The Amazing Cucumber
 

The Amazing Cucumber

This information was in The New York Times several weeks ago as part of their "Spotlight on the Home" series that highlighted creative and fanciful ways to solve common problems.

1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.

2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.

3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.

4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.

5. Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!

6. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!!

7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explorers for quick meals to thwart off starvation.

8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don't have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.

9. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!

10. Stressed out and don't have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber will react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown to reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.

11. Just finished a business lunch and realize you don't have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemcials will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.

12. Looking for a 'green' way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but it won't leave streaks and won't harm you fingers or fingernails while you clean.

13. Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!

They forgot a very important one, NSFW (highlight to view):

psych

well, now we know what shaw does with her cukes

What, I psych? ;)

I hate cucumbers. They're good in body sprays and stuff, but not for eatin'

I like pickles though. Go figure.

What do the rest of them contain?

Pickle juice.

I don't know if I should be eating something that can substitute for WD-40.

No kidding...:eek:

I love cukes, though. I never knew they were nutrient rich (and lubricant) rich..

Can't stand cuke skin, tho. Makes me burp something fierce.

Fascinating--I went to check what snopes had to say about some of these, and they say that they're still researching it. That's the first time I've seen something new enough to the internet that snopes hadn't dealt with it yet.

Sad but true, once again you have proved that you are my real sister, and the weird one that doesn't like me is the imposter.
I can't BEAR cucumber. If'n I'm tricked into eating it (chopped tiny in a salad, say) I do cucumber burps all afternoon to remind me.

But like you say, they're lovely in sprays. And pickles are just nom nom nom. Although I admit there's very little in vinegar that I wouldn't devour :rolleyes:

Cucumber in Dutch is komkommer.
I still didn't eat it there, but it did sound nicer!

English cucumbers are what they call hothouse or (surprisingly) English cucumbers here. Them, I can eat. But I'm not so keen on the merkin ones and the skin on those is tough as old boots.

this thread made me crave a cucumber so much that i ate celery.

......with nothing on it.


... 3 stalks, motherfucker.

did you swallow?

...oh wait, we're not in euphemism land any more, Toto!

When I was 16 I worked in a Women's clothing store with it's own "radio" playing. the tape lasted an hour and one summer, the Dj was banging on about celery being the perfect food because it takes more calories to chew than it contains..... banging on about it every hour on the hour for two months....