Coffee

Legend has it that a goat herder in Ethiopia named Kaldi, discovered coffee around 800 AD, when he noticed that his goats reacted to a plant that they were eating, and decided to try it himself. Coffee was first prepared the way we know it in Yemen around 1000 AD.  About 150 million Americans are daily coffee drinkers consuming on average 3.1 cups a day.

Woodlouse

This arthropod is commonly known as a pillbug , sowbug, or wood lice.  This is the only crustacean that can spend its entire life on land.

Nail Polish

Nail Polish: The coloring of ones nails can be traced back to ancient Egypt, where nail color signified social status, red being royal, (the color red was mostly derived from henna, or even blood) whereas women of lower rank were allowed to use only pale hues. The next major step in the evolution of nail polish took place in China around 600 BC. Chinese royalty used gold and silver, along with black and red nail lacquer that was made using Arabic gum, egg whites gelatin and beeswax Modern nail polish became readily available in the 1920’s, when automobile paint was created.

Button Mushroom

Button mushroom: Agaricus bisporus, these mushrooms were first cultivated in France in 1650. Today they are among the most commonly consumed mushrooms in the world, and are grown in over 70 countries. The mushroom is not a plant, it is a fungus, one of the major differences between the two, is that fungi have chitin in their cell walls, whereas plants have cellulose in theirs. Chitin is also found in exoskeletons of arthropods such as spiders, crabs, shrimp, etc. On average, Americans eat 4 lbs. of mushrooms per person each year.

Crane Fly

The crane fly is an insect from the Tipulidae family. They are know by many names, depending on what region of the U.S. that you are in. Some of the more common names include mosquito hawk, mosquito eater (or skeeter eater)..., gallinipper, gollywhopper. There have been 4,256 species of crane flys identified so far. These insects do not bite, the adults either feed on nectar, or not at all.

Clothespin

Clothespin: “Mom \ dad, what’s a clothespin?” is the phrase that is occurring with more frequency as time passes. Currently in the United States 60% of households use clothes dryers.The last clothespin manufacturer in the United States closed up shop in 1971. In the U.S. it has been more common to use clothespins for things other than clothes, such as movie production, and hobbies. David M. Smith invented the “modern” lever action clothespin in 1853, which was an improvement on a design that was patented 21 years earlier.

Pinto Beans

Pinto Beans: Who wants some Phaseolus vulgaris? Pinto beans, navy beans, kidney beans, and several other beans belong to this family, and have a common bean ancestor from Peru. Beans made their way to Europe from the Americas during the 15th century, via Spanish explorers. According to the USDA (2008) the pinto bean is the most popular bean in the United States, accounting for 42% of the bean market, and the leading grower of pinto beans is North Dakota, growing 38% of all pinto beans produced in the U.S. Beans are an excellent source of protein and fiber. In the U.S. there are currently 4000 known varieties of beans.

Toothbrush

The modern-style toothbrush dates back to somewhere between 1400 to 1600 AD in China. The first toothbrushes were made from bamboo and the bristles were hairs from a hog’s neck. William Addis of England created the next design change, which brought the toothbrush into the mainstream. He tied bristles to an animal bone with wire. The first person to actually patent the toothbrush is H.N. Wadsworth, in 1857, he also used bone for the handle and boar hair for the bristles of the toothbrush. Boar hair was replaced with synthetic bristles in the 1930’s. The first company to produce a toothbrush with nylon bristles was DuPont.

Tennis Ball

This is a tennis ball. The color of this tennis ball, known as “optic yellow” was created to be more visible on television. This color and white are the only two colors recognized by the ITF (international tennis federation) and the USTA (United States tennis association). 300 million tennis balls are produced every year, using about 20,000 tons of rubber. Want to recycle your tennis balls? (those that have not been dog toys, or water damaged) http://www.rebounces.com/

Nail Clipper

The invention of the nail clipper has been attributed to Chapel S. Carter, son of a Connecticut Baptist church deacon, in the year 1896

Brown Widow Spider

The Brown Widow Spider (Latrodectus geometricus) was first described in South America. In North America, it was restricted to Florida for many decades. However, around the year 2000, it started appearing in other Gulf Coast states such as Texas, Georgia, and South Carolina, and has become established in Southern California around 2003. The bite of a brown widow spider is minor in comparison to that of a black widow. The two major symptoms of a brown widow bite are that the bite hurts when it was inflicted and it left a red mark. These two symptoms are not much different from the bite of normal household spiders. However, there is one recent report of a verified brown widow bite manifesting in more severe symptoms that required hospitalization of the bite victim.

Beef

How did that beef get on your plate? Beef production begins with a cow-calf producer, they maintain a breeding herd of cows that raise calves every year. When a calf is born, it weighs 60-100 pounds. Beef calves are weaned at six to 10 months of age, when they weigh 450-700 pounds they are auctioned off and sent to a feedlot. Most beef cattle spend approximately four to six months in a feedlot where they are fed a grain-based diet, a small percentage are sent from the feedlot to graze for a couple of months before processing, these are the grass fed cattle. Once cattle reach 1,200-1,400 pounds and 18-22 months of age—they are sent to a processing facility. From the processing plants the beef is distributed to stores and restaurants. US beef statistics for 2008: 27.3 billion pounds consumed, $76 billion retail value.

Aphid

Aphids have had plenty of time to evolve into the highly successful organisms that we know today.
The earliest known fossil of an aphid is about 220 million years old. There are about 4,400 known species of aphids in the world, and of that number, about 250 species are serious pests in the agricultural world. Some aphids can have a very unusual reproductive cycle, depending on the weather, and food conditions, female aphids can be in an asexual reproductive stage where they are developing females in their bodies, which in turn can be developing females in their bodies. Simply put the female aphid could give live birth to a daughter, who in turn is carrying her granddaughter, male aphids may be produced, depending on conditions. In the autumn female aphids can also lay eggs, which are the result of sexual reproduction, these eggs will be only be female, and may have the potential of growing wings, under certain conditions. These eggs are deposited on plants, and will hatch in the spring.

Denim Jeans

Denim jeans date back to over 500 years ago, they were first used by the navy in Genoa, Italy. The most popular brand, Levis was patented in 1873 by Levi Strauss, and Jacob Davis, they received a patent for “an improvement in Fastening Pocket-Openings”, the patent was for the familiar metal rivets.

Aerosol spray paint nozzle

A man named Edward Seymour invented spray paint in 1949. He added paint to the existing aerosol can technology, as suggested by his wife. He designed this paint delivery system to demonstrate his aluminum paint, this system was instantly popular. Seymour of Sycamore, Inc. still produces aerosol spray paints to this day. Most Aerosol paints also have a metal, glass or plastic ball inside of the can, to mix the paint. One unfortunate side effect of this invention is Graffiti, which started to become a problem in the late 1970s. The national annual estimate for the cost of graffiti cleanup is between $1 and $3 per person.

The woodlouse spider

Dysdera crocata is nocturnal and is called the woodlouse spider because it actively hunts them. It is usually found under wood or bark and prefers to hide in sheltered, damp, ground habitats like those provided by logs or rocks, and is sometimes found in urban gardens under old bricks or paving. These spiders do not build webs, however the female will build a silken sack where it will molt and lay eggs, and stay with its offspring until they are ready to leave the nest. Bites by the woodlouse spider are not dangerous, however they can be painful, since their fangs are capable of penetrating the exoskeletons of a wood louse (pill bug, sow bug) they will have no problem penetrating your skin. They are commonly mistaken for the very dangerous brown recluse spider.