I'm flaggin on Dunkin

Turns out the Dunkin Donuts Coolatta drink isn't really worth it as a caffeinated beverage.

A small Coolatta, at roughly 16 ounces and eleventy squirteen dollars, contains just about as much caffeine as... Half a can of cola.

I have to admit, I was wondering why I didn't get much of a pick-me-up this morning.

Word for the Day -- Compotator

Today's new word is "compotator," defined as "one who drinks with another."  The derivation is fairly straightforward-- "com-", meaning "with" or "together" (as in "community," or "commingle"), and "potator," "one who potates."  Ok, so that isn't all that straightforward, but it's the same root as "potable," which most people only encounter in the Jeopardy! category "potent potables."  It means "drink."

So a compotator is basically just a drinking buddy.  This is another one of those words that no-one uses any more that I think really deserves a renaissance.  "I'll see you later, dear-- I'm due to meet up with my compotators at the local pub."  "I joined Gamma Delta Iota in my sophomore year so that I could live with my compotators."

Black Velvet

Black Velvet is the name of a song that was popular a while back, when I was younger.*  Apparently, it was about Elvis. "Mama's baby's in the heart of every school girl // "Love me tender" leaves 'em cryin' in the aisle"

"Black velvet," as it turns out, is apparently also a term used in Australia to refer to, shall we say, the proclivities of well-situated Caucasian males in the field of Aboriginal extracurricular activities, or possibly to those "activities" themselves.  Ahem.

A "black velvet" is also a drink made from Guinness and champagne, which to me at least, sounds completely wretched.  What a horrible thing to do to champagne.  It was created in honor of the death of Britain's Prince Albert.

Finally, it is, of course, the material of choice for paintings of sad clowns and unicorns.

I am reasonably certain that these things are essentially unrelated, with the possible exception of black velvet paintings of Elvis.  At the very least, we can hope so.

*Yes, I'm aware that that statement is semantically somewhat redundant, or at the very least extremely unhelpful.

Mogen David 20/20

Mad Dog 20/20 is not actually Mad Dog!  Mad Dog is a common nickname for this particular brand of low cost fortified wine, but the actual name is MD 20/20, and the MD stands for Mogen David!  I... you... [incoherent sputtering]

That's just not right.

OTOH, this year's seder is gonna be a lot more fun.

Also, Mogen David doesn't have a website.  Really.  At all.  Come on, guys, welcome to the 58th century!

Bicarbonate of cola

I always kind of wondered why some sodas had noticeable amounts of sodium listed on their nutrition information labels.  After all, they're not especially salty.  But Coca-cola has 45 mg of sodium per can.  Canada Dry Ginger Ale has about 55 mg, and Sprite has 65 mg.

It turns out that it has to do with the industrial carbonation process.  In natural carbonation (such as found in expensive fizzy alcoholic drinks), yeast will consume sugar and produce carbon dioxide, which slowly saturates the liquid, forming a soft, gentle bubble.  This process has some downsides for mass production, however-- it's slow, slightly imprecise, and tends to leave dead yeast at the bottom of the container.  It also doesn't work on drinks with sugar substitutes.

So instead, they simply take big vats of water and quickly force carbon dioxide into it under extreme pressure.  This creates a "sharper," "harsher" bubble, and has the benefits of consistency and speed.  However, it also produces a certain amount of carbonic acid, which, in sufficient quantities, can add a sour taste to the carbonated water.  So, to counteract this, many companies add a basic substance, to wit: baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate.  This naturally ups the sodium content in the soda, but that's not a big concern to the soda companies.  Or to most of the consumers, frankly-- it's not really a huge amount, just a couple percent of the US RDA per can.  But I did always wonder.