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We are really amped up on today’s news and have this topic wired.
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On this day in 1903, Topsy, a circus elephant, is electrocuted to death by Thomas Edison.
She was a very bad elephant.
Although denied a trial before a jury of her peers, she was sentenced to death after killing three men over the course of three years–even though one of them was an abusive trainer who probably deserved the consequences of Topsy’s rage.
So, what the heck was Thomas Edison doing in the mix? He was actually a staunch opponent of capital punishment but saw an opportunity to show the public how dangerous alternating current or “AC” electricity was as opposed to direct current or “DC” electricity, which was the standard he supported. Apparently, he had a big bet down that DC would be the format used to power all our homes.
Well, that didn’t work out for Thomas Edison and it certainly didn’t work out for Topsy. This dark day for both of them leads us to our Wine Word of the Day: Black currant
Black currant is a tasting term most often used to describe the flavor of Cabernet Sauvignons. What does it have to do with charring an elephant to death? Absolutely nothing, which is the beauty of these podcasts.
Okay, so current and currant are spelled differently and mean completely different things, but they sound the same and that works great for me, but God help anyone trying to learn the English language.
Blackcurrant is a berry grown from a shrub mainly found in Europe and Asia. It used to grow in the United States until it was discovered that it could harbor a disease that killed pine trees, so the lumber industry had it banned from the country in 1911.
The French word for blackcurrant is “cassis.” And you’ll hear that bandied about the tasting rooms serving Cabernet Sauvignons, mainly by people who can’t speak a lick of French, like me.
So what does blackcurrant or cassis berries taste like? Well, they are tart, and kind of astringent, and sort of remind you of blueberries and grapes, with a little brambly/greenish edge to them. They are loaded with vitamin C and antioxidants, and if you listen to growers, they’ll tell you that blackcurrants may extend your longevity and prevent dementia. In other words, you’ll be sharp as a tack and live forever.
Clearly, Topsy didn’t get the blackcurrant memo. Those berries could have stabilized her mental health and may have prevented her early demise. But instead, they fed her a bunch of cyanide laced carrots and lit her up with 6,600 volts of AC electricity, courtesy of a fight between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse.
Well, at least Topsy passed quickly. The original idea was to hang her. Seriously. They were gonna hang an elephant until the ASPCA stepped in.
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