Up to forty percent of the food we produce is never consumed, according to multiple sources I’ve been finding recently. By any measure, this is a tremendous waste in a world with a growing population, but even more so considering the famines caused by armed conflict and political instability. Fortunately, wherever there is a need,
You may have heard that traffic deaths are increasing. That is disturbing because since the early 1970s the trend has been down. That’s when cars became safer with seatbelt laws and crackdowns on drunk driving. Then came airbags and advanced technology to prevent accidents. Unfortunately, the death rate began to rise around 2015 when the
Denmark is not a nation that resists youth participation — think of Greta Thunberg. But Billund, a town of 27,000 in the middle of the country, has taken this concept much further. Here it’s the kids who frequently initiate and have a say about projects that impact their community. In 2020, Billund became the first Danish city
I hope you had a happy Fourth of July (or as I like to say, Disloyalty to Royalty Day). Did you watch any fireworks displays? I’ve been hearing news reports about communities having to cancel their programs due to a shortage of trained explosives technicians. But assuming you were able to see some fireworks somewhere,
It’s easy to get published these days. More books are published each year than the average bookstore can hold. Websites like Lulu.com make self-publishing easy. And there is always Amazon Kindle. Yet a recent article in The Guardian caught my eye. It suggests the key to understanding our literature may not be how many books
I’m sure most people have their summer vacations planned. If not, might you consider a place to stay that’s a little… creepy? If so, I’d like to suggest a Nevada road trip. There are a couple of places in this state than can really get your attention. For example — The Little A’Le’Inn — “Earthlings
The calendar says this is June 8, 2022, but did you know it is Best Friends Day? It’s also Name Your Poison Day and Upsy Daisy Day. The truth is every day on the calendar has a designation for something to celebrate. June 9 will be Donald Duck Day, Earl Day, and Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
People of my generation probably remember the animated TV show “The Jetsons,” a whimsical look at the future that initially ran in prime time from September 23, 1962 to March 17, 1963 on ABC, then later aired in syndicated reruns, with new episodes produced from 1985 to 1987. Among the show’s many futuristic elements were flying
For people with too much time on their hands — you may recall the 2019 movie Godzilla vs. Kong. Enjoying such tales requires a certain suspension of disbelief from the get-go. But the skeptical part of us may stop to wonder, just how realistic is a scaled-up gorilla? Rhett Allain, an associate professor of physics
High blood pressure is a real health concern, and one of the most effective countermeasures is lowering salt intake. Sometimes that’s not as easy as it sounds, so you have to get creative. Especially if you’re in Japan. Japanese researchers have announced the development of computerized chopsticks that increase the salty taste of foods by
