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http://www.omniture.com --> Ashland, Oregon HOME Valley & State Sports Opinion/Editorial Classifieds Business Columnists Obituaries Weather Archive Revels Etcetera Backpage O-Zone Real Estate Guide Menu Guide Shakespeare Subscribe Contact Us Rate Card Place an Ad August 9, 2006 Food & History: Some common misconceptions By Jeff Cheek Tidings Correspondent The controversy over the movie about the Mona Lisa is a reminder of many misconceptions we have adopted. Da Vinci did not paint the "Mona Lisa." He named his masterpiece "La Gioconda," after the lady who posed for it, wife of Florence merchant Francesco del Giocondo. Her nickname was Madonna Lisa or Mona Lisa, and somehow that name was substituted for Da Vinci's title. Another widely accepted misconception is that the rickshaw (or rickisha) was invented by the Japanese. Actually, the inventor was an American. After the United States forced Japan to end its self-imposed isolation in 1854, a number of Protestant missionaries were sent to Nippon to spread their faith. One was Reverend Jonathan Scobie. His wife was in poor health but she accompanied him to Yokohama. By 1870, she was an invalid. Aristocratic Japanese ladies were carried about in wicker enclosed sedan chairs, borne on the shoulders of two bearers. Scobie removed the wicker frame but kept the chair. The carrying poles became shafts and he added two wheels. The Japanese called his wife's little cart a "jinrickisha." Jin is "man," ricki is "powered or pulling," and sha is "vehicle," or a man-powered-vehicle. Later, when automobiles were introduced, the Japanese called them "airickisha." Ai is "self," so the car was a self-pulling-vehicle. They soon abandoned this expression and adopted words like car and truck. Another popular belief is that Julius Caesar was delivered by caesarian section which gave us the term. Caesar was born about 102 BC. The term and operation dates back at least five centuries before Christ. There was a Roman law "lex caesarea" (law of incision) which stipulated that, if a woman died before giving birth to her child, the baby would be delivered immediately by incision and removal. Caesarian sections were used on deceased mothers hundreds of years before Julius was born. Pliny the Elder, the world's first agronomist, was the man who publicized this misconception. Pliny should have stuck with agriculture and left history to the historians. Pingpong is not the name of this popular table game. It is the registered trade mark of a British company that manufactors equipment for table tennis, Ping-Pong. The game was invented in the 1880's by an English engineer named James Gibb. The rainy English weather often cancelled tennis matches so Gibb moved the game indoors. He used champagne corks for balls with paddles made from cigar box tops to create a new game, officially listed as table tennis, not pingpong. A drunk can not sober up by drinking coffee or taking a shower. You just have a wide awake or a wet drunk. Only the body can flush the intoxicants from the system. Finally, Delilah did not cut Sampson's hair. She did nag Sampson until he told her the source of his strength, but Judges Chapter 16, Verse 19 says: "And she made him sleep upon her knees, and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head." Another common belief is that peanut butter has to stick to the roof of your mouth. Try this Peanut Butter and Apple Butter Sandwich. The apple slices enhance the flavor and reduces the stickiness. INGREDIENTS: Two slices sandwich bread Peanut Butter Apple Butter Thin slices of peeled apple PREPARATION: Spread peanut butter on one piece of bread, cover with thin slices of apple, then cover apple slices with apple butter. Close with second piece of bread and serve. Leave a Comment: Advertisement: Advertisement: Paid Advertising Inkjet Printers Student Loans Water Filter Helzberg Diamonds Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Copyright © 2006 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved.