French fries are delicious. They are also world record holders
You’ve consumed a fry or two in your day, but we’re betting you’ve never had one as long or eaten them as fast as some of the world record holders. Read on to learn a few fun facts about french fries, perfect for dipping in and out. When you’re done, check out our list of fun facts for kids.
1. The most considerable helping of fries was served at Twin Oaks Farms in Eagle, Idaho on Sep. 20, 2014. It weighed 1003 lbs. It used 1256 lbs. of raw potatoes and 110 gallons of oil to fry them up.
2. In many parts of the world, French fries are known as American fries.
3. The world’s longest French fry is 34 inches, discovered at Taffy’s Hot Dog Stand in Buffalo, NY by diner John Benbenek in July of 2010.
4. Thomas Jefferson is said to have requested that the White House chef, a French man, prepare for him “potatoes served in the French manner” for a dinner party. These are believed to be some of the first French fries in the United States. The year? 1802.
5. Here’s a fun fact about French fries—the Belgians eat more fries per capita than any other European country.
6. Hugh Rutherford of Oakland, CA set a record on Aug. 25, 2011, for eating a medium-sized order of fries (from Burger King) in a record-breaking one minute and 46.40 seconds. In 2013 in Hamburg, Germany, a woman known only as Caroline E. ate 20 french fries in 2 minutes, and 21.70 seconds without using her hands.
7. We call potatoes spuds after the spade-like tool once used to harvest them by hand.
If you ask a kid who has the hardest job on the planet, they might say something like, “Fireman, Wonder Woman, and the president.” Touché. Being the president isn’t for the faint of heart; only those with superhero qualities need apply. The fun facts below prove that presiding over the Oval Office takes a special (and sometimes quirky) kind of person. Read on to check them out!
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1. Barack Obama: I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream? Who doesn't love a scoop of ice cream on a hot summer day? Our 44th president, that's who. He worked in a Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop as a teenager and now can't stand ice cream.
2. Bill Clinton: You've Got Mail While sending and receiving email is now a run-of-the-mill thing in most households, Bill Clinton was the first person ever to send an email from the White House.
3. Gerald Ford: Paging Frank Underwood? Seemingly out of a Hollywood (or NetFlix) script, Gerald Ford was the first person to be both vice president and president without ever being elected by the public. How? He was appointed vice president when Spiro Agnew resigned from his post, and then he succeeded to the presidency when Nixon resigned due to the Watergate scandal.
4. Martin Van Buren: Born in the USA While it is currently a law that you have to be born in the U.S. (or a US Territory) to become the President, Martin Van Buren was the first President who was actually a US Citizen. All previous presidents were born British subjects.
5. James Garfield: America's Got Talent Most people only speak or write one or two languages at a time. James Garfield could write Latin with one hand and Greek with the other hand simultaneously. #coolpartytrick
6. George Washington: Party of 1? George Washington was the only president that wasn't affiliated with a political party? Washington was neither a Republican nor a Democrat.
7. Thomas Jefferson: Lights, Camera... Today, the president is on television or making a speech almost daily, but did you know that Thomas Jefferson had such stage fright that he only gave two speeches during his entire presidency?
8. John Tyler: Big Poppa John Tyler was the father of 15 (!!!) kids, more than any other president.
9. Teddy Roosevelt: That's Going to Sting a Little in the Morning An excellent hunter and athlete, Roosevelt was notorious for having a tough guy image. Once, while giving a speech, he was shot in the chest during an assassination attempt. He continued AND FINISHED the speech with the bullet still lodged in his chest.
10. James Madison: Hey, Down Here! For some reason, presidents are characteristically tall figures. James Madison was definitely an exception. He only stood 5 feet 4 inches and never weighed more than 100 pounds.
11. Abraham Lincoln: Try, Try, and Try Again Lincoln lost five separate elections before he became President of the U.S. (Never, ever, ever give up!)
12. Herbert Hoover: Hide and Seek Champion Herbert Hoover gave all the White House servers strict instructions to hide from him whenever he passed by. Those who failed to do so were fired. Yikes.
13. Chester Arthur: Night Owl We all know that being the president means you probably have a lot on your mind. Arthur always went for late-night walks and rarely was in the bed before 2 a.m.
14. Dwight D. Eisenhower: Pancakes, Dave? One of the most important positions in the White House now is being the official White House chef. However, Eisenhower was a skilled chef himself and was known for cooking delicious vegetable soup, steaks and cornmeal pancakes.
