October 23

Smurfs, Having a Smurfy Day Source

Spotlight: In German, they're called "Schlümpfe"; In Hebrew, they're known as "Dardassim"; the Spanish call them "Pitufos"; and Italians call them "Puffi." In English, they're called Smurfs, and they're celebrating their fiftieth birthday. Smurfs first appeared on Oct. 23, 1958, as guest stars of the Belgian cartoon Johan and Peewit, drawn by Pierre Culliford (aka Peyo). The little blue creatures lived in a forest somewhere in Europe, and no non-Smurf could find them without a Smurf guide. The first — and for a long while, only — female in the group, Smurfette, was created by their archenemy, Gargamel, who hoped she would cause jealousy and dissension in the group.

Quote: "No casting spells on your own." — Papa Smurf, stating the first rule of Smurfdom

Question of the Day: Is there such a thing as a green smurf?
In the original comics, green Smurfs are considered to be wild and mad, and many of the regular Smurfs are afraid of them. More

Word of the day: coddle
A cooking method most often used with eggs, though other foods can be coddled as well. There are special containers with tight-fitting lids called "egg coddlers" made specifically for this purpose. Coddling is usually done by placing the food in an individual-size container that is covered, set in a larger pan of simmering water and placed either on stovetop or in the oven at very low heat. The gentle warmth of this water bath slowly cooks the food. Coddling can also be done by gently lowering the food into water that's come to a boil and removed from the heat.
(© Barron's Educational Series, Inc.)

What's for dinner? And how do I make it? This week we'll sample some cooking terminology.

Previous words: clarify, caramelize, braise

Today's History:

• Brutus: committed suicide after losing to Mark Anthony and Octavian in the Second Battle of Philippi, a war fought to avenge the assassination of Julius Caesar (42 BCE)
• War of Jenkins' Ear: British PM Robert Walpole reluctantly declared war on Spain after a ship's captain brought in his ear, pickled, and told the House of Commons it had been severed by the Spanish coast guard (1739)
• Hungarian Revolution: spontaneous protest began, marking the first anti-Soviet revolt; many thousands were killed or fled; the Hungarian Republic was declared exactly 33 years later(1956)
• Moscow Theater Crisis: Chechen terrorists took 700 hostages; many died during a Russian raid the next day (2002)

Today's Birthdays:

• Johnny Carson (1925-2005): host of The Tonight Show
• Jim Bunning (77): pitcher-turned-politician; also, pitchers Al Leiter (43) and John Lackey (30)
• Pelé (68): Brazil's most famous soccer star
• Michael Crichton (66): author of Jurassic Park
• Ang Lee (54): Oscar-winning director of Brokeback Mountain; filmmakers Philip Kaufman (72) and Sam Raimi (49) share this birth date
• 'Weird Al' Yankovic (49): pop parodist; country star Dwight Yoakam (52) also has a birthday today
• Ryan Reynolds (32): actor, Definitely, Maybe; actors Michael Rupert (57) and Masiela Lusha (23) also celebrate birthdays today

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~Ellentia