Month: January 2017

They all sparkle. They all bubble. And they’re all water. But club soda, seltzer, and sparkling water are not interchangeable. Here’s what you need to know the next time you reach for one.

CLUB SODA

Club soda is just water with a few add-ins: carbon dioxide for carbonation and “mineral-like” ingredients such as sodium bicarbonate, sodium citrate, and potassium sulfate. It’s unflavored, other than the slightly mineral-y taste, which is why club soda is a great cocktail mixer.

Why is it called club soda? According to Culinary Lore, the beverage was once called Club Soda (note the proper noun). The water was—and still is—trademarked in Great Britain and Ireland by Dublin-based beverage company Cantrell & Cochrane. In 1896, C&C lost a lawsuit against a Jamaican company that had used the term “club soda,” which is probably why it remains a generic term everywhere else.

By the way, there’s not much truth to the idea that club soda is a champ at getting stains out; plain water typically works just as well.

SELTZER

Like club soda, seltzer is also just plain water with carbon dioxide added for carbonation, but without the mineral additions. Unlike club soda, seltzer can be sweetened and flavored, often with citrus or other fruits. Interestingly, seltzer was also once a trademarked product, this one sold in Germany as far back as 1728. European immigrants brought it with them when they came to America, and the term eventually became used more generically.

SPARKLING WATER

Sparkling mineral water usually comes from a natural spring or well, which may provide natural carbonation. There’s also sparkling water that isn’t mineral based and doesn’t come from a spring; it’s simply carbonated water, sometimes flavored.

BONUS: TONIC WATER

Tonic water is also—wait for it—carbonated water. The big difference is the addition of quinine, an ingredient found in the bark of the South American cinchona tree. Quinine was originally used as malaria medicine; according to legend, British soldiers started mixing the bitter stuff with soda water, sugar, and gin, to make it go down easier. It’s also fluorescent, so the next time you’re enjoying a gin and tonic, find yourself a black light and revel in its blue glow.

Have you got a Big Question you’d like us to answer? If so, let us know by emailing us at bigquestions@mentalfloss.com.

There’s no need to travel to the fromageries of France or the dairy farms of Switzerland to sample the best cheese on Earth. According to the judges of 2016’s World Championship Cheese Contest, it can be found in the American Midwest. The Wisconsin-made “Roth Grand Cru Surchoix” was named Best in Show at the competition, marking the first time since 1988 that an American cheese has won the title, Condé Nast Traveler reports.

Though it doesn’t always receive the same level of respect as products made across the pond, Wisconsin cheese is a big deal. According to the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, the state’s cheeses have received 4835 national and international awards, more than any other state or nation. But there’s one prize, Best in Show at the World Championship Cheese Contest, that has remained elusive for decades. Wisconsin cheesemakers have snagged the award in the past (they won six out of the seven competitions from 1957 to 1968), but for 28 years they’ve been passed over in favor of entries from Europe and Australia.

Emmi Roth USA’s Roth Grand Cru Surchoix, an Alpine-style cheese similar to Gruyère, was the cheese that finally broke America’s losing streak. It’s a firm product that’s aged for at least nine months to develop complex notes of mushroom, fruit, and caramel. The sample that was submitted for judging was aged for 14 months, and ultimately bested 2959 entries for the top honor. If you aren’t lucky enough to live in America’s cheese capital, you can order the decorated Wisconsin cheese for $13 from Walmart.

[h/t Condé Nast Traveler]

Florists know all about caring for and arranging a variety of flowers, but they do more than put pretty flowers into a nice vase. After talking to a few, we got the dirt on the job, including how they find the best blooms, which household fruits are the enemy of long-lasting bouquets, and why the holidays make their feet ache.

1. THEY’RE (VERY) EARLY RISERS.

Being a florist means getting to work early, as the team at Miami Gardens Florist tells mental_floss: “You have to be in by 7 a.m. so that the first batch of flowers is ready for delivery by 9 a.m., when most businesses start to open.” Florists use those early morning hours to cut and process flowers, organize orders that came in overnight, and prioritize which arrangements to work on first. And when they buy flowers at wholesale flower markets, some florists wake up even earlier—around 3 or 4 a.m.—to find the best flowers at the market before they sell out.

