Saleratus (1832) & stuff

[Bapopik at AOL.COM]

SALERATUS

   FOOD HISTORY NEWS (FHN 50, Vol. XIII, No. II), had a cover story "Food
History 101: What are Pearlash and Saleratus."  Pg. 6, col. 2:

   _When & how introduced:_  It was knopwn as early as 1837 in the U.S.  Mrs.
Hale's _The Good Housekeeper_, 1839, refers to both pearlash and saleratus.
_Oxford English Dictionary's_ first citation is 1846, where it is described as
"sort of refined pearlash," but by 1848, _Dictionary of American English_
refers to a description of a western lake "encrusted with soda or common
saleratus."

   Can we do better than that?  Oh, of course.

(AMERICAN PERIODICAL SERIES ONLINE)
The Family Lyceum. Design for Instruction and Entertainment, and Adapted to
Families, Schools and Lyceums (1832-1833). Boston: Aug 25, 1832. Vol. 1, Iss.
2; p. 8 (1 page)
   HOUSEKEEPERS often pour vinegar, or sour cider, upon pearlash or
saleratus, which produces a brisk effervescence.  The bubbles of air thrown off, are
carbonic acid.  When these ingredients are mixed in a pint or quart pitcher or
glass, and the effervescence continued for a few minutes, and a burning candle
or a small paper be inserted, it will be immediately extinguished, showing
that carbonic acid is fatal to combustion.  It is equally fatal to life.

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STUFF


NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY LIBRARY RE-OPENING SEPTEMBER 23rd--Greg Downing
kindly passed this along.  It has been closed for renovations.


WORD WIZARD--"Word Wizard" John Morse, publisher of Merriam-Webster's 11th,
will be at the Border's bookstore on my block (East 57th Street) on Monday,
September 15th, at 6:30 p.m.  To M-W:  Is he really a wizard?  Why isn't he a
word maven?  Do you have to do anything special to be a wizard?


WWW.NEWSPAPERARCHIVE.COM--It was posted:

What is the searching secret for NewspaperArchive.com?  Using advanced
search on the exact phrase or name 'everyday low prices' in all papers in
all years I got responses only back to 1962.  Limiting the years from 1759
to 1945 yielded zero hits.  Limiting from 1900-1930 also yielded zero hits,
as did limiting from 1920-1930...

   I've been having problems, too.  I get zero hits on stuff I darn well know
there are hits for.  So I try it again and again, and go back and re-start
the process, and sometimes that works and sometimes that doesn't.  The bottom
line is, the technology sucks here .You just try to do your best with it.


"WINDY CITY" WEB PAGE ADDITION--The 11 September 1886 CHICAGO TRIBUNE article
that I'd found seven years ago and sent many times to the TRIBUNE will be
added to the site.  It didn't scan well, and I've been switching Columbia copiers
and going out to the Village Copier and re-scanning the thing all day.  Let
me repeat: nothing is ever easy.


MISTAKES--Andrew Smith insists that I misrepresented him here.  His e-mail to
me earlier this year was intended to be helpful, and pointed out mild
"mistakes," like proper cover letters and that sort of stuff.  I just extended the
"mistake" philosophy; he in no way referred to my late parents or my autistic
nephew.   I apologize if that was inferred or implied.
   It's been a frustrating summer.  That's all that was meant by the CHICAGO
TRIBUNE "Windy City myth yet again" post.