Reads: Junk Food, Chemical Warfare & More
[A wrap up of some of the interesting reads from across the Web.]
The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food - The New York Times
With our lifestyles changing for the better or worse, health experts have been worrying over the increasing prevalence of obesity particularly amongst children. Ready to eat food items sold in supermarkets have an addictive taste that make you embark on a binge eating spree, but have you got any idea how this taste is perfected? Read this enlightening article on The New York Times to find out more:
After . . . months and months, he [Howard Moskowitz] had a mountain of data about how the American people feel about spaghetti sauce. . . . And sure enough, if you sit down and you analyze all this data on spaghetti sauce, you realize that all Americans fall into one of three groups. There are people who like their spaghetti sauce plain. There are people who like their spaghetti sauce spicy. And there are people who like it extra-chunky. And of those three facts, the third one was the most significant, because at the time, in the early 1980s, if you went to a supermarket, you would not find extra-chunky spaghetti sauce. And Prego turned to Howard, and they said, ‘Are you telling me that one-third of Americans crave extra-chunky spaghetti sauce, and yet no one is servicing their needs?’ And he said, ‘Yes.’ And Prego then went back and completely reformulated their spaghetti sauce and came out with a line of extra-chunky that immediately and completely took over the spaghetti-sauce business in this country. . . . >>
Chemical confusion: has Syria's civil war crossed the ‘red line’? - The Verge
The African nation is disintegrating and slowly tearing apart, and what's worse is the emergence of chemical warfare in combat. One such recent attack left more than 20 people dead and injuring dozens more. With the Assad government blaming the Syrian rebels, details are still murky as to who is exactly accountable for the whole incident, and the US government is sure thinking twice before jumping the gun. That a nation is playing with the lives of its own citizens is a horrifying state of affairs.
SANA’s report, published exactly one decade after the beginning of the Iraq war, featured several photographs of hospitalized victims, including some especially disturbing images of young children with oxygen tubes and IV drips. The Syrian Health Ministry said those hospitalized were suffering from a range of symptoms, including unconsciousness, irregular breathing, and other neurological conditions. "The substance in the rocket causes unconsciousness, then convulsions, then death," Information Minister Omran al-Zoabi said afterward. >>
A tainted tradition - The Hindu
When I reviewed Manu Joseph's Serious Men, this is what I wrote: "India is a land of diversity and a land of frightening contradictions. This is a place where affluence and penury go hand in hand; where casteism is entrenched in every walk of our lives. This is also the place where people from the backward community (Dalits, previously called Untouchables) even now continue to suffer from lack of proper education, employment and housing. India might be an emerging super-power but she is still severely crippled by such utmost terrible economic disparities."
What I didn't know is that the country is still so regressive and certain absurd traditions persist even today. Take the Natpurwa village in Uttar Pradesh for instance where young girls at the age of 15 are forced into prostitution and this thriving business becomes the only way to earn money. Truly an eyeopener:
The villagers say that the police and political leaders do not want sex trade to stop in the village as they are often the customers... prostitution made him [Vikas Singh] live under the threat of the police all the time. He was very disturbed when his sister was pushed into the trade. He took on his aunts and insisted that he would earn money through other means. “Prostitution is not respectable, and men who push their women into it should be ashamed,” he says emphatically. >>
Food is now the ultimate class signifier - The Guardian
Britain may be one of the richest super-powers but there is an unknown side to it. The nation is all set to distribute food vouchers to financially hit people that can be redeemed for buying food and other necessities (but no alcohol or cigarettes). With austerity the norm these days in Europe, Suzanne Moore argues that while the poor are left to fend for themselves with no choices, the super-rich continue to be inspired by cookery shows and indulge in fancy meals.
Indeed our relationship to food is ever more compulsive and barmy. The dishes prepared on programmes such as MasterChef bear little relation to what people actually eat. Food has become the ultimate signifier of class... The further stigmatising of poor people via food stamps, authorised by a cabinet of millionaires, is deeply disturbing. If we think this is acceptable, what next? Food-drops out of helicopters over areas of high unemployment?
How do you take even more away from people with nothing? You strip them of even the most basic of choices, that's how. The notion of food stamps in a still wealthy country makes me gag. Swallow this and you will swallow anything. But that taste at the back of your throat is pure bile. >>
Forty mobile phone facts: cellphones for dogs, 'butt-dialling' and Ernie Wise - The Guardian
The cellphone celebrated its fortieth birthday on April 3 when way back in 1973 the first public mobile phone call was made by Motorola's Martin Cooper to his rival to announce the breakthrough. Since then we have made rapid advances, haven't we? Here's The Guardian's funny fact-filled take on the eventful 40-year journey:
The first smartphone was IBM's Simon, which debuted at the Wireless World Conference in 1993. It had an early LCD touchscreen and also functioned as an email device, electronic pager, calendar, address book and calculator.
