Comments on: She Had a Question, 1918 (3)

By: Manuel

Manuel — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 19:29:46 +0000

Actually, I am impressed with the Bernarr Macfadden recommendation. He was way ahead of his time and the advise would have been along the lines of the most advanced for the times.

He was a pioneer and possibly the father of what we term today as “wellness.” His line of thought was definitely a great contributing factor for many of the health and fitness standards that we still abide by today.

By: kevinf

kevinf — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 18:44:56 +0000

When I boil spaghetti or macaroni, i keep it from sticking to the pan by stirring occasionally. Or am I missing something? I can’t imagine trying to cook spaghetti noodles in a double boiler.

And as for this statement:

It is usual if the father be willing for such marriage, that the mother is also agreeable.

Not always, I would guess. No constipation stories this time, but the variety of questions, including the ones obviously prompted by the war in Europe, is fascinating.

My grandfather used to cure warts by buying them from you for a penny. Lots of warts, lots of pennies. Funny, but after some time, it seemed to work. At least I don’t have any now.

By: Cliff

Cliff — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 17:45:45 +0000

The statue represents a female figure holding a torch aloft, which is quite significant, or will be in the future. How true, how true.

By: Mark B.

Mark B. — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 16:16:43 +0000

Or they’d never heard of my buddy Al Dente.

And liked their macaroni mushy.

By: J. Stapley

J. Stapley — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 16:01:53 +0000

Not only was Joan of Arc real, but James Martineau had her temple work done in the 1880s.

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 15:43:38 +0000

I’ve been puzzled in general by the pasta of a hundred years ago. Besides always breaking macaroni, the recipes always direct that the stuff be boiled for a half hour or more. Obviously their macaroni and ours were two different species.

By: Mark B.

Mark B. — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 14:57:57 +0000

It’s interesting that Ms. Hurst calls spaghetti “macaroni.” How else could you “break” it?

(I suppose you could put a whole pile of elbow macaroni or ditalini on the chopping block and have at them with a mallet.)

But, that’s great news about the good Bernarr Macfadden! A laugh is good for the digestion.

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 14:12:55 +0000

Er, um, yeah, okay. Catherine couldn’t have known as much about Bernarr {snicker} as we now do, to recommend his work, could she?

Thanks, Researcher. That was hilarious.

By: Researcher

Researcher — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 13:49:25 +0000

Oh my goodness. Is this Catherine Hurst recommending a book by Bernarr Macfadden? I can't find a link to the book (pamphlet, perhaps?) to be able to tell whether this was good advice or not, but Macfadden was quite a colorful character. Here's an article about him, complete with a picture with him posing as Michelangelo's David. And I would guess that the answer to the question about the pasta has more to do with the quality of the noodles than the cooking technique.