Are you having beef for dinner? Do you know where it came from? No, not the grocery store down the street, but where the cow was raised? Most of us probably can’t answer those questions, and that’s a growing concern for health advocates, retailers, and lawmakers amid reports that some meatpackers in Brazil — one of the world’s largest exporters of beef — are shipping out rotten, salmonella-tainted beef. [More]
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Olympic Athletes Complain Of Blocked Toilets, Exposed Wiring In Rio Dorms
By 7.25.16
Two years ago, athletes and reporters arriving in Sochi, Russia for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games were greeted with less-than-finished room accommodations that led at least one bobsled team to have a very rough weekend. Fast forward to 2016, as Olympic athletes descend on Rio and it seems like history may be repeating itself — leaky faucets, exposed wiring, and all. [More]
Who Doesn’t Want A $1,150 Machine That Makes Coffee And Soda?
By 5.20.15
Keurig, maker of digital rights management-laden coffee pod brewers, has seen its sales fall in recent weeks as customers made it known that they do not care for the latest version of the company’s machine. Yet what if there were a machine that could make both hot and carbonated beverages, and was available for the low price of $1,150? That device is coming, from Whirlpool and AB InBev. [More]
Brazil Suspends Uber, Uber Keeps Driving
By 4.30.15
Car-hailing app Uber has racked up another municipality on its list of places where the service has been banned, yet drivers remain on the roads anyway. That distinction belongs to the entire nation of Brazil, where a judge has ruled that providing rides to strangers is the exclusive right of licensed taxi services. [More]
Delta Cutting Some International Flights Later This Year
By 4.16.15
If you were planning to fly Delta Air Lines for an overseas trip this holiday season, you might want to start making other plans. The airline aims to cut its international flights by about 3% during the last three months of 2015. [More]
StubHub Users Seeking World Cup Tickets In Brazil Stymied By Cyber Attack
By 5.7.14
Soccer fans (yes, other countries, we know you call it football) in Brazil trying to score resold tickets on StubHub in that country have been blocked from doing so after the site suffered a large denial-of-service attack and shut down. This, amidst the insistence of soccer’s governing body FIFA and the Brazilian government that all tickets to the upcoming World Coup tournament should come directly from FIFA. [More]
Adidas Drops World Cup T-Shirts After Host Country Brazil Deems Them Too Sexy
By 2.27.14
The country that put thong bikinis on the map would rather not put out the wrong message about its citizens during the 2014 World Cup. Brazil has nixed two graphic T-shirts from Adidas for being too suggestive, saying the country doesn’t want to promote sexual exploitation. [More]
Budweiser ‘Buddy Cup’ Lets You Facebook Friend Someone By Clinking Glasses For Some Reason
By 4.29.13
Sure, you could take your smartphone with you when you go out drinking, take some bleary-eyed selfies, and use the Facebook app to add all of your new friends to your Facebook friends page. Or you could try Budweiser’s Buddy Cup, a bar glass that we’re hoping is only a novelty item. It lets you send a friend request to anyone you clink glasses with while out drinking. [More]
McDonald's Fined $1.8 Million In Brazil Over Happy Meal Toys
By 12.7.11
Looks like San Francisco isn’t the only place that has a problem with McDonald’s including free toys in its Happy Meals. The fast food giant has been fined approximately $1.8 million by a Brazilian agency that claims the freebies in McDonald’s kids’ meals promotes bad eating habits in children. [More]
U.S. Hoping Chinese People Will Travel Here To Buy Products Made There
By 10.3.11
With a large number of Americans still feeling the sting of the economic doldrums, the U.S. is banking on a hope that tourists from China will come to this country and spend money on products that were probably made in China. [More]
McDonald's Ordered To Pay $17,500 To Employee Who Got Fat On The Job
By 10.29.10
A former manager at a McDonald’s in Brazil won a lawsuit against the fast food giant, in which he claimed the company was the cause of the 65 pounds he packed on during his 12 years on the job. [More]
Pilot Detained After Dropping Pants During Security Screening
By 6.27.10
Look, pilots, we know that times are tough, but when security asks you to remove your belt and shoes, you probably shouldn’t laugh and drop your pants, ok? Because if you do, you’re going to end up detained and will have to explain yourself to a judge. Just ask United Airlines pilot Michael Slynn, who forgot this relatively simple advice yesterday in Rio de Janiero. [More]
Brazil's Cure For High Blood Pressure? More Sex
By 4.27.10
Brazilians are a passionate people. Unfortunately, they are also a people with high blood pressure. But the country’s health minister is telling Brazilians that a good place to fight heart problems is between the sheets. [More]
Save Water, Urinate in the Shower
By 8.5.09
A new ad campaign in Brazil urges citizens to pee in the shower as a way to conserve water. “Xixi no banho” translates to “Pee in the bath.” I don’t speak Portugese or I’d give you a play-by-play on what is going on this largely inscrutable PSA.
The Coffee Wars Have Begun
By 5.1.06
The price of another kind of sweet, life-nurturing crude is set to spike: thanks to a bad year in Brazil and growing consumer demand in Eastern Europe and Asia, there may not be enough coffee to meet demand over the next two years. Prices will be going up. A global coffee crisis may well be imminent.
