On Thu, 18 Nov 2004 15:57:17 GMT, mac davis
wrote:

On Thu, 18 Nov 2004 07:58:09 -0600, Joe Wells
wrote:

snip
I'd never heard of tan oak before. A bit of spelunking:

http://www.yourdictionary.com/ahd/t/t0039150.html :
An evergreen tree (Lithocarpus densiflorus) native to California and
Oregon, having leathery leaves, erect male catkins, and
tannin-yielding bark. Also called tanbark.

snip

I wonder if that might be where they get that playground chip stuff
that they used to call "tan bark" or maybe "tanbark"?

Tanbark was originally any kind of bark (usually an oak species) which
had been soaked to produce a tanning solution. It was waste so it was
fairly cheap. Later it became a generic name for shredded bark.

IIRC tan oak took its name from the fact that the Californians used it
extensively to tan hides because it was so common. Under Mexico hides,
tanned or untanned were a major item of commerce in old California.

I don't believe tan oak is even a true oak. But it's bark is very high
in tannin.

--RC
Sleep? Isn't that a totally inadequate substitute for caffine?