
An Illustrated Account of the Great Maple Syrup Heist - DrScump
http://modernfarmer.com/2014/01/illustrated-account-great-maple-syrup-heist/
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nathancahill
No wonder I'm paying through the nose for maple syrup. Did not know the full
history behind it.

Another maple syrup fact I recently learned: there's no quality difference
between Grade A and Grade B syrup. It's just based on color. I prefer the
darker, stronger flavored Grade B.

~~~
nkurz
At least in the US, the names Grade B and Grade C have already been phased
out. Some states had done so earlier, but the USDA officially renamed them
earlier this year to wordy variants of Grade A. So if you are looking for
Grade B, you now want "GRADE A: DARK COLOR & ROBUST", and if you were so ahead
of the game that you wanted Grade C, you now want the eloquently named "GRADE
A: VERY DARK & STRONG".

[1] [http://www.epicurious.com/ingredients/grade-b-maple-syrup-
bu...](http://www.epicurious.com/ingredients/grade-b-maple-syrup-buying-guide-
article)

~~~
dbbolton
This is an accurate description of the legal US grading system as of March 2,
2015 (under 7 U.S.C. 1621-1627). For anyone interested, here's a link to the
official USDA guidelines (grading is §52.5962 on page no. 2, which is actually
page 4 of the PDF):

[http://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/MapleSyrup...](http://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/MapleSyrupStandards.pdf)

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spdustin
Am I the only one in the world who enjoys reading on a phone? And who likes to
zoom in to see pictures? Or, in this case, to read?

And am I the only one who despises sites that lock the scale so that users
can't zoom in on mobile devices?

Please, content creators, setting initial-scale is fine, but for the love of
pixels, don't lock the scaling to 1.0; let us mobile readers enjoy the fruits
of your labor!

~~~
mappu
Most mobile browsers allow you to disregard the site's preference and enable
zoom anyway. At least, Firefox and the stock browser on my device both have an
option for that.

~~~
mattmanser
Chrome on mobile does too, it's under:

Settings > Accessibility > Force enable zoom

It's a legacy thing really from when people were first starting to experiment
with mobile and some people still cut & paste old code.

~~~
mappu
That's one reason, but mobile zoom really does behave badly with a lot of
website designs. Fixed headers in particular.

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dopeboy
Content aside, what an excellent form of presentation. I normally would glance
and skip. Instead, I went through each frame until the end. Wonder if there's
something here. Kinda like blending the skim
([http://www.theskimm.com/](http://www.theskimm.com/)) with a comic layout.

~~~
6stringmerc
Agreed! As to be constructive, I'd like to draw attention that the "rustic"
and earthy subject matter seemed to be matched by the style. The parchment
type background to simulate paper was a nice touch, and the color palette
melded nicely with the subject matter. It might seem obvious in discussion,
but I think most non-visual arts/verbal arts producers might just feel it
works without drawing attention to itself.

Also, thanks for noting TheSkimm. It's exciting to see genuine passion for
communication be able to carve out a niche on the web.

~~~
dopeboy
Yeah! Excellent points about those details. My not very artistic mind missed
them altogether. But like you hint at, that could be a good thing when the art
here serves more as a medium than the end product.

TheSkimm is solving a really interesting problem and taking a note from the
Daily Show. Package the news into bite size segments and leverage comedy +
everyday vernacular + cultural references to inform and hopefully educate
people.

I don't use them (my girlfriend does). I wonder if they've explored a visual
delivery mechanism like this article. Could be an interesting project either
way.

~~~
6stringmerc
Nice response and I genuinely feel like my outlook on things, as a writer and
story teller, is to summarize in a way that either makes my audience think or
smile or pushes a button that is uncomfortable!

The concept of TheSkimm reminds me of my buddy who does amateur political
commentary on the US 2016 Presidential Election as WhoWinsIn2016 (YouTube)
because he is adamant about not being on any side. He takes the "objective"
outlook on the contest as just that - a game. He says the main influence was
Hunter S. Thompson, who, when at his best, could be "the most truthful and
least factual" guy in the room (quote: George McGovern).

There are a couple avenues using the visual plus verbal construction, and I'd
give a hat-tip to the Uproxx contributor who does the NFL summaries with
drawings. It's good stuff - funny, commentary, and quick to digest. A close
second would be AV Club's "Block and Tackle" feature that uses video clips to
great effect.

Long form journalism ain't what it used to be, but I love watching evolution
happen!

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sandebert
I can't tell if it's a joke or if it's really being turned into a movie.

Regardless, I'd love to see a tv show that was a cross between this story and
Breaking Bad. Just imagine Walter White, surrounded by loads and loads of
barrels with his trademark blue color.

~~~
richardwigley
It's real and in 'development'
[http://www.imdb.com/news/ni56219676/](http://www.imdb.com/news/ni56219676/)

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QuercusMax
I have an uncle who used to be in the Vermont statehouse. According to him,
there's a lot of maple syrup that moves back and forth across the border
between Quebec and Vermont, and is bottled in different plants depending on
demand for one or the other.

Completely unconfirmed, but interesting nonetheless.

~~~
jeromegv
Pretty much confirmed. The Quebec federation of maple syrup is hiring security
guards in some regions close to the border to ensure the quota system is
respected by everyone (and not exported "illegally")

Article here (in French) [http://www.lapresse.ca/la-tribune/estrie-et-
regions/201504/0...](http://www.lapresse.ca/la-tribune/estrie-et-
regions/201504/01/01-4857275-sirop-derable-sous-haute-surveillance.php)

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an4rchy
Great read and awesome visual way to tell the story.

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gweinberg
I assume the syrup that was "siphoned" off wasn't literally siphoned. Either
that or Canada has some very patient thieves.

~~~
6stringmerc
The part about the empty barrels and the ones that were filled with water
would indicate that yes, a process of siphoning was involved. I'd reckon the
crew came up with some pretty innovative techniques, but I'd also reckon the
investigators would rather not make too much public. As in, the facility in
West, Texas that exploded (and cost a lot of lives and damage) was frequently
targeted by alleged methamphetamine producers for the regulated chemicals on
site.

