fourlocks Loc: Londonderry, NH

The "Five Monkeys" and "Army Tradition" posting bought back an anecdote from my work years:

Making varnish is an easy process: Mix resin A, resin B and resin C; heat to a certain temperature for a certain length of time and voila; varnish.

A varnish company we visited had printed instructions at each processing vat to ensure no errors. At one vat, the instructions called for resin A, resin B, resin C and a slice of onion to be added. We told the plant manager to eliminate the onion since it had nothing to do with making varnish.

The manager refused saying, "Look; for years, we've been making a good product our customers are happy with. We're not going to change it just because you tell us to."

We traced several plant mangers back to one long retired and when we asked about the onion he laughed, telling us,
"That goes back to World War II when the war effort took all the mercury and we didn't have thermometers. We found out that when an onion slice added to the mix browned, the varnish was ready." 50 years later, that company was still adding the onion slice to the varnish.

It became a standard joke between us when we were helping other companies improve their process, that we were "always looking for that onion slice."

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

That story brings a tear to my eye.

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

And they’re biodegradable when their useful life is past.

ELNikkor

Good story; how did they discover the "Onion Slice Method" in the first place?

fourlocks Loc: Londonderry, NH

No idea. All I can say is that our forebearers were creative and adaptive, having to overcome problems like not having thermometers. I have several questions like that like, how did someone figure out the bread making process? Did someone accidentally drop yeast into unleavened bread dough and let it sit for a couple of hours before baking it? Seems a stretch. For that matter, how did the first caveman (or woman) figure out that by sticking raw meat in a fire it became more flavorful and tender? On the other hand, African termites build mathematically perfect arches in the entrance to their mounds so I guess anything's possible!

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

More important, How did they figure out how to make BEER? Wine is rather easy, beer requires steeping at controlled temperatures and for controlled times, rinsing, cooking, cooling, and adding ingredients at controlled times, then waiting a couple of weeks.

Stephan G

Making beer was easy. "The first chemically confirmed barley beer dates back to the 5th millennium BC in Iran".

Grains were stored in clay bins. Water seeped in at times. The grains "rotted" and increased the internal temperature of the pile, cooking the ingredients, with the sugars within the grain adding to the fermentation. Yeast, actually, is an "accelerant" in the process of making the sugars.

Side note: Ape research shows that some have "known" about the effects of beer and having beer parties. I.e, https://drunkard.com/0105-beer-monkeys/

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

IMHO, wine is easy, mother nature supplies the yeast, though we now have special more reliable yeasts for wine, for beer, starch to sugar conversion (first step) is by enzymes contained in barley, different enzymes at different temps, mess up there poor beer! Oh and there are different ways to do that conversion, all varying the time and temps, I could set up a batch of wine in an hour, took all day to do beer, one of the reasons I quit the hobby, know anyone that needs beer/wine equipment, it is rewarding but a lot of work and I do not drink enough anymore.

Lucian Loc: From Wales, living in Ohio

How did they figure out how to make tapioca. From what I've heard the stuff is poisonous until the last but one steps in making it. so how did they figure out how to keep going until they stopped dying?

Stephan G

I still have mine boxed up. Years back I had two gallons of wine in process in my closet. There was a store down the road that had a system going. You went in and helped them make 5 loves of bread, with a 6th one for you as pay for the effort. I ended up with two fresh loaves for the weekend party in my apartment. I was rather popular.

Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

And eggs! Who was the first person to say: "I think I'll eat the next thing that comes out of that chicken's rear end!

foodie65

Wat about the first person to eat a clam or an oyster??