 Welcome to a new Endless Knot series, the Endnotes. You see, when I do research for my videos, I always end up with intriguing bits of material that doesn't fit into the story I'm telling or that I cut to stop the videos from getting too long. Up until now, I put some of those bits into the blog posts I write to accompany each video, and other bits sometimes get mentioned in our podcast episodes that discuss the videos. But now, I've decided to start putting some of the most interesting tidbits into what I'm calling the Endnotes. More videos that I hope will enrich the original piece. So here's the first one. In my video on the history of the Americano, and if you haven't seen that yet, click on the card, I talked about the origins of the drink, but I didn't discuss its appearance in writing, specifically spy fiction. The cocktail first appears in print in the 1928 book Ashenden or the British Agent, written by Somerset Ma. He sat in the cool and drank an Americano. Cocktails often have a connection with secret agents. James Bond's vodka martini, shaken, not stirred. And this novel fits into that mold. It's the stories of the adventures of a playwright turned spy named Ashenden set during World War I. Apparently, it's based on Ma's own experiences as a member of British intelligence during the war, just as Ian Fleming drew on his World War II experiences for James Bond. Speaking of James Bond, the very first drink he orders in the very first James Bond novel, Casino Royale, is the Americano. So it definitely has a strong spy pedigree. In other Bond stories, we find the famous super spy drinking a Negroni, so 007's tastes certainly extended beyond his now trademark martinis. So let me know in the comments what you think of this new series, and don't worry, I won't be changing anything about how often I put out the main videos, these will only be an addition. In particular, I'd like to know if you think we should go back and do some end notes on our earlier videos, whether it's material, or just make them for the new ones. And as always, you can hear even more etymology and history, as well as interviews with a wide range of fascinating people on the Endless Knot podcast, available on all major podcast platforms, as well as on our other YouTube channel. Thanks for watching!