I’m not huge on brownies with nuts, but this “luxury brownies” recipe, from a woman who sells them in a London market stall, looks amazing. (Hat tip to Chocolate & Zucchini.)
It Is About the Money, Stupid’s series on “Commissioner for a day” ideas starts with one from yours truly about territorial rights.
I’m mildly hooked on Mental Floss quizzes, and today’s is appropriate: Can you name all of the U.S. Presidents in under eight minutes?
My friends at River Ave Blues join the chorus of proposals to alter free agent compensation.
Got them all with 5:35 remaining.
Damn Rutherford B. Hayes and James Buchanan. I probably could have had 800 minutes and they wouldn’t have come to mind.
I got one at the buzzer, but still fell one short (the 8th President).
Millard Fillmore did me in.
Its always bothered me that when they refer to a given president as the ___th president of the United States, and count Cleveland as 2 presidents. For instance, Obama is referred to as the 44th president, when he is REALLY the 43rd. Its the 44th PRESIDENCY. Maybe I’m nitpicking, but its always been a pet peeve….oh well.
Keith, that’s actually one I never have a problem with. I always remember the Seinfeld episode that featured the local gang, the “Van Buren Boys.” Their gang sign was holding up 8 fingers…
John Freakin’ Tyler.
Jackass.
Buchanan, Pierce, and Chester A. Arthur did me in. The first two I probably would never have gotten, but Chester A. Arthur is just unacceptable. How the hell could I miss him?! I saw Die Hard 3 twice. F.
The WSJ had a page on past presidents and a notable quotation from each inaugural address, if they made an address.
I missed five. I was disappointed with myself.
Our 9th grade social studies teacher made the whole class memorize a “song” of all the presidents names. It has proven invaluable time and time again for trivia related purposes.
Franklin Pierce got me. I had the other 42 in about 4 minutes, but I could never come up with that d-bag…
if you like (even mildly!) the mental floss quizzes, you might also enjoy sporcle.com
they post 3-4 (or so) quizzes daily. all of them are of the name all the BLANK in a specified time limit variety. lots of categories as well.
All with 2:00 left (Van Buren was last for me as well)…wouldn’t have been that good if I was more than a year removed from US history class though.
I got 24 in four minutes and gave up, but then again I am from Canada. Should’ve known the Van Buren Boys, though.
I suppose asking if anyone can name all 22 Canadian Prime Ministers in the same amount of time is too much…
Having lived in London for a few years I can safely say the most famous brownies (and best in my opinion) are the Flour Power City Bakery’s brownies served at Borough Market. Here is the alleged recipe.
http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/607780
Plus, no nuts.
Craig,
tippecanoe and tyler too
It was like the first one i got
I missed 6. I got the majority of mine by far in the first 1.5 minutes. Somehow I forgot the Byoo-cannon!
Also, I do not accept the idea of nuts in brownies.
Hayes and Pierce. Ah well. And I’ll second wickethewok on the nuts in brownies issue.
By the way, Keith, would be interested in your take on the Felix Pie trade.
Missed Hayes, Garfield, and Hayes. Apparently my American history has a significant gap in the late 19th century. I also attempted, immediately afterward, to list all 50 state capitals in under 8 minutes. I sit here, embarrassed, and prepared to start memorizing like I’m in 6th grade.
That’s Hayes, Garfield, and Arthur, I mean.
I don’t care for nuts in any baked good – brownies, cakes, or muffins. They get soft. But I noticed that these brownies are dark yet don’t appear fudgy; I usually make AB’s brownies, cutting the butter by about 30%, which gives an ultra-dark, soft, yet cakey product that I haven’t been able to beat with any other recipe.
I had all except one with about 3:00 left. It took me about 2 minutes to finally get Pierce. At the same time I got Pierce, I realized that I did NOT need to type the president’s first name as well.
Keith, if you like Mental Floss, you’ll love http://www.sporcle.com. Superior quiz database, IMO. History, politics, sports, movies, science. Maybe a little light on literature, but oh well.
Re sporcle: got all 47 countries in Europe in 1:27 … of course, having them give you the map is kind of a cheat.
I suppose, but you still need to know the names of the countries ahead of time. Staring at the little blip along the Franco-Spanish border isn’t going to help you divine the name Andorra unless you already knew it.
Random note on the brownies link…I tried it at work and the firewall blocked it. Can’t imagine what content was unacceptable on a baking site.
The Africa quiz on sporcle was a little tricky – you have to enter the full name of each Congo, and you can’t enter Nigeria until you’ve already entered Niger.
Missed Taylor, Tyler and Arthur. I’m from Canada, but that still bugs me… definitely should have done better
Why do people constantly try to ruin Brownies and Chcolate Chip Cookies by putting in nuts…it is a sad commentary on the lack of appreciation for the simple, yet elegant brownie/cookie.
I’m a Broadway Market regular, and those brownies really are fantastic. She also makes an extremely moreish flourless chocolate cake.
I can name all of the US presidents in under one minute. I’m so cool.
All of them in 2:50, a breeze.