When I was getting off the train last night, I could see and hear some heavy precipitation, so I opened my umbrella and walked off.

What I didn't expect was that the precipitation was hail. Well, more of a mix of hail, sleet, and rain, but mostly hail. It wasn't the famed hail the size of canned hams, more along the BB to pea size range, and it stopped a couple of minutes after I got off the train. Strange, but kind of fun, too.

Didn't go to trivia Tuesday, so instead you get:

Book Log 2006 #2: Finding Betty Crocker by Susan Marks

I can't say I'd ever really wondered about the history behind Betty Crocker, but I do have an interest in corporate history-type books, and one of my favorite Bloom County story lines is when Milo goes to General Mills to proclaim his love for Betty, only to be crushed when he learns that she's not real. So I had to read this.

And I'd say I was fairly well rewarded. Most of the book covers Betty's rise to prominence, from appearances in print ads to radio hosting to TV. I was unaware of just how popular Betty was in her heyday; in one year of her Cooking School of the Air radio show, there were 700,000 registered participants. That's pretty impressive.

I would have liked more on how General Mills developed Betty and the people who made her what she is. There is some discussion on that, but the bulk of the book is about her media presence and popularity. I suppose there are other, more orthodox histories that cover the company and their best known employee.

While references are made in the book to changes in Betty's appearance over the years, there's only one chapter that really discusses this. I'd have liked more on this and less on the changes to the Betty Crocker test kitchens.

It's a quick read and pretty entertaining. Sadly, it doesn't mention the Bloom County story line. It also made me long for baked goods, which is both good and bad.