Belgians work together when the chips are down
Belgian fries are traditionally sold, in a paper cone, from a ‘fritkot’, generally a shack or trailer.
There are some 5,000 of these in Belgium, making them 10 times more common, per capita, than McDonald’s restaurants in the US.
To become recognized by the United Nations’ cultural arm Unesco, they need to be endorsed by a minister of culture, and Belgium has three of them.
The government of the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders recognised Belgian fries as a key part of national culture this year, and the French- and German-speaking communities are to debate the issue next year.
Unafri, the national association of fritkot owners, which started the drive, says the unpolished establishments are uniquely Belgian, combining the country’s embrace of chaos with a dislike of corporate uniformity.
A Michigan man said his family’s footbridge has been recovered after being stolen from his property in suburban Detroit.
Robert Cortis filed a police report saying that a 12m steel and wood bridge was stolen from his property in Farmington Hills. He discovered the bridge was missing when he stopped by his property near 8 Mile Road with plans to move it this week. He planned to set it up at his catering business for taking wedding photos.
Cortis said his father built the bridge decades ago. Police found the bridge undamaged about 32km south of where it disappeared.
Naked security guards have been deployed undercover following reports of hanky panky in a gym sauna.
Staff at Parkbad fitness centre in Linz had had enough of people getting too steamy in the steam room, according to the Heute newspaper. This apparently led them to hire enforcement officers to sit in the heated rooms so they could catch culprits in the act.
The security guards had to be naked because of the unspoken rule in Austria that you should be in the naked while in the sauna. The undercover officers have already risen to the occasion after catching two couples, who have been told not to return to the gym.
To the Chinese, London landmark the Gherkin is Xiao Huang Gua (the pickled little cucumber), while Stonehenge is Ju Shi Zhen (the huge stone clusters).
Now the Chinese are being invited to put names to 101 British points of interest not yet given Chinese names as part of a £1.6m (€2m) tourist campaign by VisitBritain.
Names with an oriental flavour are needed for such things as Beachy Head, the kilt, and the Cornish pasty. The Chinese will also be asked to come up with names for King’s Cross St Pancras station, the Highland Games, and Sherwood Forest.
Who’s round is it?
A brewery is tapping into the Virginia Historical Society’s collections to serve up a 300-year-old beer recipe.
Ardent Craft Ales in Richmond is brewing a beer made with American persimmons which came from a cookbook from the 1700s. The cookbook contains recipes for food, medicines, and beer.
The beer recipe is one of thousands in the society’s collection that provide a glimpse into what Americans throughout history.
Virginia is rife with beer history. Archaeologists recently uncovered the remains of an 18th century brewery on the campus of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg.
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