The important thing about sassafras trees is, the bark of their roots can be used to make tasty things such as sassafras tea, and more importantly root beer.

i'm an american and i've never heard of either a wyoming king or an alaskan king mattress. my wife's first reaction when i showed her this was 'who makes sheets for those things?'

I grew up calling it "puppy chow" (in Minnesota). I always assumed "Muddy Buddies" was the marketing department's name for it when Chex started selling that flavor of the mix in stores, because someone thought that "puppy chow" wouldn't sell as well.

Italians may not have "Italian Dressing," but my grandmother makes a vinaigrette that her mother used to make living in Naples and it's basically just better tasting Italian dressing. She even puts it on her antipasto salads.

As someone who used to be a sales rep for three different candy manufacturers, puppy chow is not technically a candy. It is a sweet snack food.

I'm not sure why, but for some reason, hearing "muddy buddies" described as "candy" just sounds weird to me. I don't know what I'd classify them as, other than just a snack, but to me, I wouldn't call them candy (even though they undoubtedly have a lot in common with some candies!)

Technically, muddy buddies is not a candy, but a snackfood - the sweet sister to savory Chex Mix.

Saw the thumbnail and yes muddy buddies are the best thing ever. It’s probably the only snack my parents had to hide. Edit: so apparently muddy buddies is a Chex recipe while puppy chow is made with Crispix. Apparently the recipes for these were on the back of the box when I was a kid and these two cereals were in direct competition with each other. So they had to call it two different things. I’ve had both and they are an equal PB & chocolate delivery system.

A doggie bag is something totally different in the PNW. It's a take out box at a restaurant that you put your leftovers in.

Ohio here: We call that sweet Chex mix puppy chow. A "color guard" is a flag line, and the rifles are made entirely of wood. Sassafras root are used to make tea ad candy, and was the original flavoring for Root Beer.

Of course Italians in Italy wouldn't call their own vinaigrette dressing "Italian" dressing 🤣 But my great grandma was an old straight-off-the-boat Italian immigrant & made a delicious dressing for her salads, which was basically "Italian" dressing but without the additional processing.

My last cat was named Sassafras, Sassy for short. I loved the word and had to. She was a long haired tabby that was sooo sassy!

The root of the sassafras tree used to be used to flavor root beer. It was banned in 1960 because the main flavor component, a chemical called "safrole," was found to be carcinogenic. Since then, the original flavor has been approximated by a combination of other flavors, including wintergreen and anise. Powdered sassafras leaf (called "filé powder) is still used as a seasoning and thickener in a type of gumbo. Filé gumbo usually contains chicken and sausage. The other main type of gumbo, which uses okra instead of filé powder, is usually made with seafood. Other Cajun and creole food words include jambalaya and tasso (a type of cured pork similar to ham). The word lagniappe means "a little something extra," which in a restaurant might be a dish the chef sends to your table for free without you asking for it.

Sassafras trees are known for having three different shapes to its leaves (the three-lobed leaf, the oval-shaped leaf, and the mitten shaped leaf). My dad loves to quiz me on tree names on our hikes 😅

Holy crap, I make “puppy chow” at least once a month. I’m 40 now but I used “puppy chow” as my recipe for my kindergarten class cookbook.

"Once again... America winning at Rectangles!" just about had my evening's warm milk spouting from my nose !!! Good one, sir!!

"There goes America, winning at RECTANGLES once again.."😂

Sassafras trees are actually one of the few trees out there that has multiple differently shaped leaves. On a single Sassafras tree, you can usually find leaves with 1, 2, OR 3 lobes to them. And when they turn colors in Autumn, you can sometimes have all the fall colors on one single leaf in sort of a blotchy patchwork pattern. One of my favorite trees next to Birch. I actually managed to get one of them to grow in my front yard (just across the sidewalk from my birch-stand) despite them being notoriously difficult to transplant. I'm kind of proud of that.

I had no idea there was any bed (other than custom made with custom made sheets) that was larger than a California King. My eyes are opened. Thanks for a great video.