2. FINDING THE RIGHT FLOWERS CAN BE INCREDIBLY TIME-CONSUMING.

To assemble complex floral arrangements and mixed bouquets, florists typically need to search for flowers and plants from a variety of sources. Depending on their clients’ wishes and what flowers are in season, florists may purchase directly from local farms, wholesalers, or flower auctions. Some florists even grow their own flowers or import them from countries such as Holland or Colombia.

3. FLOWERS ARE HEAVIER THAN THEY LOOK.

“Being a florist is a lot more labor-intensive than most would assume,” says Lauren Ghani, the owner of Nu Leaf Design, a floral design shop in Los Angeles. “We have to pick up and transport all the flowers, clean and process them (which can take hours of being on your feet!), decide on a design, and then clean up the extensive amount of leaves and debris,” Ghani explains. Florists must also have strong arm and leg muscles to unpack large shipments of plants, lift heavy buckets of water, and arrange large branches and other foliage for display.

4. TIMING IS EVERYTHING.

Because flowers only last so long before they wilt and die, florists are in a perpetual race against the clock. They must properly time purchases and deliveries, making sure that buds have bloomed by the time they arrive at a client’s door. To speed up or slow down the blooming process, florists use a variety of tricks. They may condition flowers (get them ready for display) by cutting or splitting the stems (trimming them at a 45-degree angle increases the surface area for water absorption) or dunking the blooms in cold water. Storing the blooms away from direct sunlight is also key. To ensure that flowers for weddings look fresh and open, Ghani keeps them in a refrigerated environment and makes the centerpieces the day before the event.

5. HOLIDAYS ARE HARD ON THEIR FEET.

Because flowers are perishable, florists can’t get too much of a head start on making arrangements for high-volume days such as Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. “During our high seasons, every flower shop becomes a factory where all we’re doing is trying to get as many arrangements out as possible,” the Miami Gardens Florist team explains. Although most florists find working with flowers to be generally relaxing, holidays require them to stand on their feet for eight to 12 hours per day, often for several days in a row.

6. ALLERGY MEDS ARE THEIR SECRET WEAPON.

If flowers are your life’s work, daily sneezing fits and a constantly itchy nose aren’t ideal. While most florists don’t have a problem, some, unfortunately, are allergic to pollen and plants. How do they cope? Some take daily allergy meds, get allergy shots from their doctor, or try to avoid working with especially problematic flowers. For most, the benefits of the job outweigh the sneezing.

7. THEY WISH CUSTOMERS WOULD TAKE BETTER CARE OF CUT FLOWERS.

If you lament that your bouquets only last a few days, educate yourself about how to properly care for flowers. Florist Brad Weinstein told mental_floss that water is key to helping flowers last longer. “Remember that the more flowers in the arrangement, the need for water will increase,” he said.

To give your cut flowers a long life, check the water level daily, use the packet of powdered flower food that came with your bouquet, and make sure you put your flowers in a clean vase. And don’t forget to keep your flowers away from direct sunlight, heat, and fruit—the ethylene gas that apples and pears emit can cause your flowers to quickly wilt.

8. SUMMER IS THE BEST TIME TO BUY FROM THEM.

Although people might primarily associate buying flowers with Valentine’s Day, February isn’t the ideal time to shop for blooms. The best time to order from a florist is during the summer months. According to the Miami Gardens Florist team: “They’ll have fresher flowers, they’ll be able to take their time to make something beautiful, and you’re more likely to get a discount.” Good news for anyone with a summer birthday.

9. THEY MAY USE FLOWERS IN THE KITCHEN.

Besides looking pretty in a vase, flowers can be used in your kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. Florists may use flowers (such as chamomile or hibiscus) to make flower tea, add dried flowers to oil to make soap, or use pressed flowers to decorate homemade candles. Some florists who enjoy cooking also substitute tulips for onions in certain recipes, such as stews and pastas, and garnish dishes with chopped (edible, pesticide-free) petals.

10. THE MARKUP THEY CHARGE IS WORTH IT.

Depending on where you live, you may be able to buy discounted flowers at a wholesale flower market. If you buy flowers from a florist, though, the flowers may be marked up 2.5 to 3.5 times what they really cost. Florists say that markup is there for good reason. “In all honesty, the prices are justified. You’re receiving a work of art that takes a lot of hard work and effort,” the Miami Gardens Florist team says. Besides labor and time, the price you pay a florist may also include ribbons and other accessories, a vase, and delivery.