15. Harry S. Truman: Is it Sean? Stillman? Harry S. Truman's name is very distinguished. Mainly because of the 'S.' that is included with his name. Did you know Truman doesn't actually have a middle name? It's just the letter 'S'.
The trick? Doubling the portion of vegetables on the plate. That tactic increased veggie intake by 68%! The study involved lunch servings at childcare centers once a week for four weeks. 67 children from ages three to five participated and received broccoli and corn, along with classic preschool favorites like fish sticks, rice and ketchup. Researchers weighed the meals to determine intake and served the vegetables plain, or enhanced with butter and salt. They also varied the veggie portion to be a regular size or double size.
Surprisingly, adding “enhancements” did nothing to affect vegetable consumption. When asked to rate the taste, preschoolers had a similar liking for both plain and enhanced versions of the broccoli and corn. They also ate just as much of the rest of their meal with a double veggie portion, as opposed to a regular portion.
“It’s important to serve your kids a lot of vegetables, but it’s also important to serve them ones they like because they have to compete with the other foods on the plate,” said Barbara Rolls, Helen A. Guthrie Chair and director of the Laboratory for the Study of Human Ingestive Behavior at Penn State. “Parents can ease into this by gradually exposing kids to new vegetables, cooking them in a way their child enjoys, and experimenting with different flavors and seasonings as you familiarize them.”
So the next time you’re cooking dinner, put a little extra scoop of the vegetable on your kid’s plate and see what happens!
Sometimes we all need to rest our weary head, take pause and simply sit for a moment.
It may not look pretty. We may look a mess. But, we are doing exactly what we are meant to do, at that moment.
Some days we truly need to rest our weary head.
Maybe we are in overdrive due to not being able to shut down thoughts, which perseverate through our mind, day after day, and the stress taking hold, causing feelings of isolation…but it’s okay to rest your weary head.
Maybe it’s taking on too much as a Mom and attempting to be everything to everyone, answering what feels like hundreds of questions daily, while our name is being called over and over again…but it’s okay to rest your weary head.
Maybe it’s the balance of work, friends, family, and everyday stressors taking over and suffocating who you are as an individual woman…but it’s okay to rest your weary head.
It’s okay to say no.
It’s okay to take a break.
It’s okay to feel overwhelmed even when trying your best to keep life moving forward with positivity.
So friends, no matter what is weighing heavy on your heart and no matter what is weighing you down, know this to be true:
It’s okay to take a pause and do what is meant for you at that moment.
Not what is meant for your friend. Not what is meant for your mother. Not what is meant for your neighbor and not what is meant for your sister.
You. Do what is right for you.
Do you need a break away?
Do you need ten minutes alone to regroup?
Whatever it may be, acknowledge what you need and give yourself permission to lay down your head, take a deep breath and move forward along your journey.
Ali Flynn Is excited to share with you the joys and hardships of motherhood with an open heart, laughter and some tears. Ali is a monthly guest contributor for Westchester County Mom and has been seen on Filter Free Parents, Grown and Flown, Today Parents and Her View From Home.
While Sesame Street’s Big Bird is definitely one of a kind, it turns out he’s got plenty of cousins! In a recent post on Twitter, the beloved character reminisced about his fellow feathered family members––and he shared pics!
“I heard my friends on Twitter were asking about my cousins around the world! It’s true, I have a lot of bird cousins in different countries. Here’s a little bit about them,” shares Big Bird.
This is Abelardo, he’s from Mexico. We reunited in California last summer during my road trip! pic.twitter.com/FSg4sfPL3T
Big Bird shared photos from relatives in Mexico, the Netherlands, Turkey, Portgual and Brazil. While not every cousin made the lineup, fans from all over the world have weighed in with their childhood memories from episodes over the years.
Meet cousin Minik Kuş! He’s from Turkey, but he's no turkey himself! He's a canary bird just like me. pic.twitter.com/HcS94Um6E3
Selecting a baby carrier can be a daunting task for any new parent, especially once the realization sets in that there are several types to consider (hello structured carriers, wraps & ring slings, to name a few)! Layer in personal preferences like weight, fabric, eco-consciousness and style and you could be down a shopping rabbit hole for hours.
One carrier that checks our boxes? The Ergobaby Aerloom carrier. It marries function & form with the added benefit of being eco-friendly and stylish. It also happens to be one of the lightest structured carriers on the market, weighing in at 1.45 lbs and is made from FormaKnit™ fabric in a seamless knit design inspired by the activewear industry (AKA breathable).
