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Are these Damsons?

Started by googoomuck, August 19, 2014, 06:53:51 PM

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DEMPSEY

Fraughan/Bilberry you got in in one. This site is a world of information thanks. For years I would often have mention these berries to family around the country and was asked what berry were they. I used to pick them in north Kerry and was just down there at the weekend and went searching along the ditches for any sign of them,none could be found. I wonder why they have all gone. My aunt says that because the ditches have all being cut back that that's what would have killed them off,not sure that would be so :-\. Would love to get my hands on some again :(.
Dei miscendarum discipulus
Forgive us our Hangovers as we forgive those who hangover against us

DEMPSEY

Well you learn something everyday. Reading up on these berries this titbit came up,

QuoteOften associated with improvement of night vision, bilberries are mentioned in a popular story of World War II RAF pilots consuming bilberry jam to sharpen vision for night missions. A study in 2000[5] by the U.S. Navy found no such effect and origins of the RAF story cannot be found.[6] After the introduction of radar, RAF bombing became more accurately targeted, but to confuse the enemy, the story was leaked that it "was something in the pilots' diet" that improved their targeting - that something was carrots, not bilberries, and the story was concocted merely to keep the Germans from knowing the real reason for improved accuracy.

So eating carrots was a war secret and rabbits are blind :D
Dei miscendarum discipulus
Forgive us our Hangovers as we forgive those who hangover against us

Will_D

Just to be clear Carrots do in fact contain good things that are needed for healthy eyes:

Retinol is one of the animal forms of vitamin A. It is a diterpenoid and an alcohol.

When converted to the retinal (retinaldehyde) form, vitamin A is essential for vision,  ...

Retinol is produced in the body from the hydrolysis of retinyl esters, and from the reduction of retinal. Retinol in turn is ingested in a precursor form; animal sources (liver and eggs) contain retinyl esters, whereas plants (carrots, spinach) contain pro-vitamin A carotenoids (these may also be considered simply vitamin A).

So Carrots were really on the diet of night fighter pilots in WW II
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