OPEN TEEL! (06/04)

Doesn’t have quite the same ring as OPEN SESAME!* does it?

Nevertheless, teel is one of the many names used for sesame. Here are more:

Other Names
Bene Seeds, Beniseed, Benne, Gingelly, Gingili, Gingilli, Semsem, Simsim, Teel, Til
French: sesame
German: Sesam
Italian: sesamo
Spanish: ajonjoli, sesamo
Arabic: tahina, tahine, tahini
Chinese: chi mah, hak chi mah (black sesame)
Indian: gingelly (oil)
Japanese: goma, kuro goma (black sesame)
Malay: bene, bijan

*The “Open Sesame” of Arabian Nights fame, probably derives from the sound the ripe seeds make when they burst from their pods, a popping noise that sounds like a lock spring opening.

That’s Madam CJ Walker to You (06/03)

Who was Madam CJ Walker? I didn’t know either, that is until I found out…(naturally)

Born as Sarah Breedlove in Delta, Louisiana, the first member of her family to be born free

Madam C.J. Walker (December 23, 1867 – May 25, 1919) was an American businesswoman, hair care entrepreneur, tycoon and philanthropist.

Her fortune was made by developing and marketing a hugely successful line of beauty and hair products for black women, under the company she founded Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company. The Guinness Book of Records cites Walker as the first female who became a millionaire by her own achievements.

And that is just the short of it, read more.

Whatever Floats Your Eye? (06/02)

Have you ever looked up at the sky and noticed floating spots? And then you try to get a better look at them, but they seem to move with your eye?

Those are floaters (and yes, that is the technical term).

Floaters are actually tiny clumps of gel or cells inside the vitreous, the clear jelly-like fluid that fills the inside of your eye.

Floaters may look like specks, strands, webs or other shapes. Actually, what you are seeing are the shadows of floaters cast on the retina, the light-sensitive part of the eye.

By now, you are probably asking yourself – what causes this happen? Well, keep reading…

When people reach middle age, the gel-like vitreous begins to liquefy and contract. Some parts of the vitreous form clumps or strands inside the eye.

The vitreous gel pulls away from the back wall of the eye, causing a posterior vitreous detachment.

It is a common cause of floaters, and it is more common for people who:

• have had inflammation inside the eye;
• are nearsighted;
• have undergone cataract surgery;

(you can read more here)