Numbers tell a tire’s age. Tires older than 6 years have an increasing risk of accidents from sudden “tread separation”. On tires made after 2006 the number is on the outside sidewall. For tires made before 2006 it’s on the inside sidewall. The last 4 numbers tell the tire’s age. The first 2 numbers are the week the tire was made; the last 2 numbers are the year. A tire made in the 47th week of 2008 – November 2008 – would have a number ending in -4708. A tire with a number ending in 3 digits was made before 2000. Its “number is up” already.
DNA bar coding looks at gene sequences in fish flesh to prevent substitution of cheap fish for more expensive or overfished fish. Studies done in 2011 by researchers in North America and Europe found 20%-25% of seafood products were fraudulently identified. The nonprofit group Oceana rated fraud in some species at 70%. Eighty-four percent of seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported – often going through a multistep supply chain. The FDA plans regular use of DNA testing by the end of 2011, but you might want to take that with a grain of salt used on your mystery fish.
DeaconGel, used for radioactive cleanup, started as a mistake. Because researchers were being careless with an experiment, some of the gel they were working on dripped onto the floor. When it was peeled off the next morning, the floor was absolutely clean – cleaner than scrubbing could make surrounding areas. In 2009, 3 years later, the blue goo was ready to market. It’s been used to clean everything from shipyards to meth labs to radioactive waste from the tsunami-crippled, Japanese nuclear power plants. DeaconGel doesn’t neutralize radioactivity. It reduces disposal amounts by 90%. With a little effort goo is “goo-d”.
The Panera Bread Co.’s café in suburban St. Louis is, in 2011, the largest example of the concept called “community kitchens” – where businesses operate partly as charities. Although “suggested funding levels” are on the menu board, the nonprofit, pay-what-you-want café encourages charity. Statistics show 60% of customers leave the suggested amount, 20% leave more and 20% leave less. Overall, the café performs at about 80% of retail and brings in about $100,000 a month – enough to generate $3,000-$4,000 a month above costs for a job training program for local, at-risk youths. Obviously, Panera Bread Co. is a “breadwinner”.
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