Curling / Throwing stones for fun and profit Don't think of it as a boring and inscrutable Canadian sport. Curling is a subtle, sophisticated, team version of lawn bowling on ice. Bring your own broom.
Temperate Rain Forests / Trees of life Rain forests aren't found only in the tropics. Temperate rain forests, located as far north as Alaska and Norway, have less diversity than their tropical relatives, but far more living matter.
Moxy Früvous / A band, a plan, a fan One of the most inventive, original, and talented bands of the 1990s, Moxy Früvous developed an audience so fanatical that it may have led to the group's demise.
The Vienna Vegetable Orchestra / Grooves from the garden That selection of fresh vegetables you just bought from the market could make a delicious soup or...a complete orchestra. In Vienna, a group of artists has combined food and music in a wacky and innovative way.
Microclimates / Don't like the weather? Cross the street. With the right combination of topography, water sources, and in some cases concrete structures, one neighborhood can have a dramatically different climate from another area just blocks away.
Invisible Computing / Putting information processing in its place By thinking first about the tasks humans need to accomplish, technology companies can adapt computers and electronic devices to be more like appliances, fading into the background and requiring less of our attention.
Milk in a Box / Losing the bottle It's not just powdered milk that comes in a box. Liquid milk treated with Ultra High Temperature (UHT) pasteurization can stay fresh in your pantry for months. But taste, cost, and buying habits may spoil the deal.
Mistpouffers / The mystery of phantom thunder In numerous parts of the world, typically near large bodies of water, mysterious booming noises have occurred regularly for centuries. Are they the footsteps of the gods, or might there be a simpler explanation?
Honey as Medicine / Sweet relief Ongoing medical research is turning up a multitude of curative uses for honey. Besides soothing sore throats, it may help to heal wounds, prevent tooth decay, and even perhaps even reduce the risk of heart disease.
Mead / The prototypical alcoholic beverage Although wine is most commonly made from grapes, the world's original alcoholic beverage is a variety of wine made from honey.
Raclette / The cheese that eats like a meal In the great tradition of Swiss cheeses that require special serving rituals, raclette is a cheese normally prepared by melting it on a special grill and scraping it onto potatoes.
Copyright 2004-2010, alt concepts | Date published: Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:00:01 -0700
