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MUNDANE MYSTERIES: How Does Food Go “Down The Wrong Pipe”?

Most folks aren’t very well-versed on human anatomy, which is why many of us call biceps “guns”, elbows “funny bones”, and heads “noggins”. So, when throat irritation & coughing spring up after you swallow something in a weird way, you might say that the food “went down the wrong pipe.” But what’s actually going on when that happens?

More than 30 muscles operate when you chew & then swallow. When the food’s ready to leave your mouth & head down into your stomach, it’s near the top ends of two “pipes,” the esophagus & the trachea. You want that food to travel via the esophageal route, since that leads to the stomach. Your body knows that, which is why, during ingestion, the voice box & epiglottis shift & close off the trachea, which, for food, is definitely the “wrong pipe”.

We don’t typically hold our breath when we eat, so food can end up taking a wrong turn down into the trachea every now & then. That “aspiration”, as it’s medically known, triggers an adrenaline response & causes you to cough uncomfortably. Dislodging the food will usually ease the problem, but sometimes it can get stuck & obstruct your airway, at which point you’re officially considered to be choking.

You might notice, though, that this happens more often with liquids. That’s because liquids move more quickly than solids, giving the body less time to react.

In rare cases, food or liquids that head down the “wrong pipe” can end up in the lungs & cause pneumonia. Thankfully, that’s uncommon, as coughing tends to get the food moving back into the esophagus where it’s supposed to be.

To minimize your chances of getting food stuck, try to avoid talking with your mouth full. Also, thoroughly chew reasonable portions. Y’know…all the things your mom & dad used to tell you.

Got a Mundane Mystery you’d like solved? Send me a message via social media (@AndyWebbRadioVoice), or shoot me an email at [email protected].

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why Do We Say “Bless You” After A Sneeze?

We absorb a lot of how we socially interact at an early age, from it not being polite to cough without covering your mouth, to saying thank you whenever people give you things like money or gifts. And, what do we do when someone rears back & lets loose a violent burst of snot & spittle? We say “bless you”. But why? What do blessings have to do with sneezes?

The ‘bless you’ phenomenon dates back to as early as 77 BC. While there weren’t any explanations given for it, it was obvious people tended to acknowledge sneezes as a sign of good health, deserving of some cheer. Greeks & Romans would follow sneezes with phrases like “live long” & “may Jupiter bless you”.

That positivity changed in the 6th century, though, with Pope Gregory I as Europe experienced the depths of the bubonic plague. Sneezing was considered a symptom of illness, so the Pope thought saying “God bless you” would add some extra insurance for what was, at that time, near-certain death.

Also, there was a myth that the heart briefly stopped during a sneeze; perceived blood flow changes were believed to cause a pause between heartbeats. So, folks would say “bless you” to ensure that the heart wouldn’t stop beating. Basically, it was a way of congratulating someone for not dying: “Bless you, Oliver…that sneeze didn’t kill you!” Some cultures even believed demons were transmitted during sneezes, so they adopted the blessing as a way of warding off evil spirits.

However it came to be, we’ve clearly adopted a blanket blessing policy for all sneezes. When people don’t say “bless you”, we think they don’t care about our well-being. One etiquette columnist even put it like this: it’s considered more rude for people getting hit with sneeze shrapnel to bypass a “bless you” than for the person detonating the germ bomb to not say “excuse me”. And we have the plague to thank for all those blessings.

Got a Mundane Mystery you’d like solved? Send me a message via social media (@AndyWebbRadioVoice), or shoot me an email at [email protected].

{Katie’s Baby Blog} Lily is TWO!!!

Yesterday we celebrated my baby girl turning TWO years old…wow did that fly by fast.

She has been gearing up for her birthday for weeks- singing the song, asking for balloons and cake almost everyday!

So…that’s what we did! We plan to have a birthday party with family soon, but we wanted to celebrate on her actual birthday, too.

She got a balloon when she woke up, special birthday breakfast and then played all day until Mom and Dad got home from work.

She took a great 3 hour nap…I think from all of the excitement to come she wore herself out…then we opened presents!

