Orchid History of the World
Posted by admin in History Orchid on May 24, 2011
Millions of years ago, as dinosaurs roam the earth and primordial forests thrive, flowering plants were beginning to evolve and carpet the ground with their fascinating colors and sweet smelling scent. One of these floral plants was the orchid. As the earth begins to age and new species emerge, the orchid family continues to grow and expand to all regions of the world except Antarctica. People become fascinated with this exotic and unique plant, making orchid history very interesting.
It was the Japanese and Chinese drawings and literatures around 700 B.C. that described the importance of the orchid as an herbal cure for maladies and other illnesses. While dating back to the early Greeks, the history of orchids shows that this flower was once associated with virility of man, thus the name orchid originated from the Greek word “orchis” referring to word for testicle. Over the years, it has been a symbol of love, magnificence and beauty.
Moreover, in Greek times, they believe that an orchid can determine the sex of the unborn baby. If parents would like to have a son, the father would eat large tubers of the orchid. If they want a daughter, the expectant mother then eat the orchid’s small tubers. Orchid tubers are known as part of the plant-giving stored nutrients during the dry and winter periods. They never have actual records showing the correlation between the baby’s sex and the orchid eaten, nevertheless, the plant played an important role in their culture during that time.
Orchid history tells us how this flower was used as an aphrodisiac and a food ingredient such as ice cream. A Spanish conquistador named Cortez discovered the orchid among the Aztecs in Mexico in 1519. He was given a vanilla flavored cacao drink. Evidently, the natural vanilla extract came from the orchid Vanilla planifoli. The Aztecs were the first to cultivate the extract from the orchid to use as a drink, an aphrodisiac, healing herbs, and as well as perfume. Read the rest of this entry »
AMC Gremlin – History of the World’s Ugliest Car
Posted by admin in Ugliest Car on May 24, 2011
The AMC Gremlin was produced and sold in 1970. The day it was introduced happened to be April 1st – April Fools day. It happened to be ill-received, as many thought it was nothing more than a bad April Fools joke. However, the folks over at American Motors Corporation couldn’t have been more serious about the AMC Gremlin.
AMC had created the Gremlin to be an affordable compact car that still had some power under the hood. It was conceived off of their once popular Hornet model, which worked as a platform for the development of the Gremlin. However, the Gremlin was built to be much smaller and economical.
It was created to compete against imported compact cars. Being an American made car AMC believed they had created a worthy opponent. Buyers on the car lot thought otherwise, as AMC’s sales of the Gremlin reached a modest 26,000 in its first season on the market.
From 1970-1978 The Gremlin was re-designed to keep up with new demands. As each new model was introduced, reception of the Gremlin seemed to increase, as AMC was seeing a moderate growth in sales every year.
Perhaps it was the hatchback design that brought buyers to its door, or perhaps it was just the odd look of it. To most people, the Gremlin looks ugly. Even magazines like TIME gave it a horrible review, and frankly calling it one of the ugliest cars they’ve ever seen.
To a collector though, the Gremlin is a gem. It represents one of the first leaps towards economical driving. Its small design and fuel efficiency was perhaps years ahead of its time. The fact that it encompasses all of these things make it a desirable piece for any car enthusiasts collection. Read the rest of this entry »