Cornwall, the county in southwest England, shares a border with only one other county, Devon. Cornwall’s coastline is over 430 miles long and is the longest of any of England’s counties. Piracy in Cornwall was active during the Elizabethan era on the west coast of Britain. Cornwall is well known for its wreckers who preyed on ships passing Cornwall’s rocky coastline. During the 17th and 18th centuries Cornwall was a major smuggling area.
The national dish of Cornwall is the Cornish pasty. In 2011, the name “Cornish pasty” was awarded Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status by the European Commission. According to the PGI status, a Cornish pasty should be shaped like a ‘D’ and crimped on one side, not on the top. Its ingredients should include beef, swede (called turnip in Cornwall), potato and onion, with a light seasoning of salt and pepper, keeping a chunky texture. They were popular with working people in Cornwall, where tin miners carried them to the mines.
Cornish pasties are popular in Michigan and Pennsylvania, which had significant populations of immigrants from Cornwall. They are similar to the empanadas of Spanish-speaking countries and to Jamaican beef patties.
The Cornish chicken (also known as the ‘Indian Game’ or ‘Cornish Game’ chicken) is a breed of chicken from the county of Cornwall in England. It is the most-used breed in the chicken meat industry. Cornish chickens are heavy, muscular birds that lay brown eggs.
Generally speaking, the Cornish Game Hen tastes like chicken because while it is still a chicken variety, it is smaller. Since Cornish Game Hens are younger than chickens, they can be tender when cooked. However, they have a less assertive flavor as compared to chickens.
There are at least ten times more chickens in the world than any other bird, with a total population of about 23 billion. Originally raised for cockfighting or for special ceremonies, chickens were not kept for food until the Hellenistic period (4th–2nd centuries BC).
Chickens can remember over 100 different faces of people or animals. A mother hen turns her eggs about 50 times per day, and can lay more than 300 eggs per year. The record number of eggs laid by a chicken in one day is 7.
The Toledo Mud Hens are a minor-league baseball team, playing in the AAA-level International League. The Mud Hens have been the AAA farm club for several major league teams, and have been part of the Detroit Tigers organization since 1987.
Various Toledo-based baseball teams have been known as the “Mud Hens” since the late 19th century. The term is a nickname for the American coot, a species of waterfowl which lived in a marsh near the team’s stadium in the 1890s.
The Toledo Mud Hens gained visibility in the 1970s, thanks to the television comedy MASH*. Max Klinger (played by Jamie Farr) was proud of his hometown of Toledo (which was also Farr’s home town); particularly in the show’s later seasons, Klinger would often make mention of the team, and sometimes wear a Mud Hens baseball cap.
Good trivia, kenobi_65.
The Toledo Mud Hens play their home games at Fifth Third Field. Strange name for those of us not from the area, but it’s named for Fifth Third Bank, or 5/3 Bank of Cincinatti. 5/3 Bank serves the states of OH KY IN MI IL FL TN WV GA and NC.
There is also a Fifth Third Field in Dayton OH, for the single-A Dayton Dragons of the Cincinatti Reds organization. Same thing, it’s about 5/3 Bank.
The highest level of minor league baseball is Triple-A. Currently there are two Triple-A minor leagues operating in the United States. There are a total of 30 teams, and each of the 30 major league teams has an affiliation with one of the teams.
The Pacific Coast League, which has 16 teams, extends from the Pacific Coast (duh) to as far east as Des Moines, Iowa. The International League, which has 14 teams, has teams located from the East Coast to as far west as Indianapolis, Indiana.
A defecting Soviet agent in Joe Haldeman’s 1987 sf/espionage thriller Tool of the Trade is resettled, after extensive CIA debriefing, with a new identity and a job as a taxi driver in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Between Hawaii and California is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, covering an area twice the size of Texas or three times the size of France, or 15 times the size of Indiana; the size and location of the patch can vary over time, depending on the time of year. It is not a massive island of plastic jutting out of the sea, since 94 percent of the plastics found in the patch are actually microplastics smaller than a grain of rice and often impossible to see with the naked eye. Much of the heaviest plastic found in the patch is abandoned fishing gear, often referred to as “ghost nets,” which threaten marine life because they can easily ensnare animals swimming by.
Citizen Genet, a young diplomat from Revolutionary France, drew the ire of the Washington Administration when he attempted to circumvent U.S. neutrality, recruit sailors and arm ships to fight the British, as seen in this scene from the HBO miniseries John Adams: Avoiding the European Conflict.wmv - YouTube. When Genet fell out of favor with the French regime, was recalled and would almost certainly have been executed upon his return, he sought and received asylum in the U.S.
French involvement in the American Revolutionary War began in 1775, when France, a rival of the British Empire, secretly shipped supplies to the Continental Army. France’s help is considered a major, vital, and decisive contribution to the US’s victory against the British.
Major André was hanged as a spy for collaborating with Benedict Arnold on the proposed surrender / capture of West Point.
About Benedict Arnold, Benjamin Franklin wrote to the Marquis de Lafayette, “Judas sold only one man, Arnold three millions [sic].”
Benedict Arnold once fought in a duel with a British sea captain named Croskie. The captain fired first and missed. Then Arnold took aim and grazed Croskie’s arm. Arnold told Croskie, “If you miss this time I shall kill you.” Croskie apologized.
[Bonus trivia: Today, January 4 is National Trivia Day]
After the Revolutionary War, Benedict Arnold and his family moved to London, then to Canada, and then back to London. He died in 1801 at the age of 60. The house where Arnold lived in central London bears a plaque describing him as an “American Patriot”.
And, in honor of National Trivia Day:
The word trivia is plural for the word trivium.
The address is Benedict Arnold House, 62 Gloucester Pl, Marylebone, London.
gMap >> Google Maps
ETA:
Cool.
Marylebone is a chic residential area in the West End of London. Madame Tussauds wax museum is located there, as well as the Sherlock Holmes Museum (at 221B Baker Street). In the 18th century the area was known for the events in Marylebone Gardens, including bear-baiting and prize fights by members of both sexes, and for the duelling grounds in Marylebone Fields.
Baker Street is a 1978 song written and performed by Gerry Rafferty that charted in the countries* of USA, CAN, AUS, NLD, GBR, and ZAF. The song is named after Baker Street in London.
- — the ISO 3166 county codes for United States, Canada, Australia, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and South Africa.