If you’ve ever felt like you need to send off flares and sparklers in order to get a drink from the bar, bartender and bar culture author Rosie Schaap has some advice on things that will work to get served faster. [More]
drink
There's Arsenic In The Apple Juice
By 7.21.11
With all the things on your mind, the last thing you need to worry about is whether the apple juice you finally convinced your kid to drink has arsenic in it. But an independent lab test of several different brands of apple juice, sponsored by Food & Water Watch and Empire State Consumer Project found a sample of Mott’s Apple Juice contained 55 parts per billion of arsenic, exceeding the EPA tolerance level of 10 parts per billion. The FDA does not have a set tolerance level for juice. [More]
How Nasty Is Your Bottled Water?
By 7.6.11
Does your bottled water taste funny? It’s not just that it’s probably only tapwater. Environmental Working Group rated 173 brands of bottled water based on their sourcing information, purification, testing, and how transparent the information on their label and website was. Turns out, some of the biggest brands in bottled water are, well, a little murky. [More]
Grocery Shrink Ray Hits Odwalla, Reducing From 15 To 12 oz
By 5.20.11
Myron Reducto is at it again, turning his Grocery Shrink Ray Gun on Odwalla juice, zapping it down to 12 oz from 15. The price is the same Odwalla has lowered the suggested retail price for the bottles, but some retailers have opted to keep the price the same. Like other food packagers, Odwalla is combining the shrinkage with a packaging redesign that it hopes will get more press. In this case, they are simultaneously rolling out bottles that are made from 100% plant based HDPE plastic. [More]
Mom Sues Four Loko For Teen's Death
By 5.20.11
The parents of a teen who died after drinking two Four Lokos and running onto a highway have sued the beverage maker, reports the Chicago Tribune. The lawsuit claims the manufacturer was “careless and negligent” in making a caffeinated alcoholic drink that “desensitizes users to the symptoms of intoxication and increases the potential for alcohol-related harm.” [More]
Consider The Mighty Coffee Cup Lid
By 5.11.11
For an item so ubiquitous, tossed without a care, and that costs only pennies to make, a ton of engineering and thought has poured into the design of the plastic coffee cup lid. Take a moment to look down the next time you grab a cup of Joe and see which sort you have before you, as there are all manner of species for all manner of purposes. [More]
Why Is Coors Light Advertising During This Children's Song?
By 5.9.11
Reader Jonnie was looking for YouTube videos to help his son remember his multiplication tables. He found one for 8’s, but was taken aback by what he had to watch first before he could watch it. It was an ad for Coors Light beer. That is some pretty dumb media buying right there. [More]
Pepsi Throwback Becomes Permanent
By 3.17.11
Pepsi “Throwback,” a version made with real sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup, will has been upgraded from “limited time” to “permanent,” the sodamaker announced on its Facebook wall. No more driving down to Mexico or waiting for Passover to snatch some up. You can now enjoy the all-natural sugary pick-me-up beverage as an occasional treat and compliment to your favorite nutritious meals and snacks all year-round. [More]
Starbucks Recommends iPhone App Users Enable Password Lock
By 2.10.11
Reached for comment about concerns that people could steal your Starbucks Reward card by taking a screenshot of it as it appears on the iPhone app, a Starbucks spokesperson told Consumerist, “We definitely want our customers to have a good experience with mobile payment. We take security seriously.” They also recommended customers take additional safety measures and offered a solution for anyone who had their card stolen. [More]
Crooks Can Make You Pay For Their Starbucks With Simple Screengrab
By 2.10.11
Researchers have discovered a security flaw in the new Starbucks Rewards Card iPhone app that could let someone else rack up a bunch of free coffees on your dime. All someone has to do is take a picture of your barcode and then they can use it to buy all the delicious black swill they want, draining your account to the last drop. [More]
Drinking More Makes You Exercise More
By 1.7.11
Scientists aren’t sure why but research shows that people who drink more are more likely to exercise longer and more intensely. [More]
What Is A Fatal Dose Of Four Loko?
By 12.2.10
“How many Four Lokos would it take to kill you?” wondered Esquire. So they turned to a report in Forensic Science International that says the rare fatal caffeine overdose usually requires consuming over 5 grams. To reach that level it would take… [More]
Self-Serve Wine Tanks Coming To Supermarkets
By 9.15.10
Self-serve wine tanks could be hitting American supermarkets within a year. These 500 and 1,000 liter mechanical kegs dispense wine into whatever container the shopper brings with them. [More]
7/11 Is Free Slurpee Day At 7-11
By 7.6.10
Free 7.11oz Slurpees can be had by one and all at 7-11 on Sunday, July 11th. Yes, that’s on 7/11. Schedule a doctor’s appointment now for the inevitable brain freeze! [More]
Potentially Boozy Kombucha Drinks Drive Whole Foods Yank
By 6.18.10
Whole Foods has removed all kombucha drinks from its shelves over concerns that it might contain elevated levels of alcohol. The supermarket was worried that, to paraphrase the great poet J-Kwon, “errybody in the fermented culture club gettin’ tipsy.” What’s kombucha, you ask? And why does the process of making it remind me of a certain Capri Sun pouch? [More]
How Much Caffeine Is In Your Decaffeinated Coffee?
By 6.19.08
How decaffeinated is your decaf exactly? That’s what Consumer Reports aimed to uncover when they sent their shoppers to sample 36 cups of decaffeinated coffee from 6 locations of Burger King, Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s, Seattle’s Best Coffee, 7-Eleven and Starbuck’s near their headquarters in Yonkers, NY. See the results, inside…
They Ruined Kool-Aid Man
By 3.17.08
Look at what they did to Kool-Aid man. He started out as a giant jug of sugar water, busting through walls and letting you drink out of him, a seemingly never-ending supply of flavorful fun. Flash forward to today and his liquid stomach is stapled. How the hell are we supposed to have an all-afternoon sugar high off that teacup? And look what they did to his clothes. Instead of fruity nudity, fig leaves. And look how they foreshortened him to emphasize the fruit and berries in his hands. So now he’s tiny and modest and healthy. Yay, how awesome. How far we have fallen from Eden. After the jump, a cartoon rendering of Dane Cook’s Kool-Aid standup bit, which captures the essence of the original Kool-Aid man commercials in its own special way.
You People Are Buying A Lot Of Champagne
By 12.24.07
Not since the buying frenzy of 1999, when people bought champagne in bulk to ring in the millennium, have U.S. champagne and sparkling wine sales been so high. Volume for 2007 is expected to hit 900 million glasses, up 4% over 2006, says the 2007 Impact Annual Wine Study.
