On parsnips
Parsnips have special appeal to philosophers, epecially in Concord, Massachusetts, home to the transcendental philosophers Emerson and Thoreau. The April 6, 2006 issue of the Concord Journal reports a philosophically vexing parsnip theft:
On Friday, March 31, farmers from Gaining Ground, a nonprofit organic farming collective in town reported that approximately 200 pounds of parsnips had been dug up and hauled off. “To take every one of them and without asking, we were more than a little heartbroken,” said Verena Wieloch, farm coordinator at Gaining Ground, which has a 9-acre farm on Virginia Road. “If someone would just fess up it would be OK.” [Click here for a CBS video report.]
Parsnips are especially beloved by philosophers because they became the weaponry in one of philosophy’s mildly epic battles. This was a two-parter, waged in print:
“Linguistical Butter and Philosophical Parsnips,” N.L. Wilson, Journal of Philosophy, vol. 64, no. 2, Feb. 2, 1967, pp. 55-67.
“Unpalatable Recipes for Buttering Parsnips,” Jerrold J. Katz, Journal of Philosophy, vol. 65, no. 2, Jan. 25, 1968, pp. 29-45.