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Smithsonian article traces the 10,000-year-old domestication of these descendants of the dinosaurs by their upstart rivals, the mammals. Modern chickens probably sprang from a northeast Indian red junglefowl, but there may have been a yellow-skinned gray-feathered relative from southern India in the woodpile as well. By 2,000 B.C., chickens had spread to Mesopotamia. Homer does not mention them, but chickens became quite popular with the later Greeks and Romans, who appreciated the handiness of an animal whose slaughter produced just enough meat for a moderate household for a day. Polynesian seafarers may have introduced them to South America in pre-Columbian times. Today, Americans alone eat nine billion chickens a year, while KFC has opened more than 3,000 outlets in mainland China in just the last 25 years.
From Santeria to Jewish mothers to General Tso, this article is encyclopedic. And now I'm inspired to enjoy some of my husband's superb fried chicken, left over from last night, for Sunday dinner. Tomorrow, I hit the road for Philadelphia, there to attend my niece's wedding.
7 comments:
I thought that was a fine point about the value of the size of the animal's meat supply.
...chickens became quite popular with the later Greeks and Romans....
Which may begin to address the question of why the chicken crossed the road.
Eric Hines
The local farmer's market has several vendors of "free range eggs," but I rarely see the eggs rolling around.
Have a safe trip. It will be hot in Philly this week.
OK, if no one else will, I'm going to acknowledge the farmer's optimism should the eggs James mentions manage to avoid the skillet or boiling water to experience the heady freedom of rolling around, unrestricted, on the open range.
The original cardboard sign my neighbors were using read "free range eggs," which everyone tended to read as range eggs that were offered gratis. But there wasn't room on the little sign to say "Eggs from free-range chickens." Anyway the whole point was the pleasure of painting the beautiful, round brown egg.
I have survived the wedding and returned from Philadelphia.
Tex,
In defense of myself, and by proxy James, I'll say that in these times one must jump on any little bit of humor one finds passing by, and with both feet... =;^}
As far as the painting, I believe the egg should be proud of such a nice portrait.
Welcome back!
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