Low-Level Chef here... Just so you know, a "Roux" Is the base for most Mother Sauces or "Gravies" it is a mixture of a fat such as butter or oil, and flour. The Etouffee would be quite disgusting if it were covered in a Roux. What it most likely is, is a roux-based sauce, which means that we can determine the sauce is not based in either the Tomato or Espagnole mother sauces.

Sassafras root was used to make root beer before they started using artificial flavors.

Sassafras is also the primary ingredient in sassafras tea and the original Root Beer (sassafras Root)

My US son in law told me to look in the powder bath for something. Guest restroom. Alaskan King? When we got back home to UK and looked at our 4'6" bed, we wondered how we've managed to sleep so closely for 43 years. It reminded me of an old saying "when we were young we could have made our bed on a knife edge, now we are old, the biggest bed ever is not big enough" Good stuff. Keep educating

You do have Color Guard in Britain! You have a professional competing team called Mayflower. They've been finalists (top 15) in international competition hosted by WGI (Winter Guatd International). There are competing teams from 6-7 countries mostly representing the US and Canada but also from as far away as Japan. Also, the yearly, week-long World Championships are held in Dayton, OH (with some performances taking place in Cincinnati) the first week of April.

Sassafras has been used for its roots, which when boiled, were used to make a tonic tea. The leaves are dried and ground to a powder to make an herbal additive to gumbo, added in the serving bowl.

I've heard of California King but never Wyoming king or even Alaskan king. All I can think about with those is how much of a hassle it would be to make the bed. You'd have to have the patience of a saint tucking in all of that fabric.

I was shocked to discover that outside of America, Canada included, root beer doesn't exist. Had a friend visit from Australia and got him addicted to the stuff. This is because the flavouring comes from the sassafras trees native to the East Coast.

Re: Muddy Buddies - Not only does it go by several names - it must be a Midwestern thing because I never heard of this stuff in NY.

108 inches by 108 inches is 9 feet by 9 feet. Some people's bedrooms are smaller than that.

The Chex Mix brand is called Muddy Buddies the Pre-made stuff and on their box recipe. Puppy Chow is a homemade version of the same thing. There are 100's of alternative recipes of the Puppy Chow on the internet by different families.

6:50 Also Sassafras trees are the main natural source of saffrole, a primary precursor for the synthesis of MDMA (or Ecstasy). Many (older) people of the South Eastern US still enjoy tea made from sassafras, which give a pleasurable body feel and aids in conflict resolution.

Lost my mind laughing when you said "there goes America, winning at rectangles, again". Too funny mate!

Comfortably sleeps 4? Tell that to the dogs who will shove you awake to move so they can take your warm spot. Or the cats that insist on sleeping on your chest.

Hey Lawrence, sassafras root is the "root" in "root beer", as well as the file (fee-lay) powder used in Cajun file gumbo.

Growing up, we'd look for sassafras saplings, break off a twig, peel off the bark and chew on it. It has a sweet taste sort of like root beer.

We had a British visitor over the summer. The only time we had a language miscommunication was when she asked if we had "Bali Cup." I had never heard of it, but to please our visitor, I search very hard for this apparent Indonesian island treat. Could not find it despite my very best efforts. Come to find out, she meant "Barley Cup." Found it, bought it, tried it ... I know why it is not popular in U.S.

I was in color guard in high school, and then an instructor for years after that. Some refer to it as the auxiliary, at least they did during the years I was involved. The rifles I used in school were similar in style to those used in the military, just wood with silver embellishments. During my time as an instructor, they advanced a bit. They became sleek with a little less weight, much easier to get big air time when tossing. Cool to hear you talk about it!

Most of the “rifles” used in color guard are just big sticks carved into rifle shapes with the same weight and balance, not an actual rifle… anymore.

