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Jump hour watch paves the digital path

Lifestyle Columns

Take a moment and picture a pocket watch. Are you thinking of a hunting case watch with elaborate relief decorations and an engraved monogram? A minimalist open-faced watch with a 14K gold case? Maybe a chain and a fancy fob? One thing is safe to assume: The watch probably tells time with hands on a dial. “Jump hour” watches like the one pictured here show that isn’t always the case. (Yes, this one has a seconds subdial, but the jump hour mechanism tells the hours and minutes.) The jump hour, or jumping hour, watch movement was patented in 1883 by Josef Pallweber, an Austrian ...

Celebrate the day

Lifestyle Columns

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 ...

Beer or health food? “Liquid Bread” promised both

Lifestyle Columns

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 ...

Master Gardener’s Gardenfest tour back in bloom

Lifestyle Feature

After a couple of years’ absence, the Brown County Master Gardeners’ Gardenfest Tour is returning, and like any good perennial plant, it has grown back stronger than before. The Gardenfest Tour is 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, June 26 and will feature nine gardens selected by Brown County ...

Eye on Nicollet

Lifestyle Feature

#1. A welcoming clover... #2. And a welcoming store. #3. A holy bell.... #4. And a watery door. #5. A shady place where many have kneeled... #6. A chain-link basket behind the field.

Study rooms arrive!

Lifestyle Columns

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 ...