Hockey center, Wayne "the Great" Gretzky born, 1961. Michigan statehood, 1837. Eartha Kitt born, North, S.C., 1928.
Jan. 27, Tuesday - Vietnam War cease-fire signed, Paris, 1973. Mozart born, Salzburg, 1756. Lewis Carroll born, 1832.Jan. 28, Wednesday - New Moon. St. Thomas Aquinas. Jackson Pollock born, 1912.
Jan. 29, Thursday - Baseball Hall of Fame established, Cooperstown, N.Y., 1936.
Jan. 30, Friday - Franklin Delano Roosevelt born, 1882. Tet offensive began, 1968. Charles I beheaded, 1649.
Jan. 31, Saturday - First Social Security check issued, 1940.
Feb. 1, Sunday - Conjunction of Saturn and the Moon. St. Brigit.
Ask the Old Farmer's Almanac: When did table forks gain a third or fourth tine instead of the two-pronged version?
- B.K., Napa, Calif.
Answer: Sometime in the latter part of the 1600s, the three- and four-tine forks became fairly common in England and Europe. The two-pronged metal fork, probably derived from very early crotched wooden sticks used to pick up and roast meats over open fires, had been increasingly in fashion from early in the second century. One story relates that a Turkish princess married a man from Venice around the year 1000 and arrived at his residence with a case of two-tined table forks. Slowly, the two-tined forks were accepted in Italy and France and somewhat later in England. Thomas Coryate, and Englishman who travelled widely in France and Italy, claimed in a book printed in 1611 that he was the first Englishman to use the fork.
But by the mid-1600s, English nobility were listing the flatware among their possessions and, toward the end of the century, cutlerymakers were improving upon the design by giving the tines more of a curved, bowl shape and by adding tines to help prevent food from slipping between the two prongs and back onto the table.
As the fork was improved, so too did the knife and spoon change their shapes. Before forks were common, table knives had sharp points for spearing meats and other foods. This sometimes led to violence at the table, if diners had serious differences of opinion. (Maybe this is when it became taboo to discuss religion or politics at dinner.) Once the fork appeared, however, knives were soon rounded off. In 1669, King Louis XIV of France banned pointed knives from his table, and all over Europe and England, knives were being ground down to rounded tips, for reasons of safety and greater gentility. Spoons became more egg-shaped and the smaller teaspoons were invented, both for the stirring of the popular beverage and because the larger tablespoons were less necessary, except for soups.
Ask the Old Farmer's Almanac: Did Eli Whitney also invent the monkey wrench?
- M.H., Haverill, Mass.
Answer: No. Eli Whitney (1765-1825) was quite a mechanical genius, but he died before the monkey wrench came into existence. The tool's name is deceiving. It was originally called the Monk's wrench, named for its inventor, a Mr. Monk, in 1856. Probably because the sliding jaw of the adjustable wrench made it resemble a monkey, the name was changed in common usage and the new nickname stuck. By the late 1800s, possibly through the increasing use of textile machinery where a ill-placed wrench in the works could stop the spinning for an entire day, the phrase "threw a monkey wrench into the works" came into common lingo. It could have been any old wrench, of course, but the monkey wrench had that extra element of devilry associated with it.
To get back to Eli Whitney, he went on to work in the firearms business after his early frustrations with the cotton gin. He and his partner, Phineas Miller, had obtained a patent on the improved cotton gin in 1794, but they were unable to prevent others from copying and manufacturing examples of their work. Consequently, while the gin was a huge success for the American people, it held only modest financial gains for Whitney. In 1798, Whitney began a fire arms factory near New Haven, Conn., where he experimented with mass production techniques, as well.
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Additional Information
This Week with The Old Farmer's Almanac
Jan. 26-Feb.1, 1998
St. Thomas Aquinas, Jan. 28.
Freedom Day!
Let freedom ring!" is the regrain for Black History Month in February. Educator and historian Dr. Carter G. Woodson began the tradition with "Negro History Week" in 1926. He chose February because of the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln (Feb. 12) and Frederick Douglass (Feb. 14). Noted African-Americans who celebrate February birthdays include Rosa Parks (who refused to move to the rear of a segregated bus); all-star Hank Aaron; Pulitzer-prize novelist alice Walker; Nobel-prize novelist Toni Morriosn; opera soprano Leontyne Price; actor Sidney Poitier; Black Panther cofounder Huey Newton; and basketball star Michael "Air" Jorden.
Truth burns up error.
- Sojourner Truth
Tip of the Week
Road salt or woodstove ashes may help your driveway but harm pet's feet. Wash their feet and apply bag balm.
Black Beans and Rice Salad
1/2 cup long-grain white rice
1-1/2 cups canned black beans, drained
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 medium red onion, chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon prepared Dijon-style mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Cook rice as usual and rinse to cool; drain. Add beans, parsley, oinion, and salt and pepper. Whisk together remaining ingredients and pour over salad; toss well. Serve cold. Serve over greens, if desired.
Makes 4 small servings.
The Old Farmer's Weather Proverbs
If there is snow on St. Brigit's Day (Feb.1), the ditches will be filled with rain come spring.
Thunder in February frightens the maple syrup back into the ground.
A February spring is worth nothing.
Of all the months in the year, curse a fair Februeer.