11. THEY DEAL WITH MORE THAN JUST FLOWERS.

Most florists don’t focus solely on making flower arrangements. They also take orders over the phone, answer customer questions, and make sales. If a florist owns their own shop, they must also hire employees, fill out tax paperwork, and manage the store’s finances. Some florists also branch out (pun intended) by teaching flower-crafting classes, working with wedding planners or interior designers, and writing articles or books about flower care and arrangement.

12. MARTHA STEWART IS A POLARIZING FIGURE.

Ron Mulray, who owns the Philadelphia Flower Co., told the Philadelphia Inquirer that Martha Stewart is a polarizing figure in the flower world. In the 1990s, Stewart began educating people about flowers, teaching her audience how to design their own beautiful floral arrangements. According to Mulray, floral designers took firm pro- or anti-Stewart positions, with some florists praising her for promoting flowers as an art form and others criticizing her for revealing florists’ trade secrets to the masses.

But whether they love her or hate her, florists admit that Stewart exposed people to the simple joy of flowers. “We could never sell 36 open roses in a hand-tied bouquet before Martha. That was really what she did,” Mulray says.

13. THEY GET TO PARTAKE IN YOUR EMOTIONAL MILESTONES.

Whether they arrange and deliver flowers for weddings, funerals, births, anniversaries, or proms, florists often work with clients who are emotional about recent (or imminent) life changes. And florists aren’t immune to the impact—conscious or subconscious—of the heightened emotions surrounding weddings and funerals. One florist writes about how creating floral arrangements for a funeral sparked a recurring dream: “In the dream, I woke up the woman that died to ask her if she liked the flowers. Her answer was no. She informed me that she had always hated flowers … I remember feeling silly and spooked at the same time.”

14. MOTHER NATURE DELIGHTS THEM.

Many florists are drawn to their profession because they simply love flowers. “Flowers are nature’s art. They’re beautiful, strange, and each one is so different,” the Miami Gardens Florist team says. And working with flowers is an artistic outlet that lets florists express their creativity, working with a variety of colors, heights, textures, and scents. “I love working with flowers because with every season comes a different palette of colors as well as types of flowers …The creativity associated with flowers is part of what keeps me intrigued and excited about my work!” Ghani says.

All photos via iStock.

Though it’s easy to see shadows on a human scale, like your own when you walk down the street or the shadow of a building, it’s harder to notice the shadows cast by major geographic points, unless you happen to be standing right by a cliff. We just think, “Oh, the sun went behind the mountain.” But a selection of maps by Robbi Bishop-Taylor, a Ph.D student in geography based in Sydney, shows what those shadows might look like from space, as Gizmodo reports.

The maps show how shadows cast by hills and mountains across the world look just before sunset on the summer solstice. They were created using data sets on elevation models from Copernicus, the European Union’s Earth observation program, and other institutions.

See how immense the shadow from Mt. Etna is:

It’s an unusual take on the typical topographic map, since you see not only how tall certain geographical features are, but the impact they have on the sunshine of what’s around them. Plus, now you can see what it would be like if sunset happened at the same time all across the world.

High resolution prints are for sale on Etsy and start at around $8.

[h/t Gizmodo]

All images courtesy Robbi Bishop-Taylor via Imgur.

 
A significant winter storm will stun parts of the southeastern United States overnight on Friday, January 6, greeting the first full weekend of the new year with a crust of snow from the fields of Alabama to the beaches of Virginia. The storm could produce amounts of snow this region only sees once or twice a decade, potentially snarling traffic and leading to widespread business closings. And as if the snow isn’t bad enough, a bitter cold snap will follow soon after and make post-storm cleanup even more challenging.

The snow and ice will start on Friday afternoon as a low-pressure system comes together at the surface due to a strong jet stream streaking overhead from west to east. Winds swirling around the low will help drag Arctic air as far south as the Gulf of Mexico, ensuring that most of the precipitation that falls across the south on Friday and Saturday falls in the form of snow, sleet, or freezing rain.

Folks in Alabama and Georgia can expect the wintry precipitation to begin before sundown on Friday and last through the nighttime hours. The heaviest snow and ice will reach the Carolinas and Virginia after sunset on Friday and last through Saturday morning, ending from west to east as the storm trudges out to sea.

 
Meteorologists expect this storm to be a nuisance in Alabama and Georgia and a genuine thumping as you head farther north along the coast. Central Alabama can expect a general dusting of snow with localized higher amounts, while a couple of inches of snow are likely across adjacent parts of Georgia. Atlanta is understandably jittery about even a small blanket of the white stuff given how frozen precipitation has paralyzed the city in recent years. Small amounts of snow can readily freeze into a sheet of ice on heavily trafficked roads, bringing vehicles to a standstill and stranding commuters for many hours before help arrives.

