Author Archive
McDonald’s Imports One Third of Mexican Sesame Seeds
By Chad Upton | Editor
Sesame seeds come from sesame plants where the seeds grow in pods.
The seeds range in color from very dark to nearly white and are used in foods from Europe, Asia, The Middle East, North America, South America and virtually everywhere else. They are found in everything from sushi to breadsticks and soup to hamburger buns.
A tasty Middle Eastern dip known as Tahini, is made from ground sesame seeds and salt (and sometimes other spices too). Sesame seeds are also very popular in a variety of baked goods including breads, bagels and crackers. In Togo, a small country in West Africa, uses sesame seeds as a main ingredient in soup. They’re also used in Greek cakes.
Sesame seeds are popular because they add a subtle savory nut-like flavor. They taste good because they’re high in polyunsaturated fats (the “good” fat). It should be mentioned that heat from cooking or baking damages the polyunsaturated fats.
The largest producers are India and China, and one of the largest consumers is McDonald’s, which buys one third of the Mexican sesame seeds imported by the US annually.
Broken Secrets
Get secrets on: Facebook | Twitter | Email | Kindle
Sources: Wikipedia (Sesame, Polyunsaturated Fats), Purdue.edu
Photo: Oceandesetoiles (cc)
What Does Esquire Mean?
By Chad Upton | Editor
It’s a magazine. It’s a watch brand. It’s a title or a suffix that may follow a person’s name.
Throughout time, the precise meaning of the title has fluctuated.
In medieval times, an Esquire (or “Squire”) was the rank below Knight, generally a Knight in training. Later, it symbolized a noble man, usually born with wealth and power.
Today, Esquire has a different meaning. Although it’s not particularly common, when it is seen, it is usually follows a person’s name (ex Johnnie Cochran, Esq).
In that case, it identifies him as a laywer — more specifically a barrister (although this distinction is not generally made in some countries such as the US). It may also designate judges or other town officials.
In England, it may be used to describe any man, but it also has more formal uses. For example, when British men are invited to Buckingham palace, their mailing address will include the Esquire suffix, while foreign men will be addressed as “Mr.”
It is bad form for one to identify themselves with the Esquire title, it should only be used in reference to someone else. Also, it supercedes all other titles. In other words, if “Esq” follows a name, “Mr” should not precede it.
Broken Secrets
Get secrets on: Facebook | Twitter | Email | Kindle
Sources: Random House, Princeton.edu, Wikipedia (Esquire), Esquire.com
Photo: Andrew Becraft (cc)
The President’s Limo Carries a Supply of the President’s Blood
By Chad Upton | Editor
My car is well equipped for typical roadside issues. I’ve got jumper cables, a flashlight, gloves, tools, snacks and a space pen for writing notes on Earth’s coldest days.
The space pen is probably extreme, but that’s nothing compared to the US President’s limo.
It’s officially known as “The Presidential State Car” and unofficially known as “Cadillac One”, a reference to the naming convention of presidential aircraft like Airforce One. It’s a custom built vehicle, based on a heavy duty truck chassis, which can carry a lot of weight, much of which comes from heavy armor to protect the occupants from gunfire and explosives.
The passenger compartment is hermetically sealed to protect against chemical attacks and includes its own oxygen supply and fire fighting system. There are two driver vision enhancement systems that allow the driver to see in complete darkness and see through thick smoke.
The doors do not open by simply pulling on the doorhandles, apparently only the secret service knows exactly how to unlatch the doors. None of the windows roll down, except for the driver’s, which drops just enough to pass a big mac through.
With its top speed of 60 mph (96.5 km/h), it’s not going to win any car races, but that’s not bad considering the estimated 15,000 lbs this tank weighs. That’s part of the reason it has heavy duty truck tires that are re-enforced with bulletproof kevlar.
There is a full communications and command center on board, along with multiple weapons. In the event that the president gets badly wounded, there is even a backup supply of his own blood on board.
I assume it has a space pen too.
Broken Secrets
Subscribe on: Facebook | Twitter | Email | Kindle
Sources: Wikipedia, Popular Mechanics, Jalopnik, Telegraph
Photo: Wikimedia (cc)
Blog Update – Thanks, Inspiration and Helping Out
By Chad Upton | Editor
I want to start by thanking everyone for all of the great secrets you have suggested, there are many — we hope to validate and feature many of them.
Also, I want to thank everyone for reading and spreading the word. We’ve now got thousands of daily readers and nearly 1500 fans on facebook. Last but not least, a big thanks to Kaye, Kyle and Terry for writing great secrets for you guys to read.
I also want to thank someone who doesn’t have a visible contribution to this blog, but whom this blog owes a lot: Neil Pasricha (Author of 1000awesomethings.com and The Book of Awesome). Back in mid 1995, Neil and I started a tiny website that racked up just over 100 hits in the year that it lived on geocities.
Although it wasn’t a popular website, it was a good website and it gave us a thirst for building great websites. We both went on to bigger and better sites before we eventually found our current place on the internet. Neil has been a big supporter of this site, providing lots of input and advice.