We got her My Little Ponies (they are her favorite right now), a Mrs. Potato Head toy, Peppa Pig doll that sings, and these little squishy toys that SHE LOVES.

Her grandparents got her princess dresses, a treehouse with toys and clothes!

We sang Happy Birthday….twice… at her request and ate a strawberry shortcake (she loves strawberries)! Then, she spent the rest of the evening playing with her new favorite toys!

<3 Katie Ryan

{Katie’s Kitchen} Cranberry Feta Pinwheels- Thanksgiving Appetizer

Brought to you by Catoctin Mountain Orchard. 

I have made these pinwheels in the past and they are a HUGE hit…especially at Thanksgiving for an appetizer before the big meal while everyone’s mouth is watering smelling the turkey cooking in the oven.

Here’s the ingredients: Cream cheese, Feta cheese, green onions, Crasins Dried Cranberries, and large flour tortilla wraps (I used green spinach wraps to be festive)

  • 3/4 cup dried sweetened cranberries
  • 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 1 ⁄4 cup chopped green onion
  • 2 large flour tortillas

Mix all the ingredients into a mixing bowl (it really helps if the cream cheese is soft) then take a spreading knife and spread a layer of the mixture over the tortilla. Roll the tortilla up as tight as you can and then slice into pieces (about 12). Turn on their side and you can position these into a Christmas tree, too!

Superrrrrr easy and fun and everyone loves them!! YUM!

Recipe from here

Pictures of the recipe from Katie’s Kitchen below!!

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why Are Legal Pads Yellow?

We have a guy named Thomas Holley to thank for the legal pad. A 24-year-old dude working at a paper mill in Holyoke, MA, in 1888, every day Holley & his co-workers would throw out the “sortings”, which were basically a lot of scrap pieces left over after cutting paper into the correct sized sheets. He knew there had to be some use for them, and he eventually decided he could cut the sortings into a uniform size & bind them into notepads.

And, since the paper was essentially trash in the eyes of the mill, they were able to sell their pads at low prices. The first few batches sold so well that Holley quit his job at the mill & started his own company called “Ampad”, the American Pad & Paper Company, which collected scraps from mills and manufactured & sold them as pads. That company still exists, and still manufactures notepads in a variety of sizes & shapes…and colors.

The pads Holley made weren’t yellow, and yellow’s not the only color they come in today. Really, the only thing that technically sets a legal pad apart from every other notepad is the 1.25-inch, left-side “down lines,” or margins, which Holley added in the early 1900s at the request of a judge who needed space to comment on his own notes.

When most people think legal pad, though, they think of the classic yellow paper & blue lines. The true origin of the yellow hue is actually still a mystery to this day. As far as we know, the original pads were white, as dyeing them would’ve upped the cost & ruined the business plan.

No one seems to know when the pads first came out in color. One theory is that yellow contrasted well against black ink without glare, making text easier to read. Another is that, from a psychological perspective, yellow stimulates mental activity, so writing on yellow notepads boosts creativity.

The most probable possibility is that legal pad makers eventually decided to dye the paper to hide the fact that the pads were made from scraps of various ages & qualities, and yellow was the cheapest or most readily available dye at the time.

Got a Mundane Mystery you’d like solved? Send me a message via social media (@AndyWebbRadioVoice), or shoot me an email at [email protected].

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Does Opening An Umbrella Indoors Really Bring Bad Luck?

Leaving an umbrella opened up to dry inside your home or office might make you feel a tad uneasy, but you’re not alone in feeling that uneasiness. Opened an umbrella indoors is right up there as s harbinger of bad luck alongside breaking a mirror & a black cat crossing your path. While the beginnings of the superstition aren’t exactly certain, there are some theories as to how & why it began.

One suggests it started around 1200 BCE, when ancient Egyptian priests & royalty used umbrellas made of peacock feathers & papyrus to shield them from the sun. Reader’s Digest says the superstition may have stemmed from a belief that opening an umbrella indoors, away from the sun’s rays, could anger the sun god, Ra, and generate negative consequences.

Another theory revolves around a different ancient Egyptian deity: Nut, who was the goddess of the sky. According to HowStuffWorks, early umbrellas were made to mirror (and honor) the way Nut protected the Earth, so their shade was considered sacred. And, if anybody with non-noble blood used one, that person allegedly became walking, talking bad luck.