The heaviest snow is expected to fall along a stretch of land that extends from about Charlotte, North Carolina, through Norfolk, Virginia. This is where forecasters expect the greatest mixture of cold air, deep moisture, and upward lift to generate hours of steady—and at times heavy—snowfall. Close to 6 inches of snow are possible in many of these locations, with some totals closer to 1 foot possible between Raleigh, North Carolina, and the Virginia beaches.

A sloppy mixture of snow, ice, and plain old rain is possible closer to the coast where temperatures will be warmer. A thin glaze of ice is possible from central Alabama through eastern parts of the Carolinas by the end of the storm. Even though ice accretions are expected to measure just a few hundredths of an inch, any coating of ice will make roads and sidewalks slick and potentially impassable.

 
The hazards don’t end with the snow. Temperatures for several days after the skies clear out will be brutally cold compared to normal, approaching record territory in some spots. Low temperatures on Sunday night will likely reach the single digits as far south as Charlotte, North Carolina, with some communities pushing zero degrees before sunrise. Temperatures will likely remain below freezing from Friday night until Tuesday afternoon across areas where the thickest blanket of snow falls, complicating cleanup efforts and making rush hour on Monday and Tuesday a dicey bet. Snow that isn’t removed from roads and sidewalks soon after it falls risks freezing into thick layers of solid ice as the sun melts it and subfreezing temperatures refreeze the meltwater.

The South’s inability to cope with even the tiniest snowfall is a running joke in the rest of the country, but this typically mild region just isn’t equipped to deal with significant amounts of winter weather. Many factors play into this unique problem, including inadequate infrastructure and the simple fact that people just aren’t used to winter driving. The saving grace with this storm should be that the bulk of the hazardous weather will occur overnight on a weekend, minimizing traffic congestion and disruption to everyday life.

This storm has been well-advertised since the beginning of this week, and stores started running out of bread and milk as soon as Wednesday afternoon. People certainly know it’s coming. Still, this storm could cause unexpected disruptions where the forecast doesn’t hit the mark. Exact snow and ice accumulations depend on the track that this storm takes. A tiny shift to the north or south in the storm’s track could result in the bands of heaviest snow setting up farther north or south of where forecasters and models think it’ll set up right now. A track error of just 25 miles could mean that towns expecting a light snowfall could get slammed while cities expecting to spend an afternoon shoveling might get lucky and not see much at all. As with everything in life, prepare for the worst but hope for the best.

Finding a public toilet while traveling in China is about to become much easier. The country is planning what has been dubbed as a “toilet revolution.” As part of a major investment—$290 billion—to boost tourism between now and 2020, the government wants to build or upgrade 100,000 public restrooms, according to Reuters and CityLab.

By 2020, China wants to increase its tourism industry from 10.8 percent of its yearly economic growth to 12 percent, and part of that means making it more comfortable and appealing for people—especially those who aren’t used to squat toilets—to travel there. Positioning oneself over a smelly hole isn’t exactly on anyone’s list of exciting travel plans.

The plan will mostly target declining industrial cities in northern China, which the government hopes can remake themselves into tourist destinations.

According to the World Bank, only 77 percent of China has access to improved sanitation facilities, meaning that they provide hygienic separation of humans from excrement. (In comparison, the United States has 100 percent access.) Most of the areas lacking proper facilities are in rural China, though, which may not be hotbeds of tourist activity.

The China National Tourism Administration recently released a proposal for new sanitary standards for public toilets in tourist-heavy areas that include Western-style toilets, soap, no odors, and more. The bar for the highest restroom grade is pretty high, too—blowing any U.S. rest stop out of the water. To achieve a AAA rating, a restroom will have to broadcast music and provide services like wheelchair rentals. The new investment in public toilets will include upgrades to bring existing facilities closer to those standards.

[h/t CityLab]

The Amazon Echo’s voice-operated personal assistant, Alexa, is capable of quite a bit, including playing music, setting up your schedule, and even doing math for you. Now the company has unveiled a new Alexa feature that people have been waiting for: food delivery.

