hollow vegetables

Hi all:

This is a bit off-topic for rec.puzzles, but over the years I've noticed this group is amazing in answering off-the-wall questions, and I seem to have struck out in rec.gardens and google...

Strange Q... what is the 'air' inside hollow vegetables made of? Is it like the air outside hollow vegetables? Is it the same, only with no oxygen? Or pure Radon? Krypton? DiLithium Crystals?

Inquiring minds want to know!

advTHANKSance,

-Dave http://www.daveboll.com/

The gases avialable to a pumpkin are the gases in it's environment: oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen. But remember, a pumpkin is a chemical processing plant, so other gases such as hydrogen (via water) are also available.

In addition, volatile compounds are created from the raw ingredients so the air could contain methane or other by-pdroducts of the chemical processing. The air inside a pumpkin contains a complicated mixture of organic volatiles in addition to whatever gases make up the bulk.

The specific mixture of these volatiles is what makes the inside of a pumpkin smell like a pumpkin. A strawberry smells the way it does because it has a different mixture of volatiles.

Artificial flavors are developed by analyzing the fingerprint of these volatiles to identify which specific organics create the smell/taste peculiar to a given plant. Once the smell/taste has been identified, it can be synthesized from raw organic chemicals obtained from cheaper sources such as coal tar.

Now when you see that your strawberry soda has 'natural flavorings' don't assume that any strawberries were harmed in the creation of that soda. All 'natural' means is that the source of the synthesis was pine tar instead of coal tar.

When will people realise that pine tar should be the end in itself, and not simply a means to an end?

Now, where's my tervasnappsi?

Having been to London a couple times, I don't even want to think about what that might be.

I think to find out about tervasnappsi you have to go to Helsinki. And given the context and the Finnish propensity for alcohol, I wouldn't be surprised if it would turn out to be distilled pine tar.

Cheers

On 10 Dec 2004 03:09:33 +0200, Phil Carmody

I can't find tervasnappsi on Google, I'm dubious that such a thing exists.

Quack medicine. Chicken soup, that's the real stuff.

Phil Carmody:

George Weinberg:



I don't know Finnish but this is rec.puzzles and it only took a minute of Google experimentation to solve this one. Here is a hit in English: http://www.abo.fi/~aiesecmk/fce2002/fincult090402.html It says 'tervasnapsi' ('tar schnapps'.

Google rules!

Is it possible to have a 'long p'? (Scatological jokes aside)

) Is it possible to have a 'long p'? (Scatological jokes aside)

Yes. I refer you to the Man With The Mojo.

SaSW, Willem

* There is a silent 'p'

[I suppose you mean 'in Finnish language' since that was the original context...]

Yes, it is. For instance, the words 'rapu' (crab) and 'rappu' (stair) differ only by the duration of the consonant 'p' when pronounced. In most [all?!?] cases, first one of the doubled consonants belongs to the preceding syllable, and the other to the next one. A single consonant will in most [all?!?] cases belong to the second syllable. See below:

'rapu' > RAH-poo 'rappu' > RUPP-poo

- Risto -