September 07, 2016 at 11:53PM

Yesterday I Learned: 1) ...how to play a dulcimer, at least in the broadest possible outlines. Dulcimers have four strings -- a tonic string (brass-wrapped), a string a fifth above it, and a pair of strings each an octive above the tonic (two strings so that the volumes match). The simplest/standard way to play is to hold down chords on the frets and strum out chords, but you can also leave the bottom two open as a drone and just move around on the top two notes as melody. Thanks to Sarah Seid for teaching me! 2) There is such a thing as vegan sour cream, and it can actually be used to make a passable vegan tzatziki, but it really seems closer to heavily-whipped cream cheese in consistency and flavor. I haven't tried it on toasted bagel yet, but I really want to. 3) ...the tastes of pure citric acid, tartaric acid, and malic acid in water. Malic acid tastes like the tartness in an un-ripe blackberry. Tartaric acid tastes like the sourness in some grapes, and a bit like limes. Citric acid... is sour. You've all tasted it -- it's all over candies and drinks of all kinds and a surprising number of other foods. Thanks again to Travis Blount-Elliott