Here’s a mix of things I learned in April, from literary trivia to historical facts to kitchen tips.
- In 1934 Roger Tory Peterson created the first modern field guide, A Field Guide to the Birds. The Peterson Field Guides remain popular today.
2. Because Tolkien’s description of Gollum in The Hobbit (1937) was vague, illustrators created some depictions he considered monstrous; as a result Tolkien added more detail in the revised edition (1966). (See the changes to the text in this article.)
3. When stationed in France during World War I, poet E. E. Cummings and a friend “inserted veiled and provocative comments into their letters back home, trying to outwit and baffle the French censors” and also befriended soldiers in other units. This behaviour led to them being held in an internment camp on suspicion of treason. (Read Cummings’ bio here.)
4. If you create an account with the Harvard libraries they will digitize archival material for you free of charge. (That’s how I acquired a scanned copy of an early version of “In Just-“.)
5. A tip for making hamburger buns from scratch: halfway through the second rise flatten the buns with your hand; let them rise another half hour before you pop them in the oven.
6. According to this vinegar expert, you should store vinegar in the fridge.
Will definitely be trying #5!