I spend a lot of time reading
Wikipedia. It's easy to do while I talk on the phone at work all day. I can literally spend hours going from entry to entry via links in each. So like today, I checked out the
Andrew Jackson entry which was interesting.
Jon Meachum has that new book out about Jackson and he's been on lots of the news shows hawking it so I thought it might be interesting to get some quick info.
So, to let you know how deep and far you can go and lose your way,
this is one of the crazy places I wound up.
Yoo-hoo.History
Yoo-hoo originated in New Jersey in the 1920s, when Natale Olivieri sold "Tru-Fruit" soft drinks in his small store. Olivieri discovered a process to produce a chocolate soft drink that would not spoil. The name "Yoo-hoo", already being used for Olivieri's other fruit drinks, was applied to the chocolate-flavored drink as well.
Yoo-hoo would soon begin to be bottled by a major bottling company and to be sold in supermarkets.
Sources in the beverage industry claim that Yoo-hoo owes its famously open-ended shelf life to a steam sterilization process that takes place after the bottles or cans are filled and capped. As long as it is sealed, Yoo-hoo cannot go sour.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Yoo-hoo went through a large promotional campaign that included Yogi Berra and the New York Yankees officially sponsoring the drink. The image of Berra drinking a bottle of Yoo-hoo while wearing a suit, in particular, became famous. The ads featured Berra holding the bottle next to his face and saying with a smile, "It's Me-He for Yoo-Hoo!"
Also during the '50s, B.B.C. Industries took over Yoo-hoo. They held ownership until 1976, when it was bought by Iroquois Brands. Yoo-hoo was sold again in 1981 to a group of private investors, which in turn sold Yoo-Hoo to Pernod Ricard in 1989.
In 2001, Pernod Ricard sold Yoo-hoo to Cadbury-Schweppes, with production responsibilities falling to CS's Mott's group, and marketing and advertising responsibilities under Snapple. This led to an increased awareness of the once popular beverage.
The soft drink company's headquarters are in Rye Brook, New York, with plants in Carlstadt, New Jersey and Opelousas, Louisiana.
Yoo-Hoo apparently owns other chocolate drink brands, including Choc-Ola, Brownie, Cocoa Dusty and [Chocolate Soldier.[citation needed]
In May 2008, Cadbury-Schweppes split into Cadbury plc. and the Dr Pepper Snapple Group, of which Yoo-Hoo is now part.
I never knew it couldn't spoil if it is never opened. NEAT!
This is perhaps not Goddard's point but this is exemplary of why I am only still cautiously optimistic about the Obama Administration at this time.
Obama's Team of RivalsTeam of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
Apparently, President-elect Obama took Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals very seriously. Of the eight Democrats who ran against him for president, four have now agreed to join his administration: Vice President-elect Joe Biden, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Gov. Bill Richardson and Gov. Tom Vilsack.
Those left out: Sen. Christopher Dodd, John Edwards, Mike Gravel and Rep. Dennis Kucinich.
Obviously, there can be no place for John Edwards, and perhaps, Gravel is a bit loony at times but Dod and Kucinich are deserving and able.
From Huffington Post:After four years at the helm of the Democratic National Committee, Howard Dean is preparing to relinquish his chairmanship.
Dean, who has been serving in the post since 2005, has said in the past that he would serve only one term, though his successful work with the Obama campaign had led some Democrats to wonder whether he would stay on into the next administration. This won't be the case, officials at the DNC confirm. He will serve as chair until his term ends in January. The party will settle on a new head when it hosts a meeting during the week of Obama's inauguration.
The article goes on to explain how its really not his choice and I could easily get the feeling this is simply Emanuel's revenge for Dean having stood up to him over the 50 State Strategy.
The night of the election, Chris Matthews was interviewing Governor Dean and Matthews asked if Dean had gotten any thanks from Obama for laying the groundwork for using the internet and the 50SS. I blurted out that Howard Dean was John The Baptist and Obama was Jesus. Right after I got it out, Matthews made the same exact comparison.
As far as I'm conerned, Howard Dean should receive a major amount of credit for Barack Obama's election. I'm not saying ALL the credit or that Obama owes Barack Obama BIG TIME. I'm just saying, Obama ran on some of the framework that Dean built.
If Obama should want to make Dean a part of his cabinet, I'd be willing to start saying the Pledge of Allegiance again.
