Today is National Bacon Day. 10 things you might not know about bacon:
- The word bacon means “meat from the back of an animal.” That said, in the US, bacon actually comes from the belly, while in Europe and Canada it does come from the back.
- Bacon was invented by the Chinese who first cooked salted pork bellies more than 3000 years ago. The Romans made a dish called petaso by boiling salted Pig shoulder with figs, then seasoning the mixture with Pepper sauce.
- For a long time, bacon was a product you'd get from a local farmer. By 1770, this wasn't enough to satisfy the demand for bacon. A businessman named John Harris opened the first bacon processing plant in Wiltshire, England, in which he used his own method of curing the meat, called the "Wiltshire Cure", which is still used today.
- Bacon is actually quite addictive, because it contains a compound which produces a pleasing neurochemical response. In fact, bacon has been called the food most likely to tempt vegetarians to fall off the wagon.
- One source I looked at during this research seemed to be nothing but a list of all the nasty diseases you might get from eating bacon. It does contain a lot of Salt and saturated fat, so it's probably best eaten in moderation. However, the ways bacon could kill you go beyond just eating it, as a 16th century servant called Elizabeth Browne would attest, had she only lived to tell the tale. She was warning herself by the Fire in 1543 when four sides of uncooked bacon fell from a hook and crushed her – this was the first recorded death by bacon.
- During the second world war, American households were encouraged to donate their leftover bacon grease to the war effort, because it could be used to make glycerin, which in turn created bombs, Gunpowder, and other munitions.
- The phrase, “bringing home the bacon”, which today means making Money, originated in the 12th century. A church in England offered a side of bacon to any man who could swear before the church that he'd not fought or argued with his wife for a year and a day. Any man who could “bring home the bacon”, therefore, was highly respected in his community.
- Talking of churches, there is an official church called the Church of Bacon which has just one commandment: "Praise Bacon." It's actually an organisation for atheists and sceptics rather than meat lovers, so praising vegan bacon is perfectly acceptable.
- The actor Kevin Bacon claims to have invented a type of bacon Sandwich called the BLAST—bacon, Lettuce, Avocado, smoked Salmon, and Tomato. While we're talking about Kevin, an artist called Mike Lahue once made a bust of the Footloose star from seven bottles of bacon bits, glue, and five coats of lacquer to sell at auction.
- The concept of bacon Ice cream originated in a 1973 sketch on the British comedy series The Two Ronnies as a joke. It was also used as an April Fool prank. Heston Blumenthal, however, took the idea totally seriously and turned frozen Egg custard and bacon into a signature dish.
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The Power of Love
Willow believes in crystal healing, cosmic ordering and the significance of chance encounters. She believes there's a spiritual explanation for everything. Except she struggles to find a reason why she can turn herself into mist and create a wave of energy which can slam a would-be mugger into a wall. Or why the love of her life left her for a mysterious woman in sunglasses, who then disappeared without trace.
A chance encounter with Firebolt, leader of the Freedom League superhero team, in a Glastonbury coffee shop, does turn out to be significant. He offers her a new start and the chance to use her powers for good.
Servant is a Christian who has joined the Freedom League in order to use his teleporting power to serve God. He and Willow clash from the start, yet they are drawn inexorably to one another.
When Willow leaves the team abruptly for reasons unknown, Servant knows he must put her out of his mind and find a nice Christian girl to settle down with. He is about to propose to devout and straight-laced Ruth, when Willow returns and turns his entire world upside down.
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