I'm (finally) back!

It's been 5 years since my last post. I just checked my stats today and someone's read this blog in just the past 6 months! Well, I had thought about getting back to Random Questions before, but today I decided to just go ahead and do it! So if you have a random question,such as "why are they called Grape-Nuts?", send it in.

Heidi B.checks into the Grape-Nuts question

My friend Heidi had the following comments about the Grape-Nuts question, here are her findings:

Re: Grape-Nuts. I immediately thought that the little nuggets are reminiscent of the seeds in grapes, then I found this on Wikipedia, which is about as credible as I:
"Grape-Nuts is a breakfast cereal developed by C. W. Post in 1897. Post was a patient and later competitor of the 19th-century breakfast food innovator, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg. Despite its name, neither grapes nor nuts have ever been ingredients in the cereal. The cereal is actually made from wheat and barley. Mr. Post believed that sucrose (which he called "grape sugar") formed during the baking process. This, combined with the nutty flavor of the cereal, inspired its name. Another explanation originates from employees at Post, who claim that the cereal got its name due to the its resemblance to grape seeds, or grape 'nuts.'"

Heidi continues:

Continuing on Grape-Nuts, elsewhere I have read that the maltose in this product was once referred to as grape sugar (could be another query for this blog) and since the product had a nut-like texture and taste, it was dubbed grape-nuts.

Thanks Heidi!

Coming attractions!

Soon, I will be tracking down the answers to these burning questions:

"Who invented the lawn?" (From the Everybody Loves Raymond episode where Marie and Frank are arguing about this very question.)

"Where does Grape-Nuts cereal get its name if it doesn't have grapes or nuts in it?"

If there's a question that you've got on your mind, send it to lisasrandomquestions@gmail.com.

The question that started it all...

One evening, one of my friends asked me a question: "Why do they put black olives on Mexican pizza? Do olives even grow in Mexico?". As I pondered this issue, the idea came to me to start a blog about questions like this. Surely, we can't be the only people to have wondered about this. Even if we are the only people to ask questions like these, well, at least I can have some fun by starting a blog that answers these questions.

Checking into the second part of the question, I discovered that olives indeed grow in Mexico. The Mexican government started planting them about 50 years ago (http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/bio99/bio99581.htm). Olives are not native to Mexico, however. They were brought from Spain to Peru, and in the 1700's, they were introduced to Mexico by Franciscan monks (http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=8487).

Exactly why black olives are used on Mexican pizza is the other part of the question. My theory is that when olives were introduced to Mexico, they were absorbed into the local cuisine. When someone came up with the idea for a "Mexican pizza", they naturally incorporated the black olive into their creation. However, that's my theory, not a fact. Perhaps you have information about this? Please send your theories, comments and information on the subject to lisasrandomquestions@gmail.com.

Welcome!

I'm Lisa, and I've started this blog as a way to explore those questions that we've all wondered about at one point in time or another. Let's face it, they're not always the "big" questions, such as "Why are we here?" Sometimes these questions are trivial, but really make us think. Let's have some fun with these and see if the answers can be found!

Disclaimer: I'm not claiming to be any kind of expert. If it's a medical, legal, or other such type of question that you have, ask an expert in the appropriate field. Questions that are sent to lisasrandomquestions@gmail.com are moderated before being addressed on this blog. Please keep your comments respectful and constructive.