In the early 90's, I had my first introduction to muddy buddies, but we used an entirely different name for it, too: edible trash. A teacher showed us how to make it in class one day (I forget the occasion). She melted the peanut butter and chocolate chips while we mixed up the chex, pretzels, m&m's, and peanuts in GARBAGE BAGS. Yeah. Your standard, white trash can liner. When the choco/pb mix was ready (melted but not too hot), she poured it into each of our bags and had us mix it all up (just by tossing it around in the bag or folding the contents around gently). When that was done, she poured powdered sugar in our bags, and we shook them up. Boom: edible trash. I'd never even heard the term "muddy buddy" until Chex themselves started selling it a few years ago. Homemade is so much better, though. haha

Muddy buddies/puppy chow isn’t a “candy” it’s just a sweet snack.

We used to call that Alaskan king a sultan size.. and in the 80s, if you looked hard enough you could find a water bed that size... such fun on the second floor if it sprung a leak

Sassafras: That wonderful southern tree is a botanists delight! There are three distinct shapes of leaves on each tree (1)Single, (2)Two lobes that look like a mitten, & (3) Three lobes. The leaves are dried, powdered, and used in Louisiana Cajun dishes (like Etouffée and Gumbo). It's used as a fragrant thickener for these dishes, and in Cajun French is called Filé Gumbo. And the bark of the roots of the Sassafras tree can be boiled to produce the principle flavor of Root Beer. Also, you can chew the leaf petioles for the awesomely refreshing flavor they impart.

In Northwest Mississippi, that candy is called, wait for it, 'Trash.' So at Christmas, you might be asked if you’d like some trash.

Where I live (Vancouver BC, which is on the "wet coast" of Canada) a "muddy buddy" is a type of outerwear that small children wear to play outside in wet weather (in other words, pretty much all the time). It's like a one piece snowsuit without insulated lining and goes over the clothing.

Good evening, Laurence, from rainy, cold southcentral Kentucky! Thank you for another fun video! If it would fit in our bedroom, DH&I would happily upgrade our bed from California King to the Wyoming King. DH is 6foot6inches tall (198 cm)

I've never had, nor heard of, Muddy Buddies in any of its iterations. And I swear I'm an American!

grew up with them being called "puppy chow" when you make them from home but used to the sold kind being "muddy buddy" and never heard the other names.

I was born in Illinois and I truly feel sorrow for those who call Puppy Chow as: “Muddy Buddies” or anything else.

Yes, Yats Chili Cheese Etouffee with crawfish is my favorite...it's fire...love it!

My sister-in-law makes huge batches of puppy chow every year for Christmas. I always have to take home a tin of them to snack on later.

I love your videos! So funny 😂 I've always called them "Muddy Buddies." I've never heard of them referred to as "puppy chow." Can't wait for the next video!

i once delivered meat to the commissary at Warren AFB in Wyoming. they had pronghorn roaming free and wild on the base

I turn to your channel to find serenity from the world's events today. Thank you Lawrence!

Any plans to go the other way around and do a series of videos about British things that America doesn't even have a word for?

I learned just how deep the Muddy Buddies lore goes when I moved to Richmond, Virginia for a year and learned THREE new terms for it there: crack (standard "addictive thing" nickname), trash (because people put the ingredients in a trash bag and shook them up, absolutely disgusting but I still ate it) and white trash (same idea, obvious color-based alteration). Also I have friends who eat at Yats every year first thing upon arriving to Gen-Con, something British people definitely have a word for

Lawrence, the proper spelling is étoufée and French influence is also felt in Massachusetts. My family history goes through Massachusetts as my grandfather's brother was born there as well as his father.

Lawrence, you’re just what I needed to get my mind off of the doom and gloom that is the reality in Europe.

Italian dressing or its components are found on italian hoagies in the philly area, sassafras roots make a kind of root beer or it did until the fda said it might be dangerous in large quantities to specially bred mice and rats and made it illegal to use with out distilling out a certain chemical

Former color guard member here. DCUK is a thing. Drum and Bugle Corps in the UK incorporates color guard into their shows.

As an American who lived in Germany for over 20 years, I can identify quite easily with the situation of finding yourself searching for terms in your own language/dialect to describe things unknown to your native peers. Nice. You have a new subscriber.

Doctor Who Attack of the Sassafras that would be funny!!

