At Your leisure

Culture

by William Hirsh | Sep. 28, 2013

Word of the Week:

Skosh (noun): A small amount.

Sentence: The pumpkin bread Anna was baking needed only a skosh of cinnamon and nutmeg before being placed in the oven.

Quote:

"God gives the nuts, but he does not crack them." -Franz Kafka

Stream of Facts:

The scent you smell after a rainstorm is caused by the presence of Actinomycetes, a bacteria that thrives in damp soil. As the rain falls, the bacteria releases spores into the air delivering to your nostrils that iconic, fresh smell.

Moon dust has a variety of strange properties. It will stick to most exposed surfaces, has a smell similar to gunpowder and if inhaled can actually cause swelling in places such as the turbinate, the cartilage within your nasal cavity.

The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 was attempted by a group of Catholics who had wanted to assassinate the Protestant King of England, James I. The group secretly rented a cellar underneath the House of Lords and packed it with explosives. This rebel front unraveled when a brother-in-law of a conspirator sent out a letter warning Parliament from attending.

Greyhounds have amazing vision, enabling them to see a half mile in front of and behind them. This is due to their 270-degree range of sight.

Reporter Recommends: Still Tasty

While trying to be both frugal and college student, sometimes it just comes down to taking a chance with whatever might still be left in the fridge or pantry. The milk you bought two weeks ago but has an "alright" smell, the bread that's only just beginning to mold, etc.

Fortunately, we don't have to play Consumption Roulette anymore thanks to this gem of a site called Still Tasty. Dubbing itself the "Ultimate Shelf Life Guide," Still Tasty is a handy website that you can use to gauge the freshness of your basic kitchen goods. Either by typing into the search bar or perusing one of the 12 categories, you can get an estimate of how long a certain item will last. Many standard kitchen items like bread or even vegetables will compile into a list, often times giving you a more accurate estimate depending on if it was cooked, uncooked or even a frozen pack from the grocery store. Further you can also denote whether products like sauces or beverages like coffee are opened or unopened. When the food you're looking for has been found, it will give you a chart showing its shelf life in terms of being in the pantry, refrigerated or even frozen. At the bottom, it has helpful tips for proper storage as well.

While not to be used on specific brand name products, Still Tasty is quite useful when discerning whether something is safe to consume and will save you from painful moments spent sick or disgusted by old food you still thought was "good."

Mixtape Therapy Sleepless Edition:

For those sleepless nights working.

Listen to Them Here!

"Who Needs Sleep?" by The Barenaked Ladies: An oldie but goodie, this is just to remind you where the night will be heading. Who needs sleep when we have caffeine IVed into our wrists!

"Keeping Our Eyes Out" by Fitz and the Tantrums: What starts as a delicate piano song turns into a delightful pop track with a dreamy feel to it.

"Martha Wash vs. Gorillaz – Feel the Light" by amoraboy: A funky, beat ridden mash up of the Gorillaz classic, "Feel Good Inc." with the soulful vocals of Martha Wash.

"Lightning" by Nico Vega: A kind of somber rock track with a steady beat and great vocals courtesy of lead singer Aja Volkman.

"All Along" by Crash Kings: "Wake up!" Piano song turned incredible mix of guitar and drum riffs. The booming vocals of singer Antonion Beliveau doesn't hurt either.

"Alarm Call" by Björk: A weird but oddly motivating experimental song that takes a page from hiphop, the somewhat slurred English vocals with bizarre backing instruments and beats should bring you back into the zone.

"Dora Marr" by Hunter Hunted: This is the time to begin winding down. Muffled drums and guitar will bring you to realize just how late you've been up and make you try to finish up for the night.

"How to Disappear" by Thomas Azier: Sleepy time is nearly here. A chill electronic track with entrancing vocals leads you to your dreams ahead.