Polite Paradise

Yeah, yeah, I'm shamelessly stealing this from Reddit, but so what? It's fun to learn and share cool facts we've encountered, so I thought we should have a place to do that. For example...

Today (well, actually two days ago, but I digress) I learned that between 1968 and 1972 a full 130 airplane hijackings took place in the United States, with many of the hijackers demanding to be flown to Havana. The policy on the part of the airlines was total compliance with the hijacker's demands, and these hijackings became so common that Time magazine actually published an article advising travelers that, if it happened to them, they should try to just stay calm and enjoy Cuba. The article went so far as to include a list of things to do and places to stay in Havana. At one time, the public was asked for advice on how to stop the problem of airjackings- suggestions included arming the flight attendants and having all the passengers wear boxing gloves, so that no one could hold a gun. The relatively simple solution of installing metal detectors in airports, to prevent people from bringing guns on board in the first place, was rejected for quite some time because the airlines thought it was too inconvenient and over-the-top: people wouldn't like the hassle of the added security and would resent being treated like criminals on their way to vacation.

Of course, all of these hijackings except one- that committed by the infamous "D.B. Cooper"- were solved, and around 1972-73, airports did start using metal detectors. But I can only imagine what they would think if they could see airport security now!

Source: the "Criminal" podcast, which I highly recommend! It's super interesting, and in the most recent two episodes, they actually interview a guy who hijacked an airplane in 1972. Absolutely fascinating.

All right everybody, enlighten us- what did you learn today?

Fascinating! And frightening, and sort of oddly... comforting in a way, because it sounds like those sort of hijackings didn't have to be terrifying and end in death, you know? Like, okay, everyone, we're taking a detour to Cuba, sorry to disrupt your travel plans, but sit tight and no one will get hurt, and in a few hours you'll be free. Like in historical movies when you have a "gentleman highwayman" who is polite to the ladies and steals only from the wealthy.

You wonder if things ever really were that way, or if people have found yet another thing to warp in their quest to romanticize the past. "Even crime was more civilized back then!" Of course people have always been that way. I am reading a crime novel that was written in, I think, the 1950s, and faced with a murder everyone wants to talk about how much more crime and more sordid crime, committed by younger and more deranged people for less reason, there is in their present, compared to their past.

I like to learn new things. Hopefully I will learn something else to add here!

This is a completely different context, but my mind was blown. My husband is a drummer* in two bands (one acoustic, one "rock and roll") that play covers of popular songs. A couple nights ago he was showing me his set list and I saw the song "Panama." I said, "Panama? I don't think I've ever heard that?" He started to sing it (it is by Van Halen) and I instantly recognized the tune, but laughed at the lyrics he was signing. "Paaaaanamah…….Paaaaaanamah-ah-ah-ah....."

"Hahahahah! You mean 'Let it rock......let it roll-oll-oll-oll……!!!!" My husband looked at me, uncertain if I was trying to be funny. "You mean that's NOT the lyrics?" I asked.

He pulled up the lyrics, and sure enough, for DECADES I have been singing (loudly, by the way, and clearly) the wrong lyrics to that song. Mind. Blown.

*Not for his job. Just for fun and extra cash, but mostly for fun.

My mental jukebox is now attempting to merge Van Halen's Panama with Bon Jovi's Let It Rock (which DOES feature the line "Let it rock, let it roll"!) It's an interesting mental cacophony to say the least.

On the upside, it's a break from Motley Crue's Girls, Girls, Girls which was the last thing I heard on my radio before getting out of the car this morning...

I grew up in a Methodist/Congregationalist sort of church, but in college there was a Presbyterian church literally across the street from me so I figured it wouldn't be that different. For the most part it wasn't, but what really threw me was the music. Often, I recognized the lyrics of the hymn, but it was a different tune! And sometimes the opposite. It's funny how unsettling that can be. Like trying to rub your stomach and pat your head at the same time, or seeing a crayon labeled the wrong color.

Yes! I grew up in one denomination, and started attending a different denomination as an adult. It took me years to get used to the different music. It used to leave me so crabby and off-kilter. It felt like walking upstairs and thinking there's one more stair at the top. But there's not.

This is a completely different context, but my mind was blown. My husband is a drummer* in two bands (one acoustic, one "rock and roll") that play covers of popular songs. A couple nights ago he was showing me his set list and I saw the song "Panama." I said, "Panama? I don't think I've ever heard that?" He started to sing it (it is by Van Halen) and I instantly recognized the tune, but laughed at the lyrics he was signing. "Paaaaanamah…….Paaaaaanamah-ah-ah-ah....."

"Hahahahah! You mean 'Let it rock......let it roll-oll-oll-oll……!!!!" My husband looked at me, uncertain if I was trying to be funny. "You mean that's NOT the lyrics?" I asked.

He pulled up the lyrics, and sure enough, for DECADES I have been singing (loudly, by the way, and clearly) the wrong lyrics to that song. Mind. Blown.

*Not for his job. Just for fun and extra cash, but mostly for fun.

in a similar vein, knowing the name of a song, and also hearing a song, but not putting two and two together that they are one and the same.

About 12 years ago, i went to see U2, for my 40th bday. oh wait no, 13. Anyway, John Lennon was killed ON my birthday, and the show was the day before. So as he likes to do, Bono decided in honor of JL, to play Instant Karma. I knew the name of the song, and the JL sang it, and i also recognized the song when they started to play it. At that point, i made the connection between the song I had heard many times before, and the actual title. DUH

I recently learned that caramel is made with white sugar, and butterscotch is made with brown sugar. I think I've got it right, anyway.

But what I don't understand now, is the difference between a clear sugar syrup (like you would make to add to egg whites for Italian meringue) and caramel. Aren't they both white sugar and water boiled on the stove? Why does one stay clear and the other turn golden?

I also learned about a kind of frosting called penuche, which is apparently made with brown sugar and simulates a caramel-type flavor without going to the trouble of making actual caramel. Someone was telling me they had had it on a cake, and I'd never heard of it before, and then the very next day I saw it on a baking show.

I assure you all these things are crucial to my life.

I recently learned that caramel is made with white sugar, and butterscotch is made with brown sugar. I think I've got it right, anyway.

But what I don't understand now, is the difference between a clear sugar syrup (like you would make to add to egg whites for Italian meringue) and caramel. Aren't they both white sugar and water boiled on the stove? Why does one stay clear and the other turn golden?

I also learned about a kind of frosting called penuche, which is apparently made with brown sugar and simulates a caramel-type flavor without going to the trouble of making actual caramel. Someone was telling me they had had it on a cake, and I'd never heard of it before, and then the very next day I saw it on a baking show.

I assure you all these things are crucial to my life.

I just now came across this thread.
I really didn't know the answer to your question (in bold above) so I looked it up. Turns out, caramel also has cream added to it, so it's not just sugar and water as the Italian meringue is.

Someone told me a way long time ago (and I pretty much forgot about it till just now) that you can make caramel (actually the Mexican version of caramel, cajeta) by putting a can of sweetened condensed milk in a warm water bath on the cooktop and simmering on low for a long time. I can't remember the exact amount of time. I never tried it but I bet it works.

... and I just found that on the internet.
https://www.seriouseats.com/2015/02/how-to-make-dulce-de-leche-canned-condensed-milk.html

That a bird i grew up calling a Jabiru is, in fact, more correctly known as a black-necked stork. Not earth-shattering but still a surprise. Someone on a FB bird photography page posted some lovely pics and used the correct name.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-necked_stork