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FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | JULY 2016 13 Did You Know? By Micki Rosen DID YOU KNOW THAT JULY 19 IS DAIQUIRI DAY? Need a way to cool off? Why not celebrate Daiquiri Day! This refreshing drink was invented in the early 1900s in the small mining town of Daiquiri near Santiago, Cuba by an engineer named Jennings Stockton Cox. Cox came up with his daiquiri concoction in an effort to cool down during the summer months. His recipe was a simple blend of lime juice, sugar and local Bacardi rum over cracked ice. He found daiquiris to be the best way to boost the morale of the mine workers during the hot months. Such was the success of Cox's drink that not only did he receive a generous stipend from the company, he also received a monthly gallon of Bacardi to continue supplying the refreshing drink! DID YOU KNOW THAT JULY 12 IS ETCH-A-SKETCH DAY? Do you remember Etch-A-Sketch? If you spent many happy hours drawing pictures on the screen then magically removing them, you'll relish the opportunity to relive your childhood on Etch-A-Sketch day. The Etch-A-Sketch toys are still readily available, so it's a chance to invest in one and get sketching. If you prefer, taking time to do any sort of drawing or painting will be a good way of marking Etch-a-sketch day. This day is all about creativity, so undertaking anything which involves a pencil, pen or brush is appropriate. With so many choices for having fun while also creating something original and wonderful, it's no wonder that Etch-A-Sketch Day is so widely celebrated. DID YOU KNOW THAT JULY 29 IS LIPSTICK DAY? Sarah Bernhardt created some epic scandal by applying lip rouge in public, and Queen Victoria considered makeup hugely impolite and intended only to mark the most impolite of women. Yet Winston Churchill found lipstick to be a wonderful morale booster and refused to limit its production during WWII. It seems he shared the secret women have known for at least 5,000 years. Lipstick adds color to character, so celebrate by flaunting your brightest color today. DID YOU KNOW THAT JULY 27 IS SCOTCH WHISKEY DAY? The Babylonians of Mesopotamia were likely the first people to distill alcohol in the second millennium BC. At the time it is likely that various perfumes and aromatics were most often distilled. The earliest records of the distillation of alcohol for the purpose of drinking date back to 13th century Italy, where harder alcohols were distilled from wine. Soon the practice of distillation spread through medieval monasteries and was used largely for medicinal purposes. Distillation spread to Great Britain in the 15th century, and the first evidence of whiskey production in Scotland comes from an entry in the Exchequer Rolls for 1494 where malt was sent "To Friar John Cor, by order of the king, to make aquavit," enough for about 500 bottles. Whiskey production later moved out of a monastic setting and into personal homes and farms when King Henry VIII of England dissolved all the monasteries in his country due to his feud with the Pope. The distillation process in those days was much more basic than it is today. The whiskey itself was not allowed to age, meaning it must have tasted much more raw than it does today. There are hundreds of distilleries in Scotland you have likely never heard of that make whiskey better than you've ever tried before, and this day is the day to experience them. DID YOU KNOW THAT JULY 13 IS FRENCH FRIES DAY? The name "French Fries" is misleading, as the origins of this fried food seem to be in Belgium. The story of their creation can be found in a family manuscript dated 1781, which reveals that potatoes were originally cut into the shape of fish and served in lieu of the fish normally caught in a series of small villages in Belgium. It seems the river had frozen over and the fish they normally caught and fried were unable to be caught. Why they're called French is often attributed to troops coming over during WWI who got their hands on Belgian Fries. The official language of the Belgian army at that time was French, and as a result the men thought they were in France rather than Belgium. Interestingly, in that region of the world, they are still called "Flemish Fries" to further complicate matters. Now these treats are loved the world round, even becoming the national snack of the Netherlands.

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