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Frozen Feasts:
Clarence was a field naturalist who was on a fur-trading
expedition in the Arctic in the 1920s. One day he decided to
go ice fishing when it was 20 below zero. The fish he caught
froze instantly when he removed them from the water. Back at
camp, he tossed a fish into a bucket of warm water and was
amazed to see it come to life again. He concluded it
survived because it had been frozen so quickly. This gave
him an idea. He tried flash-freezing food, with good
success. Freezing food quickly prevents large ice crystals
from forming, preventing damage to the cellular structure.
When thawed, frozen food tastes normal. In 1924, Clarence
began marketing the first line of frozen food-- fish. By
1930, he was selling 26 kinds of frozen items including
fruits, veggies, and meats. In the mid-1930s he introduced
an inexpensive freezer display case that he leased to
grocers who couldn't afford to buy one. The business
continued to expand with the widespread use of insulated
railroad cars. By the time Clarence died on October 8, 1956,
he had seen his idea revolutionize the way Americans eat.
His company, which he named after himself, is now one of the
best known names in frozen foods. What was Clarence's last
name, now carried on millions of packages of frozen food? Find
the answer at the bottom of this page....
A Tragic Event:
In 1493 in the town of Galway, Ireland, the Mayor was
invited to visit a Spanish merchant named Gomez. They got
along so well that the Mayor invited Gomez's son to come
visit with him and his son Walter in Ireland. Gomez's son
had much in common with Walter, and they became good
friends. Unfortunately, they both fell in love with a girl
named Ahnes, and in a fit of jealousy, Walter killed Gomez's
son. Overcome with remorse, he confessed and gave himself up
to the town's judge - who also happened to be the town's
mayor. The Mayor found himself in the uncomfortable position
of having to sentence his own son. In those days the
accepted penalty for murder was death, and the Mayor
accordingly was forced to sentence his son to death.
However, Walter was a very popular young man, and the
townfolk refused to see him hanged. They broke into the
Mayor's home to free Walter. The mayor grabbed Walter,
bolted the door, and in full view of the crowd, hung his son
in his own bedroom. The crowd watched in silence, and seeing
that there was nothing to be done, withdrew in silence,
leaving the Mayor alone. The Mayor's deed eventually came to
be admired by the Irish, and his name has lived on ever
since, becoming a common term for hanging. What was the
Mayor's name? Answer below -- think about this one long
and hard before proceeding to the surprising answer.......
Answers:
- Frozen Feasts: Clarence's last name was
Birdseye.
- The Mayor's name was James Lynch
We'd be happy to send you an envelope full of printed
samples. If you'd like a sample, please send us an e-mail
with your name, title, the organization you work for, and so
forth. Send
us an e-mail!
Other columns included in the weekly
feature - Time Out For Trivia
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