"...on Nov. 5 ... doctors in the Philippines
have documented the case of a woman
whose armpits leak milk." (Reddit)
In 1847, Russell & Sturgis acquired tax-free
rights to carry 250 tons of ice on the frigate
Hizaine to Manila, variously called the Pearl
of the Orient or the Rome of the East, or
more recently the armpit of the world for its
urban blight and overpopulation. In the 1800s,
blocks of ice were harvested from creeks and lakes
in deep winter, then covered with sawdust or hay
for insulation in ice houses. The great Banquet
of Malolos celebrating Philippine independence
in 1898 flaunted a European-inspired menu,
as if to show the world the newly formed
nation was as civilized as others in the West.
Seven appetizers, seven courses and four desserts—
oysters, shrimp, stuffed crab and buttered radishes;
cold ham with asparagus, cheeses, jams, leche flan
del mar and mantecado— ice cream! The milk was likely
coconut or carabao milk, and of course it needed
to be kept cold. Any milk, including breast milk,
spoils when overexposed to heat. Bacteria convert
lactose into acids. Fermentaton thickens into
a moist and foamy surface spackled with curds.
Purveyors of fine poetry since 2003.
