Curious
Times No. 311
August
25, 2005
MEAT IS GARDENING
Great news if you’re a vegetarian but have cravings for a
thick bloody steak every now and then. Scientists are figuring
out how to grow chunks of meat in petrie dishes using cells from
animals who never need to be tortured or killed. Scientists have
adapted a medical technique which can multiply a single cell into
entire tissues and are using this technology to grow slabs of
meat in a laboratory setting. Biotechnology researchers hail this
technology as the answer to world hunger, claiming that a single
cell from an animal could theoretically provide the entire world’s
annual meat supply. They also claim that lab-grown meat would
be more environmentally friendly and could be genetically tailored
to be more nutritious than animal flesh. Experiments at NASA have
already grown pieces of fish which they claim are edible, but
researchers admit that growing meat tasty enough to eat is still
a dream for the future. “Right now it would be possible to
produce something like spam at an incredibly high cost,”
said an agricultural scientist at the University of Maryland.
“But the know-how to grow something that has structure, such
as a steak, is a long way off.” (The
Guardian UK)
SAVE YOUR MONEY FOR GRAVITY-FREE SEX IN THE SPACE HOTEL THEY’RE
BUILDING
If you happen to have an extra $100 million lying around you will
soon be able to buy a round-trip ticket around the moon and back.
A Virginian company called Space Adventures has already sent two
tourists into space and has plans to partner with the Russian
space agency in order to offer 10 to 21 day moon orbit tours by
2008. Eric Anderson, chief executive of Space Adventures, figures
there are between 500 and 1,000 people in the world who could
afford the $100 million ticket. But before you blow your wad you
should know that the journey would be cramped and extremely unpleasant,
as you’ll be holed up for a few weeks in a space capsule
with about as much passenger room as an SUV. The two previous
space tourists, who paid $20 million each to orbit the earth,
both complained bitterly and wanted to cut their vacations short,
comparing their trip to spending “14 days in a men’s
room.” (New
York Times)
I NO LONGER FEEL EMPTY INSIDE
The world’s first ever Bratwurst Eating Championship was
won by 99-pound Sonya Thomas last week. Also known as “The
Black Widow” on the competitive-eating circuit (yes, there
is such a thing -- check out the International Federation of Competitive
Eating at www.ifoce.com and fulfill your life-long dreams), Thomas
downed 35 brats in 10 minutes to take the title and break the
previous record of 19 1/2 brats. One day earlier, Thomas ate 22
grilled cheese sandwiches for practice. (AP)
IF YOU CAN READ THIS, YOU LIVE TOO CLOSE TO ME
A man in Florida has been forced to remove the message “Die
you miserable bitch” which he had painted on the side of
his house in huge black letters and directed at his neighbor,
a 73-year-old woman dying of cancer. Of course, the reason he
was forced to removed the offensive message was not because he
is a menace to society, but because the words on the side of his
house exceeded the permitted size for a sign in a residential
area. Apparently, there is now law against painting the words
“Die you miserable bitch” on the side of your house.
Good to know. (sptimes.com)
YOUR LIPS ARE MOVING BUT YOU’RE NOT SAYING ANYTHING
Science has finally cracked the mystery of why men don’t
listen to women. According to researchers at Sheffield University
in England, women’s voices are more difficult for the brain
to process and use a more complex area of the brain in order to
be understood, while a man’s voice triggers simpler mechanisms
in the brain making it easier to listen to a man’s voice
than a woman’s. Researcher Michael Hunter explained that
“the female voice is actually more complex than the male
voice, due to differences in the size and shape of the vocal cords
and larynx between men and women, and also due to women having
greater natural ‘melody’ in their voices.” Of course,
a less popular theory is that men tune women out because it takes
them about an hour to say something that should take two minutes...but
that’s another research project altogether. (Daily
Mail)
A REAL VIKING WOULD SNAP YOUR BOAT IN HALF AND STEAL YOUR WIFE
A man in Amsterdam has finally finished building a full-size replica
of a Viking ship made out of 15 million popsicle sticks. Robert
McDonald and two volunteers have spent the last two years building
the 15-metre long vessel and actually hope to sail the boat across
the Atlantic in order to set a new world record for the largest
sailing ship made out of ice cream sticks. “It’s a dream
come true. It’s truly worth all the hard work,” said
McDonald, adding that “I never want to look at glue again.”
And I suggest you stop inhaling it as well... (Reuters)
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WEIRDNESS
The so-called “Amazing Randi” has posted an internet
version of his book, “An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds,
and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural.” This thing has
listings on absolutely every bizarre category you could possibly
want to know about, from the Abominable Snowman to Zombies, and
everything in between. Check it out at www.randi.org/encyclopedia
“I READ IT ON THE INTERNET SO IT MUST BE TRUE” FACT
OF THE WEEK
Over 90% of kebab sales in the UK are made after 11pm.
Copyright 2005 by Andreas Ohrt
