Bruce's Smorsasborg

 Mora, Minn., May 1st, 1909.  Dear Readers:— As this will be the last of my letters a few words added will not be amiss. I got a transfer from the hospital in Washington to the hospital in Madison, Wisconsin, reported to Dr E. B. Wolcott, at Milwaukee, who at that time was surgeon general of the state. He gave me leave of absence and I went home and under a mother's care was soon myself again. Our regiment was ordered to Madison to be mustered out the latter part of July. I reported again to Dr. Wolcott, who gave me orders to re-port to our regimental doctor. I did so and was mustered out of the United States service July 28th, 1865, at Madison, Wisconsin. Now, a word about Sam. Samuel McClement was my schoolmate. His father's and my father's farms joined. We both left school together, January 15th, 1862, and enlisted. We bunked together, slept under the same blanket, drank from the same canteen and read each others' letters. He was eight months my senior, an excellent ...

  By Bruce Shawkey Wheatena is an American high-fiber, toasted-wheat cereal that originated on Mulberry Street in New York City, New York, circa 1879, when a small bakery owner began roasting whole wheat, grinding it, and packaging it for sale under this brand name. I was introduced to Wheatena in the mid-1980s by my host family in New Jersey while scoping out job prospects in New York City. It made for an inexpensive, yet nutritious, breakfast. In the ensuing years, I learned to make Wheatena muffins, which I jokingly refer to as "colon blow muffins." The recipe used to be right on the box, but is now archived on the Internet. I put a dab of apricot or strawberry jam in the center of each before baking just to make them a little more interesting. Dawn and I both love them, especially when they come out of the oven and cool for about 15 minutes and topped with butter.

 Bruce Shawkey From a post I made in 2012 about attending a Greek Festival In a tent of vendors, one of them offered a couple of books for sale, one of which was titled "Cruise Ship or Nursing Home: The Five Essentials of Maximized Life." The title really grabbed me, but I started perusing the pages, and basically it was the same old stuff: eat right, exercise, keep your mind active, be spiritual, blah, blah, blah. Besides, they wanted $38 for the book, no shit. It's cowritten by no fewer than five authors (all them claiming to be "doctors," but doctors of what I have no idea), and it's 138 pages long. Can anyone tell me what's wrong with this picture? (Answer at the end if you can't figure it out!) But what a great title for a book! I wonder if anyone looks at that, ponders a while, and thinks, "Hmmm. Cruise ship or nursing home? Gee, I have to think about that one. I mean cruise ships are fun, but there's just a laugh a minute going on at ...

 By Bruce Shawkey The Spratt Controllable Wing (above) automatically flies parallel to the ground. To look at Alexander Lippisch’s Aerodyne is to be baffled at how engineers managed to get such a crazy thing off the ground.  The military drives a lot of the development. Some strange looking machines were simply built in order to confront genuine or perceived needs such as refueling in the air, escaping radar detection, or ferrying odd-shaped or heavy cargo. And in a few, rare cases, some odd flying creations help us discover entirely new methods of flight. In 1934, the Nemuth Parasol, built by students at Miami University, demonstrated that even a circular wing could be used to fly a plane reliably. When it comes down to the details, engineers can try some crazy things. The Vought V-173 “Flying Pancake” was designed with the World War II Pacific theatre in mind, where the U.S. saw an increased need for ship-borne planes that could take off from short runways. As inexplicably ...

 By Bruce Shawkey There is probably no greater business success story than that of McDonalds. A bit of McDonalds history: McDonald's history began in 1940 with the McDonald brothers, Richard and Maurice, who opened a barbecue restaurant in San Bernardino, California. They later transformed it into a hamburger stand focused on speed and efficiency, pioneering the "Speedee Service System". In 1954, Ray Kroc, a milkshake machine salesman, encountered their operation and, impressed, partnered with them to franchise the concept. Kroc eventually bought out the brothers in 1961, and McDonald's grew into the global fast-food giant it is today.  McDonalds was my favorite place growing up, and I couldn't get enough of these 15-cent hamburgers. I've participated in several MacDs sweepstakes over the years, but my favorite was the Monopoly game, involving several concurrent scams with the post office, "no purchase necessary" game pieces, free food, and merchandi...

 By Bruce Shawkey Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American engineer, futurist, and inventor. He is known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system.

 Bruce Shawkey Whacky Old-Time Bicycles Here is an IA generated article on early whacky bicycles. 1. Penny-Farthing (High-Wheel Bicycle) Era: 1870s–1880s Whackiness: Huge front wheel (up to 60 inches), tiny back wheel. Why it existed: The larger the front wheel, the farther you could travel with one pedal rotation. Problem: Dangerous—"taking a header" (going over the front) was common. 2. Boneshaker Era: 1860s Whackiness: Made of wood and iron, with solid iron tires. No brakes. Why it existed: Early version of the pedal bicycle. Problem: Extremely uncomfortable—hence the nickname. 3. Velocipede (aka "Dandy Horse") Era: 1817 (invented by Baron Karl von Drais) Whackiness: No pedals—just a wooden frame and two wheels. You propelled it by pushing with your feet. Why it existed: It was the first two-wheeled personal transport. Problem: Heavy, awkward, and you looked like a grown-up on a Flintstones toy. 4. Quadracycles (Four-Wheeled Bicycles) Era: 1850s and 1880s Whackin...