Lost in a Lost World (Page 22)

ghostgeek: If you're feeling in need of a change when it comes to a snack, how about some woodlice:

An 1885 book by Vincent Holt advising that woodland produce could alleviate food shortage among the poor included ‘an excellent sauce for fish’, with boiled woodlice added to butter, flour, water, salt and pepper.

As for modern authorities? Well, Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall demonstrated woodlice fritters on TV in 2012 and confirmed their shrimp flavour… but suffice to say they are not on his River Cottage Canteen menu in Axminster.

[ https://www.countrylife.co.uk/nature/bizarre-world-of-woodlice-164708 ]

Zanjan: Do you know how long it would take to pick a cup full of lice?? On the prairies?

ghostgeek: Can't say I do, seeing as I've never been minded to eat the little critters. Still, some people go in for that sort of thing:

A man who lived in the Lower Pecos Canyonlands of Texas sometime between 1,000 and 1,400 years ago may have died from a horrible case of constipation, according to a study of his mummified remains.

And during the painful months just prior to his death, he ate mainly grasshoppers, the study researchers found.

Apparently, Chagas disease, which is caused by a parasite called Trypanosoma cruzi, had blocked up the man's gastrointestinal system. That blockage caused his colon to swell to about six times its normal size — a condition called "megacolon." The man was unable to digest foods properly and gradually became malnourished, scientists found. The condition would have made it difficult for the man to walk or even eat on his own. The researchers think that in the last two to three months of his life — either family or members of his community — helped the man eat by feeding him grasshoppers whose legs had been removed.

[ https://www.livescience.com/mummy-constipated-man-ate-grasshoppers.html ]

Zanjan: Ugh. A case where life is worse than death.

ghostgeek: Can't say I'd be too keen on eating grasshoppers myself, but who can say what a person would do when the odds are stacked against them.

chronology: Well I mean no disrespect at all to the great people of China ghost. But gee wizz they eat strange things. I was watching a program about'Birds Nest Soup' . Man that does seem curious. China today is rich and successful, so you wonder why they don't chow down on tasty Wyoming Steaks, or New England Chowders.

No disrespect at all to the good people of China. But with America overflowing with top shelf food for sale, it seems a waist to be eating bird's nest.

MJ59:

ghostgeek: People do strange things, like wearing lumps of carbon around their neck. Diamonds might be a girl's best friend but they're still made from the same stuff that's in a kid's pencil.

ghostgeek: Anyway, talking of food, I must admit that a peanut butter and jelly sandwich would leave me feeling a little queasy if I ever encountered one. Not as bad as soup made from birds' nests, admittedly, but still quite obscene.

chronology: It is not PB and Js Is that get people from England bowling when they visit or live in America, it is Heinze Beans. Actually Heinze is a American company, or was. But it's been in England so long it is an institution there. And Beans on toast is a number one comfort food for English people. But in America, Americans prefer beans with syrup not not tomato sauce. It used to be a joke amongst New Yorker's how English residents would howl after opening a tin of beans and find syrup not tomato with the beans. Actually, beans are American specialty. I love them myself, they take a lot of slow cooking, I I cook mine for 7 hours. But with the right sauce they are 'to die for' . Texas is the place for great bean meals.
You could visit America just for the food. Even the herbs in America are unique. Chinese folks at the high end of the market will accept nothing but West Virginia Ginseng. Again, I like Ginseng myself, but West Virginia Ginseng is out of my price range. You can pay 2000 dollars just for one plant root. And you know what? It's worth every cent if you are receptive to Ginseng it gives you a energy boost like nothing else. Old folks can begin a whole new lifestyle after beginning Ginseng. But again, it is pricey, and it is complex business getting hold of the right ginseng. Folks in West Virginia grow the plant's in the wild, Chinese Herbal experts know which type of plant works for particular people.
It is not a scam, it's been established for hundreds of year's. Some folks will visit WV with thousands of dollars in cash just buy particular plants. Federal and State Authorities in the United States try and regulate the ginseng trade. After discovering they have a new found lease on life many seniors will pay anything for the plant's. But that is threatening the future of the plant in the forrests of the Blue Mountain's. If people really want to begin Ginseng I would advise them to visit a Chinese Herbal store and ask advice from Chinese Herbalists about which ginseng is best for their particular needs. Expert advice is usually the best when starting any new lifestyle.

chronology: You reminded me about Beans ghost. I will be putting some Beans to soak all day. Then tonight I will be slow cooking them for 7 hours. Texans will tell you the secret of good Beans is long slow cooking time.

