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Beer or health food? “Liquid Bread” promised both

For many people, a cold beer on a warm evening is a favorite summer indulgence. But if you look back far enough in history, beer wasn’t an indulgence; it was part of a healthy diet. There are written records of beer brewing (and drinking) from as early as 5,000 years ago. Before reliable sanitation systems, beer was safer to drink than water; in addition to the antiseptic properties of alcohol, brewing beer requires boiling the water. Beer was also considered a source of nourishing starches. Like bread, it is made from grains and yeast. In fact, beer is sometimes called “Liquid ...

Celebrate the day

There is a celebration for every day of the year if you are looking for something to celebrate. I hope these upcoming daily celebrations make you smile or maybe inspire a trip to the library to look for a book to help you celebrate the day in style. Sat. June 28 Tau Day. “Tau Day, celebrated annually on June 28th, is a mathematical holiday dedicated to the circle constant tau (τ), which is equal to 2π (approximately 6.28318). It’s a celebration of the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its radius, according to Tau Day.” I don’t understand the math, but I’m on board with ...

Study rooms arrive!

You may have noticed changes in the library if you’ve visited us recently. We moved our adult and young adult DVDs to the second floor of the main building, along with the new magazines and newspapers. All of this was to make space for two study rooms and a designated Memory Lab. I’m pleased to share that we’ve completed this project, and our study rooms and updated Memory Lab are available for public use! We often receive requests for a quiet, semi-private space for individuals or small groups. The library now offers two study rooms for this purpose. Our smaller study room ...

When a chair is more than a chair regardless of size

A chair is a chair is a chair, isn’t it? Four legs to stay on the floor, a high back to keep the sitter upright, and maybe a stretcher base for support. And everything is made of wood, of course, with variety coming from upholstery, decorative carvings, or the shape of the legs. That may have been true up to the 20th century. Furniture changed dramatically when designers took advantage of new materials that opened up previously unheard-of possibilities: plastics. Man-made plastics were used for household implements by the 1920s, but it wasn’t until after World War II that the ...

Off the Shelf

New Ulm Public Library’s summer reading program, “Color Our World” begins on Monday, June 9 and goes through August 3. The summer reading program is open to ages from birth to those entering their high school senior year. This year’s reading logs will be available for pick up in the library starting Friday, June 6. Children up to the age of eleven can pick up a reading log in the children’s room. Read at least 20 minutes a day for six days of the week to fulfill the reading goal. Each week they can stop by the children’s desk to check in with their logs and get a stamp and ...

Contemporary man-in-the moon jug appeals to buyers

Sometimes, contemporary artists break with traditions, and sometimes they follow them. But some of the most interesting works of art come about when they put their own spin on well-established forms and techniques. The man-in-the-moon jug pictured here is the work of contemporary South Carolina potter Michel Bayne. It fits in with the longstanding Southern tradition of face vessels. While artists around the world have decorated jugs, vases and other ceramic containers with human, animal or mythological faces since prehistory, the face vessels made in the southern United States, ...