The original 160-character size limit for text messages is credited to German engineer Friedhelm Hillebrand. He arrived at the number by typing a series of random questions and thoughts into his typewriter (such as "What am I doing with my life?") and counting the characters involved. He found 160 to be "perfectly sufficient" for expressing almost any thought or question. >>
The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food - The New York Times
With our lifestyles changing for the better or worse, health experts have been worrying over the increasing prevalence of obesity particularly amongst children. Ready to eat food items sold in supermarkets have an addictive taste that make you embark on a binge eating spree, but have you got any idea how this taste is perfected? Read this enlightening article on The New York Times to find out more:
After . . . months and months, he [Howard Moskowitz] had a mountain of data about how the American people feel about spaghetti sauce. . . . And sure enough, if you sit down and you analyze all this data on spaghetti sauce, you realize that all Americans fall into one of three groups. There are people who like their spaghetti sauce plain. There are people who like their spaghetti sauce spicy. And there are people who like it extra-chunky. And of those three facts, the third one was the most significant, because at the time, in the early 1980s, if you went to a supermarket, you would not find extra-chunky spaghetti sauce. And Prego turned to Howard, and they said, ‘Are you telling me that one-third of Americans crave extra-chunky spaghetti sauce, and yet no one is servicing their needs?’ And he said, ‘Yes.’ And Prego then went back and completely reformulated their spaghetti sauce and came out with a line of extra-chunky that immediately and completely took over the spaghetti-sauce business in this country. . . . >>
Chemical confusion: has Syria's civil war crossed the ‘red line’? - The Verge
The African nation is disintegrating and slowly tearing apart, and what's worse is the emergence of chemical warfare in combat. One such recent attack left more than 20 people dead and injuring dozens more. With the Assad government blaming the Syrian rebels, details are still murky as to who is exactly accountable for the whole incident, and the US government is sure thinking twice before jumping the gun. That a nation is playing with the lives of its own citizens is a horrifying state of affairs.
SANA’s report, published exactly one decade after the beginning of the Iraq war, featured several photographs of hospitalized victims, including some especially disturbing images of young children with oxygen tubes and IV drips. The Syrian Health Ministry said those hospitalized were suffering from a range of symptoms, including unconsciousness, irregular breathing, and other neurological conditions. "The substance in the rocket causes unconsciousness, then convulsions, then death," Information Minister Omran al-Zoabi said afterward. >>
A tainted tradition - The Hindu
When I reviewed Manu Joseph's Serious Men, this is what I wrote: "India is a land of diversity and a land of frightening contradictions. This is a place where affluence and penury go hand in hand; where casteism is entrenched in every walk of our lives. This is also the place where people from the backward community (Dalits, previously called Untouchables) even now continue to suffer from lack of proper education, employment and housing. India might be an emerging super-power but she is still severely crippled by such utmost terrible economic disparities."
What I didn't know is that the country is still so regressive and certain absurd traditions persist even today. Take the Natpurwa village in Uttar Pradesh for instance where young girls at the age of 15 are forced into prostitution and this thriving business becomes the only way to earn money. Truly an eyeopener:
The villagers say that the police and political leaders do not want sex trade to stop in the village as they are often the customers... prostitution made him [Vikas Singh] live under the threat of the police all the time. He was very disturbed when his sister was pushed into the trade. He took on his aunts and insisted that he would earn money through other means. “Prostitution is not respectable, and men who push their women into it should be ashamed,” he says emphatically. >>
Food is now the ultimate class signifier - The Guardian
Britain may be one of the richest super-powers but there is an unknown side to it. The nation is all set to distribute food vouchers to financially hit people that can be redeemed for buying food and other necessities (but no alcohol or cigarettes). With austerity the norm these days in Europe, Suzanne Moore argues that while the poor are left to fend for themselves with no choices, the super-rich continue to be inspired by cookery shows and indulge in fancy meals.
Indeed our relationship to food is ever more compulsive and barmy. The dishes prepared on programmes such as MasterChef bear little relation to what people actually eat. Food has become the ultimate signifier of class... The further stigmatising of poor people via food stamps, authorised by a cabinet of millionaires, is deeply disturbing. If we think this is acceptable, what next? Food-drops out of helicopters over areas of high unemployment?
How do you take even more away from people with nothing? You strip them of even the most basic of choices, that's how. The notion of food stamps in a still wealthy country makes me gag. Swallow this and you will swallow anything. But that taste at the back of your throat is pure bile. >>
Forty mobile phone facts: cellphones for dogs, 'butt-dialling' and Ernie Wise - The Guardian
The cellphone celebrated its fortieth birthday on April 3 when way back in 1973 the first public mobile phone call was made by Motorola's Martin Cooper to his rival to announce the breakthrough. Since then we have made rapid advances, haven't we? Here's The Guardian's funny fact-filled take on the eventful 40-year journey:
The first smartphone was IBM's Simon, which debuted at the Wireless World Conference in 1993. It had an early LCD touchscreen and also functioned as an email device, electronic pager, calendar, address book and calculator.
The original 160-character size limit for text messages is credited to German engineer Friedhelm Hillebrand. He arrived at the number by typing a series of random questions and thoughts into his typewriter (such as "What am I doing with my life?") and counting the characters involved. He found 160 to be "perfectly sufficient" for expressing almost any thought or question. >>
Comments
Post a Comment