by futonL on July 28, 2009
I recently obtained a box of ‘Dark Chocolate Espresso Beans‘ from a friend because of their potent caffeine and chocolate powers.
Apparently, the small amount of sugar in the dark chocolate and the mild ‘caffeine’ in the espresso bean should curb my sleepiness after my lunch time ‘food-coma’.
Does this really work or are the amount of sugar and caffeine too nominal to have any adverse effects to my sluggish afternoon?
So, I researched, and researched and I discovered something SHOCKING! Well, not really shocking, but very enlightening.
Coffee Beans
Everyone knows that espresso beans has overall less caffeine than regular roasted coffee beans because the roasting process of the beans (that gives the espresso roasts it’s robust flavor) actually burns off the caffeine in the bean (this fact irked me when a employee at Pottery Barn was dishing incorrect information when he was trying to sell an espresso machine to a customer). However, because of this flavor, candy companies created ‘chocolate covered’ coffee beans because it’s flavorful and the chocolate does a great job making the bitter coffee bean more palatable (less like dirt). But how much caffeine is in a serving of chocolate covered espresso beans?
Here are the cold hard facts:
- 30 Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans = 200 mg of Caffeine
- 1 Cup of coffee (regular roast) = 104-192 mg of Caffeine (this depends on the quality of coffee bean and how it was roasted)
- 1 Shot of Espresso = 100mg of Caffeine (about 20+ espresso beans ground finely)
- 1 Can of Red Bull = 80 mg of Caffeine
While I enjoy my cup of coffee with cream and sugar, I can’t help but to wonder how other people are trying to curb the after lunch food-coma.
For more reading on caffeine, you can visit a few sites on the internet by Google/Bing-ing ‘caffeine in food’.
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by tec on October 7, 2008
Bar 89 Cool Bathroom in New York
| When I was visiting New York City, my local friend took me to a popular bar in the heart of Manhattan, known as Bar 89. While the food and drinks are superb, the one thing that I (and many others) take away from this bar is the interesting and uniquely creative design of the bathroom stalls. The stalls are situated in the back of the bar, but are in plain view of a large section of the main floor. Each stall has a glass door, and you can easily see the toilet and sink inside. The first thought is that you would be seen if you tried to use the bathroom, but the trick is, once you go inside and close the door, the glass frosts over so it becomes impossible to see inside. This frosting mechanism is known as “Smart Privacy Glass” which uses an electric charge to scramble liquid crystal polymers within the glass to shift, and prevent vision.
The bathrooms are also lit with pink or blue light, to denote women’s or men’s bathrooms. |
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| Years later, I found that I had forgotten almost everything about the bar, like what food was featured, what drink I had, or what music was playing. But I will always remember the cool bathrooms at Bar 89. |
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by tec on October 4, 2008
The Cube Houses of Rotterdam, Netherlands
| The Cube Houses of Rotterdam, Netherlands, is a tribute to post-World War II architecture. Much of the city was destroyed during the war, and afterwards, there was a large movement toward modern architecture. The Cube Houses were designed by the architect Piet Blom, and they are designed to simulate a 45 degree tilt, with windows on each floor. The houses rest on hexagon-shaped concrete pylons, which are integrated in the house design. |
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| Each house contains 3 floors: the ground floor which includes the entrance, the second floor with two bedrooms and a bathroom, and the third floor which has a skyward facing window, and can be used as a garden or leisure room.Each cube house only has about 1080 square feet of space in its interior, and up to 1/4 of that is not fully usable because of the angles of the walls.
Due to heavy tourism, residents are often bothered by people who crowd outside and take pictures or make noise. As a result, one resident converted his cube house into a fully furnished model home, and has allowed visitors to tour the residence for a small fee. |
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by tec on September 22, 2008
Weird Bathroom Sinks and Toilets
| There are normal bathroom products, and then there are these bathroom products. I found these weird bathroom sinks and toilets while perusing the web, and I couldn’t help but laugh.Like this rhinestone-covered toilet made of stainless steel, perfect for your favorite rapper’s house. |
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Here we have a sink that is completely integrated with a beer barrel, custom-made. The sink is actually quite difficult to manufacture, as there is a certain amount of plumbing and structure required to mount.The wood is recoated and the top is re-finished with a hardening resin. |
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This interesting aquarium toilet looks to be a very intricate decorative piece at first, but it is actually functional!Don’t worry, the fish don’t get flushed down with the water, because the water tank for the toilet is separated from the aquarium tank. |
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Finally, we have this gem. This toilet is one of the oddest you’ll see. The obvious issue here is that there are two seats. Most people I know don’t use the toilet together, so this creative piece will probably never find its way into my house.At least one thing’s for certain, you’ll never be lonely while you’re sitting on the can anymore! |
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by tec on September 17, 2008
Plastic Water Bottles are Safe to Reuse
| Recently, I’ve been hearing a lot of people tell me that there are certain dangers involved in storing water bottles, using water bottles, and reusing water bottles. So I began my typical scouring of the internet to get to the bottom of this myth or truth. I can now conclusively say that plastic water bottles are safe to use and reuse in almost all situations. Let me break down the myths: |
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1. Plastic water bottles release harmful carcinogens into the water inside over time, particularly when reused and stored.
A. The plastics (usually polyethylene terephthalate, or PET) that are used in all water bottles are FDA approved for food-contact, and has not been proven to be harmful in any way to human beings, even after prolonged and recurring use. The only reason to throw your water bottle away after a few uses is to prevent harmful bacteria or microbes from growing inside (which can happen after a while), thus making you sick. Harmful carcinogens have nothing to do with this risk. 2. When frozen or chilled in the refridgerator, plastic water bottles release harmful carcinogens at a faster rate.
A. This statement is completely false, as it is chemically proven that when cooled, the temperature has the exact opposite effect on plastic. It is true that more chemicals (not necessarily harmful) can enter the water when the bottle is heated, but not cooled.
3. Leaving a water bottle in a hot car makes the water unhealthy to drink.
A. As long as you’re not leaving it for a week or more, you shouldn’t have to worry too much about this. Once again, the risk is not in the plastic, but what might end up growing inside the water because you’re giving it plenty of sunlight and exposure.
These email hoaxes and ideas floating around do nothing to help our environment, as people will throw away water bottles for fear of contamination. I’ve been recently using water bottles at work and refilling them, and using them for about 1-2 weeks each bottle. I think this is one of the cleanest ideas I’ve ever had, and it’s greatly reducing the water bottle trash that I’m creating. Plus I feel great.
References:
+ http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/petbottles.asp
+ http://www.plasticsinfo.org/s_plasticsinfo/sec_level2_faq.asp?CID=705&DID=2839 |
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