6 March: Oreo Cookie Day

Today's food holiday is Oreo Cookie Day, which celebrates the introduction of the popular American Biscuit on 6 March 1912. 10 things you might not know about Oreos:

1. Nobody is quite sure where the name comes from. Some say it is derived from the French word for gold, or, because the original packaging was that colour. Others say it comes from a Greek word for good or appetising. Or a Greek word for Mountain. The original design included a laurel wreath, so another theory is that it comes from Oreodaphne, the Latin name for a type of laurel. Since there were other biscuits made by the same company at the time which had botanical names like Avena, Lotus, and Helicon, there could be truth in that.
2. Oreos are available in 100 different countries with the biggest markets in the United States, China, United Kingdom, Indonesia, Canada, Mexico, Spain, Argentina, India and Germany. They are manufactured in 18 different countries at 21 different sites. The most recent countries to discover them are Russia and Morocco, which started selling them in 2015.
3. There were originally two flavours. The original, and lemon meringue, but the latter disappeared in the 1920s. 
4. Nowadays there are a myriad of flavours. Some were limited editions like the birthday cake flavour briefly sold in 2012 to celebrate Orea's 100th anniversary. Others are only available in specific countries. In Argentina you can get Oreos with a split creme filling in strawberry/vanilla and Banana/dulce de leche varieties. In Indonesia you can get Blueberry Ice Cream and Oreo Softcake; In China you can get green tea ice cream and more split creme combos: Orange/Mango, Raspberry/Blueberry and Peach/Grape. Mexico has triple chocolate Oreos. Mint, Berry, Rainbow Sherbet, Limeaid, Gingerbread, Candy Corn, Pumpkin and Apple Pie are among the varieties you can get in the USA.
5. There's an artist in America who takes advantage of the varieties of flavours by using the different coloured cremes to reproduce miniature versions of famous paintings on Oreo biscuits. Her name, if you want to look her up on Instagram, is Tisha Cherry.
6. There have been varieties produced for advertising campaigns which didn't ever exist, like one with six rainbow colours of creme to celebrate LGBT Pride month; Red White and White creme to celebrate Bastille Day, and one with a bite taken out of it to celebrate Shark Week.
7. Until the 1990s, Oreos weren't kosher or suitable for vegans. Now vegetable oil has replaced pig lard in the recipe so it's fine, in America at least. Wikipedia mentioned that whey powder made with calf rennet was used in the UK, in the past tense, but never mentioned whether it had been replaced. So if you're a vegan or an Orthodox Jew in the UK you might need to do more research before eating one.
8. Sources differed on the ration of biscuit to creme. I found 79% cookie and 21% crème, and also 71% cookie and 29% creme. Either way the official calorie count is 45 calories per cookie.
9. Surveys done by the producers of Oreos suggest that you can tell a lot about a person's personality, and even their politics, by watching them eat an Oreo. Women are more likely to pull the biscuits apart before eating them while men eat them whole. People who twist them open are said to be sensitive, emotional, artistic, and trendy, while those eating them whole are easy-going, self-confident, and optimistic. People who dunk them in their drink are energetic, adventurous, and social. Republicans are more likely to dunk, while Democrats are more likely to twist them open.
10. Experiments on Rats have suggested Oreos are highly addictive. A study done at Connecticut College in 2013 found that Oreos activated neurons in the brains of lab rats to the same degree as hard drugs.

Who's That Girl?

Matt Webster lives in a tower block and attends a failing school. He dreams of being a spy like James Bond. Little does he know that he is being watched by someone who can make him into even more than that – a superhero.

His first solo mission is to attend a ball at the Decembrian Embassy and discover who is planning to steal a priceless diamond. While there, he meets the mysterious Lady Antonia du Cane, and is powerfully drawn to her. It soon becomes clear, however, that Lady du Cane is not what she seems. Matt’s quest to discover who she really is almost costs him his career.

A modern day Guy Fawkes gathers a coterie around him with the aim of blowing up Parliament with a nuclear bomb. To achieve this, they need money. Lots of it. Selling the Heart of Decembria Diamond will provide more than enough. All that stands in their way is the Freedom League – but the League is beset by internal disagreements. Can the heroes put their differences aside in time to save the day?

Prime Minister Richard Miller and his wife Fiona grieve for their daughter, Yasmin, who has been missing for three years, and is presumed to be dead. Viper agent Violet Parker could hold the key to what happened to Yasmin, but Violet is accused of giving away the organisation’s secrets. She is to be executed without trial. Will she take her knowledge of what happened to Yasmin with her to her grave?

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