Friday Snippets and Soundbites

Hey, ec fans! Welcome to the first Friday of March Madness!

And even if you think college basketball's biggest tournament is nothing to cheer about (we obviously do!), there's plenty news of the weird out there to get you laughing and ready for the weekend.

So let's see what we dug up this week:

A sticky issue
Steven Steel is a city councilman in Toledo, Ohio. A guy who prides himself on "living off the land," Steel and his family have chickens to lay eggs, collect honey from a beehive, and make their own soup. But the city says he took things too far when he tapped a century-old maple tree in front of his Toledo home and collected enough sap for two gallons of syrup. The local paper reported the tree was actually owned by the city (oops!) and a neighbor complained. Apparently, Steel is in the wrong, since Toledo law requires citizens to get approval from the forestry department before doing anything to a tree. Steel removed the taps and buckets right away. We guess he'll just have to buy his syrup at the store like we do! Read all about it here. Want to learn about how maple syrup is made? Go here.

It's MINE! 

Photo from the Hershey Farm Whoopie Pie Festival
near Lancaster, Pa. This year's festival is set for
September 17.

If you live in the New England area (or the East Coast) or have visited there, you've probably run across a popular dessert called a whoopie pie. It's basically a cake sandwich involving two small chocolate cakes that sandwich a creamy vanilla filling. Back in January, Maine state representative Paul Davis introduced a bill that would make the whoopie pie Maine's official state dessert. He says he got the idea when he was talking with people at the Maine Whoopie Pie Festival last year, an event that attracted 4,000 visitors to Dover-Foxcroft, which is part of Davis' district. The legislative committee has since dropped the term "dessert" in favor of "treat," but that hasn't stopped Pennsylvania residents from protesting. They say the treat actually originated in the kitchens of their large Amish population and dates back generations. The Pennsylvania Dutch Convention and Visitors Bureau fought back when they got wind of the bill, creating a website (www.saveourwhoopie.com) and accusing Maine of "confectionary larceny." So far, residents of each state are sticking to their guns and supporting their bakeries in the fight for the origin of the whoopie pie. Things may get heated, but both sides say the fight is all in good fun. Learn more here. Want to make your own whoopie pie? Go here.

Silly baby!

There's nothing like a good funny video to end a long week. The funny part about this one is the baby's very dramatic reaction to her mom blowing her nose. But it's funnier if you watch it. . . . so here:



As always, if today's edition of "Snippets and Soundbites" isn't enough news of the strange for you, check out page 38 in this month's (and every month's) print edition of ec. You can subscribe to ec magazine here.