Mason jars, fig preserves and grenades! Who knew?

I love to work crossword puzzles.  I usually try to work at least one a day and sometimes more if I take the time to do them.  I was working on one today and the clue was -kind of jar.  5 letters, and of course it was mason.  It got me to wondering why they are called mason jars and since I like to learn things, I put the puzzle down and came and looked it up on the internet.  I know that the odds are that nobody will ever ask me how the name of a mason jar came about, but just in case they do I will be ready to let them know!  The mason jar was invented and patented by Mr. John Mason in 1858.  It is made of soda-lime glass.  The most common use of a mason jar is for home canning of course.  Here is something I had never heard about them though.  They have been used in warfare and they were called the Mason jar grenade.  The safety pin of a hand grenade would be pulled and the grenade would be put in a mason jar which would hold back the safety lever. The safety lever would release when the jar shattered and that would detonate the grenade. This was supposedly popular with the chopper crews in Vietnam and they would use them as cluster bombs during raids. They were easy to dump out of the flight door over a target and the thickness of the mason glass was resistant to premature shattering in the air.  Wow!  We sure have come a long ways since they did this! Now I have really learned something in researching a simple thing as to how a jar became known as a mason jar!  Needless to say I will never use a mason jar in such a manner, but I used to use them a lot to put up strawberry fig preserves, and for different jellies that I would make when I was playing Suzy Homemaker in my younger days.  I would love to have a fig tree again to make these preserves.  I bought one a few years ago and got it planted and I never saw it again!  A well meaning neighbor cut the grass and cut it down with the lawnmower before it ever had a chance.  I never bothered to get another one.  I will share my recipe with anyone who would like to try and make them.  They are so much better than regular fig preserves.   I'm glad I learned something new today and I hope you did too!

STRAWBERRY FIG PRESERVES

3 cups mashed ripe figs
3 cups sugar
2 (3oz.) packages strawberry flavored gelatin or 1 (6oz.) package

Mix all ingredients well.  Bring to a boil.  Cook 4 minutes at a rolling boil, stirring frequently.  Skim and pour into sterilized jars and seal.  Do not double this recipe.  

You can sterilize your jars in a dishwasher on a hot cycle.  This should be done shortly before you fill them, but they should be fully dry before you add the preserves, but not cooled down much.