The moon rock that was a prized part of the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam turned out to be false. A few weeks ago researchers of the Vrije University announced that the moon rock was in fact petrified wood, possibly from Arizona.

The 'moon rock' had been a gift to Prime Minister Willem Drees by the American Ambassador when the three Apollo 11 astronauts visited the Netherlands in 1969.

After Willem Drees passed away in 1988, the moon rock was presented to the Rijksmuseum. According to Novum/AP this may have been where things got a little confused:

"Spokeswoman Xandra van Gelder said that after it received the moon rock in 1992 from the heirs of Mr. Drees the museum verified with NASA if this was indeed a moon rock. Without physical inspection, NASA said it was 'possibly' a moon rock. However, the rock was 89 grams -- much bigger than most other moon rocks that the US government has given to other countries over the years.

The Epoch Times adds: "There is much speculation about the purpose of giving the stone as a gift. Was the stone intentionally given to mislead people, or did Drees misinterpret the gift?

Van Gelder continued, "On the card that was given along with the stone, it did not literally say that it was a moon stone ... But what is odd about it: 'Why would you give such an insignificant stone as a keepsake?' I don’t get that."

In any case, you won't have to go without seeing moon stone in Netherlands this fall. The Boerhaave Museum in Leiden has extended their moon exhibition with 4 weeks, and through September 30 you can visit their display of undisputed moon rock.

Two tiny pieces of moon rock are on display in Leiden; one from Apollo 11 from Mare Tranquillitatis, the other from Apollo 17, the last flight to the moon. Both were gifts by President Nixon to Queen Juliana who donated them to the museum.

Resolution S.Res.254 was introduced in the U.S. Senate last week to commemorate and celebrate the historic ties of the United States and the Netherlands.

A resolution like this is of symbolic value. The bill refers to the long history of the ties between the two countries, but also touches on recent examples such as the help provided by the Netherlands after Hurricane Katrina, and the fact that Holland is among the top 4 foreign investors in the United States. (Read the whole text here).

The corresponding House Resolution (H.Con.Res.178) was introduced by Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen this summer. Mr. Van Hollen is of Dutch descent and he is one of the members of the Congressional Caucus on the Netherlands.

The Senate Resolution was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations; they will decide on the resolution before is it officially passed.

Today historical linguist Nicoline van der Sijs will present the first copy of her book Cookies, Coleslaw and Stoops on the influence of the Dutch language on American English and the languages of the Native Americans.

The book will be presented in New York City as part of the celebrations of New York's 400 years existence.

"From Santa Claus (after the Dutch folklore saint Sinterklaas) and his sleigh (the pronunciation of the Dutch slee is almost identical) to a dumbhead talking poppycock, the contributions of the Dutch language to American English are indelibly embedded to some of our most vernacular terms and expressions."

The Dutch title is Yankees, Cookies en Dollars -- it's interesting that different words were selected for the Dutch title than for the American title (Cookies, Coleslaw, and Stoops).

Two very interesting art exhibitions will open for the public in New York City this week.

First, Vermeer's famous melkmeisje painting will be in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and there'll be a beautiful display with all five of the Met's Vermeer paintings. This exhibition will run from September 10 through November 29.

Second, the South Street Seaport museum in NYC will have a exhibition on New Amsterdam, the first settlement on Manhattan. The Schaghen letter is on loan to the museum. The Schaghen letter is usually in the National Archives of the Netherlands in The Hague, it contains the earliest known reference to the 'sale' of Manhattan to the Dutch. New Amsterdam: The Island at the Center of the World will run from September 12, 2009 to January 3, 2010.

Finally, don't forget the Judith Leyster exhibition in Washington D.C. that we wrote about earlier; it will be on display through November 29.

On a related note: the North Carolina Museum of Art will close its doors for a renovation this Labor Day; it will reopen in April 2010.

I found a large supply of ketjap manis last week.

Ketjap is an Indonesian sweet soy sauce and important ingredient in the Indonesian kitchen. Sometimes they carry it in A Southern Season but not consistently. In Grand Asia Market I found ketjap from an Indonesian brand, ABC, and when I knew what to look for I saw it in the local Asian store in Durham also.

I just finished the second of the two bottles we brought from St. Maarten so we'll try out the flavor of this new ketjap soon.