Also, while I've been known to link to them as well, Marginal Revolution is one of the blogs which I'm certain to read every day (that I read any blogs at all). I tend to generalize from my own behavior (frequently a huge mistake), but... I don't really have a point, since even if you thought all (or a really high percentage) of your readers would see this anyway, you still might have reason to want it on your blog.
That's the reason for the economic of corn, as well. Corn requires continuous hybridization. That's why the big hybridizing firms like Pioneer exist (I'm sure you've seen their signs on their testplots if you're ever driven around the Midwest).
I wonder what made the Indians decide that teosinte would be a good thing to breed. (Other than people being people and doing inexplicable things to see what happens.) As the article says, it's not a really practical food source; so it doesn't seem like something they were eating and decided to improve.
Having read most of Guns, Germs, and Steel, I can say that Jared Diamond has a good discussion of this general issue there, as part of his long and elaborate argument that WHITE PEOPLE RULE.
People, please. The emergence of corn is too unlikely, and beneficial to humankind, to represent the actions of mere mortals guided only by luck and mutation. It clearly required a divine designer. Case closed.
And, I'm pretty sure Diamond's argument isn't supposed to be that. Or were you being ironic?
The real determinant in the production of corn, of course, is IQ, which is how we know that it was actually created in Western Europe—Great Britain, specifically—and then imported to the Americas. Maize was presented to the Indians at the first ever Yourwelcomegiving.
I forget what Diamond said exactly, except that getting maize cultivated was a bitch. But even wheat didn't start out as a good food source, iirc. Teeny little pods and being top-heavy or something.
England was full of corn when I was there, but no Fritos or Doritos or corn syrup (except at Harrah's) to be found.
Silly Brits. They think "corn" means grain! They offer support for this absurdity by claiming "corned beef" means beef salted with grains of salt the size of, well, grains.
Yeah, the Brits sure know how to fuck up a pizza. My first sojourn there involved basically having no money all the time for quite a while, and so I and a friend would often frequent the only all-you-care-to-eat joint we could find, which happened to be a "pizza" place. Ugh, after a while hunger seemed the better option.
However, on my last sojourn in the UK, I found Pizza Express (which is actually a sitdown restaurant with tablecloths and waitstaff and everything) to be pretty decent (although also not cheap, but I had more money this time).
But I could never bring myself to try the deepfried pizza at the chipshops (I don't know if this was an island-wide phenomenon, or just a Scottish thing). Too bad apostropher wasn't there.
"Yeah, the Brits sure know how to fuck up a pizza"
This is true. Fortunately we have hundreds of thousands of Italians sharing our country, and we've outsourced the production of decent pizzas to them. A corollary of our high-granularity class system is that People Like Us can get decent pizza for less than the Domino-customers.
Mitch, Pizza Express is good; it's like Bertucci's in the Northeast. Pizza Hut in the UK has terrible, unseasoned tomato sauce, and the pizza has cheddar cheese on it.
What does he except it from?
Posted by washerdreyer | Link to this comment | 08-29-05 9:38 AM
Also, while I've been known to link to them as well, Marginal Revolution is one of the blogs which I'm certain to read every day (that I read any blogs at all). I tend to generalize from my own behavior (frequently a huge mistake), but... I don't really have a point, since even if you thought all (or a really high percentage) of your readers would see this anyway, you still might have reason to want it on your blog.
Posted by washerdreyer | Link to this comment | 08-29-05 9:41 AM
FWIW, I have read MR, but Brad Delong fills the "economics blogger I try to read regularly" niche for me.
Posted by Chopper | Link to this comment | 08-29-05 9:53 AM
That's the reason for the economic of corn, as well. Corn requires continuous hybridization. That's why the big hybridizing firms like Pioneer exist (I'm sure you've seen their signs on their testplots if you're ever driven around the Midwest).
Posted by Dave Schuler | Link to this comment | 08-29-05 9:54 AM
I wonder what made the Indians decide that teosinte would be a good thing to breed. (Other than people being people and doing inexplicable things to see what happens.) As the article says, it's not a really practical food source; so it doesn't seem like something they were eating and decided to improve.
Posted by Cala | Link to this comment | 08-29-05 10:04 AM
Peyote, probably.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 08-29-05 10:06 AM
well, there could have been intermediate types that don't exist anymore.
