Episode 46 Corn is American Now

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Listen to "046 Corn is American Now" on Spreaker.

Link to the Episode:

Some of the Monumental Native American Architecture I was never told about:
Serpent Mound in southwest Ohio
The head is at a meteor crater
It also appears to work as a solar calendar
It was also a work of many people - done by hand

19th Century drawing 



Marching Bears Effigy Mounds - in northeastern Iowa
on the border with Wisconsin 
(the mounds were outlined in lime to emphasize the shapes
for this 1979 arial photograph - the had to use an actual plane!)


Early 20th century survey of the effigy mounds

Maya Lin - the late 20th century Ohio Artist inspired by the monumental earth mounds that she visited while growing up:

One of Maya Lin's wave fields at Storm King, NY

The idiocy of "it was aliens".  In the 1960's, a Swiss amateur explorer looked at this intricately carved sarcophagus lid of the Mayan King Pacal - from the 7th century CE.  While it depicts the King's decent into the underworld - the explorer decided this carving was of an astronaut on a crash couch inside a spaceship.

And determined that this - along with other feats of monumental architecture were due to the influence of aliens - not human ingenuity happening over and over again around the globe.  The plague of "if I can't do it, or figure it out, well then, no one can.  So it's impossible or only possible through the intervention of extraterrestrial interference" is with us still.

A close up of the lid of 
K'inich Janahb Pakal's
sarcophagus

Corn Foods that are with us now:
Indian Pudding - original cornmeal pudding
corn meal, milk, eggs & molasses

Jell-O Pudding - modern corn starch pudding
corn starch, dairy, sugar & flavoring

Hushpuppies...
Delicious savory cornmeal fritters - I like mine spiked with onion
(Will have to get to the bottom of the 
ridiculous Ret Con that somehow these have to do with feeding dogs.)



While corn whiskey is a southeast American specialty based on
Scottish distilling traditions...
This distilled liquor (whiskey?) is made from 
nixtamilized/lime treated corn.

Corn is always heading in new directions.


Media:  

Check out Whetstone Radio - and the Whetstone Collective for deep dives into American Food History, outside of the modern and mainstream.

With Special Thanks to Spirit Plate - hosted by Shiloh Maples



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