Category: World Culture

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Traveling Through the Canadian Rockies in a Glass-Domed Train Looks Amazing

An extensive, leisurely train trip through Canada is on my bucket list, and it seems like this might be the best way to see at least part of that beautiful country.

Rocky Mountaineer’s Goldleaf Service looks like a fantastic and luxurious way to see the Canadian Rocky Mountains in style. Riders who use this service enjoy breathtaking mountain views from the comfort of a glass-domed train. Along with the amazing scenery, riders are served gourmet meals and wine and cheese (and complimentary alcoholic drinks and snacks).

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POST OF THE WEEK: “Just another day in the canyon”. Thank you, @Mattyrobphotography, for sharing this shot of our train passing over the Thompson River. Would you like your post to be featured? All you need to do is tag it with #RockyMountaineer. We’ll select our favourite photo from the week’s entries and share your best moment with the world!⁠⠀ .⁠⠀ .⁠⠀ .⁠⠀ #canadianrockies #canadavacations #imagesofcanada #tourcanada #travelcanada #railways_of_our_world #trains_worldwide #train_nerds #traintravel #railfans_of_instagram #trainphotography #railwayphotography #trainstagram #railmarkable #trainsofcanada #travelawesome #vacationideas #luxurytraveller #enjoycanada #tourcanada #amazingview

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There’s also a viewing platform so riders can step outside to enjoy the fresh air and the incredible views that only the Canadian Rockies can supply. The Goldleaf trains offer a number of different routes that riders can book. There are many great stops along the way, including Vancouver, Banff, Seattle, and Lake Louise.

The package tours also offer hotel accommodations at various points along the Goldleaf routes. The company offered four new rail cars in 2019 and will introduce three additional cars in 2020. President and CEO Steve Sammut said, “These new GoldLeaf rail cars will allow us to welcome even more guests on board our trains and offer increased availability across our most popular dates and routes.”

The new train cars have dimmable domed windows to cut down on the intensity of incoming sunlight and reclining, heated seats.

Two million people have traveled on Rocky Mountaineer trains to see the Canadian Rockies since the company started in 1990.

This looks like a great time. Book it!

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Starbucks’ Best Size Coffee Isn’t on the Menu — You Can Still Order a ‘Short’

It’s well-known that Starbucks has a secret menu, but you might not realize that also includes a secret cup size.

Fun fact: AMC theaters DOES have a normal-sized soda cup they also don’t advertise – it’s called a “cameo” size.

But, back to Starbucks.

On the menu, Starbucks offers 3 cup sizes – a tall (12 ounces), a grande (16 ounces), and a venti (20 ounces). You may be aware that a trenta (31 ounces holy crow) is also an option, but did you know you can also get a smaller than a tall?

You can!

The short is an 8 ounce cuppa, which is more akin to the size of coffee you probably brew at home into a ceramic mug.

It used to be on the menu – the sizes were short, tall, and grade – but eventually, the venti became a thing instead.

Maybe because people are really tired I guess and 8 ounces doesn’t seem like enough coffee? Just a guess.

But here’s the thing: it can (and does) often make for better coffee.

Take the cappuccino, for instance, which should have a thick head of foamed milk over the espresso. When you order a tall (or larger), the foam breaks down, which mixes a more-than-optimal amount of milk into the coffee. And the short doesn’t have any less caffeine than a tall, either, just less milk.

Gawker’s (RIP) Tom Scocca made an argument for the 8 ounce cup of coffee several years ago, even in drip format.

“When you drink a coffee larger than a small coffee, the coffee gets cold before you can finish it. You begin with a steaming, uplifting sip, and by gradual stages you end up sucking down cold, aroma-less dregs. Everyone knows this. Even people who disdain small coffee will confess that their larger beverages end in misery.”

So, the next time you’re headed out for coffee, consider the short – it will be hot and made the way it’s supposed to be made. Win, win!

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This Is How Much Red Meat, Eggs, and Dairy You Should Eat to Be Healthy

There are a ton of arguments about the dangers of eating too much meat these days – health, the environment, animal cruelty – and no shortage of people ready to shout at you why you should be reducing your consumption.

But if you’re less concerned about macro issues and more worried about how much you consume for reasons to do with your own personal body, you might be wondering what science and health experts recommend.

Which, in that case, I’ve got you covered.

Or at least, the Heart Foundation of Australia does.

