April Fool's Day

Hi Puzzlers,

Today I would like to take a look at my Nannie’s favorite holiday, April Fool’s Day. This feisty woman will celebrate her 80th birthday this year, and you may remember reading about her on the Lucky Strike post. Poor Lou, her husband of 60 plus years, has had to endure numerous pranks through the years but fortunately he is a great sport. I can’t wait to see what she will come up with this year. Among my favorites (that I can talk about) has to be sewing his underwear’s front opening closed, short sheeting the bed, or the famous salt in the sugar bowl. Then there is the plastic wrap over the toilet seat, or how about the Vaseline on the broom handle. She has done them all; she may have even invented them!

It is generally believed that April Fool’s Day, or All Fool’s Day, began around 1582 in France. This is when Charles IX introduced the Gregorian Calendar and New Years Day was moved from the week of March 25-April 1 to January 1st. At this time news traveled slowly across the country, for some it was years before they knew of the changes. A select few refused to acknowledge the new calendar and continued to celebrate New Years Day on April 1st. This group was thus labeled “fools” by the general populace, they were made fun of and sent on “fools errands” and were the butt of many practical jokes.

Joseph Boskin, a professor of history at Boston University, provides another explanation for the holiday. He believes the holiday began around the time of Roman emperor Constantine when court jesters and fools told the emperor they could do a better job of running the country. Entertained by the notion, the king allowed a jester named Kugel to be king for a day. "In a way," explained Prof. Boskin, "it was a very serious day. In those times fools were really wise men. It was the role of jesters to put things in perspective with humor." (This reminds me of John Stewart.) The first ordinance Kugel passed was a calling for “absurdity on that day, and the custom became an annual event.” Ah, alas the truth is told, Boskin made the whole thing up, and it took the Associated Press several weeks to realize they’d been victims of an April’s fools joke themselves!

Taco Liberty Bell: In 1996, Taco Bell took out a full-page advertisement in The New York Times announcing that they had purchased the Liberty Bell to "reduce the country's debt" and renamed it the "Taco Liberty Bell". When asked about the sale, White House press secretary Mike McCurry replied tongue-in-cheek that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold and would henceforth be known as the Lincoln Mercury Memorial.

Left-handed Whoppers: In 1998, Burger King ran an ad in USA Today, saying that people could get a Whopper for left-handed people whose condiments were designed to drip out of the right side. Not only did customers order the new burgers, but some specifically requested the "old", right-handed burger. I wonder if Nannie was in on this?

Another interesting factoid is in Scottland April Fool’s Day jokes and spoofs all involve the buttocks. The “Kick Me” sign can be traced back to the Scottish.

So remember: The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year. -- Mark Twain

Happy Puzzling!

Made In The USA

Hi Puzzlers,

Recently, we have had a lot of positive feedback about our puzzles being made in the USA. That, coupled with ABC's Made In America series with Diane Sawyer, got me thinking about my buying habits and how many American made products I have been buying.

In the special, which aired February 28, 2011, a family agreed to have all non-American made products removed from their house. Well, needless to say, the house was left virtually empty. As I search my home looking for American made items, I, too would have suffered the same fate. My only saving grace was my stack of White Mountain Puzzles. As my daughter would say, OMG! I have to make a better effort to buy American made, so the research began.

I thought looking at the bar code could tell you where the product comes from. If the first digits begin with 00-13, they are made in America or Canada; 690-695 made in China. But according to Snoopes.com looking at the bar code is NOT reliable. Why? Well, this example explains it best. If a company in Germany (40-44) imported product from France (30-37), then packages and ships the product from Germany, the product's bar code would indicate it was from Germany and not a product of France. So the best way to identify where a product comes from is to look for the Made In The USA label.

Making things even more complicated is the fact that a product can be made in the USA but the company is owned abroad, so all the profits and taxes head to the country of origin. Fear not! There are some great web sites that have done all the research work for you and they are just a click away. (Just click the highlighted areas and-POOF-you're there.)

Need some quick tips fast? Here they are from “Eleven easy ways to buy American”.

COTTON SWABS. The Q-Tips brand is made in America, but is owned by Unilever, which is a joint venture between England and the Netherlands. American alternatives are CVS or Walgreen’s brands, which are both made in USA and are American-owned companies based in the United States.

DEODORANT. Suave and Dove are both owned by Unilever. Buy Speed Stick, which has been made in USA by American-owned Colgate- Palmolive.

BATH SOAP. Irish Spring and Ivory soap are American. Jergens is made in America, but the company is Japanese owned, and Dial is German owned.

MUSTARD. French’s mustard isn’t French, it’s British. Grey Poupon sounds foreign, but it’s owned by an American company, and is made in America.

PASTA SAUCE. Unilever owns Ragu. Prego is an American brand owned by the Campbell Soup Company, and is made in the United States.

DISINFECTANT. Lysol used to be owned by Kodak, but Kodak sold it to a British company in 1995. Clorox is American owned.

COFFEE. Two of the most popular brands in the United States are Maxwell House and Taster’s Choice. Taster’s Choice is made by Switzerland based Nestle. Maxwell House is an American brand. The coffee beans for both brands are imported, however. For truly American coffee from tree to cup (the beans come from Hawaii) check out the USA Coffee Company at http://www.usacoffeecompany.com/.

COSMETICS. Revlon is an American owned company and many (not all) of their products are made in the United States. Maybelline was American-owned until 1996 when French-owned L’Oreal bought the company.

BOTTLED WATER. Dannon bottled water (and other Dannon products like yogurt) are French owned. Aquafina (owned by Pepsi) and Dasani (owned by Coca-Cola) are American brands.

