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Friday, November 25, 2016

Friday links

Kids re-enact the first Black Friday.

November 25 is "Evacuation Day, when the British ran 'way" from New York City at the end of the Revolutionary War. Here's the story of the young man who slithered up a greased flagpole to rip down the British flag.

Cultural History Of The Mirror.

Video compilation of every gadget from every James Bond film, in chronological order.


Death by Wallpaper: The Alluring Arsenic Colors that Poisoned the Victorian Age

ICYMI, Thursday's links are here, and include lots of interesting and obscure Thanksgiving-related stuff.

Kids re-enact the first Black Friday

Jimmy Kimmel put this together - Black Friday among the pilgrims and Indians:

Thursday, November 24, 2016

Every James Bond gadget ever on screen

For 007 fans, every gadget used by James Bond . . . plus a few from the Q Branch that were just too good to leave out. 

From every James Bond film ever, in chronological order:



h/t HolyKaw

Thanksgiving links

Time to invite the neighbors to dinner, kill them, and take their land. 

'A Day of Thanksgiving and Praise': Remembering President Lincoln's 1863 Thanksgiving proclamation.



For those of us born between the 22nd and 28th and have always wondered, here's how it works: the Thanksgiving Birthday Pattern.

How Turkey Got Its Name.


Dave Barry Thanksgiving columns from 1996, 1998, 2004... feel free to add more in the comments.

Buffy Thanksgiving episode: "Ritual sacrifice, with pie."



Calculating How Much Stuffing It Would Take to Stuff Your House Like A Turkey.


A Scientific Look at How Female Turkeys Choose Their Mates (and avoid the unwanted ones).


A definitive ranking of Thanksgiving sides, taking into account the availability theorem and the leftover theorem. Related, this map of side dishes by region.

Manly Ways to Prepare Turkey, and one more: a bird in a bird in a bird in a bird in a bird in a pig: the TurBacon Epic.​ Related video: watch this guy cook a turkey using Lamborghini exhaust fire.

From the American Chemical Society: What Happens When You Eat Too Much?

ICYMI, Monday's links are here, and include more Thanksgiving stuff (Mark Twain, science, the WKRP turkey giveaway ("as God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly"), Cicero, William Shatner's turkey fryer PSA and Alton Brown's advice on how to construct a derrick over your turkey fryer), the 19th century British practice of wife-selling, New York City before indoor toilets, and photos taken by the Apollo Mission astronauts

Have an excellent Thanksgiving, and be good to all of those people you're thankful for!

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Toasted cornbread bacon pecan stuffing

A few people have requested this - it's adapted from The Cook’s Bible

All measurements are approximate - add as much bacon, onion, celery, or herbs as you like, and if you like them or have them around, you could add finely chopped mushrooms and/or leeks. You will need approximately 1 and 1/4 cups of broth for 6 cups of toasted cornbread, but if the cornbread is extra dry, you may need more - if moist you may need less.

6 cups coarsely crumbled cornbread
1 cup pecans, chopped 
1/2 pound bacon, chopped
1/2 stick butter
1 large or 2 medium finely chopped onions
2 or 3 ribs of  finely chopped celery
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, or 1 teaspoon dried
1 tablespoon minced fresh sage, or 1 teaspoon dried 
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup bourbon 
1 1/4 cup low sodium chicken stock
1/2 cup minced parsley

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Spread the crumbled cornbread onto a baking sheet and toast for 25 - 30 minutes or until cornbread is golden brown, tossing the crumbs with a spatula once or twice during toasting. Cool and place in a large mixing bowl.

2. Spread the chopped pecans on the pan you just emptied of cornbread and stick into the oven for 10 - 12 minutes - keep checking so they don't burn. Cool and dump into the bowl with the cornbread.

3. Cook the chopped bacon in large skillet until crispy. Remove it with a slotted spoon, dump it into the bowl with the cornbread and bacon, and pour off all but 1 tablespoon of drippings. Add the butter to the skillet, and when the butter has melted add the onion and celery and saute for ~10 minutes over medium-low heat or until soft, Stir in thyme, sage, salt, and pepper to taste. Add to the bowl with the cornbread. Go easy on the salt - there's a lot of bacon in here, and you can add more salt later when you adjust the seasonings.

4. Turn up the heat under the skillet and add the bourbon. Stir for 2 minutes with a wooden spoon, scraping the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken stock, bring to a boil, remove from heat, and add mixture to bowl. Add parsley to bowl and adjust seasonings.

That's it - it doesn't get cooked any further. Stick the bowl in the refrigerator and let the flavors meld for a few hours, or even better overnight. You can heat it the next day either in the microwave or (covered with foil) in the oven at whatever temperature you're already using for your other dishes.

Monday, November 21, 2016

Monday links

A Thanksgiving miscellany: Mark Twain, science, WKRP, Cicero, the best turkey fryer PSA ever, more. Related, this may be a good idea this year: in 1939, the U.S. celebrated Democrat Thanksgiving and Republican Thanksgiving.


That Surprisingly Recent Time in British History When Husbands Sold Their Wives at Market.

The traditional drunken turkey recipe.

This Is What Life Was Like in New York City Before the Invention of Indoor Plumbing and Indoor Toilets.

“Tightly holding the pelican by his mouth pouch” and other foreign euphemisms for masturbation.

ICYMI, Friday's links are here, and include the rise and fall of the 1-900 number, advice on hair washing from the 12th and 17th centuries. the Gettysburg Address anniversary, recipes for leftover bacon fat, and President James Garfield's birthday (of note - when he was shot, Alexander Graham Bell showed up with a metal detector to try to locate the bullet.)