10 July: Turmeric

On National Herbs and Spices Day, 10 facts about turmeric:

1. The scientific name for turmeric is Curcuma longa and it belongs to the ginger family, Zingiberaceae.

2. It has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for centuries, and is also known as haridra. Turmeric reached Tahiti, Hawaii and Easter Island before the Europeans did.

3. In Medieval Europe, turmeric was called "Indian saffron."

4. The plant is native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia and requires temperatures between 20 and 30 °C (68 and 86 °F) and high annual rainfall to thrive.

5. It’s the rhizomes which are harvested and used. The turmeric rhizome takes about 10 months to grow before it can be harvested; it is then boiled, cleaned, dried and ground into a powder.

6. India produces nearly all of the world’s turmeric crop and consumes 80% of it.

7. It can be used as a Yellow dye, both in foods (E number E100) and for fabrics: it is what Buddhist monks and priests used to dye their robes.

8. It can also act like litmus paper. Turmeric paper, also called curcuma paper, is paper steeped in turmeric and allowed to dry. It is used as an indicator for acidity and alkalinity. The paper is yellow in acidic and neutral solutions and turns reddish-brown in alkaline solutions.

9. The plant has a role in marriage ceremonies in parts of India. Dried tubers can be turned into necklaces or tied to the couple’s wrists.

10. Does it have health benefits? Some say yes (good for the skin, a treatment for arthritis and can even help prevent cancer), others say nothing is proven. In Chinese medicine, turmeric is used to aid digestion and for abdominal discomfort. It does contain a number of essential nutrients including beta-carotene, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, niacin, Potassium and Zinc.

Character birthday

Ivory, aka Fiona Kingston-Parker, later Fiona Miller. She is a genetic variant who can generate energy attacks which can pass harmlessly through anyone who is not the target. She is the heir to the Kingston-Parker family oil fortune; the super villain Obsidian is her uncle and was written out of his father’s will. In an attempt to be the sole surviving heir, he killed Fiona’s parents, brother and sister-in-law, and then went after Fiona. She was saved from him by the Freedom League. Wanting to learn to use her power and get fit, she asked Richard Miller (Target), an Olympic athlete and Freedom League member to train her. Their relationship was difficult at first but in due course they became a couple. Fiona retired from active superheroing when Richard did, in order to enter politics, and because she wanted to have children. There were fertility issues, however, and she had one child, Yasmin.

Eternal Flame

The Freedom League's numbers have dwindled to three - but leader Unicorn knows his team isn't finished yet. The turning point comes with Russell, a boy with bright red hair and a genetic variant ability to start fires. He's the first of an influx of new members who will take the League into the future. 

Judith and Wil are child prodigies - Judith in physics and electronics, and Wil in medicine. They have another thing in common - they are both genetic variants. And another thing - they both have fiery red hair. They are drawn to one another as their destinies intertwine, but the course of true love doesn't always run smoothly!

Richard is not a variant. He's an Olympic athlete who has picked up useful knowledge from his unusual friends to add to his own natural abilities. A chance encounter with a dying alien throws him into a Freedom League mission in which his skills are put to the ultimate test, along with theirs.

The Freedom League's arch-enemy, the super-villain Obsidian, wants his family fortune all to himself. One person stands in his way - his niece, Fiona. Fiona, devastated by a family tragedy and her failure to get in to her first choice university, is miserable and has few friends. When she realises her brother's death was no accident, and his killer is also after her, she fears it may be too late to gather allies around her and learn how to use her own genetic variant powers.

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