I was looking around for something to bake in honor of Thursday's class "The Story of Milk & Cookies," when I realized I knew nothing about cookies or their history. Shall we explore a bit?
Let's start with the basics: etymology. Our American English word "cookie" comes from the Dutch "koekje," meaning "small cake." Bonus points for knowing -je is one of the ways to form the diminuitive in Dutch.1
T...
If you like learning new stuff (you do, right?), there's a ton of stuff coming up in the next week for you.
S.A.S.S. - The Society for the Advancement of Social Studies is just that, meeting once a month to teach you a thing or two about history. This month, it's all about prehistory, and yes, there will be dinosaurs. Details and RSVP. Tuesday, May 1, 7pm, Public Assembly (70 North 6th Street)...
Next Tuesday, May 1, come on down to Public Assembly, our home away from home, at 7pm for an awesome evening of social studies and being social. As always, there'll be drink specials and a good time.
RSVP here, and read on for details:
S.A.S.S. is going way back B.C., to the land before time to talk about what was going on before our ancestors invented cool things like writing. So grab your nicest club,...
*We've filled the position, thanks!
Okay, so we're looking for someone to help out around the Brainery for the summer (mid-May, ideally, through August or September). It's part-time (15+ hours a week), partly at the Brainery and partly at home, and involves all kinds of super glamorous* and not-so-glamorous things.
• Hanging out during class two or three evenings every week (generally 5-10pm) & the...
Last night, in our class on Usage and Writing, Zach brought up the ever-divisive question of whether there is one space or two between sentences.
If you're anything like me, this is something you still think about all the time. In high school, my English teacher insisted we used two. A couple years later, an artsy friend of mine returned to our little rural campus after a semester at RISD, of all places, and...
We have 3 million free events coming up, and I need to be sure you all know about them! In the course of procrastinating while writing this post, however, a couple of them filled up (Happy Hour at Babeland and Biking in Heels). High fives if you got on that early.
Masters of Social Gastronomy: Fake Meat - Every month, we get together at Public Assembly to talk food. This month, we'll tell you all about ...
Candy’s been an obsession around the Brainery for a long, long time. While you’re marveling at the fact we still have teeth, check out the posts below so you can whip up some slightly dangerous/delicious candy at home.
Menthol Candy Cigarettes [recipe, how-to, burn potential: low]
Faux Altoids [recipe, how-to, cavity potential: high]
What’s the Deal with Xylitol? [failed experiments, learn from our mistakes, scie...
Brainery pal Ben Feldman is giving a talk at the Museum at Eldridge Street this Sunday, April 15 about an amazing little change purse and the history behind it. Ben's talks are always great and full of fun NYC history tidbits, so I'd definitely recommend this one. And it's free with admission to the Museum, so it won't break the bank, either.
You can read up on the story of the change purse here, and ge...
Each month, MSG takes on a curious food topic and breaks down the history, science, and stories behind it. Accept no imitations, because on April 24th we'll be talking FAKE MEAT.Sarah Lohman of Four Pounds Flour will give you a run-down of vegetarianism in the west. From Benjamin Franklin's "Tow-fu" to Dr. Kellogg's commercial "Protose," we'll explore just how long we've been eating things that masquerade as ...
Come on over to Babeland's Park Slope store (462 Bergen St.) for drinks and a little education of a different sort than we usually peddle around here on Friday, May 11 at 7pm.
It's all complimentary (including the bubbly), all you've got to do is RSVP. The night of, you'll want to arrive early, cause the first 10 people get samples!