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Thin patties cooked medium rare?? I need to check this out for myself. . Repost • @mybizzykitchen Dear @atwoodchi – I work just blocks from your location and am kicking myself for not trying you sooner ??‍♀️ Located in the heart of the loop near the theater district, it’s a perfect location on State Street. Being the burger snob that I am, I had to try the “Atwood Burger.” @slagelfamilyfarm beef, American cheese, special sauce, pickles and romaine I love a medium rare, rare burger and the fact that they nailed mid rare on two thin patties is amazeballs. The beef was flavorful, juicy, and the bun to burger ratio was perfect ?? @joshuanmeyer – let me know the next time you are in the city – you’d love this burger! @ww peeps might be thinking ? “Biz, that’s so many points!” But I ate half my plate, counted it as 17 points, loved every bite and I’m moving on. That’s the best part about @ww is that you never have to give up the foods you love – you can always make it work. I am now adding this burger into my Top 5 that I’ve tried in Chicago! My sister @jenncooks got the Nashville hot chicken sandwich and it was delicious too ✅ Raise your hand ? if you want a bite ??

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They’ve published updated recommendations for red meat, eggs, and dairy, and, honestly, people have been caught a bit off guard by what they say.

For red meat, it’s recommended that we eat a maximum of 350g per week – that’s just two servings of beef, lamb, pork, or veal every seven days.

The average burger patty is around 200g, and a small steak is around 100g (a dinner steak would be more like 150-200g).

Australians, like Americans, eat a lot of red meat – an average of around 250g a DAY, which works out to 1750g every week.

Clearly, that is far above the recommended levels.

Health officials would like to see people substitute Omega-3 rich fish, lentils, beans, chickpeas, and kidney beans for at least some portions of their usual red meat intake.

Moving on…

Eggs are considered great sources of both proteins and vitamins and minerals, but they should be enjoyed in moderation due to high levels of cholesterol (though you can safely have 1 or 2 a day, unless you have risk factors like high cholesterol, heart disease, or diabetes).

And the HFA actually recommends that people look into including more full fat dairy into their diets (whole milk, full fat greek yogurt) because it increases blood glucose and make you feel fuller throughout the day, which can actually help reduce total calorie intake (except, again for people with heart issues and high cholesterol). They also say it’s not a bad idea to consider adding some non-milk ‘dairy’ into your diet, like almond milk or cashew cheese.

Basically, we all need to take a hard look at increasing our fruit and vegetable intake. The two food groups contain loads of fiber, vitamins, and minerals that can help reduce our risk of heart disease and diabetes, unlike processed foods rich in sugar, fat, and salt, which contribute heavily to weight gain and poor cardiovascular health.

To sum up: you can enjoy your burger or steak, but just say yes to a big side of broccoli, too.

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A Japanese Woman Uses Instagram to Document the Stuff Her Husband Leaves Around the House

We all know marriage isn’t easy, and sometimes there’s nothing more soothing to your frayed patience than a little passive aggressive social media posting.

A fact that @gomi_sutero seems to realize, since she posts the trash her husband leaves lying around the house on her Instagram account (the handle means “throw away your trash”) with captions telling him to cut it out.

No word yet on whether it’s working, but as you can see from the 12 posts below, she’s already a legend.

12. “Unroll them RIGHT NOW. And put them in the washing machine.”

11. “Stop doing things that just don’t make sense.”

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_ 今 ヒゲ脱毛行きよるけん ← もう少しの辛抱。笑 . . ところで 誰からも聞かれてないけど 夫婦で大好きなTVが #ゴリパラ見聞録 ！ 何回かじゃんけん行ったり PARCOの屋上のやつとか サンパレスのイベントも行ったり。 @goriken1024 が キッズの口コミでゴリパラを広めてって言いよらしたけん勝手に広める。笑 @nisijinboy1012 は めんたいワイドの中継で控えとらす時に声かけたら写真撮りましょうか？って言ってくれたり 最高に面白いし優しい。 #発見らくちゃく も かなり好き 笑 福岡ローカルな話ですいません。 全国放送で一番好きなTVは 水曜日のダウンタウン。

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10. “Is this the Leaning Tower of Pisa?”

9. “Is this supposed to be a door stopper?”

8. “Why is seaweed stuck here?”

7. “Don’t leave tissue paper like the acorns in My Neighbor Totoro.”

6. “Lids. Lids. Lids. Lids. Lids.”

5. “Don’t leave your contact lens everywhere.”

4. “Who forgets these here? Eat the rice.”

3. “I thought it was a dead body.”

2. “A photo from before. Does anybody take a bath with their glasses on and then leave it in the tub? If you know someone like that please let me know. You will be great friends with my husband.”

