Carrots are one of the vegetables that are truly ubiquitous. They are available all year long, taste good, and they are reasonably priced. But, it is also interesting that they come in so many packages and sizes. The photo on the right is from the US Department of Agriculture and shows white, yellow, purple, and of course, orange. But, when I was shopping recently, I saw the carrot in my photo on the right that is over a foot long and weighs in at over one pound! I did not know that these were readily available until I found this monster. The carrots in the middle are standard size, and the left are "baby" carrots that are manufactured to be small by mechanical methods. Another convenience food!
Carrots belong to the family, Umbelliferae, that also includes celery, parsley, cilantro, cumin, and poisonous hemlock. Thankfully, carrots are not poisonous and have great nutrition value. But, carrots are more nutritious when cooked rather than eaten raw. The cell walls are tightly connected and the nutrients can not be digested easily when raw. Best cooked by steaming whole and then being cut preserves the nutrients without them being leached out. For a great number of very interesting facts, I have included a link to swampyacresfarm here.  As Bugs would say, "Whats up doc"?

Video Below:
I found this Seth Thomas mechanical metronome in the trash and it was missing the wooden top and the windup key.  But I recognized immediately that it would have a spring and gear train.
The first patent issued for a mechanical metronome appears in Germany in 1815, but I was unable to locate the original. The metronome was designed to assist musicians keep the time signature assigned by the composer. This is designated in beats per minute, and the familiar Italian terms, Adagio, Largo, and others to advise at what tempo the musical piece should be played.
The mechanical metronome has been replaced by electronic metronomes that are more accurate, cheaper, and have multifunctional capabilities. The mechanical parts most relevant in the windup metronomes are based on the two elements, the pendulum and the escapement. I was going to post a macro photo of the escapement but found a great animation on horologist.com here. Enjoy the tick, tick, tick, or is it tock?