Author: Ilya

Defending Liquor with Machine Guns: The Byron’s Warehouse Story in Oklahoma

Established by Byron Gambulos, Byron’s Liquor Warehouse stands as one of Oklahoma’s largest liquor outlets. This Oklahoma City landmark came into existence in 1959, soon after the state’s legalization of alcohol.

The infancy of the legal alcohol era in Oklahoma was marked by chaos and confusion. “The system was haphazard. Both wholesalers and retailers seemed to operate according to their own rules,” Gambulos explained.

In an era when many retailers attempted to inflate market prices to maximize profits, Gambulos held his ground against such practices. This didn’t sit well with some in the liquor industry, a few with alleged connections to the mafia, who viewed his stance as unwelcome competition.

Tensions escalated to the point where an unidentified individual hurled a homemade bomb into Byron’s Liquor Warehouse, causing damage to a small section of the establishment. Upon a second bombing shortly after, Gambulos decided to take measures to ensure his, his employees’, and his property’s safety.

In response, he erected a rectangular, fortified wooden structure with windows on all sides, essentially a watchtower, atop the business premises. Gambulos, along with a group of his friends that included off-duty police officers and dedicated employees, kept vigil from this tower during the night. They were armed with various weapons, from handguns to shotguns, with Gambulos himself wielding a World War II-era machine gun.

The presence of the watchtower proved effective in deterring further attacks. Threats towards Gambulos and his family gradually decreased, and one of his team members successfully prevented at least one bombing attempt.

a tower atop Byron's liquor store, 1964
A tower atop Byron’s liquor store, 1964
Photo by Oklahoma Historical Society

However, after about a year, officials from Oklahoma’s Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission requested that Gambulos dismantle the tower. Subsequently, some of the individuals suspected to have been involved in the earlier bombings were reportedly apprehended by the police.

Idle Nature: The Unexpected Downtime in Insect Communities

Surprisingly, a significant number of animals, including those we typically consider industrious, spend a considerable amount of their time seemingly idle. Observations of social insect communities, such as ants or bees, reveal that roughly less than half of the population are often stationary, appearing to do nothing.

Pizza Farms: A Delicious Blend of Agriculture and Education

Have you ever heard of pizza farms? These are unique establishments that either sell pizzas made from ingredients grown on-site, or they function as educational farms that cultivate pizza ingredients, often on a circular piece of land divided into pizza slice-like segments. Some of these farms primarily focus on selling pizzas. They have gained significant popularity in regions like Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. These farms typically cultivate or rear many of their ingredients, akin to the demonstration pizza farms. Additionally, there are farms dedicated to other foods, such as a farm that specializes in “burgers and fries.”

Sweet Overload: The Impact of Genetically Modified Fruits on Zoo Animals

Contemporary fruit, having been genetically altered over the years, is proving excessively sweet for zoo animals. Australian zookeepers have started reducing the fruit intake of some animals due to the heightened sweetness that may harm their health.

Modern-day farming technology has accelerated the breeding of crops, enhancing their resistance to diseases and pests. This progress, however, has led to significant changes in fruit characteristics. Business Insider reports that watermelons now have a deeper red interior, bananas bear smaller seeds, eggplants lack their traditional spines, and peaches have grown 64 times larger and 27% juicier.

Such sugar-rich fruits have adverse effects on red pandas and other primates, who prefer these modified fruits over their natural equivalents. These animals are experiencing weight gain and signs of tooth decay.

Contrarily, the fructose found in raw fruits is beneficial for humans due to its packaging within fibers, which slows its absorption into our bloodstream. This makes it harder to metabolize, hence preventing a spike in blood sugar levels, unlike the refined sugar found in candies and sodas, as per Quartz.

Zookeepers used to feed red pandas and monkeys a diet rich in fruit, emulating their wild diets. However, discovering the high sugar content in these cultivated fruits has prompted a shift towards healthier alternatives.

Dr. Senaka Ranadheera, a food scientist at the University of Melbourne, notes, “Almost all cultivated fruit varieties are sweeter than their wild counterparts.” Some fruits, like plums, have almost twice the soluble sugar content compared to two decades ago.

The Domino Effect: How One Rotten Apple Can Spoil the Barrel

Does the saying “one rotten apple spoils the whole barrel” hold any truth? Absolutely. When an apple becomes damaged or begins to decay, it generates a gas called ethylene. This gas elevates the apple’s internal temperature slightly, initiating the breakdown of chlorophyll and the creation of other pigments. Concurrently, the fruit’s starch is transformed into simple sugars, and pectin—a fiber component acting as a binder for cell walls—starts to break down, thus softening the apple’s texture. This cascade of changes not only affects the single apple, but it also instigates a domino effect, triggering similar processes in the surrounding apples.