1. “You thought you changed the toilet paper? THROW IT AWAY.”

She told Buzzfeed News that she and her husband joke regularly about his habits, so even though he doesn’t know about the account, he would probably think it was funny.

Iconic. There’s no other word for it, people.

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A New Study Confirms That No Single ‘Gay Gene’ Controls Sexual Preference

A groundbreaking study recently published confirms that genetics can’t confirm if a person will engage in same-sex sexual behavior. The research showed that there is no single gene that controls sexual preference – instead, some genes play a tiny role in contributing to sexual behavior, with social and environmental factors determining the rest of the outcome. In other words, genes play small a role in sexuality, but there is no “gay gene.”

Researchers studied almost 500,000 people to come up with their results. Study author Ben Neale said, “This is is the largest and most thorough investigation into the genetics of same-sex sexual behavior to date.”

The study analyzed associations between the genes of people and same-sex behavior that the people reported. It’s important to note that these behaviors do not absolutely equate sexual identity. People who reported that they had same-sex encounters could be bisexual, gay, pansexual, etc.

The authors revealed that between 8% and 25% of same-sex sexual behavior in the study could be explained by genetics. The rest could be chalked up to environmental and social factors. Ben Neale said, “I think it underscores that there is an element of biology and it underscores that there’s an element of the environment. And it underscores that this is a natural part of our species.”

The authors of the study worked with LGBTQ advocacy groups to talk about the best way to reveal their work to the public, and they were mindful about what kind of message the results might send. There is still concern about potential backlash, however. Darren Whitfield, an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh who studies LGBTQ health, said, “These things do have the potential to reinforce homophobia. It can reinforce the idea of any abnormality [connected] to same-sex attraction.”

Whitfield added that it’s important to consider what comes out of these studies and what’s next regarding this type of research. He said, “At the end of the day, we’re still looking for a genetic component for sexual behavior. The question I would have is—why? What is the purpose?”

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A Dad Built a ‘Bi-Chair’ for His Bisexual Daughter

A Brazilian artist named Má Matiazi shared a sketch for a “Bi-Chair” with that little phrase doodled on it on Instagram, and people took notice.

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Have you heard about bi-sitting?

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It’s become a running joke on social media that bisexual people don’t know how to sit properly, so much so that it’s even become a meme.

After Matiazi shared her sketch, an Iowa man named Israel Walker decided to reach out to the artist to see if he could attempt to make her vision into a reality. Walker has a bisexual, nonbinary daughter, which is how he learned about the whole “bisexual sitting” thing (stereotype? Is this real? I don’t know).

Matiazi gave Walker her blessing and away he went! And the result: Israel Walker nailed it. Perfection!

Walker’s Facebook post read, “My daughter (who identifies as bisexual genderfuck) thinks that her and other LGBTQ+ folks inability to sit “normally” is hilarious. So I asked Má if I could make my own rough style of Bi-Chair and she said yes! So behold in all its glory: the Bi-chair!”

Posted by Israel Walker on Saturday, August 10, 2019

And the photo of Walker’s daughter lounging in the chair says it all.

Posted by Israel Walker on Saturday, August 10, 2019

Of course, the builder himself had to take it for a spin as well.

Posted by Israel Walker on Saturday, August 10, 2019

Walker made a few alterations to Matiazi’s original design: the chair has shorter arms, the knee rest is a cutout instead of a sloping piece of material, but Walker obviously did a great job. I think he needs to patent this baby now before IKEA swoops in and takes over the Bi-Chair market.

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People Share Things You’d Only Know If You Grew up Poor

Poverty in the U.S. is rampant, even if you don’t see it all the time. And there are some things that you only know about and understand if you grew up poor.

AskReddit users weighed in on this topic.

1. Pre-cut

“Pre-cut Christmas trees are free on Christmas Eve. I remember the Christmas tree hunt on Christmas Eve was like our little family tradition. We would drive around in the evening looking for stores that still had trees sitting out front. Nine times out of 10, when we would ask about the tree we were interested in, they would say “just take it,” glad to get rid of them by that point.

Every year we had a perfectly beautiful tree and it was exciting to find perfect trees for free and then stay up late decorating it with home-made glitter pine cones and candy canes.”

2. Hot checks

“If you send a bad check to the utilities company on a Friday you have power for the weekend.”

3. No one will stop them

“Most gas station attendants will not stop a small child from stealing toilet paper from their bathrooms. Who knew?”

