Grey Matter -Vinegar Echuca Village, Victoria, Australia
By WazzaAndWenches on 31-Jan-17. Waypoint GA9450

Around 40 BC legend has it that Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, won a wager with the roman general Mark Anthony, when after a lavish meal, she dissolved a priceless pearl in vinegar and then drank the resulting solution. By doing this she proved that she could provide a feast for the two of them that would cost a fortune!

Vinegar was well known to the European alchemists of the Middle Ages. By pouring it over lead, they made a sweet tasting substance they called "sugar of lead", which was used well into the nineteenth century to smooth and sweeten a harsh cider. Unfortunately lead acetate is also very poisonous and it caused the early death of many a European cider drinker.

From 1347 to 1771 many european cities were repeatedly hit by the bubonic plague. It is estimated that about 50 million people died in all from this disease which was spread from rats to man by infected fleas.

In 1721, the Bubonic Plague hit many French cities so hard that all the dead could not be decently buried.To cope with this situation, the French authorities released condemned convicts from prison to help bury the highly infectious corpses. According to legend, while most died, one team of four convicted thieves managed to survive by drinking daily large amounts of vinegar infused with garlic. As a result vinegar steeped in garlic is still sold today as four thieves vinegar.

By holding vinegar soaked sponges to their noses, European aristocrats of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were able to ward off the noxious odors of outdoor garbage and raw sewage.
Small silver boxes called vinaigrettes were used to carry these sponges and they were also stored in special compartments in the heads of walking canes.

Personally, I think Balsamic Vinegar is one of the world's greatest culinary creations. It's great drizzled over a salad, use as a bread dip with olive oil or on potato cakes (scalloped potato for you interstaters).

With a little bit of work you should be able to find the remaining numbers

umeskixcbcsonkaqiinueyzrhvllnipsapczabyzhrilssxtpnmiitpfdvgwkvvibumxtpzifx

S 36° _ _ . _ _ _   E 144° _ _ . _ _ _

This cache was placed for the Summer Scavenger Series 2016-2017.

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