. * * (*)
TASTING NOTES
Bell's 8-year-old
Mellow, fragrant nose with good depth of flavour. Some fruit cake, light perfume, leather, cocoa and cereal. Soft and chewy. Take time to rediscover it. * * * * (*)
BELL'S Perth wine merchant Arthur Bell started blending in the 1860s, but it was his son 'AK' who first sold the whisky as Bell's in 1904. Still the UK's largest-selling whisky, its reputation suffered during the 1970s when overproduction brought quality crashing down. Relaunched as an 8-year-old in 1994, it is unrecognizable as the bad old whisky it briefly became.
Caol Ila is an exception though. Most distilleries are stubborn individuals. 'If we seriously wanted to change Mortlach could we do it?' she asks. 'No, you'd get a corrupted spirit. We always have to keep within the parameters of what the distillery character is'.
It's a polite way of responding to criticisms that the bigger the firm the more likely it is that all their whiskies will taste the same. Ask Turnbull the same question and he visibly twitches. 'People think if you're big you don't care about quality and all the whisky is the same,' he says. 'In reality, our size has allowed us to do the opposite. We're more aware than anybody that we need the character of the 27 distilleries to come through. The Walker, Bell's or J&B character is paramount. We won't kill the goose that laid the golden egg'.
But there's no doubt that the in-depth research done by UDV into new make character, distillery character and wood ageing has made the bean counters in head office question the logic of one firm having 27 malt distilleries and two grain plants (and a 50 per cent share in another). After all, with all this research, isn't it possible to take a more cost-effective option and make all the malts and blends on one site? It's what the rest of the world does.
Turnbull's heard it all before. 'I'm always having to deal with people parachuting into this industry with smart ideas,' he sighs. 'They assume they're dealing with a bunch of numpties who have never had a good idea in their puff for the last 100 years.' So he called their bluff. 'I said, fine, let's build the biggest f—in' distillery'in the world. There's just one drawback, you'll have an oil refinery and I don't see many tourists going to Grangemouth. Whisky sells because of the romance'. Scratch any whisky person and a romantic soul peers out, these people have a passion for their job and their product. The men emptying thousands of casks in the disgorging hall, working in the vast warehouses, the coopers in the noisy, steamy joke-filled cooperage are the unsung heroes of the industry.
As for Christine, ask her about Walker and she becomes positively poetic. 'Walker Red is cheeky and in your face, Black is gorgeous, Blue is positively luxurious. They've all got that Islay thread and a different interplay of lingering flavours. Christ!
I'm sounding like someone from marketing!" The bottom line is that in Johnnie Walker and J&B they have two of the greatest blends in the world. To be able to produce them in such volumes and retain such high quality standards is an incredible feat. But who gives them a second thought? 'We've concentrated on malts for 10 years now,' says Christine. 'Classic Malts helped grow the market and that's great, but now it's time to make that link from them into the blends. We've got to recognize blends for what they're worth. I'm proud of these brands, they're not faceless products'.
BLACK & WHITE James Bucbanan was one of blending s greatest characters and the man who, from the 1880s onwards, brought blended Scotch to the attention of the English middle classes - thanks to his creation of a lighter style of blend, which he renamed Black & White, in 1904. Once a major player for DCL, it's now sadly rather lost in UDV's massive portfolio.
TASTING NOTES
Black Sc White A hint of heather on the light nose, with plenty of fresh grain and light smoke. A crunchy almond centre with some mint toffee and a hint of smoke mid-way through. WHITE HORSE Created by Sir Peter Mackie, the despotic, eccentric blender (and owner of Lagavulin), White Horse always wore its Islay heart on its sleeve, until recently. Now repositioned as a 'fighting' blend, it has been toned down slightly to appeal to a new audience.
TASTING NOTES
White Horse
Some ripe apple and a hint of smoke on the nose. The palate has an immediate whack of turf/peat. Dries out in the middle, then broadens and becomes quite sweet. * * (*)
TASTING NOTES
Bell's 8-year-old
Mellow, fragrant nose with good depth of flavour. Some fruit cake, light perfume, leather, cocoa and cereal. Soft and chewy. Take time to rediscover it. * * * * (*)
BELL'S Perth wine merchant Arthur Bell started blending in the 1860s, but it was his son 'AK' who first sold the whisky as Bell's in 1904. Still the UK's largest-selling whisky, its reputation suffered during the 1970s when overproduction brought quality crashing down. Relaunched as an 8-year-old in 1994, it is unrecognizable as the bad old whisky it briefly became.
Krups Automatic Drip Coffee Makers
Krups International Standards
As expected, when one hears about Krups, they usually think of a Germany-based appliance company with a lot of rich history down its path. And nothing has ever been truer than this. Through the years, Krups has made it their priority to maintain a standard of excellence in the world market. With its new and latest approaches to designing the styles and function of household utensils and appliances, they made it impossible for consumers to ignore their edge in providing quality items.
Now what about their latest coffee makers? That is a topic that deserves to be presented and discussed. The growing number of coffee drinkers and enthusiasts made it possible for this company to answer this call. With numerous varieties of coffee beans cultivated and perfected, the global need for the perfect coffee makers is increasing as well. Who else is best suited to take heed than Krups?
They were one of the world’s pioneers in coffee maker production. Now learn about their latest updates in terms of design, function and features.
Drip Machines on the Go
There are as many types of coffee drinkers as there are coffee bean blends, and understandably so. Each individual consumer has his own preferences when it comes to brewing a perfect coffee concoction. For those who prefer the automatic drip coffee machine, the differences in features may vary and may not be that different but these slight variations could mean something to them
The 10-cup capacity stainless steel thermal carafe is programmable with an electronic descaling regulator perfect for those wanting a smooth exterior finish to their coffee makers. The 10-cup capacity with aroma selector features a pause-to-serve button just right for those with highly discriminating taste for coffee blends. The 12-cup capacity with pause-to-serve feature is also programmable and serves well for those who want to brew coffee in large quantities in one time.
These latest features are indeed much invaluable on a day-to-day basis. One can only imagine the satisfaction of brewing coffee in a short span of time and with great results as well. It is no wonder these Krups coffee makers are the best in their category. Style and function is a great combination that enhances the enjoyment of coffee-drinking.
For those living alone in their houses or apartments, coffee makers with lesser capacity would not be an issue. What matters is that they get the right results in the brewing process. However, for those who have other companions or family members at home who are much into coffee as they do, coffee makers with a higher capacity are recommended so as to accommodate more quantities in one brewing. Better look for the right one that suits your lifestyle and coffee-drinking pattern.
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