By Ben

Apparently, adding a slice of avocado to any dish makes it worthy of the prefix California.  See 'california- burger, -omelet, -roll, -salad, etc.  Overall, I'm a fan of the world's fattiest fruit, and as a happy resident of California, I thought it was time to do a bit of wiki-pedia-ing to learn more.  Here's the rundown of interesting things I learned:

• All Hass avocado trees are descended from a single "mother tree" that was raised by a mail carrier named Rudolph Hass, of La Habra Heights, California.  Hass patented the productive tree in 1935. Tragically, the mother tree died of root rot and was cut down in September, 2002.  The Hass family naturally used the wood to make all sorts of wooden heirlooms.
  

• The word "avocado" comes from the Nahuatl word āhuacatl ("testicle", a reference to the shape of the vegetable). Historically avocados had a long-standing stigma as a sexual stimulant and were not purchased or consumed by any person wishing to preserve a chaste image.

• The first mention of avocados in English was in 1672 by W. Hughes, physician to King Charles II, after visiting Jamaica. He calls them "one of the most rare and pleasant fruits of the island.

• Because the avocado is a year-round crop, some olive oil plants, particularly in Australia and New Zealand, process olive oil during the olive season, and avocado oil during the rest of the year. As a culinary oil, avocado oil compares well with olive oil.
  

• Oh, you noticed that the avocado is a year-round crop! That's because avocado's can stay on the tree for months without over-ripening or rotting.  
  

I also came across a very tasty looking recipe for avocado ice cream.  Basically, the avocados take the place of eggs in the recipe.  Definitely a weekend project for this summer.

(photo courtesy of the very talented evan blaser, facts from wikipedia)