Latest news with #ThomasJefferson
Epoch Times
2 days ago
- General
- Epoch Times
‘Dining at Monticello' Is Much More Than Just a Cookbook
In the early 2000s, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation teamed up with Damon Lee Fowler, a culinary historian and cookbook author, to create a comprehensive presentation of Thomas Jefferson's 'place in American food history,' as Fowler's introductory essay is titled. Each page of 'Dining at Monticello: In Good Taste and Abundance' is dense in food photography; Jefferson's famous historic home in Charlottesville, Virginia; beautiful table settings; and Monticello's vast gardens. Also adorning many pages are images of handwritten notes, ledgers, and recipes.
Epoch Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Pirates, Thomas Jefferson, and the First Battle of the Barbary Wars
In 1793, America had a significant problem. It had no navy. The ships that remained from the Continental Navy had been retrofitted as merchant vessels. America was interested in trade with the great and small powers on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. At this time, Great Britain and France were again at war. The French Revolution had thrown Europe into turmoil. To trade with the British summoned the ire of the French, and vice versa. But there were other dangers the American sailing vessels faced, particularly pirates. The solution to the problem was obvious. In a letter to Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, the American consul in Lisbon, Edward Church, wrote:
Wall Street Journal
4 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
WSJ Opinion: Trump's Liberation Day for American AI
Videos that speak for free markets and free people, the principles, if you will, marked in the watershed year of 1776 by Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence and Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations."
New York Post
23-07-2025
- Science
- New York Post
Florida utility crew accidentally unearths massive claw belonging to 11,000-year-old giant ground sloth named by Thomas Jefferson
A utility crew digging a trench in Florida came across a fossilized part of an 11,000-year-old giant ground sloth that was originally named by Thomas Jefferson. The team in Florida's Manatee County was excavating to install a waterline when they encountered what they believed was just an ordinary tool buried in the Earth. 4 A utility crew in Florida found part of a giant ground sloth fossil. Manatee County Government 'They were digging away and found what they thought was an ordinary tool,' Charlie Hunsicker, the director of Manatee County's Natural Resources Department, told Fox 13. The tool turned out to be a fossilized claw from a giant ground sloth, an 800-pound behemoth that lived during the tail end of the Great Ice Age. 4 The claw belonged to a medium-sized Megalonyx jeffersonii. Manatee County Government 'This was a wonderful story of happenstance,' Hunsicker said. The giant ground sloth was given its scientific name, Megalonyx jeffersonii, by Jefferson, the US's third president, in 1797 after some fossils belonging to the extinct beast were found in a cave in West Virginia, according to the Sloth Sanctuary. The ones dubbed by Jefferson are medium-sized compared to other ground sloths, primarily being smaller than the much larger Megatherium, Hunsicker explained. 'When South America and North America joined, those animals migrated up through Texas, Mexico and into the Southeast. All of this was really a tropical jungle and forest at the time,' he told Fox 13. 4 The Megalonyx jeffersonii was named by Thomas Jefferson. auntspray – The largest ground sloths could weigh up to a staggering 8,000 pounds and stand 13 feet tall. The mammal had a blunt snout and a large jaw riddled with peg-like teeth. It was able to stand on its hind legs on occasion to eat high-up plants but could also shred any enemy with its three sharp claws, according to Sloth Sanctuary. The Florida fossil was brought to a nearby science and nature museum to be properly preserved and eventually placed on display. 4 The largest of the ground sloths could weigh up to 8,000 pounds. auntspray – Very few ground sloth fossils have been discovered on the East Coast. The majority are primarily found in states along the Rocky Mountains, bits of the West Coast and even Alaska, according to Sloth Sanctuary. Recently, fossils have turned up in the least expected places. In March, an 'absolutely massive' footprint likely belonging to an Iguanodon was discovered on a coastal town's beach in England. Last June, three tweens found a Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil on a hike in North Dakota and even had their journeys later recounted in a documentary.
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
White House history: Did you know a president started National Ice Cream Day?