I have seen your videos almost since you first started making videos keep up the great work it’s entertaining and interesting.

While we don't have marching band and colour guard in British schools, we do still have them in the UK they just aren't as mainstream. Every few years a band will go over to America. The Company Performance Ensemble went over in 2017 to compete in DCI. We had a great time!!

The pronghorn is actually even weirder than that. They're the world's third-fastest mammal, they can be lured with a rag on a stick, and their closest living relative is the giraffe.

I can't believe I have to watch your KZfaq channel to learn about so many American things I've never heard of. LOL

I remember going on a family camping trip with my grandparents once, and my grandma dug up some sassafras roots and boiled them in water to make sassafras tea.

My daughter's friend was in color guard in their high school marching band. Poor kid did give herself a concussion when she accidentally dropped her flag and it landed on her head. If you want to see some super impressive color guards, check out some Drum Corps International performances.

Wintergreen oil is used to flavor some rootbeer since it's easier to produce. When you drink it, think of wintergreen. And if you eat a wintergreen candy, try and think of rootbeer.

You didn't mention what a "jackalope" is. I'm sure the vast majority of Brits have heard of or seen one. Have you?

Those color guards are a bit like the Heralds, from medieval times when they would have Tournaments. And each Knight's Herald would join the others and put on a show for the crowds before the Tournaments began. Using the banners of their masters with his coat of arms on it.

Another fun fact about Sassafras trees is that, if you burn their leaves when they're still green (such as when camping) they release an aroma similar to Fruit Loops!

When you said Frat Lad I lost it. Thank you for being you, keep up the great work.

Hello! I do professional color guard! It’s called Drum Corp International. I March with Carolina Crown. Basically it’s like Marching band’s version of the NFL! The rifles are indeed fake and made out of wood. We also use sabres which are basically actual fencing sabres just super dulled out and taped with electrical tape. If anyone has any question I can help out!!

In Italy, salad is dressed with oil and vinegar… so while it’s not exactly the same as Italian dressing, it’s the same principal.

Sassafras branches are perfect for trimming down to spear hot dogs on to roast hotdogs over a fire and the roots make great tea to drink

I'm 54 and lived in the U.S. my whole life and I've never heard of "muddy buddies" nor any of the other synonyms you mentioned..

I suddenly want a hexagon shaped bed. Why? Because America should be winning at the best shapes! After all, hexagons are the bestagons!

I got so excited when you talked about Cajun food in Indianapolis. Talked to my hubby about it and he says it's bland. Please go to New Orleans! Amazing, amazing city. Also, hello from Chicago expats in Indianapolis!

Sassafras tea I’ve had and it’s popular in the South…my mother used to make it for us when I was growing up and the tea is made from the bark of the Sassafras tree (which I never saw since I was in Illinois) and the bark was for sale in the grocery stores in my neighborhood…very tasty tea.

I have never once ever heard "muddy buddies" lol If anything, "puppy chow" just meant chocolately chex mix, and "doggy bag" is what you ask for at a restaurant when you want to take home leftovers. Nowadays you would just say you'd like a to-go box, but people used to say "I'll take a doggy bag"

muddy buddy is not a "candy" it's a snack half way between sweet and savory

I used to have a California King - they fit perfectly in the old waterbed frames.

OK…as a former HS marching band nerd AND a former HS marching band teacher…..The term color guard evolved over years through the youth drum and bugle corps in the northeast and Midwest. As the drum corps were sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), one requirement was to “present” the colors at some point during your competitive marching show. For the sake of show, the corps all embellished the “color guard” to include many flag and rifle carriers, and they started doing lots of cool tricks. Eventually, with the creation of Drum Corps International (DCI), the “official” color guard requirement was dropped, but the term “color guard” came to represent the contingent of flags, rifles, and whatever else the show creator could think of. The shows are really quite spectacular. If you ever get the chance to see a live competition, I think you would be impressed.

Sassafras also has many culinary applications. Cajun cooking ingredient, candies, and drinks. I've have had the candy and root beer of Sassafras.

