[Ads-l] "Ants on a log" -- Request from a freelance writer

[Cohen, Gerald Leonard]

Dear ads-l members,


I've received the request below concerning "ants on a log" (a type of food

I had never heard of before); the request led to an initial response from

Barry Popik on his invaluable website barrypopik.com

(https://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/ants_on_a_log_floating/

The writer's email to me appears below my signoff.  Can anyone help her

with any additional information?  Her article promises to be an interesting one.


Gerald Cohen

Missouri University of Science & Technology



From: Mara Weinraub <mara.weinraub at gmail.com<mailto:mara.weinraub at gmail.com>>
Sent: Friday, July 19, 2019 3:45 PM
To: Cohen, Gerald Leonard
Subject: Media Inquiry: Ants on a log origin



<snip>



Barry Popik recommended I reach out to you. I'm researching an article

on the origin of the "ants on a log" for an article in Food52.



>From my research the "ants on a log" (the snack) first appeared in print

around 1959. But I'm interested in learning about the origin of the phrase

 beyond food. I spoke with researcher at Cornell and he said the phrase

seems to have currency in America as a way of describing a group of people

undergoing change while having the illusion of being in control. "I've seen

one article attribute the phrase to Mark Twain, but it seems more likely to

have been a common simile."



If you have any insight or leads, I'd very much appreciate it.



Thank you for your time and consideration,



Mara Weinraub

Freelance Writer

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