What makes movie popcorn so gosh darned expensive? What’s in that strange yellow liquid they call butter anyhow? And while we’re at it – what are in those popcorns anyhow?
Well, it’s all a secret and theater owners are fighting the FDA to keep it that way…
Continue reading… “What’s In Movie Theater Popcorns?”
A Cornish man has set up a hotel for chickens to provide five star service for pampered hens while their owners are away.
David Roberts, 31, came up with idea for the Chicken Hotel in response to the growing popularity for people to rear their own hens. Many people thought he was joking at first but he now runs a thriving business on his farm in Helston, and has bookings as far ahead as Christmas…
Continue reading… “Man Sets up Hotel for Chickens”
Should Twilight be among the books that everyone should read? It is according to this infographic by David McCandless of great books (according to popular surveys):
Do Top 100 Books polls and charts agree on a set of classics? I scraped the results of over 15 notable book polls, readers surveys and top 100’s. Both popular and high-brow. They included all Pulitzer Prize winners, Desert Island Discs choices from recent years, Oprah’s Bookclub list, and, of course, The Guardian’s Top 100 Books of All Time…
Continue reading… “Concensus Cloud on Books Everyone Should Read”
Due to radiation fears from the ongoing nuclear crisis in Japan, many Chinese citizens have rushed to buy salt under the belief that it will help fight the effects of radiation due to it’s iodine content…
Continue reading… “Salt Panic: Chinese Fearing Japan Radiation Rush To Buy Salt”
Of all the cultures in the world, you have to respect China for never letting go of thousands-of-years-old customs, even when it involves boiling eggs in the urine of young boys…
Continue reading… “Local Chinese Delicacy: Eggs Boiled in Urine”
Maria Popova of BrainPickings has posted an excellent article about 7 micro-documentaries about occupations and crafts that are fast becoming obsolete. From being a shoe black to working the film projector to making glass signs, these are the stories of people who are the last of their kinds.
This one above is the story of Taiwan’s last sword maker…
Continue reading… “The Last Sword Maker in Taiwan”
When an ageing playground was dismantled by workmen, people living nearby expected new swings, slides and climbing frames. What they ended up with was . . . a brick wall. The old play equipment in Audenshaw’s Shepley Wood Park was taken away two years ago. Town hall chiefs promised to replace it with brand-new facilities.
But when the plug was pulled on government funding last year, the council was forced to think again. Now it has now replaced the equipment – with a wall for kids to kick a ball against. Eileen Pritchard, whose house overlooks the park, said: “We can’t believe what we’re seeing…
Continue reading… “Children’s Playground Replaced With Brick Wall”
The New York Times has created a chart that illustrates changing meat eating habits among Americans over the past century. Chicken, as you can see, is steadily on the rise, whereas lamb (black) eating has dropped to almost nothing…
Continue reading… “A Century of Meat Consumption”
A blessing is nice even if it isn’t authentically Irish. However, a green tint and traditional syntax make this comic from Grant Snider perfect for St. Patrick’s Day!
Continue reading… “Fake Irish Blessing”
Media Piracy in Emerging Economies, an academic report on pricing and copyright infringement in poor countries, comes to the conclusion that high media prices (as measured against the average wage in poor countries) are responsible for piracy — that is, when you control for social attitudes towards copying, enforcement differences, and so on, the largest predictor of whether a country will have rampant copyright infringement is whether the media in that country is priced high relative to peoples’ earning power.
To make their point, the authors have released the report under a provocative “Consumer’s Dilemma license” that charges escalating rates depending on whether your IP address is in a rich or poor country.
Continue reading… “Poor Countries Have More Piracy Because Media Costs Too Much — Report”
A million bucks ain’t what it used to be. Heck, it’s not even enough to make (rich) people feel rich anymore:
Some 42 percent of the more than 1,000 millionaires surveyed by Fidelity said they did not feel wealthy.
Respondents had at least $1 million in investable assets, excluding any real estate or retirement accounts…
Continue reading… “Is A Million Bucks Enough to Make You Feel Rich?”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Atgg7t4XbPk&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
Half a century ago, the Salton Sea was called the “French Riviera of California” — and that claim really held water as celebrities and many others seeking a spectacular getaway escaped to the “mini-ocean” just past Palm Springs.
But today, the abandoned remains of this former tourist hot spot represent an eerie aftermath: a virtual ghost town where once the rich came to play.
Continue reading… “The Salton Sea: A ‘Dead’ Sea Ready to Rise?”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.