Day: August 26, 2011

Tip o’ the Pileus

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ 1 Comment

Since I say the phrase so much in these ‘pages’, it seems appropriate to point out a photo of an “iridescent pileus cloud’ which was the Astronomy Picture of the Day a couple days ago:

Of course, it clearly gets its name from the fact that is a sort of ‘cap’ on another cloud, but if you need a bit more detail, the Wikipedia article: Pileus (meteorology) is as good a source as any. If you’re wondering what an ancient Roman pileus looked like:

Cheesy Claims About the Romans

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ 1 Comment
Illustration of a cheese wheel.
Image via Wikipedia

Okay … this is a strange item of TV hype for a Food Network show which (the hype) is being picked up by all sorts of papers in southeast Asia right now … the incipit  from the Indian version of Yahoo:

Food writer Troy Johnson has revealed that cheese is not only one of the tastiest foods invented by man, but it was also one of the greatest weapons of war in the ancient world.

Johnson is the host of a new show called “Crave” debuting August 29 on the Food Network that explains the bizarre origins of some popular foods.

“The Romans invented the cheese wheel and used to roll them along with everything else when they were doing battle,” AOL News quoted Johnson, as telling HuffPost Weird News.

“They think this is why the Romans were able to kick everyone’s asses in Europe.

“Since cheese doesn’t spoil very easily, they always had a hunk of protein-and-fat-jammed energy source tucked up their man-skirts. Other armies’ food would spoil, leaving them weak and hungry. The cheese-eating Romans kicked their ass,” he revealed.

Yes, the Romans had cheese, but that they “invented” the cheese wheel, well, I’d need some evidence for that. And as for the claim that they rolled them around while on campaign, well, I’d definitely need some evidence for that. And that ‘the enemy’ wasn’t as well-prepared, food-wise? Definitely need evidence there too. Then again, I tend not to go to the Food Network for history shows (heck, I don’t even expect history on the History Channel or History Television anymore) … we’ll put this in the “Don’t eat that Elmer” category.