Found: A Lunch Box From 4,000 Years Ago

Atlas Obscura ^ | July 27, 2017 | Sarah Laskow

[SunkenCiv]

Someone's lunch was full of whole grains.

Up in the high passes of the Bernese Alps, a team of researchers found a box. It was about 8 inches in diameter and made of pine, willow, and larch. It was 4,000 years old.

Now, the scientists report in a new paper, published in Scientific Reports, they have discovered traces of what was once held in the box -- someone's lunch (or dinner or breakfast).

The team thought that the box might have held porridge and looked for traces of milk. But they found nothing. Instead, using a newly developed technique, they were able to find traces of spelt, emmer, and barley inside the box.

As The Local reports, there's no way of knowing exactly why the box was carried up high in the mountains, but it might have belonged to a farmer grazing cattle on a mountain plateau or a traveller crossing the mountains. It's not a stretch -- there's probably a trail mix on the market right now that features spelt, emmer, and barley. A good lunch is a good lunch, at any time in history.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

It's always the quiet ones. :)

So yeah, I am going to either have to find it or craft one.

[rlmorel]

Funny you say that-the kid I turned on reminded me a lot of the bully in "A Christmas Story" and...the way I flailed on that kid was very similar to the way the kid did it in the movie!

Being bullied is not great or enjoyable thing-but I learned some life lessons from it, and I feel that the experiences served a purpose. (being bullied by non-family lasted about four years from 7 years old to 11 or 12) I think I am a better person for it for the following reasons.

• First, I feel compelled to stand up for someone being bullied. One of my favorite lines of dialogue is from the movie "American Sniper" where one of the kids gets his butt kicked in a fight, and at the dinner table, the father says to his sons:
  
  "...There are three types of people in this world. Sheep, wolves and Sheepdogs. Now, some people prefer to believe that evil doesn't exist in the world. And if it ever darkened their doorstep, they wouldn't know how to protect themselves. Those are the sheep. And then you got predators. They use violence to prey on the weak. They're the wolves. And then there are those who've been blessed with the gift of aggression...and the overpowering need. to protect the flock. These men are a rare breed...that live to confront the wolf. They are the sheepdog. Now, we're not raising any sheep in this family. I will whup your ass if you turn into a wolf..."

  I strive to be a sheepdog. If the time comes, I pray I can do it.

• Second, I never, ever felt the desire or need to bully someone else in any way. That is something being bullied did to me.

• Third, I learned at the most fundamental of levels that weakness invites aggression, and strength (or the projection of strength) deters it. If I am in an environment that feels unsafe, my back is straight, I walk erect with my shoulders back, and keep my head on a swivel.

• Fourth...I learned that bullies will often wilt when the tables are turned on them. They don't expect it, and are unprepared. It is one thing to have someone say "Fight back! Just fight back!" because as a kid, it isn't that easy. But it is the truth.

All very valuable lessons to me, in all walks of life, and I value them.

Thing is, my older brothers bullied me too, and when I stood up to them, it didn't go well because I got my ass kicked pretty roundly after I took a swing at one of my older brothers and he beat me badly enough to make me piss blood because he kicked me while I was down on the ground curled up in a fetal position. But that also had a good effect-after I fought back, he and my oldest brother never came at me again like that. And my brother who beat me up has been a life-long best friend to me since we grew up...:)

And like you-I retain so many fond memories. I have used the lemons of the bad memories and turned them into lemonade I can enjoy as I grow older. And I think that adversity made me a better person.

I hope!

[rlmorel]

Hahaha!

Try this: LINK: Human Organ Transport Lunchbox

[Zack Attack]

This was my first lunch box 1967. Not in as nice of condition but a classic.

[Bob434]

LOL... hope they got a belly ache!

[Bob434]

Those old lunch boxes are worth quite a bit of money today. American pickers went gagga over old lunch boxes.

[rxh4n1]

“but my parents would let me have coffee or tea until I was a teenager.)”

You brought back an old memory for me. It was a big day for me when I got to drink coffee with my dad. Thanks.

[rlmorel]

Heh, you’re welcome! It also brought back another memory for me-

I remember when I was six or seven, and my Aunt Julie took us all down to the Five & Dime to have breakfast, and she asked me if I wanted to have tea!

Now, that was a big deal (which is why we loved our Aunt Julie) and when the waitress came over (I have this memory she was in her forties, wearing a powder blue uniform with lacy white trim) and asked with gravity if I wanted sugar, milk, cream, or lemon in my tea, I said “cream and lemon”!

She nodded knowingly with a smile and brought my tea to me with the lemon in the tea and cream on the side...

When I added the sugar and then the cream to the tea with the lemon in it, I got the expected result where it curdled and I looked at it in puzzlement while my Aunt Julie looked on indulgently with a tight smile!

[ANKE69]

I’ve been following your posts on this thread.
I think a lot of people can relate to you, with the good, the bad, and the ugly.
It brought back a lot of memories for me....
Thanks for sharing.

[rlmorel]

You are most welcome...about 15 years ago, I began saving texts of posts I write on FR, particularly the non-political ones (though, not exclusively)

I see my siblings memories beginning to fade, and I write these for four reasons:

One, is to prepare for the day when my memory begins to fail.

Two, because I enjoy writing, and I use FR to sharpen my skills.

Three, because I may someday write a book about my extraordinary, yet ordinary life in which I have had many improbable yet completely average experiences. These are my notes to remind me of things that occur to me, but may at any given time, be lost to the cobwebs of my own dimming history.

And Four, because my experiences that are so extraordinary and entertaining to me, I feel certain that they are wholly run-of-the-mill and are in many cases universal types of experiences which I hope can make them fully understandable, relatable to others, and...I hope, entertaining to those who may read them on this treasured forum...:)

Boy, have I had a great life, and I marvel that while it seems so eventful to ME, it is an indicator to me that this great nation has opened up the lives of millions of people just like me who have been blessed to experience their own amazing lives, and that is a direct result of being an American.

[9YearLurker]

Looks like the Big Mac burger hasn’t aged a bit.

[SunkenCiv]

😎

[SunkenCiv]

I don’t see how it could. 😁

[JZelle]

I’d say you came out of it great, thanks for sharing that.

[rlmorel]

You are most welcome, FRiend. Thank you for the kind words.

[Lazamataz]

There are three types of people in this world. Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs.

I disagree.

I am the fourth type.

I'm a Pussy.

[dfwgator]

There are three kinds of people in this world...

(Language)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2GwrR-4Q9E

[Lazamataz]

I had a bully. Mark Manning. I charged after him, yelling SUPER PUNCH, and he ran.

That’s when I learned, for that age, acting crazy was enough.

[rlmorel]

Ah, Laz. You are safe...if you really were a Pussy, you would simply be clumped in with the Sheep!

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

I did not realize you could buy plain lunch boxes. I am now tempted to buy the 36 pack and make original lunch boxes for the summer craft sale. Yes, I have to think that far in advance or I will never get it done.