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The cinnamon we eat in the US today is a cheap substitute of the one that was popular in the US prior to the Vietnam war. From USA Today:

In the 1950s, most of the cinnamon Americans consumed was the Saigon variety from Vietnam. Saigon cinnamon – the peeled and ground inner bark of an evergreen tree native to mainland Southeast Asia – has a rich and slightly spicy flavor thanks to high levels of essential oils and a flavonoid called cinnemaldehyde. When the U.S. government imposed a trade embargo on Vietnam beginning in 1964, Saigon cinnamon became almost impossible to import, and spice sellers were forced to find another way to fill American cupboards.

They chose and Indonesian variety, Korintje, that is more bitter and has less depth. Even though the trade embargo has ended, the store-brand cinnamon we use has not recovered.

Commercially available ground cinnamon – almost always the Indonesian Korintje variety – is often mixed with fillers. Scientists at the Indian Institute of Spices Research used a process called DNA barcoding to test market samples. They found that 70% contained powdered beechnut husk, ground hazelnut or almond shell dust, dyed and aromatized using cinnamaldehyde and marketed as cinnamon.

Found via Hayden Higgins.

New to me, although maybe it shouldn’t be. Old Christmas is a relic of the Julian calendar, celebrated in rural parts of West Virginia until relatively recently on January 6th. From West Virginia Public Broadcasting:

In the late 1500s, Pope Gregory XIII changed the calendar to match the solar cycle more closely. To do so, the Julian Calendar had to be reduced from 376 to 365 days, eliminating 11 full days. Some countries, though, resisted the change and kept the old Julian Calendar. It took nearly 200 years for England and Scotland to come around. Both countries adopted the Gregorian Calendar in 1752.

About this time, many of these English and Scots were emigrating to the Americas and settling in Appalachia. Some didn’t know about the change or refused to adopt the new Gregorian Calendar and kept the extra 11 days in their calendars. This meant that for them, Christmas fell on January 6 rather than December 25.

As of 2020, the average undergraduate GPA at Harvard is 2020. From Aden Barton in The Crimson via Orin Kerr.

“If grade inflation continues at its 2021-2022 pace, for example, the average GPA of the Class of 2028 would be over 4.0.”

Sesame will soon be required to be labeled as an allergen on food, which is leading to more sesame being used in food.

Food industry experts said the requirements are so stringent that many manufacturers, especially bakers, find it simpler and less expensive to add sesame to a product — and to label it — than to try to keep it away from other foods or equipment with sesame.

As a result, several companies — including national restaurant chains like Olive Garden, Wendy’s and Chick-fil-A and bread makers that stock grocery shelves and serve schools — are adding sesame to products that didn’t have it before. While the practice is legal, consumers and advocates say it violates the spirit of the law aimed at making foods safer for people with allergies.

“It was really exciting as a policy advocate and a mom to get these labels,” said Naomi Seiler, a consultant with the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America whose 9-year-old daughter, Zoe, is allergic to sesame. “Instead, companies are intentionally adding the allergen to food.”

Via Alec Stapp

is “time” according to Dr. Dean Buonomano on the Ezra Klein podcast.

Relatedly, Wikipedia’s list of sundial mottos will leave you with something to think about.