Neil has a book coming out in a couple weeks, The Book of (Even More) Awesome, and I’d love it if we could help him out by ordering the book before it comes out. You see, all US pre-orders count toward the first week of sales, which gives him a good shot at the NY Times best sellers list, which can really make a book successful. Neither of us charge a dime for our website, have banner ads, or ask for anything in return. But, sometimes people do ask how they can help out or how they can donate money. I’m not asking you to, but if you want to give back then this is a great way you can help out and get an Awesome book in return. Click the book in the top right corner of the blog and you’ll be taken to Amazon.
Also, if you’re in the Toronto area, I’ll be going to Toronto for Neil’s book launch on April 26th (7pm, Indigo @ Bay/Bloor) if you want to drop by and say hi.
Before I wrap this up, I want to mention a new development at Broken Secrets too. I recently began contributing secrets to the Yahoo Answers blog. The Yahoo Answers team and community have been very welcoming and this is a great chance to further spread our enlightening secrets.
Thanks again for your continued support.
Broken Secrets
Why Some Restaurants Provide Wet Towels at Meals
By Chad Upton | Editor
If you’ve ever flown first class or eaten at a first class restaurant, you’ve probably been handed a wet towel. The first time this happens, you’ll probably be confused and look to others for guidance on what to do with it.
Generally, it is used to clean your hands. This tradition comes from Japan, where “oshibori” (wet towels) are handed out before meals, to clean hands. In Japanese restaurants, they may be hot or cold, depending on the season. Some people may also use the towels to clean their face.
This tradition has been expanded outside of Japanese restaurants where the practice varies greatly. In Western restaurants, wet towels may be served beforeand/or after the meal — to clean your fingers and around your mouth. According to Etiquette Scholar, it is not polite to clean beyond these areas, such as your neck or behind your ears, in a restaurant.
Many airlines offer wet towels, particularly in first class. They are sometimes offered immediately after takeoff, which is standard in first class on British Airways, among others. These towels are usually hot, but may be cold if you’ve just boarded from a particularly hot environment or if the cabin air conditioning is out-of-order. At this time, they are useful to clean your hands before eating or to clean the travel sweat off your skin (forehead, back of your neck, etc.). On longer flights, wet towels may also be served after a meal or just prior to landing.
Wet towels are traditionally made from cotton and moistened with water. Lemon juice is sometimes added to the water for its fragrance and degreasing properties. In recent years, pre-moistened disposable towels have gained popularity and are often wrapped in a plastic package. These towels come unscented and in a variety of fragrances. They sometimes contain other cleaning solutions such as alcohol.
The next time you’re given a wet towel, you can tell everyone what it’s for and where this tradition came from.
If you’re interested in a particularly long, fairly humorous and sometimes snobby discussion about wet towels, you’ll love this thread on FlyerTalk.com.
Broken Secrets
Get secrets via: Facebook | Twitter | Email | Kindle
Photo: Christopher Doyle (cc attribution)
Sources: FlyerTalk.com, PlanetTokyo, Wikipedia, Airline Towels, Etiquette Scholar
The Incident – Why Buses Open Their Door at Railroads
By Chad Upton | Editor
Although it was required by law for school bus drivers to stop at railway crossings in 1938, drivers were not required to open their door.
On December 1st of that year a gruesome accident changed that. It was a blizzard in Salt Lake City, Utah and a school bus driver stopped his bus at a railway crossing. Because of the snow, the visibility was terrible and the driver was not able to see an approaching freight train.
24 of the 40 passengers died, including the driver. According to surviving passengers, the train was broadsided without notice. Although the driver was familiar with the train schedule, the weather had delayed the train which should have passed two hours earlier. To make matters worse, the train was travelling faster than normal to make up for lost time.
Unfortunately, the same crossing saw accidents in 1995, 1997 and 2002. Thankfully, it is now closed.
The snow ultimately led to the horrific crash in 1938, but investigators wanted to know if any precautions could have prevented it. Stopping the bus and looking for trains works great when the visibility is good, but it’s useless in snow and fog. Opening the bus door (and driver’s window), allows the driver to hear trains.
Today, opening the door and/or driver side window is law in many parts of the United States and Canada. The same law is also extended to trucks that carry hazardous materials.
Some crossings do not require these vehicles to stop and they are marked with an “Exempt” sign. This is typical if the crossing is no longer active.
Railroad crossing signals do fail and there are thousands of collisions each year between trains and cars, many of which end in fatalities. Although the signals are fairly reliable, it doesn’t hurt to pay close attention when you approach railway crossings.
Broken Secrets
Get secret updates: Facebook | Twitter | Email | Kindle
Sources: The Pittsburgh Press, NSC.org, Deseret News
Photo: You Need Style (cc)
Food Chains to Display Calories on Menu by 2014
By Chad Upton | Editor
Last year, President Obama introduced the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which is part of the health care reform of 2010.
Although we hear a lot about the controversial parts of this reform, there are variety of lesser known, albeit interesting, changes that will be phased in through 2018.