Picture this: a swelteringly unbearable Washington, DC summer. Now imagine stepping into the White House, where a cool scoop of ice cream awaits. For centuries, this frozen delight has been a staple in the Executive Mansion, charming presidents, first ladies, and guests alike. From Thomas Jefferson to Donald Trump, ice cream has dripped deeply into the fabric of the White House and presidential history, proving that even the most powerful people in the world can't resist a good scoop. Though ice cream's origins trace back to the second century B.C., it's as American as apple pie. Today, we devour an average of 4 gallons per person each year. In the White House, it's a treat that transcends politics and brings a touch of joy to formal state dinners and intimate garden parties alike. And that's not to mention first families or visiting grandchildren! Ice cream is a great White House tradition The story of ice cream in the White House begins with Thomas Jefferson, a man whose affinity for the frozen dessert began during his time in France. In 1806, Jefferson served ice cream at a White House Independence Day celebration, delighting guests with its cold, creamy texture – a rarity in the days before home refrigerators. Jefferson, whose menus sometimes even featured the treat served inside a warm pastry, had an icehouse built on the White House grounds to make sure ice cream was never in short supply. Dolley Madison also embraced the dessert with enthusiasm, serving it frequently during her time as first lady from 1809 to 1817. While she wasn't the first, she helped solidify ice cream's place as a White House tradition. Decades later, at Abraham Lincoln's second inauguration ball in 1865, flavors ran the gamut as guests enjoyed an elegant buffet that included vanilla, lemon, white coffee, chocolate, burnt almonds, and maraschino ice creams alongside other desserts. The crowd left little behind, proving that ice cream could take the cake even amid national turmoil. Opinion: White House hospitality is a form of diplomacy that has evolved over time By the 20th century, ice cream was a White House summer staple, as evidenced by a charming moment in 1924 when President Calvin Coolidge and first lady Grace Coolidge enjoyed scoops at a garden party for veterans. The image of the famously reserved Coolidge indulging in ice cream humanized a president known for his stoicism. President Reagan proclaimed July as National Ice Cream Month The establishment of the White House executive pastry chef position in 1979 marked a new era of creativity for frozen desserts. Roland Mesnier, who held the role from 1979 to 2004, often used sorbet – an ice cream-like dessert traditionally made with sugar, fruit juice or puree and water instead of dairy – in his elaborate final courses. For a 1984 state dinner honoring President Miguel de la Madrid of Mexico, Mesnier formed kiwi sorbet into cactus shapes filled with tequila-flavored mousse and adorned with pulled-sugar flowers and spines. A decade later, chef Mesnier went the full 'cream' route in his dessert at a 1995 state dinner honoring German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, serving coffee and hazelnut ice cream. Opinion: White House state dinners put America on display. They're crucial for US diplomacy. President Ronald Reagan, known for his love of jelly beans, also had a soft spot for ice cream. In 1984, he proclaimed July as National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday of the month as National Ice Cream Day – a 'sundae' celebration. Barack Obama brought a scooper's perspective to the ice cream narrative. As a teenager in Honolulu, he worked at a Baskin-Robbins. In a 2016 LinkedIn post, the president reflected on the job's lessons in responsibility and hard work, though admitting the endless free scoops somewhat but not completely dulled his taste for the treat. There was no shortage of ice cream devotees at the White House, though. At a 2010 visit to an ice cream factory in Columbus, Ohio, the then-vice president proclaimed, 'My name is Joe Biden, and I love ice cream. You all think I'm kidding – I'm not. I eat more ice cream than three other people … all at once.' Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store. Donald Trump's ice cream preference made headlines in 2017. As TIME magazine reported after a small Blue Room dinner for reporters during this first term, President Trump was served two scoops of vanilla ice cream with his chocolate cream pie, while his guests received just one. Whether intentional or not, the president's double scoop added a modern twist to the mansion's ice cream lore. White House ice cream history is more than a tale of dessert – it's a reflection of American tastes, ingenuity, and the human need for a little sweetness amid the pressures of leadership. During this National Ice Cream Month, the White House Historical Association will offer our own selection of ice cream delectables daily outside The People's House, our new education center across from the White House Grounds. Stop by and have a scoop with us! Stewart D. McLaurin is president of the White House Historical Association, a private nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded by first lady Jacqueline Kennedy in 1961, and is director of The People's House: A White House Experience multimedia educational center and museum. You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page, on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: It's National Ice Cream Day – thanks to Reagan. Cool, right? | Opinion
