Lactation Cookies

'Lactation Cookies' are cookies that supposedly help to boost milk production in nursing mothers. Recipes vary, but the main ingredient seems to be oatmeal. So, they're essentially oatmeal cookies.

I heard about them for the first time yesterday, but they've been around for a number of decades. The oldest reference to them I could find was in a 1974 zoo keepers journal discussing ways to increase milk production in orangutans. However, interest in them has spiked in the last decade, and there are now bakeries that specialize in making them, such as here and here.



Do lactation cookies actually work? The jury is still out on that question. Wikipedia, in its article on galactogogues (lactation inducers), notes that "Herbals and foods used as galactogogues have little or no scientific evidence of efficacy." But on the other hand, what harm can an oatmeal cookie do? And maybe they'd work via the placebo effect.

Incidentally, Guinness beer has also long been rumored to induce lactation and was often given to nursing mothers in Ireland.

Posted By: Alex - Thu Aug 04, 2022 - Comments (5)
Category: Babies, Food, Body Fluids, Pregnancy

Sexy TV Showering

Surprised this passed the censorship of the times, as it's just one step away from having the (presumed, but never explicitly stated) husband and wife sharing the same shower stall.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Jul 29, 2022 - Comments (1)
Category: Food, Hygiene, Sexuality, Public Indecency, Husbands, Wives, 1970s

Kosher Pet Food

This is not a religious concern that had previously appeared on my radar.

Read the whole article here.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Jul 24, 2022 - Comments (3)
Category: Food, Pets, Religion

Velveeta Nail Polish

A new shade of nail polish from Nails.INC which promises that "the cheese scent will appear when fully dry."

That doesn't sound like a good thing.

And of course, there's the obligatory warning: "While our polish is cheese-scented, it is (unfortunately) not made of VELVEETA. Please don’t eat it."

More info: nailsinc.com

Posted By: Alex - Sun Jul 03, 2022 - Comments (2)
Category: Fashion, Food

The Good Book Cookbook

Not a lot of nouvelle or fusion or fast-food cuisine in this volume. (Read it here.)

I did a search for "locusts" within the book, but no recipes, with honey or otherwise. However, you can source them here, at Biblical Protein.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Jun 22, 2022 - Comments (0)
Category: Food, Nutrition, Cookbooks, Religion, 1980s

The Gourmet Game

Here's a predecessor for all those competitive cooking shows and restaurant makeover shows.

Each player has his own board, which is in the form of a menu. Dishes include classic haute cuisine and are name in English and French (you'll soon learn the French words and their correct pronunciation). Six cards are dealt to each player, and as a player takes new cards from the deck or does discarded by his opponents he gradually puts together a gourmet meal. To win, however, he must order the right dishes and beverages, and must prevent other players from ordering.

Learn more here.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Jun 20, 2022 - Comments (1)
Category: Food, Games, Stereotypes and Cliches, 1970s

French Fries Guitar

Made out of McDonald's fries. By Russian guitar maker Artem Mayer.

Posted By: Alex - Sun Jun 19, 2022 - Comments (0)
Category: Food, Music

Mrs. Sparrow found a sparrow

1952: Mrs. Florence Sparrow found a sparrow in her loaf of bread.

Spokane Chronicle - Feb 29, 1952

Posted By: Alex - Fri Jun 17, 2022 - Comments (4)
Category: Food, Odd Names, 1950s

Burglary Party

Our Glorious Founder Chuck Shepherd frequently featured reports of housebreakers who a) did housework; b) drank themselves into a stupor; c) cooked a meal; d) had a bath or shower; etc. Here's a variation on the theme.

Source: Wichita Falls Times (Wichita Falls, Texas) 30 Jun 1953, Tue Page 1

Posted By: Paul - Tue May 31, 2022 - Comments (2)
Category: Dinners, Banquets, Parties, Tributes, Roasts and Other Celebrations, Food, Stupid Criminals, 1950s

Edible Tape

A group of students at Johns Hopkins recently invented edible tape for burritos. They're calling their invention Tastee Tape.



I thought edible tape was a pretty old idea, and some searching quickly pulled up prior examples of it. But despite the idea being around for a while, I've never seen edible tape in a supermarket. So perhaps the Johns Hopkins version of it will be the one to catch on.

San Luis Obispo Tribune - Apr 13, 1991

Honolulu Star Bulletin - Sep 2, 1950

Posted By: Alex - Mon May 16, 2022 - Comments (2)
Category: Food, Inventions