Blog Dog Dan: FIAMMA'S FUN FACTS FRIDAY

I got nuttin' - JUST KIDDING - I have over 300 things! In fact, it should be called Fiamma's Amazing Facts Friday. We're going to talk about Carver and Carter - George Washington Carver and President Jimmy Carter.

George Washington Carver was a remarkable man who understood the value of peanuts! Carver was born in 1860 in Diamond Grove, Missouri. He was a slave, like his parents, but since he was prone to sickness and too frail to work in the fields, he was sent to a nearby town to get an education. He had always been interested in the study of plants (botany) and earned his master's degree in agriculture in 1896.

Later that year, Booker T. Washington, the famed African-American educator, invited Carver to come teach at Tuskegee Institute, in Tuskegee, Alabama. Carver accepted and became director of agriculture. He taught his students and agriculture experts the practice of crop rotation (to ensure fields didn't wear out their nutrient potential) and directed the planting of peanuts and peas (which took nitrogen from the air and transferred it to the soil, creating soil that was perfect for planting cotton and tobacco).

As peanuts grow very quickly, the farmers were soon overwhelmed with peanuts! Carver came to the rescue by finding uses for the peanut crop. He ultimately invented more than 300 products that used the peanut.

The same overabundance occurred with the sweet potato crop. Again, Carver invented over 115 products that used the potato, including flour, starch, and artificial rubber. His next project was the pecan, developing 75 products. He also found ways to use discarded corn stalks and made paint and dye from clay. Many of his ideas were used by the U.S. Military during World War I.

Here's a partial list of some of the products he invented:

Adhesives
Axle Grease
Bleach
Buttermilk
Chili Sauce
Cream
Instant Coffee
Linoleum
Mayonnaise

Meat Tenderizer
Metal Polish
Paper
Peanut Butter
Rubbing Oils
Shampoo
Shaving Cream
Shoe Polish
Sugar

After his death in 1943, his birthplace became a national monument, the first dedicated to an African-American.

Georgia is the #1 peanut-producing state in the country - almost 50% of the total United States peanut crop and more than 50% of peanuts used in the production of peanut butter. Georgia also leads the nation in the export of peanuts. The state's most famous peanut farmer is our 39th U.S. president, Jimmy Carter (1977-1981). He and his family raised the crop for decades in Sumter County.

This is the Jimmy Carter Peanut Sculpture, a 13-ft.-tall peanut built from wooden hoops covered with chicken wire, polyurethane, and aluminum foil. It was created by the Indiana Democratic Party to honor Jimmy Carter during his visit to Evanston during his presidential campaign in 1976. After the parade, the peanut was transported to his hometown of Plains,Georgia.

Some of his accomplishments as President:

Panama Canal treaties
Camp David Accords
treaty of peace between Egypt and Israel
the SALT II treaty with the Soviet Union
establishment of U.S. diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China
comprehensive energy program conducted by a new Department of Energy
deregulation in energy, transportation, communications, and finance
educational programs under a new Department of Education
environmental protection legislation, including the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act

After Carter lost his bid for reelection to Ronald Reagan in 1980, he returned to Georgia and founded the Carter Center in Atlanta (cartercenter.org). In 2002, Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Carter is the third American president to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson both received the prize while still in office. Carter shares with Martin Luther King, Jr. the distinction of being the only native Georgians to be so honored.