Winning Words 7/11/11
“Mistakes are the portals of discovery.” (James Joyce) Granddaughter Summer was in Dublin for Bloomsday this year. I want to talk to her about that and its connection with James Joyce, the famous Irish author. Re: Mistakes. Coca-Cola was developed as a medicine to cure headache, dyspepsia and depression. It’s secret formula has made it the best-selling soft drink in the world. A Coke or a Pepsi fan? ;-) Jack

FROM NL IN INDIANA/FLORIDA: MOST STICK WITH WHAT THEY LEARNED IN BOOKS AND OTHERS. DISCOVERY IS WHEN WE TAKE THE TIME TO FIND BETTER WAYS TO DO ALL THINGS.////FROM JACK: You have had the knack of finding new doors of discovery, and I am impressed. BAAM!

FROM GUSTIE MARLYS: Neither. I don't care for carbonated drinks--but if I do drink one, I have 7-Up. (Anything that can take the bugs off a car grille can't possibly be good for my stomach! ////FROM JACK: I must have a really polished stomach.

FROM WATERFORD ANNE: How did Summer enjoy Dublin? I have been six times. One time I had the oportunity to go stay with my Mother and stay at Trinity College. I had attended a conference and it was great fun to to go again with my Mother who was born in the lakes are in Leitrim. I am the oldest American in my family. Dublin is on the Liffy River and the architecture in the city is grand. At this time, the economy is in a slump. It is one of the five worst in Europe. They had some great years recently and it is fascinating to read the reasons that they slumped after years of poverty, then wealth and down again. What is Summer studying? And isn't Joyce a challenge? Irish men love words .////FROM JACK: Summer went with a high school group, interested in studying the British Isles. My grandchildren have far outpaced me in their world travels.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY: It would be amazing to find out how many things were discovered while "looking" for other things. Science and medicine are full of such discoveries. Definitely a Pepsi fan all the way!//// FROM JACK: What? No Royal Crown Cola?

FROM BLAZING OAKS: There are many instances of such "discoveries". I read not long ago about how an Englishman (Edward Craven-Walker) invented the Lava Lamp after seeing an egg timer in a Pub, which used a blob of wax floating in a liquid..! Seven million a year in sales at its peak...still sell over 2 million a year.
Or how about the discovery of penicillin?! "A scientific experiment, briefly exposed to the air, became infected with a fungus whose spores had blown in through an open door...and left untended on a lab bench through the summer vacation, the fungus managed to destroy bacteria being grown as part of the first experiment! The improbable results could not have been duplicated". Fortunately they didn't have to be...they led to one of the most important medical breakthroughs of the 20th century! (from Gilbert Shapiro's book on the discovery of penicillin...) Incredible story... Your g.daughter traveling in Ireland makes me marvel again, at all the travel opportunities available to kids now. My g.daughter just returned from a month in Africa, and but 2 of the 8 have traveled or lived in foreign countries! "It's a Small World, after all" as the song goes!////FROM JACK: Marco Polo came back from his travels, and people marveled as he told of what he had seen. And, then he said: "I haven't told the half of it." There is so much more for future generations to discover. It's not over, 'til it's over.

FROM PH IN MINNESOTA: and changing their formula a few years back was another big mistake!////FROM JACK: They had the good sense to "confess their sin" and go basic to the Classic Coke.

FROM PLAIN FOLKS CHESTER: "Dyspepsia". Now you know how they arrived at "Pepsi Cola." Long before "Coke."////FROM JACK: I see that Kellogg's has dysed "PEP" cereal.

FROM CA IN MICHIGAN: I agree with the coke ! Your words are always a pleasure.////FROM JACK: I would be interested in seeing a psychiatric report on the difference between Coke and Pepsi people.

FROM PRJM IN MICHIGAN: Also one of the main ingredients in the original Coke was just that: cocaine. Talk about a mistake!////FROM JACK: I also have heard of that, but I didn't want to include it in the blog, less I be accused of being a drug pusher. At the time when Coca-Cola was being developed, cocaine and heroin were sold over-the-counter.////MORE FROM JM: I am (ahem) old enough to have had Paragoric to take for tummy-ache, rubbed on gums when cutting teeth, etc. that was also readily available (though I think by prescription, at least) and a great source of opium. Ah yes! And, cigarettes were touted as part of a healthy lifestyle! I wonder which is really healthier, since we seem to think everything must be government regulated these days, and are scared of our own shadows.////FROM JACK: The absence of regulation is not for me.

FROM BF IN MICHIGAN: I like Coke! I guess the secret stuff is working.////FROM JACK: I remember someone who was addicted to Coca-Cola and drank at least a dozen bottles a day. She needed medical treatment.

FROM JB IN WISCONSIN: Pepsi, please!////FROM JACK: Where's your nickle? Oh, that's right, the cost has gone up.

FROM FM IN WISCONSIN: Dr. Pepper! ! !////FROM JACK: "I'm a Pepper, You're a Pepper, Wouldn't You Like To Be a Pepper Too?" Dr. Pepper is said to be the original of all soft drinks.