Ripped From the Headlines
“Hyperspectral imaging”—the tech program that aided the US government in hunting down Osama bin Laden—isn’t just some voodoo magic secret ops thing. Oh, no. It’s for all of us! It can improve our lives! It can—yes, I am not making this up—make cake stay fresh longer. [MSN] —Todd Kliman
Grains of Truth
Because sometimes our best way to fight back bigotry is with parody. And the ground zero of this current battle is—naturally—Cheerios. [YouTube] —Chris Campbell
Just Stop
Paula Deen: Nothing you do is helping the world right now. [HuffPo] —CC
A Polish chain serving Italian food with 400 varieties of pasta already sounds like a disaster (or a tragic comedy), but Tom Sietsema confirms this week that La Taglietella is indeed “a threat to our nation.” Read on for an entertaining review and side-trip to the Olive Garden [WaPo] —Anna Spiegel
Study This
The secret to a healthier life? Learning to cook before the age of eight, according to a new study. [Telegraph] —TK
I would make a joke about the new glut of eateries on 14th Street, but this is not funny at all. A study says nearly a third of DC children aren’t getting enough food every day. [HuffPo] —CC
Then again, you could always shake your head at how much food (and water) we Yanks waste every year. [Kansas City] —CC
The Fat Files
No, you did not misread that headline. The latest in contrarian food news. [The Atlantic] —Marisa Kashino
You know how you’re always saying, “Gee, this cup of coffee could really use some butter”? [Today] —MK
Food for Thought
A brief history of pasta. Go West, young noodle! [Saudi Aramco World] —TK
The real Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: why European aristocrats were afraid to eat them. [Smithsonian Magazine] —Tanya Pai
Human Experiments
A fashion rag scribe’s melodramatically horrifying attempt to go vegan. [Jezebel] —TK
I don’t know why, but the Atlantic loves doing Captain Obvious pieces. What does billion-year-old water taste like? Yeah, not good. [The Atlantic] —TK
Global Eats
If this doesn’t make you want to get on a plane this second and fly all night to Singapore, then you really aren’t a food lover. [Bon Appétit] —TK
Liquid Culture
Wine bottles through the ages. If surfing the Web has so addled your ability to concentrate for more than 20 seconds at a time, then just take in the illustration up top. [History Today] —TK
This is incredibly important: Shaq has his own line of cream sodas. [BuzzFeed] —TP
Bust out these facts at your next bottomless brunch to distract from the fact that you’re slightly smashed at 1 PM. [BuzzFeed]
Old Blue Eyes Is Back
Of course that silver fox Eric Ripert likes Negronis. And Spiderman. And naked women. Find out what else in 21 Questions. [Grub Street] —AS