Agricultural News
This Weeks Ag in the Classroom, The Oklahoma Vegetable of the Month... Carrots!
Thu, 31 Dec 2020 09:15:44 CST
Whether your kids are doing blended learning, online learning, or back in school, its always nice to have a few extra resources and fun things to do as a family! Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom has come up with some excellent daily activities you can do with your kids and family.
For this week's Ag in the Classroom We are talking about the Oklahoma Vegetable of the Month...... Carrots! The first carrots were white, purple, red, yellow, green and black - not orange. Their roots were thin and turnip-shaped. Orange carrots did not appear until the 1700s, in Holland. Growers there bred them to match the Dutch flag. Orange carrots have the advantage of containing beta carotene, which our bodies convert to Vitamin A.
Do carrots really help you see better?
During the Second World War the carrot was widely used as a substitute for scarce commodities. In Britain the Ministry of Food promoted Woolton Pie, composed entirely of vegetables. Potato, carrot and rutabaga provided the basic ingredients, with onion and cauliflower added when available. British children ate carrots as a substitute for the fruit they could no longer obtain.
Britain's Air Ministry spread the word that a diet of carrots helped pilots see Nazi bombers attacking at night. That was a lie intended to cover a new secret radar system which pinpointed some enemy bombers before they reached the English Channel.
News stories began appearing in the British press about extraordinary personnel manning the defenses, including Flight Lieutenant John Cunningham, an RAF pilot dubbed "Cats Eyes" because his exceptional night vision allowed him to spot his prey in the dark. Cunningham's abilities were chalked up to his love of carrots. The Royal Air Force bragged that the great accuracy of British fighter pilots at night was a result of their being fed enormous quantities of carrots. The Germans bought it because their folk wisdom included the same myth.
The disinformation was so persuasive that the English public took to eating carrots to help them find their way during the blackouts. For more fun carrot facts, visit Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom's Carrot lesson, that allows you to make carrot faces, be a food explorer withi Roasted Roots, and many more fun activities!
Teachers, order your FREE resources by following this link!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfjliZPYZ7FbJRVbMWrXXSR2nrrC4jdHF3rTTW8ipBy8W6yww/viewform?usp=send_form
And don't forget, Ag in the Classroom offers daily activities to do with your kiddos on their website, and their facebook page.
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