Stagecoach

Stagecoach at Shepherd's Wild West Showdown

People have been using teams of four horses harnessed like this for over 2500 years.

Loot

Assumption Abbey Fruitcake

A couple of weeks ago someone in the family was soliciting Christmas wish lists. I usually have a hard time with such requests, being as I don't need anything, or I want something unobtainable, like a rocketship. I don't know why but this year I didn't have a problem, fruitcake was at the top of my list, and my family delivered. It's delicious. Nobody else in my family likes them, or maybe they've never had the opportunity to try one. Am I willing to share? Hmmm. I dunno, maybe no one will ask for a piece. Kind of a problem since I am trying to lose weight, but if I hold it down to one slice a week I should be okay.

These cakes are made in the Ozark mountains in southern Missouri. The monks have a page about their operation but it is a bit spare. Looking for more info, I found a wonderful story on Feast. Therein the author mentions one Jean-Pierre Augé who:

"was teaching cooking classes in St. Louis and working as the chef for Mark Twain Bank."

Mark Twain Bank

Why does a bank need a chef? And where did they get the name? Did Mark Twain eventually become a banker? What the heck? Turns out the Mark Twain Bank operated from 1976 to 1997 when it merged with a bigger bank. Near as I can tell there is no real connection to Mark Twain the man.

The Wild Story of the Taum Sauk Dam Failure

The Wild Story of the Taum Sauk Dam Failure
Practical Engineering

Taum Sauk? Where the heck is that? Somewhere in southeast Asia? No, it's in Missouri of all places, named for a Piankeshaw chief.

Curious place. I mean, you never see a lake on top of a mountain. The dam was originally built in 1960-62. It failed in 2005, rebuilt and reopened in 2010.

Missouri Cheese Cave

Cheese stored underground in a former limestone mine, Missouri

Rumor has it that the government has 1.4 billion pounds of cheese stored in these caves under Springfield, Missouri. The Farm link Project has a page about this as does Wikipedia.

One pound of cheese can provide enough calories to sustain one person for one day, so 1.4 billion pounds is enough to sustain the entire country for like four days.

The natural temperature of the cave is 60 degrees Fahrenheit, but refrigeration brings the temperature down to 36 degrees. I wonder what the electric bill is.

It would be a good thing to have all that cheese in case of famine, but 70% of the world's population is lactose intolerant. 

It sounds like a government project run amuck, but this is small potatoes compared to some.

Via a meme on Bustednuckles