Some restaurants have already complied with one new regulation that requires them to show caloric values next to items on their menu. I noticed that Panera is already on board and my wife reminded me that Olive Garden has done the same. This is a bold move and it confirms that anything Alfredo is both the best and worst thing that Olive Garden serves.
There are some other interesting changes too; here’s an abbreviated timeline:
2012
- Employers will have to disclose the value of the benefits they provide to their employees.
- Tighter restrictions on corporate payments to individuals and other corporations, designed to prevent tax evasion and raise an estimated $17 billion over 10 years.
2013
- Individual salaries over $200,000 and families with income over $250,000 will see a tax increase of 0.5%.
2014
- Insurers can’t discriminate against individuals with pre-existing conditions.
- Insurers can’t set annual spending caps.
- Chain restaurants and vendors with 20 or more locations are required to show calorie count on menus and displays (additional nutritional info must also be available upon request).
- Expand eligibility for Medicaid.
- Changes to tax-free contribution limit on flex spending accounts.
- Require that everyone has health insurance.
- Penalize companies with more 50 full time employees if they do not provide insurance to those employees.
2017
- States can apply to waive certain sections of the law if they mandate coverage that is as comprehensive and affordable.
2018
- Existing health insurance plans must cover approved preventive care without co-payment.
- Individuals who spend more than $10,200 ($27,500 for families) annually on health insurance will see an additional tax on those “Cadillac” plans.
This list was by no means comprehensive, although I did try to include the most notable changes. The details of these changes have been abbreviated and you should see the sources for additional reading on the provisions that may affect you.
Broken Secrets
Get secret updates: Facebook | Twitter | Email | Kindle
Image: kobo4lila (cc)
Sources: The Bill Itself (PDF), Wikipedia (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act), Library of Congress
Disney Movie Secrets
By Kaye Nemec
Disney movies like The Little Mermaid, The Lion King and Aladdin are popular among kids and adults around the world. Their characters continue to come to life as Halloween costumes and at birthday parties and their hit songs are easily recognized (perhaps unwilling to admit it, most of us could probably sing at least one completely from memory).
But perhaps something that most Disney movie fans don’t know is that several of the movies have hidden secrets scattered throughout. If you do not own a copy of these movies, clips of the secrets can be found on You Tube. Several of the hidden secrets are not G rated and are not appropriate for Disney films and, therefore, not listed here.
The Little Mermaid
- When King Triton enters the stadium to watch Aerial sing, the camera views him from behind. If you look in the bottom left corner of the screen, in the audience, you will find Goofy, Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse.
The Lion King
- Some people claim that when Simba lays down on the rock ledge at the end of the movie and dust flies out from underneath him the particles form the word “SEX” in the sky. Others claim this is a shout out to the special effects team that worked on the movie and it actually spells SFX.
Beauty and the Beast
- As Gaston is being thrown from the ledge at the end of the movie skulls replace his pupils.
Hunchback of Notre Dame
- Belle, Pumbaa and Alladin’s carpet make cameo appearances.
Snow White
- In the movie, Snow White has brown eyes but in most of the merchandise she has blue eyes.
Monster’s Inc.
- Jessie from Toy Story 2 appears at the end of the movie when Sulley returns Boo to her room – she picks her up and gives her to Sulley. The “Pizza Planet” truck from Toy Story makes subtle appearances in many Pixar films such as: Cars, A Bug’s Life, Finding Nemo, Monster’s Inc and WALL-E.
Lilo and Stitch
- When Lilo wakes up Nani in her bedroom there is a Mulan movie poster on the wall.
Leave a comment with additional Disney secrets you know.
Broken Secrets
Get secret updates: Facebook | Twitter | Email | Kindle
Sources: Various YouTube clips (see clips above), Visions Fantastic, Hiddenmickeys.org
The Fastest Way to Fold a Shirt
By Chad Upton | Editor
Whenever I see neatly folded shirts in a clothing store, I wonder how they fold the shirts so perfectly.
One time, I noticed an employee using a piece of wood to help them. But, this video demonstrates the fastest and most mind blowing way to perfectly fold a shirt.
If you’re viewing this post on a device that doesn’t support video, pinch the shirt in the two locations shown in the following photo.
Then, carry your left hand over your right hand and pinch the bottom of the shirt inline with the two pinch points you already have. Then, lift up and let the shirt fall into a perfect square. Place the lowest edge on a table and fold over that edge so the front logo is facing up.
Voila.
Broken Secrets
Military Tanks are Named after Water Tanks
By Chad Upton | Editor
Characterized by its large size, rugged capabilities and literally bulletproof exterior, the military tank is the reference standard for anything that embodies similar qualities.
That’s why it’s so interesting that the military tank is actually named after the water tank.
There’s no technical relationship between the two, the name actually stems from the top secret project that spawned the tank.
Whenever something needs to be kept secret, whether in the military or even consumer culture, code names are often assigned so subjects can be referenced without spilling any important information.
According to Churchill’s authoritative biography, the project was code named “water tank for Russia.”
Follow us: Facebook | Twitter | Email | Kindle
Sources: Wikipedia
Photo: Jason Trommetter (cc)
Broken Secrets 