Posted by cw | Link to this comment | 08-29-05 10:47 AM
Having read most of Guns, Germs, and Steel, I can say that Jared Diamond has a good discussion of this general issue there, as part of his long and elaborate argument that WHITE PEOPLE RULE.
Posted by FL | Link to this comment | 08-29-05 10:54 AM
People, please. The emergence of corn is too unlikely, and beneficial to humankind, to represent the actions of mere mortals guided only by luck and mutation. It clearly required a divine designer. Case closed.
And, I'm pretty sure Diamond's argument isn't supposed to be that. Or were you being ironic?
Posted by slolernr | Link to this comment | 08-29-05 11:16 AM
The real determinant in the production of corn, of course, is IQ, which is how we know that it was actually created in Western Europe—Great Britain, specifically—and then imported to the Americas. Maize was presented to the Indians at the first ever Yourwelcomegiving.
Posted by Armsmasher | Link to this comment | 08-29-05 11:28 AM
I forget what Diamond said exactly, except that getting maize cultivated was a bitch. But even wheat didn't start out as a good food source, iirc. Teeny little pods and being top-heavy or something.
Posted by Cala | Link to this comment | 08-29-05 12:08 PM
England was full of corn when I was there, but no Fritos or Doritos or corn syrup (except at Harrah's) to be found.
Silly Brits. They think "corn" means grain! They offer support for this absurdity by claiming "corned beef" means beef salted with grains of salt the size of, well, grains.
I set them straight every chance I could.
Posted by Tripp | Link to this comment | 08-29-05 12:56 PM
Harrods. But you knew that.
Posted by slolernr | Link to this comment | 08-29-05 1:08 PM
No, Harrah's, and I'll set you straight every chance I can.
Posted by Tripp | Link to this comment | 08-29-05 1:13 PM
I haven't been constantly monitoring, but it seems like it took a while to follow up on my helpful advice in 1. Too subtle?
Posted by washerdreyer | Link to this comment | 08-29-05 1:22 PM
Tripp,
England has a lot of maize corn too now. They call it sweet corn and stick it on pizza which is disgusting.
Posted by bostoniangirl | Link to this comment | 08-29-05 1:26 PM
15: I think the stock response is "What are you talking about? It was like that all along."
Posted by Matt Weiner | Link to this comment | 08-29-05 1:29 PM
bostoniangirl,
No way! Really?
Up until now I thought corn in mac and cheese (one of my inventions) was disgusting. I still think popcorn in barbecued beans is pretty good.
Posted by Tripp | Link to this comment | 08-29-05 1:45 PM
Also quite good? Dill pickle, ham, and swiss omelets.
Posted by Chopper | Link to this comment | 08-29-05 1:48 PM
Yeah, the Brits sure know how to fuck up a pizza. My first sojourn there involved basically having no money all the time for quite a while, and so I and a friend would often frequent the only all-you-care-to-eat joint we could find, which happened to be a "pizza" place. Ugh, after a while hunger seemed the better option.
However, on my last sojourn in the UK, I found Pizza Express (which is actually a sitdown restaurant with tablecloths and waitstaff and everything) to be pretty decent (although also not cheap, but I had more money this time).
But I could never bring myself to try the deepfried pizza at the chipshops (I don't know if this was an island-wide phenomenon, or just a Scottish thing). Too bad apostropher wasn't there.
Posted by Mitch Mills | Link to this comment | 08-29-05 1:53 PM
Hey w/d, there's a typo in your first comment.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 08-29-05 2:04 PM
w/d is pwned, etc
Posted by Armsmasher | Link to this comment | 08-29-05 2:14 PM
I have nothing to add to that.
Posted by washerdreyer | Link to this comment | 08-29-05 10:46 PM
"Yeah, the Brits sure know how to fuck up a pizza"
This is true. Fortunately we have hundreds of thousands of Italians sharing our country, and we've outsourced the production of decent pizzas to them. A corollary of our high-granularity class system is that People Like Us can get decent pizza for less than the Domino-customers.
Posted by dave heasman | Link to this comment | 08-30-05 6:28 AM
Mitch, Pizza Express is good; it's like Bertucci's in the Northeast. Pizza Hut in the UK has terrible, unseasoned tomato sauce, and the pizza has cheddar cheese on it.
Posted by Bostoniangirl | Link to this comment | 08-30-05 8:46 PM