Trivial Trivia - taking trivia to new levels

[L Verge]

I think that lemons were an integral part of 19th-century life when scurvy was a serious ailment for many - not just those confined to shipboard for months at a time. When I was growing up (and until just the past few years when I generally dine alone), fresh lemons were always a part of of my diet, especially at dinner. I'm not talking just lemon meringue pies (and my mother made delicious ones from scratch) and a condiment for fish. We always had iced tea for dinner (even in the winter). Each of us flavored the tea to our liking with sugar and fresh lemon juice squeezed from a whole lemon with just the tip of one end cut off. No sweet tea for us.

When the lemon got used to the point where very little juice was left in it, my grandmother taught me how to stuff an ice cube in the rind, sprinkle in a little sugar, and suck on it. Instant lemonade.

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Forgot to add that part of my "education" on 19th-century living at Surratt House taught me that pure lemon juice was used to bleach freckles at a time when the whitest of white skins was prized in society AND that lemon juice mixed with baking soda made a nice toothpaste (again, the whiteness factor on teeth). Not sure that Gen. Stonewall worried about such things, however.

I'm sure that many of you have heard the old Chinese comment about weird Americans who "first boil their tea to make it hot, then add ice to make it cold and sugar to make it sweet, then lemon to make it sour...very strange customs!"