5.21.2010

Michigan Week Trivia Day 5

Michigan has had a multitude of nicknames since it became a state in 1837:

The Wolverine State
The Great Lakes State
Water Wonderland
Lady of the Lake
The Auto State

Also, the state motto is: "Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam circumspice"
"If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you"

This concludes Michigan trivia week. I know there are millions of more fun facts about this state, but that's all I really learned this week. :)

(source: netstate)

5.20.2010

Michigan Week Trivia Day 4

When the University of Michigan was founded in 1817, it was called "Catholepistemiad", which was the word that Judge Augustus Woodward (a major figure in the Michigan's early history) called his idea of an academy of universal knowledge.

(source: freep & eb.com)

5.19.2010

Michigan Week Trivia Day 3

Michigan is the United States' No. 1 producer of blueberries, cherries, some varieties of dry beans, and squash.

(source: freep)

5.18.2010

Michigan Week Trivia Day 2

Michigan has 5,989 farms that have been in the same families for more than 100 years.

(source: freep)

5.17.2010

Happy Michigan Week!

In celebration of Michigan Week (which has been a "thing" since 1954), I thought I'd give you five days of quickie Michigan trivia from our good friends at the Detroit Free Press. Hope you enjoy!

Michigan Week Trivia Day 1:

Michigan has the longest freshwater coastline on the Earth, plus over 64,000 inland lakes and ponds.

5.12.2010

How To Clean Burnt Pans

This is literally something I just learned: Even if I follow the recipe, I cannot make spaghetti sauce that tastes as delicious as my mother's (and she's not even Italian!).

On a related note, I also learned that if you accidentally burnt said spaghetti sauce (or anything) onto the bottom of a stainless steel pan, there is a scour-less way to remove it:

1. Put about a half-inch of water mixed with vinegar into the pan.
2. Bring it to a boil for a couple of minutes.
3. Simply rub off the charred food (no major scrubbing required!).

I don't remember where I heard about this tip, but it certainly did the job. :)