Paul Cummings was so convincing and gifted at portraying a woman that he made it a feature of his stage shows. He would walk onto the stage as Lavern Cummings, sing a few songs in a female voice, and then later in the set would drop into a deep baritone, shocking audiences in the process. Back when Cummings was performing in the 1950s, the phrase 'drag queen' was barely known at all. What we'd now call drag queens were simply known as 'female impersonators.'
Completely committed to her act, Cummings didn't even wear a wig; all of the hair was real, grown out and styled to resemble Marilyn Monroe. Her home territory was the gay paradise of San Francisco, where she was a regular at the Jewel Box Revue, followed by a long stint as a star attraction at Finocchio's. She may even have been around to tell us her stories today, but she was sadly killed in a car crash in 2018 at the age of 90.
Over the years, weve seen so many food trends come and go, such as ramen burgers, matcha, and spiked ice-cream. Nowadays, were seeing another trend making waves in the food industry. How many times today have you seen an Instagram photo of a scoop of black ice cream, or a cup of black yogurt, or hamburgers with black buns? Indeed, the charcoal trend has taken the world by storm.
So, what gives your latte that deep black shade? Activated charcoal, or coconut ash, is produced by heating coconut shells to insanely high temperatures until theyre burnt to a crisp. The ashes are then increased in size by steaming at high temperatures. Through this process, the ashes become a strong detoxifier, mostly because they become extra absorbent. This product may be purchased in pill form, and promises to alleviate hangovers, minimize the effects of food poisoning, and fight the visible signs of aging.
Activated charcoal is said to boost ones energy as a result of decreasing toxins in the body. However, no evidence proves that detoxifying can lead to increased energy. Also, while it can help cure a hangover, it doesnt necessarily remove alcohol from your blood. It is also said to aid in debloating your stomach because it cleanses your colon but again, this all anecdotal and isnt supported by scientific evidence as of yet. All we can say for sure is that it is a proven detoxifier.