March 28, 2024

Hops by the Zentner

European countries, prior to the development of the metric system, used an interesting array of measures to quantify daily life. One of my favorites is the zentner. A zentner is an old unit of measurement used in Northern European countries from Germany through Scandinavia which was tied to agricultural products. A zentner is 100 units, where the base unit can vary widely, but was commonly associated with the old German pound, or pfund. The one agricultural product most often associated with the zentner was hops. Since hops really only have two commercial uses, beer and decoration, the zentner is therefore…

Brews, Brats and Bats

This month’s typical Excentric Reader is our good friend, Tom Buroojy, of New Jersey shown here with Bernie the Brewer, mascot to the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team. Bernie seemed to get excited while looking at the Big Picture Page. Tom, never without a copy of his favorite publication, stopped by the concession stand for–what else?–a brewski when he bumped into Bernie, who never passes up a photo opportunity. Soon, they were arm in arm singing the theme song to Laverne and Shirley. Related posts: Typical Excentric Reader Typical Excentric Reader Typical Excentric Readers