And of course I must include another one of fellow _flosser David Israel’s brilliant Twaggies (this one is just too true). For more great tweets illustrated, visit the Twaggies section of GoComics.
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A big thanks to everyone who sent in links this week – keep it up! Send your submissions to FlossyLinks@gmail.com, or send me a Tweet!

• So what exactly is in a Bloody Mary? With its combination of vodka, tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce, lime juice, celery salt, cayenne pepper (or Tabasco sauce) and black pepper, the drink contains hundreds of compounds and has been called “the world’s most complex cocktail.” A flavor wheel shows how the drink hits pretty much every note for the senses.

• Many successful Bloody Marys include “secret” ingredients including fresh seasonal vegetables, pickled brussels sprouts, turnips, green beans, radishes, caper berries, Kim Chi and up to twenty ingredients in a single mix (and don’t forget the bacon-flavored vodka!)

• One thing you don’t need? Celery. “What is the celery doing there? It adds nothing, flavour-wise, and you have to drink around it, like a nervous vicar, or it gets impaled in your nostril. Are you meant to lick the vodka and tomato juice off the celery? Or nibble it like a rabbit? Puh-lease. I have yet to meet anyone who orders a Bloody Mary and says: ‘…And make sure you add a stick of celery, Marcus old chap.’”

• A (disputed) history is that the drink was created in 1920s Paris, because it was popularized by Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald, though the exact origins are unknown. What is known is that the recipe change of substituting Tabasco sauce for cayenne pepper occurred in the 1950s when Tabasco was exported to France for the first time.

• Despite what many of us would guess, the drink’s name has nothing to do with 16th Century Queen Mary I of England. According to a 2008 article, the beverage’s name “comes from a customer’s fond memory of a waitress named Mary who worked at a Chicago bar called the Bucket of Blood” (which seems a lot more spurious to me….)

• As the New York Times mentions, “in this country, there is a holiday for nearly every date on the calendar.” So here’s another one: October 5th was declared Bloody Mary Day by New York City’s Mayor Bloomberg in 2009, and included celebrations at one of the other “origin” bars, the King Cole at the St. Regis

• If once a year isn’t enough celebration for you, you might consider joining the Bloody Mary of the Month Club, where you will be sent mixes for those who don’t want to bother finding all of the ingredients themselves. There’s no shame in it – the pre-mixed Bloody Mary is one of the most popular inflight drinks of all time.

• Many of us may remember in school or slumber parties daring someone to say “Bloody Mary” into the mirror. Brad Walters of “Cortical Hemming and Hawing” retells the legend of Bloody Mary and offers some thoughtful hypotheses as to what might actually account for the appearance of a strange figure in the mirror. (FYI: There’s a creepy image on the page – to avoid it, you can go to the Snopes article that talks about the legend instead)

• And if this has made you thirsty for a libation, pour one out for poor Mary I a.k.a. Bloody Mary, who had a rather hard time (might also want to pour one out for the 300 Protestants she burned as well).

• So what do you put in your Bloody Marys, Flossers? Any secret ingredients you’re willing to share?

Hungry for more? Venture into the Dietribes archive.

‘Dietribes’ appears every other Wednesday. Food photos taken by Johanna Beyenbach. You might remember that name from our post about her colorful diet.

And let’s end with one of fellow _flosser David Israel’s recent Twaggies. For more great tweets illustrated, visit the Twaggies section of GoComics.
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Hope everyone had a great weekend! Don’t forget to send your link submissions to FlossyLinks@Gmail.com, or you can always Tweet me.

• It takes four maple trees that are at least 40 years old over six weeks to produce 35 to 40 gallons of maple sap, which equates to one gallon of maple syrup (which sells for about $50).

• So what makes sap rise? “The sap we call maple syrup is a special case involving stem pressure,” or the way that nutrients are distributed throughout the tree. “‘In daytime in late fall through spring, when the leaves are not out, cells in the stem start metabolizing. The process, which is not fully understood, produces carbon dioxide, which collects in the spaces between the cells. The pressure forces the sap out when a hole is made.”

• Don’t fake it! In 2011, a bill was introduced to make it a felony to sell fake maple syrup (meaning it is just pure cane sugar). Have you ever been fooled?

• Both the U.S. and Canada have strong ties to maple syrup: Vermont’s state quarter and two Canadian coins depict sugar maples or parts of them. And as most of you know, the maple leaf is the national symbol of Canada, appearing on currency, flags, and government logos (and the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team).

• But the real King of Maple Syrup is the Province of Quebec, which produces more maple syrup than all other U.S. states and Canadian provinces combined (in 1998 they made over 4.9 million gallons!)

• You can toast Quebec’s success with a Maple Syrup Liquor or have a delicious-looking maple syrup cocktail. (Has anyone tried these?)
 
• To complete your syrup meal, try “Sugar on Snow,” a traditional Vermont dish in which freshly boiled syrup is poured on late winter snow, creating a taffy-like consistency. It is traditionally eaten with a sour pickle to offset the sweet maple flavor. (I know some of you have had this! Share your experience with those of us in warm climates who do not understand snow, such as myself).

• Check out how the maple syrup event in New York (the persistent yet mysterious smell of maple syrup over four years) connects to the 311 service (plus a nifty off topic graph about when and what people use 311 for. I wish Atlanta had this!)

• And just like almost anything now, you can take a college class in it! Check out the course description for HONR 172 – Maple Syrup: The Real Thing at Alfred University:

Wanted: Someone with a background in meteorology, chemistry, botany, forestry, art, and cookery who is also a nature lover with lots of patience. Must enjoy long hours of hard work in the snow, cold, and mud. Even though this is an accurate description of a maple syrup producer, don’t let it scare you! The method of producing maple syrup is one of the things in our society that has endured even in today’s culture of constant change; fundamentally it’s the same process Native Americans used centuries ago. This class will explore the history of maple syrup production, discover the ins and outs of making syrup, create (and eat) some sweet confections, and take field trips to local producers, restaurants and festivals. No prior experience expected.

Pretty cool!

• Do you regularly buy real maple syrup? Have you ever gone to collect it from the tree? What do you love to put it on besides waffles? I’ve only had it a few times in my life but I love it!

Hungry for more? Venture into the Dietribes archive.

‘Dietribes’ appears every other Wednesday. Food photos taken by Johanna Beyenbach. You might remember that name from our post about her colorful diet.