Quincy from Bozeman, Montana, wonders how burritos came to be named with a Spanish word that means “little donkey.” In Spanish, the meaning of burro has also extended from “donkey” to “sawhorse.” In the case of the tortilla-wrapped comfort food, there are several possible explanations, although the most likely appears to be the resemblance between a tortilla draped over multiple ingredients and a blanket thrown across the back of a donkey, which also bears a heavy load of items. The Dictionary of Chicano Folklore (Bookshop|Amazon) suggests another possibility: burritos were a valued companion for vaqueros out on the trail, somewhat like the way burros are valuable companions for horses, because their presence tends to calm those potentially jittery animals. This is part of a complete episode.
Grant recommends the children’s book Dreams of Green: A Three Kings’ Day Story written by Mariel Jungkunz and illustrated by Mónica Paola Rodriguez (Bookshop|Amazon), about a girl and her family who move from Puerto Rico to Ohio and find ways...
Janine in Murray, Kentucky, shares some favorite tongue twisters. There’s the one that helps you remember the four cardinal directions: Never Eat Sour Wheat. Her dad was fond of saying The stump thunk the skunk stunk and the skunk thunk the...
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