Can an Alaskan King mattress even fit through the bedroom door? Delivering these bad boys must be a Royal Pain!

Fun fact: Etouffee means choking in french. Appropriate for a spicy dish I guess lol

Yats is THE BEST! We stop there every time we are near Indy. I have to admit I was surprised to hear you refer to puppy chow as candy. I can see why you would call it that, but I always thought of it as a sweet snack mix. Makes you feel better about consuming it in large quantities!

Sassafras tree leaves also can have left and right hand mitten shapes on the same limb and branch, but come to think of it, I have also seen sassafras leaves with no lobes at all.. Sassafras tea is made from the roots. You dig up the saplings, then skin the bark off of the roots. Cut and split the roots into managable pieces and steep them in hot water as you would for any tea. Its brilliant red colour(sp) is very inviting. The aroma of sassafras root was said to be a combination of star anise, cinnamon, citrus, and vanilla. For a few decades I have kept a small piece of sassafras root in my pencil cupright here on my desk. I also have a walking cane made from a crooked sassafras sappling that grew in my back yard. Here in the Southern mountains, the Cherokee Native Americans utilized sassafras tea to purify blood and for a variety of ailments, including skin diseases, rheumatism, and ague. Sassafras root was an early export from North America, as early as 1609. Since we are on the subject you can also make Sumac Lemonade brewed from foraged sumac berries and cool water that tastes like lemonade without any lemons. That's staghorn sumac not poison sumac.

Love muddie buddies! I seriously messed them up when I tried to make them this year. 😭😭😭 I see pronghorn almost daily! They live everywhere around me, sometimes they are right near the side of the road. I had a small "argument" with my dad about their name recently. Lol He too thought they were antelope.

I grew up on West coast my whole life and when it comes to the Midwest and East Coast a lot of the stuff is like they live in a different world! Some of the stuff you talk about we don’t even know what the hell it is?

I've lived in America for 72 years (native) and have never heard of the snackfood named muddy buddy or puppychow.

Laurence,you should mention that sassafras is eaten& drunk in all of south Louisiana. The leaves in powdered form are added to gumbo which is a thickener& also gives its unique depth of flavor&taste wonderful&also the roots are used to make root beer which is the best you will ever taste!

I wonder where you would even buy sheets for the Alaskan King mattress.

You need to chapterize this video! 1) 0:47 Italian dressing 2) 1:27 muddy buddies 3) 2:30 Greek life 4) 3:35 color guard 4:38 Anglotopia ad 5) 5:13 etouffee 6) 6:14 sassafras trees 7) 6:58 pronghorn antelope 8) 7:54 Alaskan king mattress You're getting pretty obscure, even for Americans. I'm 68, I've lived most of my life in or near NY, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake City, and I've never before heard of muddy buddies, etouffee, or Alaskan king mattress.

WONDERFUL...As a confirmed Anglophile (American having lived in the UK) I thoroughly enjoyed this video. Thanks

We take sassafras roots and dry them. Steep them to extract the sassafras “flavor” and make Sarsaparilla or Sassafras tea or Root Beer.

When I was a child I would find new sassafras trees just starting, pull it out of the ground, clean the root and then chew on them. They were delicious. Fond memories. I love puppy chow! I had no idea there is a bed called Alaskan King.

Never heard of Muddy Buddy nor and of it's alternates! And I LOVE candy😳. When/where ever I have traveled in the US, I always search out 2 items. .different chips and candies, so my sweets education is lacking!? I have to find out where I can get some version. Thanks, as always😊

Loved this show but then I love all you shows. Your sense of humor is the best as well as the looks on your face.

Here's something that people outside of the US & Canada have probably never heard of, a "Chinese fire drill", it is a slang term for a situation that is chaotic and or confusing. Most people in the US & Canada who know what it is know that it refers to a prank in which people get out of a car (while it is stopped at a stop sign or red light) and run around it to change seats. The term goes back to the early 1900s and is alleged to have originated when a ship run by British officers and a Chinese crew practiced a fire drill for a fire in the engine room.