The London Beer Flood was an accident at Meux & Co's Horse Shoe Brewery, London, on 17 October 1814. It took place when one of the 22-foot-tall wooden vats of fermenting porter burst. The pressure of the escaping liquid dislodged the valve of another vessel and destroyed several large barrels: between 154,000–388,000 US gal of beer were released in total.
The resulting wave of porter destroyed the back wall of the brewery and swept into an area of slum dwellings known as the St Giles rookery. Eight people were killed, five of them mourners at the wake being held by an Irish family for a two-year-old boy. The coroner's inquest returned a verdict that the eight had lost their lives "casually, accidentally and by misfortune". The brewery was nearly bankrupted by the event; it avoided collapse after a rebate from HM Excise on the lost beer. The brewing industry gradually stopped using large wooden vats after the accident.
Tired of serving chicken breasts the same ol' way every time? If so, then you'll love this recipe for Cheesy Baked Chicken. These chicken breasts have a cracker crumb coating made from crushed cheese crackers and sesame seeds, so you can expect lots of crunch and flavor in every bite. Plus, this one is done in just about 30 minutes, which makes it great for busy weeknights!
- 1 cup finely crushed cheese crackers
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- Preheat oven to 350º. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
- In a shallow bowl, combine cracker crumbs, sesame seeds, parsley, salt, and black pepper. Place butter in another shallow dish. Dip chicken in butter, then dip in cracker-crumb mixture, coating evenly on both sides. Place chicken on baking sheet.
- Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until no pink remains in center and chicken is golden.
And births this date include...
1929 – Martin Luther King, Jr., American civil rights leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1968)
1979 – Drew Brees, American football player
- Hats may be worn for safety and protection, religious reasons, ceremonial reasons, warmth or fashion.
- In the Middle Ages, hats were an indicator of social status.
- In the military, hats may denote one’s nationality, branch of service, rank and/or regiment.
- A Thebes tomb painting depicts one of the first pictorials of a hat. The painting shows a man wearing a conical straw hat.
- Structured hats for women began to be worn in the late 16th century.
- Millinery is the designing and manufacture of hats.
- The term “milliner” derived from the city of Milan, Italy. The best quality hats were made in Milan in the 18th century.
- Millinery began as traditionally a woman’s occupation, as the milliner not only created hats and bonnets but also chose lace, trim and accessories to complete an outfit.
- In the middle of the 1920s, to replace the bonnets and wide-brimmed hats, women began to wear smaller hats that hugged their heads.
