Sea Salt and Table Salt

One of the new trendy health food items is sea salt. The claim is that sea salt is better for people because there is less processing involved. Packaging from all sorts of different foods and even restaurants proudly proclaim "made with sea salt!" as if it's a much better thing. But is it really any better?

As with nearly all elements of food, what's in the media or popular at the time might change. Not long ago, there was the switching from high fructose corn syrup back to real sugar as if real sugar was healthier. There's always the debate about eggs, which seems to switch from healthy to unhealthy and back within a couple years. So, what's the difference between table salt and sea salt? Is there a difference?

There is a difference in the salt and how it's made. Table salt is mined from land deposits, whereas sea salt is salt that has been collected after the water from a salt water body has been evaporated. Sometimes, these bodies of water are oceans or seas, sometimes they are salt lakes, and sometimes they are just salt water ponds created by the salt manufacturer. Table salt is processed to remove any other elements from the salt crystals, as well as usually adding iodine and a non-clumping agent. The other elements that can be found in salt (magnesium, calcium, etc.) are left in with the sea salt. These elements can give sea salts slightly different flavors and colors.

Different salt colors from around the world

Seems pretty different, right? Well, not exactly. The elements can adjust the taste somewhat and color, but if you look at the amount of sodium chloride (NaCl), the element that gives salt its taste, you will note that the amount of NaCl in table salt and sea salt is the exact same. Some people like to think and say that sea salt is a lower sodium alternative to table salt, when in actuality, it's exact same amount of sodium.

The only real differences turn out to be the minerals in the salt and the texture. The other minerals in sea salt may give sea salt a slightly different taste, but the minerals are in such a small quantity that the health benefits are negligible. Table salt has a uniform texture, whereas sea salt usually doesn't, but that's more appearance than health benefit.

So which is better? The Mayo Clinic and the American Heart Association agree that table salt and sea salt are the exact same when it comes to nutritional value. However, taste and texture can be different. So in the end, follow the researchers and don't give in to the media hype. Also remember that high uses of sodium (whether it be table salt or sea salt) can lead to health problems, so try not to have too much of either.

Once in a Blue Moon

There's an old phrase that goes "once in a blue moon". We all know it to mean once in a great while. But what is a blue moon and why does this phrase occur?

The term blue moon goes back a long time, but the first traces of it in written English are from a pamphlet written in 1528. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Maine Farmers' Almanac published the times of full moons for farmers. This publication was the first to explain the definition of a blue moon. But before their definition, you have to understand full moons first.

If you take a calendar year and split it into quarters, you are looking at four blocks of three months. Typically in a quarter, there are three full moons. Technically, there are 12.37 full moons a year. No, there aren't partial full moons, but mathematically, it works out to 12.37 full moons. This means that some years, there will be three full moons in a yearly quarter all year long. That year won't have a blue moon. But sometimes, there is a fourth full moon in the quarter. In order for the names of the three full moons to be kept in check, the third full moon in a quarterly amount of four full moons is considered to be the blue moon. This was the definition given by the Maine Farmers' Almanac.

However, in the 1940's, the magazine Sky & Telescope had an article about the blue moons. The author misinterpreted the definition that the almanac had made. He assumed that it meant some years there are 13 full moons instead of 12, and the second full moon in a month is considered to be the blue moon. Oddly enough, this inaccurate definition became the definition that people know.

So, last night, we had a blue moon, and the next one is scheduled to be for 2015. Since there is such a long period of time between blue moons, that's where the phrase "once in a blue moon" came to be known as once in a great while.

Also, don't forget the great classic song "Blue Moon".

The Flags on the Moon

Ever thought of the American flags left on the moon by the Apollo astronauts? All together, there have been six flags left on the moon from the six Apollo missions that landed on the moon. These flags were to forever immortalize the Americans' winning the space race and to symbolize the human spirit of peace through space exploration.

But what happened to these flags? Are they still there? Five of the six flags on the moon still stand. The one that doesn't is oddly the first one, placed by Armstrong and Aldrin. They planted the flag too close to the lunar module, and it blew over when they ignited their rocket to take off from the moon. However, the other five are exactly where they were the day they were planted.

