Bottled maple syrup

Maple syrup is a syrup usually made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple or black maple trees. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before the winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in the spring. Trees can be tapped by boring holes into their trunks and collecting the sap. This is processed by heating to evaporate some of the water, leaving the concentrated syrup. Maple syrup was first collected and used by the Indigenous people of North America; the practice was adopted by European settlers. Quebec, Canada, is by far the largest producer, making about three-quarters of the world's output. The syrup is graded based on its density and translucency. Maple syrup is often eaten as an accompaniment to food, as an ingredient in baking and as a sweetener and flavouring agent. Maple syrup and the sugar maple tree are symbols of Canada and several US states, in particular Vermont. (Full article...)

Jean-Baptiste Belley

• ... that in 1793, Jean-Baptiste Belley (pictured), a former black slave, was elected as a deputy to the French National Convention?
• ... that "Seigfried" by Frank Ocean credits all four Beatles as songwriters?
• ... that the McKenzie & Willis Store was demolished after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, but its facade was kept and restored?
• ... that Suzy Knickerbocker called James Ross Mellon one of the world's most eligible bachelors?
• ... that a 44-point comeback in a 2024 semi-final was the Australian Football League's largest semifinal comeback ever?
• ... that Alena Veselá, at age 101, was present at the cornerstone ceremony for a new concert hall in Brno, which she had promoted for decades?
• ... that residents of the Acres hired Frank Lloyd Wright to design their houses, but eventually lost patience with him over his approach to the project?
• ... that artist Agnes Gallus fled Hungary for Canada during the 1956 revolution?
• ... that a single horsehair helped solve the murder of Nancy Titterton?

Trifid and Lagoon nebulae

• The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile releases the first light images (example shown) from its new 8.4-metre (28 ft) telescope.
• In basketball, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Indiana Pacers to win the NBA Finals.
• An attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus, Syria, kills at least 25 people.
• The United States conducts military strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran.
• In rugby union, the Crusaders defeat the Chiefs to win the Super Rugby Pacific final.

July 1: Canada Day (1867)

Sack of Lunenburg

• 1782 – American Revolutionary War: Five American privateer vessels raided the British settlement at Lunenburg, Nova Scotia (depicted).
• 1935 – The first Grant Park Music Festival was held in Chicago's Grant Park.
• 1940 – Second World War: The Grand Quartier Général of the French Army was disbanded, following the French surrender.
• 1960 – Ghana became a republic, with Kwame Nkrumah as its first president.
• 1970 – The Belfast Banking Company, which issued banknotes in Northern Ireland, merged with its rival Northern Bank.