MIDSUMMER SORTING

THE NEFF ZONE -- BY JIM NEFF

CADILLAC NEWS -- JULY 12, 2025

Summer is about half over, so it's a good time for a dive into the crate beneath my desk for some sorting. This is where the nuggets that did not make it into previous columns are accumulating. 

For instance, I like bread and I also like ice cream. It turns out that there's a simple recipe for ice cream bread. “Making two-ingredient ice cream bread is one of those magical recipes that sounds impossible. The recipe is incredibly easy, and yet the flavor possibilities are endless. All you need is your favorite flavor of ice cream and self-rising flour. The result is a loaf of quick bread with a great texture and light flavor.” Is this genius or what? How to make it is at: https://www.thespruceeats.com/ice-cream-bread-4797815. 

After you consume a loaf or two of ice cream bread, it might be a good time to take a nap. There is good news on this front. “A 2023 study has shown that those who take regular daytime naps are much more likely to not only have better brain health, but also a younger brain.” 

The key to a good nap is timing. “Studies have shown that the best time to take a power-nap is between the hours of 1pm and 4pm. Naps should only last for around ten to fifteen minutes, as anything longer can leave you feeling groggy, and even impact your night time sleep. A power-nap can improve your mental performance, and can offer mental stimulus that can last for up to three hours.” (https://www.ladbible.com/news/health/time-to-nap-to-slow-brain-age-six-years-186996-20250618)

After that nap you might want to get out move around a bit. Gardening is a popular summer activity. A couple of gardening hacks might be of interest. TastingTable.com details these. 

The first deals with cucumbers. “If you've peeled a bunch of cucumbers, don't waste those precious peels. Use them to help your plants grow and keep pests at bay. Cucumber peels can deter mites, ants, moths, wasps, and silverfish from infesting both your plants and your home thanks to a compound known as Cucurbitacins. Simply layer those otherwise discarded cucumber peels around the base of a potted plant or arrange them around the perimeter of a plant bed.” (https://www.tastingtable.com/1890030/dont-throw-out-cucumber-peels-prevent-mites/)

So how about animal incursions? The solution is a simple plastic fork. This hack involves putting forks in the garden with their prongs facing upwards towards the sky. The cheap and easy tip will stop animals such as birds, squirrels, and other pests from digging through the dirt with their grubby little paws. The trick works because some animals may mistake the utensil for another animal or predator, forcing them to scurry away in fear.” (https://www.tastingtable.com/1899728/protect-vegetable-garden-from-animals-plastic-fork/)

Speaking of animals, a website with a cool address, Pudding.cool, claims that an animal on a wine bottle label could influence your purchase. “Cats have high ratings at a high price, birds are the middle of the pack for both price and quality, pigs are more likely to be cheap and low-rated, and amphibians/reptiles are more likely to be overvalued: higher prices for lower quality.” The webpage is very entertaining at: https://pudding.cool/2025/04/wine-animals/. 

If wine makes you droopy, maybe you just want to relax and stream some music. It turns out that music streaming was invented over one hundred years ago. “ In 1897, an American lawyer and inventor named Thaddeus Cahill, it not only created the first electrically generated music but was also a music streaming service years ahead of its time.”

Here's how it worked. “The telharmonium was designed to turn the telephone into a music player. The instrument itself, comprising some 200 tons of machinery, used a series of dynamos to create electromagnetic impulses that were transmitted through phone lines and came out the telephone receiver as music. He opened Telharmonic Hall in New York City, where a group of musicians created electrically generated tunes around the clock. Before long, the telharmonium’s music was streaming from telephone receivers in hotels, restaurants, theaters, and private homes across the United States.”

Alas, the telharmonium was innovative but a bit impractical. “Each unit cost $200,000 (several million dollars today) and  the special keyboards used to operate the machine were hard to get used to. The Telharmonic Hall was closed before 1920, and no recordings of the instrument are known to exist.” (https://historyfacts.com/science-industry/fact/telharmonium-first-music-streaming-electric-synthesizer/)

Finally, if you may sense that your summer is getting shorter. There's a reason for this and it began last Wednesday. “Earth is expected to spin more quickly making some of our days unusually short. On July 9, July 22 and Aug. 5, the position of the moon is expected to affect Earth's rotation so that each day is between 1.3 and 1.51 milliseconds shorter than normal.” In case you were wondering, the shortest-ever recorded day was on July 5, 2024, which was 1.66 milliseconds shy of 24 hours. (https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/earth-is-going-to-spin-much-faster-over-the-next-few-months-so-fast-that-several-days-are-going-to-get-shorter)

So, you may want to hold onto you hats on July 22 and Aug. 5. “The moon will be at its furthest distance from Earth's equator, which changes the impact its gravitational pull has on our planet's axis. Think of the Earth as a spinning top.” On those days you might want to take extra care getting out of your recliner so you don't shoot across your living room. 

Jim Neff is a local columnist. Read Neff Zone columns online at CadillacNews.com and NeffZone.com/cadillacnews.