PEANUT BUTTER. Choose Jif, because Jif is American owned and not Skippy which is owned by Unilever.

“American-made products create American jobs. Each time you choose to buy an American-made product, you help save or create an American job. There is a ripple effect in that every manufacturing job creates three to four other jobs.”

I certainly cannot replace everything in my home but I am definitely going to make small changes as I go and when I have to make another major purchase I will definitely look at the sites listed above to find American owned and made versions.

Happy Puzzling!

March is Maple Syrup Month

Hi Puzzlers,

Did you know that March, in many states, is considered to be the maple month? I think this is great, as it gives you yet another reason, besides ushering in spring and warmer weather, to love the month. Growing up in northern New Hampshire it was a tradition to go to the sugar shack every March and watch the sapping and syrup making process. That was fun and interesting, but it was the gift store with all it’s sweet treats on the way out, that solidified the experience. We would always purchase some “real” syrup and maple candy. Just thinking about it gets my mouth watering. I hope I can resist the urge to go to the nearest sugar house and buy a trunk full of the sweet stuff. Oh will power, don’t fail me now!

No one knows exactly how and when the first maple tree was tapped but it is commonly believed to have been the Native Americans. They would make a V-shaped cut into the tree and insert a reed or piece of rolled up birch bark to run the sap into a birch bark bucket or clay pot. Hot stones were then added to make the sap boil. The sap was commonly processed past the syrup stage to create crystallized sugar, which does not spoil when stored. Sap is very perishable and must be boiled at once.

Sap also needs to be boiled because it is approximately 98% water. Traditionally this happens in a sugar house, which is an uninsulated building that has a steam vent in the roof and enough room for the equipment and wood/fuel. The water in sap is removed by heating the sap in an evaporator (a large sheet metal pan) over a fire. It takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup! It is boiled longer to make the maple sugar. All that boiling creates the massive amount of steam you see coming from the sugar houses vent.

Maple syrup can be stored short term, if unopened, in your cabinet but once it has been opened it needs to be refrigerated to prevent molding. But even if it does mold, just scrape it off the top and reheat it to 180 degrees to re-sterilize. If you plan on storing your syrup for an extended period of time it should be stored in the freezer to prevent darkening and flavor loss. Click here for more on maple syrup.

Puzzler what do you think about White Mountain Puzzles doing a scenic Sugar Shack puzzle?

Happy Puzzling!

Artist Jane Mayday

Hi Puzzlers,

Today I would like to share with you the biography of one of our artists, Jane Mayday. I just love her work, especially the cardinals. When I was young I took art lessons from Mr. Abbott, a local artist, and I would always paint cardinals. I’d paint them in oils and watercolors oh what fun that was!

Jane Mayday began her career at 14 years of age, as a scientific illustrator for the University of Florida. After receiving a Bachelors degree from Ringling College of Art and Design, she was recruited by Hallmark Cards Inc, as a greeting card illustrator. Though her scientific past helps Jane add realism to her artwork, she soon discovered she enjoys painting the outsides of animals to the insides!

Jane left the corporate world after her children were born and moved to beautiful Colorado. Her work has adorned 25 children’s books, as well as collector’s plates, ornaments, cards, t-shirts, garden flags, jigsaw puzzles, and much more.

Recently Jane added author to her list of accomplishments, writing the best-selling art instruction book, “Adorable Animals You Can Paint” (published by F&W Publications), as well as numerous smaller works and magazine articles. Her newest F&W books are Cute Country Animals You Can Paint, and Landscapes in Bloom.

In addition to the breathtaking Colorado Landscape, Jane has two children, a menagerie of animals, and a garden for inspiration, and a wonderful husband to share it all.

Happy Puzzling!

King Kramer

Hi Puzzlers,

Today, I, King Kramer, have decided to write the blog and share my thoughts on what it's like to run a puzzle company. Let me tell you-it is a lot of work and there are many things to oversee. There is wholesale, retail, office management, shipping and receiving, research and development. Ah! The list seems to be endless.

My morning begins promptly at 7:50 AM; this is when my ladies/servants arrive. The first one in has the pleasure of preparing her coffee and my breakfast,Kibbies. This is a special breakfast from my homeland, Bleski which is just north of Poland. While I wait, I go over the wholesale orders that have come in. Patsy and Melinda do such a great job I will have to remember to give them a treat.

Next it is off to the retail department. Alicia is going through all the mail while Jill, Cathy, Kathy and Jean are busy answering phone calls from all our puzzlers. I have such wonderful hard-working staff. Oh, what was that! A mouse! Don’t fear ladies, I, King Kramer will protect you! Oh wait, it was only Princess Toasty, my sister. She thinks it’s funny to act like a mouse and scare my ladies. If she weren’t related I would have her banished. But that’s just between us.

Bruce, Matt and Lori all work at the warehouse in Conway. Sometimes even I am amazed to see how many puzzles they ship. And if you want to see a clean warehouse, this is the place to go. Unfortunately, since my crate broke down I have not been able to visit. You all know how hard it is to find a good mechanic.

Now I’m off to the head office where I keep Kim, the office manager and bookkeeper. We go over several reports and I get a chance to look over some payables and receivables. I must confess the numbers thing is not my strong suit but thankfully Kim keeps thing going nicely.

WOW! It is already 4:30 PM. I will have to send my ladies home. Ah, they are so good to me; they made me dinner before they left. It is good to be the king!

Oh! This is my newest puzzle. Do you like it?

Happy Puzzling!