At the beginning of the 21st Century, the Binary Wars laid waste to the Cola industry.

Which was the only state to reject the Eighteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, establishing Prohibition? (Answer at that link.)

(Via Serious Eats)

Via Slashdot, here’s a NewScientist article on how “Corkscrew cups could keep space drinks flowing”.

Space tourists may one day drink coffee served in “cups” made from corkscrews of ribbon-like material that miraculously keep liquid suspended in their centre.

Holding liquids this way could solve the tricky problem of getting fluid out of an open container in microgravity, researchers say. They add that the same approach may also prove useful to nanotechnologists working with tiny samples of liquid.

Not to mention space tourists trying to drink their space beer. Which makes me wonder if anybody has done any brewing or distilling in orbit.

The article continues,

On Earth we rely on gravity to get liquids to pour from an open container. But getting liquid out of a container in microgravity requires pumping it out, for example sucking it through a straw.

Often, this is a frustrating process, as the fluid breaks up into globules because of the way pressure inside the liquid interacts with the shape of most containers.

Via Serious Eats’ Required Eating comes a NY Times story on a London fish and chips shop that is trying to go fully sustainable. It’s a thoroughly difficult process.

Part of [Tom Aikens’] mission is “to broaden fish tastes outside of cod.” His fish and chips will be made from cod imported from countries where it is not overfished as well as from sustainable species like pollack, gunard, rays and sole. He said he hoped to “raise awareness” among the top chefs in London to help bring about self-imposed moratoriums on severely depleted stocks like North Sea cod or Mediterranean bluefin tuna. A portion of the cheapest fish and chips at Tom’s Place, ray for takeaway, will run about £10, or $20.

“A Favorite Meal, Now Offering a Side Order of Environmental Awareness”