(Happy 200th week of facts!)
Bean There, Done That
Sunday
Beans are old and varied. They’ve been part of the human diet for about 12,000 years, and there are about 400 different types of of beans.
Monday
Why yes, there is a National Bean Day. It is January 6th, the day when Gregor Mendel died in 1884, that methodical monk who used beans and peas for much of his pioneering genetics work. ”Mendelian genetics” describe the laws of inheritance he revealed.
Tuesday
You can find a pulse in both your wrist and cabinet. Beans, peas, and lentils are known as “pulses,” which are the dry edible seeds of legume plants.
Wednesday
Beans are great and cheap nutrition. They are rich in low-fat, cholesterol-free, high-fiber protein and lots of other vitamins and minerals, including folic acid and antioxidants.
Thursday
Mexican jumping beans (which have counterparts in other continents) are actually moth larvae within a seed pod. They “jump” (roll around) when picked up because the larvae senses the increased heat and shifts in an attempt to get to the shade or a more hospitable temperature.
Friday
Bean bag chairs were never really stuffed with beans. Being invented in the 1960s, they’ve typically contained some type of foam filling instead. The smaller ancient cousin of these chairs, bean bags, were pouches filled with dried beans or pebbles used in recreation (including hackey-sack style games) or martial arts training.
Saturday
Aptly nicknamed “The Bean,” this 33 foot x 66 foot downtown Chicago sculpture is bigger and shinier than any edible morsel. But unbeknownst to most selfie-snapping tourists there, the sculpture’s real name is Cloudgate.