4. Libraries are lifesavers

“Libraries can save your life.

The first part of my childhood I would get home from school, usually to a vacant house. I really wouldn’t know if I was even going to see either of my parents each night. No cell phones of course. But I was always afraid… nervous at least, of what would happen if they did decide to make an appearance.

I started walking to the library everyday after school and staying till they closed every night just to avoid the feeling of anxiety for a little longer. Eventually one of the librarians noticed and took a liking to me. I think she might have been through similar things in her life that she saw in me. Gradually we got to know each other. First I started noticing there were more books being added in the genres that I liked. Then one day after the library closed, I walked over to McDonald’s.

I was a quarter or so short to buy a hamburger and she saw me asking people if they had any change. I saw her and was embarrassed and kinda hid from her. From that point on I think she decided that she was going to take me under her wing. For over a year she would come by my desk at the library and just drop off chips, granola bars, pop, whatever you know? Of course, I would tell her I didn’t need it, when in reality I only knew where one meal would come from each day.

When I would ask her where it came from, she would just say it was extras from the break room, even though I could hear her in there putting coin after coin into the vending machine. Eventually she would just bring dinner every night to the library and we would sit down in the break room with each other and eat. I finally opened up to her about my family/living issues and had her to talk to. Even though I was still pretty guarded, this was a huge relief. THEN, after I had been there almost 2 years, it was the week before school started, and I headed into the library.

Before I left she told me to meet her outside after close. I did, we walked to her car, and she pulled out a brand new school backpack, and inside was a new outfit, binder, and shoes (my first Nikes). That’s when I broke down, and my walls crumbled. She was a single lady working off a librarians income, but she still made room for me.

For 3 years she supported me as much as she could, and she was more of a friend than I had ever experienced up until that point in my life. She is the number 1 reason I got out of that house and life. She was with me at all my adoption hearings, and made sure I was put with a nice family. She was at my graduation, and my wedding. She saw me grow up and succeed in life after coming from the bottom. She saw her work and love pay off. I went to her funeral this summer and it felt like I had lost my mother, but I couldn’t stop reflecting on how much she changed my life through her sacrifice.

Truly an amazing person, and I still donate to the library every year.”

5. You gotta eat

“How good a buttered tortilla is.”

6. Wintertime

“IDK about in other states but in Minnesota they can’t shut your power off during the winter because of the danger of someone freezing to death in their house. So that was a good time to try to catch up on some other bills you are way behind on too.”

7. All kinds of things

“Government cheese, doing your laundry in a bathtub using only cold water bc the gas was shut off, trying to spend the night at your friends house bc they had food and a warm room, (thanks Nikki) loving going to school because you could at least eat there, trips to Goodwill for “new” clothes, showers at school because at least three water was warm.

Being made fun of because you smelled like kerosene, having lice and no one doing anything about it, going to school with bruises bc your parents took their shitty decisions out in you. I’m so grateful to a handful of people that saw potential in me, I went to college, got a great job, and broke the cycle . Thanks Tom and Toni.”

8. Eat up

“Pizza nights are the best birthday present you could ever fucking get.

A whole pizza, ordered exactly how you like it, and you get to have more than one slice.”

9. Change

“Food stamp paper change.

When I was a kid , if you used food stamps they would give back the change in food stamp form. My Mom was too “proud” to publicly use them so she would make up a reason to leave & I would have to pay using them – I was 11 or so. She did it every time…I had to learn to keep my head up.”

10. Sacrifice

“That sometimes your parents sacrifice everything they have, including their sanity just to see you happy. And you only learn later in life the soul crushing existence of poverty. Then you wonder how they managed to do so much with so little.”

11. F*cked

“When you get home and see a yellow notice hanging off your door you’re fucked. It’s always on a Friday to so you’re out of luck until Monday.”

12. Going hungry

“What hunger really is. I remember waiting for my dad’s payday for the grocery shopping trip and being absolutely ravenous when the food got there.”

13. A good lesson

“Witness to the adage “how much you really do have”. Major fire wiped out several hundred million-dollar homes. Heat generated left rubble of two-story homes only feet high. Families devastated. I still see the face of one man so completely shattered, I wondered if he would live to be able to rebuild.

I later was in the Command Post area when I was approached by a young girl and her Father. The Dad couldn’t speak English, so the girl would translate. “My family wants to know if this is where we can bring donations for the people whose houses burned down?” To my working knowledge, none had been established at that point. Her Father talks, she translates: “can we leave it here? Many roads are being closed, and we’re not familiar with this part of town.”

