More about bottles – stainless wins over aluminum

by Iva Skoch on

I found out more information about reusable water bottles since there seem to be more questions than answers regarding that issue. They would make such good holiday presents…if only one knew which one to get!

I asked a biologist (who just happens to be related to me) about the bottles and he essentially discouraged me from getting one with aluminum or one without a wide mouth. Sorry, SIGG. He doesn’t seem to be as skeptical about Nalgene, as some people are.

Here are some points he made about water bottles and water in general:

  • Why use aluminum when they make bottles out of titanium even lighter and stronger than aluminum and, perhaps, could be better choice.
  • As far as the sport bottles buy only wide-mouth stainless or Nalgene, which can be washed in a dishwasher with high temperature water or hot tap water with a detergent and bristle brush every day. This will prevent contamination with bacteria and viruses. Soap and water is a marvelous way of keeping healthy without sanitizers (sort of like brushing your teeth to prevent tooth decay).
  • There is NO good answer as to the safety of the water bottles. The plastic used in bottled water is basically the same as used in any food and also in hospital materials.
  • The purchased water is usually slightly more pure than tap water, if it originates from distilled tap water as is used in the soft drink industry (Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola make their own purified tap waters).
  • It contains no chlorine as in tap water, thus will not leech any plastic chemicals into the water. However, if you refill with tap water, you are introducing any materials found in your municipal water supply into the bottles and could, perhaps, maybe leech some plasticizers into the water.
  • More concerning is bacterial contamination from your initial use and an inability to properly clean the bottles after the use. So reuse more than a couple of times is not a good idea, some folks reuse bottles once and never let them dry out or leave open for a period without the cap on.
  • If you want to refill the bottles, use distilled water, not tap, and refill only once or twice.
  • The amount of dangerous chemicals (eg. carcinogens) is probably less than you intake breathing the air in New York or other big cities. The biologist I talked to said he was more worried about the junk in food (preservatives and hormones and pesticides) than in a little contamination from a plastic bottle of water.

Eat amongst dead bodies in India, it’s lucky

by Abha Malpani on

“New Lucky Restaurant” may seem like the most inappropriate name for an over 50-year old restaurant in Ahmedabad (Gujarat) that is built in a cemetery. In fact, it’s probably the most appropriate.

Built over a centuries-old Muslim graveyard, the locals who go there consider eating there lucky, and the manager believes that their business rocks thanks to the presence of the dead that has led the once mere tea-stall to expand into a full-fledged restaurant.

Although every religion in India takes care of dead bodies differently (Hindus cremate, Muslims/Christians bury, Zoroastrians leave the body to be eaten by vultures), the whole concept of death is different because of the general belief of being reborn — the ‘your soul never dies’ analogy.

The dead and the their souls that become spirits are given a lot of importance in the subcontinent. They are listened to and respected under the pretext of them being “holy”, so to speak.

Digressing from the restaurant a bit, but here are a few examples of how spirits are interacted with in India: there are groups of people who go to common suicide spots and perform rituals to give the spirits looming around there salvation; they believe that unsatisfied souls are what encourage suicides. Also, my grand-mum used to leave a bowl of milk outside every full-moon night because she believed that my late grand-dad would come for it. It was never there in the morning and you dare not tell her that maybe the neighbor’s cat sapped it all up.

So, with that insight into an Indian belief, you can see how having a romantic candle-lit dinner at New Lucky Restaurant is anything but spooky.

Big in Japan: Whale bacon and other Japanese delicacies

by Matthew Firestone on

Ever wonder why it is that the Japanese love to kill whales?

Well, you’ve come to the right place as today’s Big in Japan posting is all about the Japanese obsession for culinary oddities like whale bacon and blubber sashimi.

By the way, before I get dozens upon dozens of pointed comments from angry readers, let me be 100% crystal clear about the following point:

I do not condone the commercial killing of whales for either food or so-called scientific research. In fact, I too am horrified by Japan’s relentless campaign to step-up their commercial whaling efforts.

So, can I safely assume that we’re all on the same page now?

Good. Let’s continue.

Although it’s impossible to offer up a single explanation, one of the main reasons why the Japanese are determined to rid the world’s seas of these majestic animals is that whaling has long been an integral part of Japanese culture.

Even in the 8th century, accounts of whaling expeditions were described in the Kojiki or Furukotofumi (古事記), which is known in English as the Records of Ancient Matters, and is the oldest surviving book in Japan.

So you see, to attack whaling is to attack the very foundation of Japanese culture, which is something that conservative politicians over here in the Land of the Rising sun aren’t too happy about.

The story gets even more complex.

In Japan, whales have long been a vital source of food, oil and materials. To understand the importance of whales to traditional Japanese society, one need only hear the following proverb:

“There’s nothing to throw away from a whale except its voice.”

Following the near total devastation of Japan that ensued during World War II, whale meat became an integral part of the Japanese diet since it served as a cheap source of protein.

In fact, had it not been for a steady diet of whale meat, a good number of Japanese would have literally starved to death.

Of course, if we fast forward to today, modern Japanese people are certainly well-fed, and have access to the same abundant protein sources as do Westerners.

However, the memory of eating whale meat is still engrained in the minds of the baby boomer generation, and those in power are not so keen on seeing this memory wiped away by conservationists.

Thus, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that in 2006, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) gave into pressure from the Japanese government. Since then, the country’s fishing fleets have been permitted to kill an annually specified quota of whales from a variety of species including the emblematic humpback.

Although the explicit purpose of these hunts is supposedly for scientific purposes, it’s no secret where the meat is ending up, namely in high-class Tokyo restaurants and (gasp!) in school lunches.

So, how exactly do you serve whale?

I’m told that whale bacon is far superior to the swine equivalent, though true connoisseurs swear by the silken texture of raw slices of whale blubber served sashimi style.

Gross.

On that note, I think I’ll eat some tofu and vegetables for dinner…

** All photos were sourced from the Wikipedia Commons project **

Chinatowns of the World

by Kelly Amabile on

Travelers create all sorts of interesting themed trips these days, but I don’t recall hearing about a tour that visits all the world’s Chinatowns just yet. Have I missed it? Well, if it hasn’t been done yet, someone will get around to planning such an adventure eventually, I’m sure. In the meantime, a new exhibit that opens in New York this week offers a nice overview that can help with itinerary planning — if you’re up to the challenge of visiting the more than 300 Chinatowns that exist around the world today!

In association with New York’s Chinatown Film Festival, the Storefront for Art and Architecture is hosting Chinatowns, a collection of over 1,000 images taken by almost as many photographers. This global tour spans over 100 cities on four continents: “It is a visual tribute to the diversities and idiosyncrasies, as much as the similarities, that unite these urban communities scattered all over the world.”

The exhibit opens on Tuesday, December 11 and will run through December 22, 2007.

GADLING TAKE FIVE week of 12-7-07

by Catherine Bodry on

Gadling bloggers have been as busy as Santa’s elves this week. It’s hard to choose five posts from so many, so this week I’m offering five categories:

There you have it! Lots of fun stuff to peruse over your weekend — enjoy it!