We know they stand because there have been pictures taken of them still standing. These pictures are so clear that the rover tracks are still visible. So, 40 years later, the lunar rover tracks are still visible and the flags are still standing. End of story? Not exactly. You see, there has been quite a debate for a number of years as to what condition these flags would be in. When the pictures were taken, they proved the flags still stood. But, what they also proved was something that quite a few people had not expected.

To give you an idea, imagine you have a flag on your front porch, and you leave it outside for 40 years, what will happen to it? It will fade. Naturally weather and temperatures have a lot to do with that. Since there's no atmosphere on the moon or any weather, what do you think the flags look like today? Just as crisp and vibrant as the day they were planted?

No. After 40 years of unobstructed sunlight and sun radiation and temperature extremes that range from 14 straight days of temperatures around the boiling point to 14 straight days of -238 F, the flags can't handle that sort of brutality. According to the people studying the moon, the nylon flags not only lost their color a long time ago, but apparently the flags are now white.

Picture of the plaque left by Apollo 11

As it turns out, the most lasting piece of memorabilia the US left to show it was there is the commemorative plaque Armstrong and Aldrin left in 1969.

The Criterion Collection

In 1984, three men started the Criterion Collection. At the time, it was a video distribution company that released what they called "important classic and contemporary films", but it turned into one of the most respected film distribution and restoration companies in the world.

The reason they use the term "collection" in the name is because each release is numbered. Every film that comes out has a specific number, and the films can then be cataloged easily. In 1984, Criterion began releasing films on LaserDisc, beginning with 'Citizen Kane' (1941) and 'King Kong' (1933), which would be #1 and #2 respectively. Criterion would go on to release 384 LaserDisc films, the last being 1998's 'Armageddon'.

In the 80's, Criterion was a pioneer for the home video market by offering something new on some of their films: bonus features. Because the LaserDisc technology could allow for audio tracks on different analog channels, you could now hear foreign languages and audio commentaries. With scene indexes available, you could jump to the next scene without having to fast forward. You could also access things like movie trailers, documentaries, alternate endings, deleted scenes, and other content. The extra material gave viewers more information than just the movie (like VHS would).

One of the most important advances Criterion made for the home video was respecting the original aspect ratio of the movie. TV screens were in a 4:3 ratio, which is close to square. Many movies are in widescreen format (also called 'letterbox' because of the rectangular size), and when you showed a widescreen movie on a 4:3 screen, it would fill the screen, but it would chop the ends of the movie off. This is also how the "pan and scan" came about. If you watch a widescreen movie on a 4:3 screen, and you notice the camera seeming to move from side to side, but the screen appears almost fuzzy when it does this, that is a pan and scan. The editor of the video is trying to move the viewable area of the screen so you can see what you need to see, but since it isn't the actual camera, the quality is low. On Criterion's 8th LaserDisc released 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' (1956), they chose to keep the film intact and not do what is referred to as "fullscreen format". By retaining widescreen format, there are the black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. Some find this annoying, but this way you can see the whole movie, and there is no annoying pan and scan taking place.

Criterion originally released mainstream, genre, and some art house films, but it really made a name for itself when it began to work with film restoration. They began to release more and more world cinema, cinema classics, and obscure films.

In 1998, Criterion ceased LaserDisc and began releasing films on DVD, but starting the number over at #1 with 'Grand Illusion' (1937). The DVD editions have been so popular than when they began releasing BluRay editions in December 2008, they released the BluRays alongside the DVD with the same numbers.

Criterion-released films were originally marketed as a "film school in a box". As a result, film students, film professors, filmmakers, and film aficionados preferred the Criterion edition to the regular edition, even though the price was usually higher. The numbered releases made collectors desire to have all the collection. This became difficult when Criterion sometimes lost the rights to the films. These films would go out of print as Criterion editions, and would surface for outrageous prices on sites like Ebay and Amazon. It is not unheard of for an out of print Criterion DVD to go for close to $200 on these sites.

Currently, Criterion is more popular than ever before. It's DVD/BluRay list of numbered titles now pass #670. They are the most respected art house film company in the world, and their popularity grows with each subsequent title.

For the most information (and a complete list of DVD/BluRay releases), go to their website. For a list of the LaserDisc releases (most of which were never released on DVD or BluRay), go here.