I walk with them to their car, a much older beater, the Mom and a couple of siblings in it. Dad opens the trunk, and together, we all bring out couple cases of water, canned and dry food, adult and child clothing, some used toys, and prepared food. Almost list it when each kid handed me their toys. Little girl: “we have so much stuff and we want to share with those families.”

14. Work with what you have

“Outdated technology.

When I started college, one of my professors asked if anyone in our class remembered how you changed a channel on the TV before remote controls. I was the only person in the room who remembered turning dials and adjusting rabbit ears despite being one of the youngest students in the class, because my family had a TV from the 70s until 1995.

Same sort of thing with computers, phones, etc. If we had it at all, we got something much later than anyone else (after it got cheaper) and bought used. I got my first computer in 1999. It had Windows 3.1 and that was what I used until I was able to use my financial aid to get a new PC tower for college.”

15. Cheap items

“Knowing the cheapest thing on the menu at every restaurant, for when your friends’ family invites you out to dinner. Even though you’re not paying, you’re programmed to only select the cheapest thing. My friend’s mom said “you sure like hot dogs. That’s all you order no matter where we go to eat.”

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10 Facts so Good You Might Just Jump Around

Let’s cut the chit chat and the small talk RIGHT NOW. I’m here with 10 facts that you absolutely NEED in your life right now.

They’re so good, in fact, that I have a feeling you’re going to jump for joy. So go ahead and do it! …After you enjoy these facts.

1. Been there, done that

Photo Credit: did you know?

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2. Ouch…

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3. Freaky!

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4. That’s interesting

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5. It works!

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6. Give it a shot

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7. Here come the waterworks

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8. I’ll take two!

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9. Harry Potter critters

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10. Hey, Gramps!

Photo Credit: did you know?

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Might as well JUMP!

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Toy and Game Company Hasbro Now Owns Death Row Records — Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Tupac and MR. Potato Head?

You just never know what companies are going to consolidate/merge/buy each other out, etc. Which can lead to business, usually pretty dry, sometimes making big headlines for weird, weird stuff.

Like this!

Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Tupac…Mr. Potato Head?

Hasbro, the toy and game company behind such favorites as Monopoly, Transformers, G.I. Joe, and My Little Pony, now owns Death Row Records, the notorious gangsta rap record label that was founded in 1991 by Dr. Dre, Suge Knight and The D.O.C.

How’s that for a mashup?

Death Row was absolutely HUGE in the 1990s – at its peak, it was raking in $150 million a year. Eventually, Death Row had a very public fall from grace, and Suge Knight is now serving a 28-year prison sentence.

So how exactly did this transaction come to be?

Here’s the deal: Hasbro purchased Entertainment One, which owned the Peppa Pig franchise, but it also had an enormous music division. Part of their music empire included the back catalog of Death Row Records, which declared bankruptcy back in 2006. Entertainment One acquired the back catalog in 2013.

But now it’s in Hasbro’s hands!

Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner said of the deal, “The acquisition of eOne adds beloved story-led global family brands that deliver strong operating returns to Hasbro’s portfolio and provides a pipeline of new brand creation driven by family-oriented storytelling.” That’s one way of looking at it.

People on Twitter couldn’t help themselves and just had to weigh in on the purchase. I mean, the possibilities are endless, don’t you think?

This story and the tweets that emanated from it bring me much happiness…

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A Travel Influencer Admits to Photoshopping Her Pics After People Keep Noticing the Same Cloud Formation

This influencer culture is kind of weird, right?

A travel influencer with more than 300,000 Instagram followers has admitted to using Photoshop to add cloud formations to some of her photos after people noticed the clouds were the same in multiple photos.

Tupi Saravia said that she uses photo editing software after screenshots of some of her Instagram photos went viral.

Saravia said in an email, “I can’t believe how far this went I used an app called Quickshot to help the composition of the photograph when the sky is burned or overexposed.” She added, “I just happened to like that one.”

She continued, “They were always aware about this [photo editing] because I never hide it I always tell [them] the apps I use. Actually I’m the first one to tell the joke [that] the clouds are following me around the world.”

People weighed in online after the story came to light.

If you ask me (and I know you didn’t), the whole thing is just strange. I guess traveling for free and getting products at no cost would be nice for a while, but how long can that really last? There was a survey put out this summer that revealed that American kids would rather be YouTube stars than astronauts. If that’s not depressing, I don’t know what is.

I’m shaking my head over here…

What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments – we’d like to hear from you!

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