Today, though, we try to refrain from opening umbrellas indoors more to prevent & avoid injury rather than divine wrath. Contemporary umbrellas gained popularity during the Victorian era with Samuel Fox’s invention of the steel-ribbed Paragon frame, which included a spring mechanism that allowed it to expand quickly (and dangerously). Since opening a rigidly-spoked umbrella suddenly within a confined space could seriously injure an adult or child, or shatter delicate objects, the superstition arose as a way to caution folks from opening umbrellas indoors.

So, even if opening one indoors doesn’t necessarily mean you’re cursed, getting poked in the eye by an umbrella can certainly make you feel like you’ve got bad luck.

Got a Mundane Mystery you’d like solved? Send me a message via social media (@AndyWebbRadioVoice), or shoot me an email at [email protected].

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Is There A Difference Between Mutts & Mixed-Breeds?

What exactly are mutts & mixed-breed dogs? Are they the same or different?

Mutts & mixed-breeds are basically the same thing. As the latter title would suggest, they’re made up of more than one breed of dog. Purebred dogs have registration papers that confirm the dog’s single-breed lineage, while mutts aren’t registered & either/both parents could be a mix of several breeds themselves.

Where it gets confusing is designer or hybrid dogs, where two specific breeds are intentionally cross-bred to create a sub-breed, mixing the best traits of both lines (like mating a poodle with a Labrador to get a Labradoodle). Designer dogs are extremely popular, but the fact is they’re essentially just fancy mutts.

With so many different breeds, why adopt a mutt? Well, approximately 80% of all shelter dogs are mixed breeds. That’s a lot of dogs in need of forever homes. And, there are plenty of benefits to adopting a dog versus purchasing one: first, adopting is usually cheaper than buying from a reputable breeder. And, with so many dogs in shelters, but only so much room to accommodate them, adopting means you’re potentially saving one dog’s life while making room for another.

And the benefits continue once you get your mutt home. Some experts say that, because mixed-breed pups aren’t exposed to as many genetically-inherited health issues, they’re often healthier. And, some statistics show mutts can also have a longer life expectancy. Plus, they’re often great in work situations, too, like serving as therapy & guide dogs or even sniffing out drugs & bombs.

One potential downside: not knowing a dog’s ancestry could cause difficulty in predicting its temperament or unique behaviors. But, many pet parents see that as a benefit, because it means they’re full of surprises & totally unique. And, with a wide variety of doggie DNA tests available, if you really want to know it’s easy to find out what your individual dog-O’s made of.

Got a Mundane Mystery you’d like solved? Send me a message via social media (@AndyWebbRadioVoice), or shoot me an email at [email protected].

{Katie’s Kitchen} Tex Mex Flank Steak Salad

Brought to you by Catoctin Mountain Orchard.

This is one of my favorite salads to make for dinner! We get a flank steak and marinate it overnight with fresh garlic, pineapple juice and soy sauce. Using a large bowl- Press garlic into the steak, then pour over top, a 14oz can of dole pineapple juice and then about a cup of soy sauce. Cover with saran wrap and place in refrigerator over night.

Start the grill! Cook the steak to your preferred doneness.

Using romaine lettuce, wash and chop and place in large salad bowl. Cut up cherry tomatoes, one avocado, sprinkle Del Monte fire roasted corn (that is the best!), shredded cheddar cheese, crush up tortilla chips on top then add your steak.

You can use ranch dressing…any other type you love!

Or you can make a delicious Avocado Lime dressing:

Add a whole peeled avocado, 1/4 cup greek yogurt, lime juice from 1 lime, cilantro, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 tbsp white vinegar, 2 tbsp. water, and fresh cracked pepper to a food processor or blender and process on high for 1-2 minutes or until smooth and creamy.

Serve and enjoy!!

Salad Ingredients: I used this recipe. 

  •  mixed greens or romaine lettuce
  • 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
  • 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup corn, cooked or raw
  • 1/4 cup tortilla strips
  • 1 avocado, cubed

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