SUNDAY FUNDAY - NOVEMBER 14, 2021

 SUNDAY FUNDAY SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2021

WELCOME

Three days ago was Veterans Day.  Did you honor veterans?

At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the Great War ended. At 5 a.m. that morning, Germany, bereft of manpower and supplies and faced with imminent invasion, signed an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car outside Compiégne, France. The First World War left nine million soldiers dead and 21 million wounded, with Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, France, and Great Britain each losing nearly a million or more lives. In addition, at least five million civilians died from disease, starvation, or exposure.

And, comparing that to another statistic - over 5 million people worldwide have died from COVID-19.

That is the original reason behind Veteran’s Day (more later)

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CORN HARVEST 

Growing up in Iowa, this time of year was frequently called “Indian Summer”.  It was the time of pleasant weather after the first frost of the season.  My friends in the upper midwest are generally done with their harvesting.  Over the years, the small family farms have morphed into much larger operations with big (huge?) tractors, combines, trucks, and not all that many people.

The combine strips the corn off the stalk, and discards the corn cobs and stalks behind it.  A chute will pass the shelled corn into a truck.  The trucks take the shelled corn to an elevator when it is weighed and stored for use in a variety of food products.  

According to a source:

On average, each American consumes 25 pounds of corn each year. In the US, 97.2 million acres of corn were planted and 10.8 billion bushels were harvested. That’s a lot of corn. But we also have the perfect soil, climate, and topography to do it.

• 38% of the corn supply in the United States (5.5 billion bushels) is used as feed for livestock such as beef, pork, or poultry.

• 29% is used for ethanol production. Besides the ethanol this produces, this corn also will result in approximately 1 billion bushels of distillers grains to be used as livestock feed.

• 8% is exported to other countries. The top five countries to which the United States exports corn are Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, and Egypt.

• 12% of the corn (1.3 billion bushels) goes to other food, seed, and industrial uses. Field corn is a source of corn cereal, corn starch, corn oil, and corn syrup.

• 5% of the total corn supply (currently 1.8 billion bushels) is carried over as a surplus for the next year. The rest of the corn (about 8%) is corn displaced by distillers grains.

(Actually, this is 2012 data - but the point is still appropriate)

And, some is used for the ever-popular ingredient - corn sweeteners. 

Maybe you have driven through some of the corn belt areas and seen mile after mile of corn.  (By the way, this is ‘field corn’, not the same as sweet corn that we eat).

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Related.  My son is a television reporter in Nebraska and is their agriculture reporter for his Central Nebraska television station.  

(For a kid who did NOT grow up on a farm, he has done well as an agriculture reporter!!! I'm very proud of him!!)

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FOOD JOKES

What’s the best food when you’re so hungry you could eat a house?
Cottage cheese, wall nuts, and kitchen sink cookies

Why are butchers so hilarious?

They always ham it up.

Which condiment adds the most kick?

Horseradish.

What’s the best way to burn vegetables?

Roast them.

Why are chefs so harsh?

They’re always beating eggs.

Which friends should you always take out to dinner?

Your taste buds.

What part of a meal makes you the most sleepy?

The nap-kin

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BACK TO VETERAN’S DAY (once called Armistice Day).

The original activity on the 11th month and the 11th day was a ‘truce’ a stop to warfare.  Unfortunately, after that, the Treaty of Versailles Peace agreement was signed.  The allies wanted reparations (“vengeance”) from Germany for all their war dead, the huge number of injuries, and the expenses of the war.  

Ultimately, that crippled Germany’s economy.  In January 1921, there were 64 marks to the dollar. By November 1923 this had changed to 4,200,000,000,000 marks to the dollar. (Talk about inflation).  And, about ten years later (1933) this led to Hitler coming to power as the people wanted a “savior” from the steep reparations.  (As a history professor said, “Actions have consequences”) 

World War I was originally called “The Great War”, or the War to End all Wars.  But, it didn’t end wars and we have had World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and minor conflicts since then.  Many of our family, friends, and neighbors have served the United States well and we do salute our Veterans!!  THANK YOU!!!

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Today in History - November 14, Moby Dick published

Did you have to read Moby Dick in High School?  It was published on November 14, 1851

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Today in History - November 15, 1867 - First Stock Ticker 

I know some of you have investments you follow.  Historically that goes back to November 15, 1867. (How did they do that without computers and without the internet???)

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November 16, 1907, Oklahoma becomes the 46th State

Some parts of Eastern Oklahoma are really pretty.  Worth the trip.  Have you been to Oklahoma?

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November 17, 1869 - The Suez Canal Opens

Remember earlier this year when a ship got sideways in the canal and shut it down.  The canal was a major shipping improvement - instead of going around Africa to get to India, China, and the far east, the canal cut off days of shipping time.

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November 18, 1978, Mass Suicide at Jonestown

On November 18, 1978, Peoples Temple founder Jim Jones leads hundreds of his followers in a mass murder-suicide at their agricultural commune in a remote part of the South American nation of Guyana. Many of Jones’ followers willingly ingested a poison-laced punch while others were forced to do so at gunpoint. The final death toll at Jonestown that day was 909; a third of those who perished were children.

November 19, 1863 - Gettysburg Address

On November 19, 1863, at the dedication of a military cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln delivered one of the most memorable speeches in American history. In fewer than 275 words, Lincoln brilliantly and movingly reminded a war-weary public why the Union had to fight, and win the Civil War.

I still have part of the Gettysburg Address memorized.

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November 20, 1945 - Nuremberg Trials for German Leaders

Twenty-four high-ranking Nazis go on trial in Nuremberg, Germany, for atrocities committed during World War II.

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WORD GAMES

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WOOD BABE WOOD

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Noon Good

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Pol4icy

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SH GET APE

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WEAR

_____

LONG

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WRAP-UP

Eleven days until Thanksgiving, about six weeks to Christmas, and seven weeks to New Year!!  Are you ready for 2022?

Blessings!!!

Karen