According to The Verge, Alexa can now order food for you just by following your vocal commands. The food comes directly from Amazon Restaurants (Amazon’s food delivery service), so it will only be available in 20 select cities, including New York, Seattle, Chicago, and Miami. But before you dream about a world where pizzas come to your front door at the sound of your voice, you should know that Alexa’s new voice-ordering service is limited. Very limited, actually.

Not only is the service limited to Amazon Restaurants in the cities where it’s offered, but there are two other big exceptions: First, you have to be an Amazon Prime member to use the service. Secondly, you can’t order any new meals on the service; you can only reorder meals you have already gotten from Amazon Restaurants in the past. Amazon gave a rundown of how this all works:

Prime members can ask Alexa to reorder from Amazon Restaurants by saying a restaurant name or cuisine type, for example, “Alexa, order sushi from Amazon Restaurants.” The service pulls a customer’s order history from a specified restaurant or cuisine type and lists meal options available for reorder. The selected meal is then sent for delivery to a customer’s default address.

The voice ordering system obviously still has to be improved, but as people start integrating Alexa into their lives more and more, expect this food service to rapidly expand.

[h/t The Verge]

Welcome to The Weird Week in Review, where we bring you odd news stories from all over.

1. CALF GETS LASSOED FROM THE HOOD OF A POLICE CAR

When authorities got a call about a calf that was loose on Tennessee’s Highway 79N, David Bevill of Paris, Tennessee, volunteered to help local police capture it. Henry County Sheriff Monte Belew drove down the highway with Bevill on the hood, ready to rope in the calf. According to a Facebook post,

Belew said the calf became loose when a man was driving through town and his cattle trailer door broke. “There were actually two that got loose, but Dr. Lyons at Mineral Wells Animal Clinic and his crew were able to get the other one,” Belew said.

“So everybody is happy—we roped one calf, Dr. Lyons got the other one and the guy who was hauling them through town is happy, too,” Belew said.

It’s always handy to know a cowboy when you’ve got a job to do.

2. CAT STUCK IN SUPPORTS OF DOUBLE-DECKER HIGHWAY FOR NINE DAYS

Erin McCutcheon’s cat Juno escaped a zippered cat carrier and jumped out of a moving car on the upper deck of I-93 in Boston on Christmas Day. McCutcheon couldn’t find her cat, and so distributed posters and put out a call for help on Facebook. On Tuesday, a Local 103 crew of electricians doing maintenance work spotted Juno high above the lower deck, perched on the support girders under the upper deck. Juno had been stuck 80 feet above the highway for nine days! The crew couldn’t catch the frightened feline, but eventually lured her out with cans of cat food. Juno, hungry and thirsty, went home with electrician Jay Frazier, and was later reunited with the McCutcheons.

3. MAN CARRIES SCISSORS IN BODY FOR 18 YEARS

Ma Van Nhat underwent surgery at Bac Kan Hospital in Vietnam in 1998 after suffering injuries in a traffic accident. Recently, he complained of pain in his abdomen, which doctors dismissed as a stomachache. But on December 27, during a routine checkup, a doctor determined there was a foreign object there. Last Saturday, surgeons removed a pair of surgical scissors, which had apparently been inside Nhat for 18 years. The scissors had broken and adhered to Nhat’s abdominal organs. According to The Huffington Post,

The hospital’s director, Trinh Thi Luong, is now taking great pains to find out who may have left the scissors inside Nhat.

“Even if they are already retired, we will still inform them,” Luong said, according to Reuters. “This is a lesson to all doctors.”

4. MAN OPENS DOOR TO BRICK WALL

An unnamed man in Mainhausen, Germany, woke up Monday morning and got ready for work as usual—but when he opened his front door, he couldn’t leave: Someone had built a brick wall over the door opening. The perpetrators had built the wall quickly and quietly during the night. He had to tear out the bricks to leave his house. Police don’t know whether the wall was a prank or an act of revenge.

5. NEW SHERIFF GETS ARRESTED

The citizens of Roane County, West Virginia, elected a new sheriff in November. Bo Williams began his new job last Sunday, but on Tuesday, according to the New York Daily News, he was was arrested on charges of grand larceny for stealing meth from an evidence locker at his previous job with the Spencer, West Virginia, police department. Bags of meth with evidence numbers were found in his desk and in his car. Williams had resigned from that job after admitting to drug addiction in December. The Roane County commission removed Williams from office that same day, and asked a former sheriff to step in to run the department. Williams is out of jail on bond and may face up to 10 years in prison.