MDBCs 11 Jun 2024

Summer is finally here, and what better way to celebrate it than with some delicious corn on the cob? Celebrate this popular summer side dish on Corn on the Cob Day, celebrated annually on June 11.

A corn cob is the central woody part of maize or corn on which the corn grains are attached. Corn on the cob is a type of dish where the corn grains are cooked and eaten while still on the cob. Corn on the cob can be boiled, grilled, or roasted and served as a side dish or enjoyed as is.

Never Served at Formal Occasions

Because eating corn on the cob can be a messy affair - hands have to be used, the kernels tend to stick in one's teeth - etiquette rules that it should never be served at formal occasions or ordered on a first date. According to Emily Post, one of history's leading etiquette specialists, corn on the cob should not usually be served at lunch or dinner, but if it is, one must not "attack it ferociously or greedily".

An Ancient Crop

Corn or maize is an ancient plant native to the Americas. It is believed that corn was first cultivated in Mexico and spread around the world via European explorers in the 15th and 16th centuries. The starchy seeds or kernels of the plant are now used by millions of people around the world as their staple food.

How to Celebrate?

Get the grill out and grill some delicious corn on the cob to accompany the iced tea you made on June 10. If you are in the Southern Hemisphere, make some corn on the cob to remind you of the summer.

Did You Know…

…that a corncob is part of the corn plant's flower? The individual kernels are seeds of the plant.

***

As I performed a simple medical procedure on my patient, I warned her, "After this, you can't have sex for at least three days."

"Did you hear that?" she asked her husband. "No sex for three days."

"I heard," he said. "But she was speaking to you

***

Scene: A bookstore

Customer: Can you help me find a book?

Me: Of course. Do you know the author or title?

Customer: Well, I was at the beach and I saw this girl reading a purple book. She looked like she was really enjoying it. I want that book.

Me: Ma'am, you're going to have to be more specific. There are a lot of books with purple covers.

Customer: Can't you search on your computer for purple books?

Me: Unfortunately, no.

Customer: In that case, I'll take my business to a bookstore that has better computers.

***

The band Kings of Leon cut short a concert after pigeons bombarded them with poop. Bass player Jared Followill couldn't say how many birds there were. "The last thing I was going to do was look up," he told CNN.

***

When my eight-year-old sister came to visit, I took a day off from my job at the Pentagon and showed her the Lincoln Memorial. There she saw a large block of text—273 words long—etched into the monument.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Lincoln's Gettysburg Address," I told her.

"If that's his address, how does he get any mail?"