Boti

Boti is a cutting instrument, most prevalent in Bengal, a region in the eastern South Asia which is now divided between the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, and Barak Valley of Assam and the independent country of Bangladesh.

Boti is a long curved blade and cut on a platform held down by foot, both hands are used to hold whatever is being cut and move it against the blade. This is quite unlike using a knife; the sharper side faces the user. The method gives excellent control over the cutting process, and can be used to cut anything from tiny shrimp to large pumpkins.

Variations

A larger version of the Boti, with a bigger blade is used for gutting and cutting fish. Another version of the boti comprises the Narkel Kuruni (coconut grater) in the form of a flat round top with sharp small shark like teeth all around it to serrate coconut. Dao (a more prevalent name in Bangladesh) is a variation of boti, which is hand held.

References

Street food

Street food is ready-to-eat food or drink sold by a hawker, or vendor, in a street or other public place, such as at a market or fair. It is often sold from a portable food booth,food cart, or food truck and meant for immediate consumption. Some street foods are regional, but many have spread beyond their region of origin. Most street foods are classed as both finger food and fast food, and are cheaper on average than restaurant meals. According to a 2007 study from the Food and Agriculture Organization, 2.5 billion people eat street food every day.

Today, people may purchase street food for a number of reasons, such as to get flavorful food for a reasonable price in a sociable setting, to experience ethnic cuisines, or for nostalgia.

History

Small fried fish were a street food in ancient Greece, however, Theophrastus held the custom of street food in low regard. Evidence of a large number of street food vendors were discovered during the excavation of Pompeii. Street food was widely consumed by poor urban residents of ancient Rome whose tenement homes did not have ovens or hearths. Here, chickpea soup with bread and grain paste were common meals. In ancient China, street food generally catered to the poor, however, wealthy residents would send servants to buy street food and bring it back for them to eat in their homes.

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is an annual holiday celebrated on February 14. It originated as a Western Christian liturgical feast day honoring one or more early saints named Valentinus, and is recognized as a significant cultural and commercial celebration in many regions around the world, although it is not a public holiday in any country.

Several martyrdom stories associated with the various Valentines that were connected to February 14 were added to later martyrologies, including a popular hagiographical account of Saint Valentine of Rome which indicated he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians, who were persecuted under the Roman Empire. According to legend, during his imprisonment, Saint Valentine healed the daughter of his jailer, Asterius, and before his execution, he wrote her a letter signed "Your Valentine" as a farewell.

The day first became associated with romantic love within the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. In 18th-century England, it evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines"). In Europe, Saint Valentine's Keys are given to lovers "as a romantic symbol and an invitation to unlock the giver’s heart", as well as to children, in order to ward off epilepsy (called Saint Valentine's Malady). Valentine's Day symbols that are used today include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards.

New Song

New Song may refer to:

See also

Gastrointestinal tract

The gastrointestinal tract, also known as the gut or alimentary canal, is a tube by which bilaterian animals (including humans) transfer food to the digestion organs. In large bilaterians, the gastrointestinal tract generally also has an exit, the anus, by which the animal disposes of solid wastes. Some small bilaterians have no anus and dispose of solid wastes by other means (for example, through the mouth).

Animals that have gastrointestinal tracts are classified as either protostomes or deuterostomes. The digestive tract evolved separately in these two clades, an example of convergent evolution. The clades are distinguished based on their embryonic development: protostomes develop their mouths first, while deuterostomes develop their mouths second. Protostomes include arthropods, molluscs, and annelids, while deuterostomes include echinoderms and chordates.

The gastrointestinal tract contains thousands of different bacteria, but humans can be divided into three main groups based on those most prominent in the human gastrointestinal tract.