Not only is the fabric durable & breathable, (which will be key for wearing baby during the hottest days of summer) but 87% of the knit of each carrier is made from recycled polyester yarn and reuses 26 post-consumer recycled plastic bottles. So it’s safe to say the carriers are quite eco-friendly! Bake in the fact that they’re also shipped in recyclable, direct shipper packaging and no additional box or packaging and it’s enough to make your green heart sing.
The carrier also features a zippered pocket to keep essentials as secure as the little one you’ll be carrying. It currently comes in 5 color combinations with each collection produced in small, limited batches: light grey/grey/orange, sky blue/blue, multi-color/black, burgundy/dark teal/black and charcoal/black with most colors never to be produced again after they sell out.
The Ergobaby Aerloom retails for $219 and you can check out the collection and current color selection at Ergobaby.
As a child, did you ever wake early with anticipation? Were you one of the children who rushed to see exactly what was under the tree? I was. Patience was never a strong suit and surprises are something I am still not a fan of. In fact, Christmas memories are some of my favorite from my childhood.
My mom, her sisters, sometimes her brothers, their spouses, and up to 11 kids crammed into one home for up to a week celebrating not only the magic of Christmas but the blessing of life, of family. We had some crazy times, from almost losing a child in the snow to my all-time favorite memory waking early to meet my cousin face to face crawling around long before we were “allowed” to be up. As we faced off under a pile of gifts we both startled and then gulped in as much air as possible to keep from blowing our cover. The belly laughs and joy we held within continues to resonate in my mind nearly 30 years later.
The excitement of Christmas and preparing our hearts and mind for the holiday season could be compared to the preparation for parenthood, for the dreams you create for the children you expect. Sometimes, however, you receive the unexpected. In those moments, emotions swell. Perhaps you’re weighed down by disappointment, fear, anxiety, pain, sadness. Perhaps you wonder how you will feel strength or find a way to be thankful for a life you didn’t anticipate? In those moments, however, if you take a deep breath and step back you may begin to see it, to feel it, and to understand the gift is so much more than what you actually wanted it was in fact what you actually needed.
Autism is like that. The last five years have changed almost everything in our lives. While it has taken so much, in the end, I choose to look at what it has given me. Today, I reflect and see how much I have grown, how much this wasn’t supposed to be a journey but my destiny to challenge, change myself and walk beside a child who was intended for me.
In dark moments, I have found what matters. People who care have come out of places I never expected. True friends have stuck around and I have been blessed to meet people in my life I never would have encountered if it weren’t for autism. Autism has taught me patience. It taught me to be present, to acknowledge the small moments of growth. It has taught me that unwrapping the most precious gift may not look like what I wanted or expected but in the end, it’s better than I could have ever imagined.
As this holiday season is upon us, I could choose to be sad, to be mad, to be angry for what could have been or what I wanted—I spent too many years like that. Instead, I can choose to seek the joy in what is, in the moments that matter, and cherish what we have because reality is, there is a gift when you choose to unwrap it.
I'm a mom of many who is living her best life navigating a busy world full of ups and downs. Managing five kids and one with additional needs I enjoy learning through living and sharing what I know. I can't wait to share our Messy World with you.
Oh my gourd! Now you can have a pumpkin delivered to your doorstep. BJ’s Wholesale Club is announcing that they are offering pumpkin delivery through their same-day delivery service.
As always, same-day delivery orders are subject to a $14.99 service fee, so if you want to skip the fee, BJ’s is offering additional contactless pumpkin purchase options. The pumpkins are also available through the retailer’s recently launched contactless curbside pick-up service or buy online, pick-up in club, or just shop in clubs to select your own! So, you can get your pumpkins however you want this year.
There are two options when picking your pumpkin:
Jumbo Pumpkin weighing between 25 and 30 pounds for $9.99
Large Pumpkin weighing between 15 and 20 pounds for $5.99
Plus, BJ’s is offering $1.00 off the pumpkins with a coupon through Oct. 14, which is easy to clip right on their website on the product page when you’re ordering your pumpkin online.
The pumpkins will be available through the month of October, but inventory may run low the closer you get to Halloween, so don’t miss your chance to get your pumpkin delivery.
