April 26, 2013 by the tow path

Dancing with the Green Fairy

Absinthe with it’s natural green color has been referred to as the Green Fairy. This anise-flavoured spirit is made from the flowers and leaves of wormwood, green anise, sweet fennel and other herbs, and because of it’s high alcohol level is normally diluted with water. With a slightly bitter taste, it is often poured into a glass of water over a sugar cube on a perforated spoon, some of which were elaborately designed for this purpose.

Absinthe was said to be both a narcotic and an aphrodisiac. It was adopted by the bohemian Parisian culture of authors and artists who claimed that it stimulated creativity. Absinthe’s legends caused it to be banned in most of Europe and North America. It took nearly a century before it’s reputation could be restored. In 1988, France lifted its ban on absinthe, but it wasn’t marketed under its real name again until 1998. Studies have proven that the ingredients have never been hallucinogenic, but it’s effects were due to the fact that it is 140 proof. Absinthe doesn’t come cheap, priced at about seventy dollars a bottle. Absinthe’s long past is the stuff of legend whether true or not.

http://www.absinth.com/

December 11, 2012 by the tow path

Coin-Covered Wishing Trees Of Great Britain

Sticking hundreds of small denomination coins into tree trunks is apparently a popular way of getting rid of illnesses.
At least that’s what the staff at a holiday attraction in Gwynedd discovered after investigating the story behind several coin-covered tree trunks in the vicinity of Italianate village Portmeirion.

The coin-covered trees have been traced back to the 1700s, when they were apparently used as wishing trees. People believed that a person suffering from an illness could hammer a coin into a tree trunks and the tree would take the illness away, but if someone removed the coin, they themselves would become ill. Whether some folks still believe this legend, or they do it simply because it’s fun is still a mystery, but the fact is this bizarre habit has spawned some pretty unbelievable sights that apparently unique to the UK.

http://www.cracktwo.com/2012/11/britains-mysterious-coin-covered.html

December 5, 2012 by the tow path

Bacon Scented Shaving Cream

As if bacon perfume wasn’t enough to help people carry the smell of the tasty treat with them wherever they went, a Seattle-based food company has just launched a limited-edition Bacon Shaving Cream.

Justin Esch and Dave Lefkow, the two man behind J&D Foods, have just released their newest idea – a bacon-scented shaving cream that will allegedly make users ’smell and feel like a champion’. Yup, the smell of bacon usually has that effect on people, but what I’d like to know is how does one restrain from having a taste of the heavenly-smelling shaving cream. After all, as inventor Justin Esch himself admits, “there is nothing more powerful than the smell of bacon, nothing.” Company co-founder Dave Lefkow also wrote in a press release:”Bacon Shaving Cream is a high end, luxurious bacon-scented shaving cream for all skin types. Our advanced heat-activated aromatic technology lasts for hours and delivers maximum bacon scent when you need it most.”

In the old days, people used bacon grease to shave their beards, and since the breakfast food is so hugely popular these days, a bacon-flavored shaving cream just made sense. And at $14.95 it’s a steal if you can’t get enough of that crispy treat smell. But you’d better act fast, as J&D have created just 2,500 jars of the delicious-smelling lather, and with the holidays just around the corner, they’re bound to sell like bacon hot cakes.
http://store.baconsalt.com/Bacon-Shaving-Cream_p_170.html