ghostgeek: I used to soak beans overnight but I never spent seven hours cooking them. Nowadays, if I want to tuck into some legumes, I open a can and get stuck in.

chronology: 'Slow Cookers' is how you do it. You just place the beans in the Cooker to soak. After a ten hour soak you just switch on the cooker and leave it for seven hours. Your biggest problem then is to decide which Saurce to have with your beans, Mexican or Jamaican.

ghostgeek: I've just been surfing the net and I've found something that'll put me off beans for a little while:

In several parts of the US, some people are waking up to the fact that they have been using the synthetic drug krokodil without knowing it. There are very specific symptoms related to the use of this drug. Krokodil effects are incredibly harsh and toxic, creating a distinctive pattern of destruction and decay to the user’s body in a short period of time.

The effects of the drug were first seen in Siberia, and then in Russia. Then they were seen in Germany and the UK and now they have been identified in several US states. Doctors are seeing:

Blood poisoning

Abscesses

Nerve destruction

Organ inflammation

Bone destruction

Complete destruction of muscle and soft tissue

Green, scaly areas of skin (leading to its nickname, krokodil)

The worst problems occur around injection sites. This is where the meat of the body simply disintegrates and rots off the body.

The drug costs about a tenth of the price of heroin. And it is incredibly addictive. If a person begins using it and then decides to quit, he (or she) faces a grueling withdrawal period. This means they will be forced back into using the drug unless they can get drug addiction treatment immediately.

[ https://www.narconon.org/drug-rehab/krokodil-recovery.html ]

ghostgeek: Pretty much what you'd expect to see in your average zombie film, only tottering around in real life.

Zanjan: The news reported that, due to Covid lockdown restrictions, the drug trafficking trade has been suffering. This is NOT a good thing, apparently.

Unable to get shipments past the border, sellers are cutting and thinning the drugs they do have with dangerous household powders so the death rate has jumped considerably. Users have no idea what's going into their veins.

The media suggested the solution is to legalize street drugs.

Imagine thinking cleaner meth won't harm you and the drugs wouldn't be taxed. How would legalization regulate purity, guarantee low cost, and provide safe injection sites which prevent disease transmission and overdoses???

IMO, Broadcasters continue to be a bit too bold in making radical suggestions to vulnerable sectors, rather than reporting news.

ghostgeek: I hear that crime, generally, is down. Seems that our criminal classes are no more bold or enterprising than anyone else when faced with the truly exceptional.

Zanjan: That happens here in winter - criminals are opportunists but they don't like the cold and snow.

Fractured fairy tale: Shore its not mosse season maybe they don"t like Mooses

ghostgeek: Well, if you make enough in the summer, I guess you can lay off work when it gets nippy outside.

ghostgeek: Would you want to buy an igloo in the UK? Seems some people were interested:

An igloo was listed on a leading property website - on sale for a cool £250,000.

The advert, which was later taken down, said the "one bedroom house" was on the fictional "North Pole Road" in Clacton-on-Sea in Essex.

It would be a "great first home" according to the listing, but was "showing signs of damp".

Brady Rackham from estate agents Palmer & Partners said: "We have actually had a few viewing requests."

He said the igloo was genuine, built by a family in Clacton-on-Sea, and he "thought how well they did".

"Being an estate agent I thought it would be fun to put it on the market," he added.

The listing said buyers had to "be quick" as the property "won't be for sale long".

[ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-56012101 ]

ghostgeek: But if igloos aren't your thing but you've still got some spare change burning a hole in your pocket, how about this:

If you'd like to be mummified when you die, you can contact an organisation in Salt Lake City, Utah, to arrange the procedure for around US$70,000. Pets are cheaper, around US$4,000 for an animal under 15 pounds (7 kilograms).

[ https://www.sciencealert.com/a-special-exhibit-lets-visitors-see-what-mummies-look-like-under-their-wrappings ]

Not sure what happens afterwards but I guess you won't be bothering too much about details like that.

Zanjan: I see, it's that salt lake - that's how they mummify them, bury the body in salt to dry out like the Egyptians did. You'd want to be careful testing out your race car across that ground.

ghostgeek: Seems it's a good job I never invested the contents of my piggy bank in something with a real engine, then. Anyway, the problem with a mummy, as far as I can see, is where you put the damned thing when you've got it. It's not like a cremation, where you can put the ashes in an urn and pop it over the fireplace, is it?

Zanjan: Well, you'll need a coffin and a mausoleum. I can't imagine how that company is managing to stay in business. I mean, who wants to ship a body to Utah then ship it back after the deed is done? Those who could afford that would probably build a pompous obelisk over the tomb!