Even though the Shedd Aquarium temporarily shut its doors, the Magellanic and rockhopper penguins still prepared for breeding season. Animal care experts helped facilitate by shifting the light cycle and scattering nesting materials in the Polar Play Zone exhibit. During quarantine, between building nests and taking field trips around the aquarium, the penguins welcomed four Magellanic chicks.
The first chicks hatched on May 18, and the final chick joined on May 21, with all the new arrivals weighing in around 66-85 grams upon hatch. All of the chicks are being raised by adults who feed and incubate the baby birds. With four new arrivals, this is the most Magellanic penguins born and bred at the aquarium following the annual breeding season.
The animal care team conducts quick daily check-ups with the hatchlings to monitor growth and ensure all four chicks continue to hit critical milestones. Since hatching, the birds now weigh between 1200 and 2000 grams showing that they are receiving the proper nutrients to help them grow. The penguins will be at their full size after two to three months. Until then caretakers will monitor the hatchlings for additional milestones, as well as tracking vocalizations, hydration levels, grooming and more.
The chicks have become more mobile. While they are not ready to take field trips around the aquarium, they have been socializing with their caretakers and each other.
In the coming months, the animal care team will determine the sex of the chicks. The hatchlings will get named before making a public debut in the exhibit.
While Shedd Aquarium has been closed to the public since mid-March, their animal care efforts have not slowed down. To mitigate the financial impacts of the closure, the public can support Shedd Aquarium’s mission and dedication to top-quality animal care by symbolically adopting a penguin. All adopters will receive a plush penguin, a photo of the animal and regular updates on the birds. The public can also support the aquarium by donating to its reopening campaign, It’s Time, or by signing up to become a member.
—Jennifer Swartvagher
All photos courtesy of Shedd Aquarium/Brenna Hernandez
“Where is my Mommy?” As I looked down at the almost-four-year-old in my arms, one thought raced through my head: I thought I would have more time before this happened. But here it was—a few days before Mother’s Day, my little boy wanted to know where his mother was.
The story actually starts almost seven years ago when my husband and I started the long, painstaking adoption process that culminated with the birth of our son a little less than four years ago. We always knew we wanted to adopt; and, we always knew the day would come when we would explain to our child why his family had two daddies and no mommy. “We’ve got this.” We thought. “We’ve read all the books, talked to all the people, taken all the seminars and done all of our homework.” Of course, looking down at the four-year-old asking the question, all the nonpractical knowledge went out the window. In the years that spanned the milliseconds that transpired before I answered, my mind wandered far; it wandered wide.
The stork brought you to us. The stork knew that you needed a home when you were born, and we were two Daddies that really wanted a baby to take care of and love. So, it followed a rainbow beacon we sent into the sky to lead it to us. When the stork brought you to us, we said, “Of course, that’s our boy.” And, you stayed with us.
“I am your mother, and I have the scars to prove it,” I thought. “I gave birth to you myself.” The more I thought about the grueling adoption process, the three failed adoptions we had had previously, and one of the roughest, first 18 months of life on record, I felt fairly secure I could call myself a mother. Moms, after all, endure it all. And, live on to fight another day. Here we all were. Living, happily, still fighting.
“You have a Nana, an Abuela a Nina, and multiple Tias who love you very much.” Yes, I thought, you are surrounded by multiple women who are not surrogates for mothers, but rather love and mother you each in their own unique way. These women not only shower you with affection, and discipline when needed, but also are not afraid to pull your Daddies aside when they “need a talking to.” Some of these women are related to your Daddies by blood; some are related by something much stronger: they are related by the bonds that are forged when life creates indelible moments that fuse souls together; moments that create families of choice, rather than happenstance. Some families you are born into; some families your forge with your will. You are a part of such a family.
As I weighed the options, evaluating and reevaluating, I realized there was at least a kernel of truth in all of them. Finally, I responded: “I don’t know where your mommy is. But the last time I saw her, she told me she loved you very much. She wanted to make sure you had two Daddies that would always love you and take care of you and give you lots of kisses and hugs.” The truth. The truth flows so easily. He smiled and drifted off to sleep.
As he sleeps, my mind continued to wander. “Happy Mother’s Day,” I thought, “wherever you are.” “Happy Mother’s Day to all of us.”
Father, children's book critic, writer, judge, director, actor and amature photographer—together with his husband of 25 years—raising an energetic four-year old! "Parent is not just a noun, it's a verb. If you're ever in doubt as to what to do, substitute the word caregiver. It will steer you in the right direction."
