“The Dinner Garden” was the idea of Holly Hirshberg. When her husband lost his job in 2008, they made ends meet by living off their garden. Her sharing seeds with friends led to her starting a non-profit that provides seeds to people to grow enough food for a family of 4. Hirshberg gets seed donations from seed companies, but her biggest donors are people she has sent seeds to. According to a 2009 Department of Agriculture report, 14.7% of American households didn’t have enough food for a healthy life. The seeds from The Dinner Garden also grow hope.
Someone thought metal water bottles were a good idea. However, some leach more estrogen-mimicking BPA than plastic bottles. In a study published in Chemosphere, researchers tested polycarbonate bottles, epoxy-resin-lined aluminum bottles, BPA-free plastic bottles, stainless steel bottles and “EcoCare” resin-lined bottles. Room temperature water was stored in each bottle for 5 days. The polycarbonate bottles leached 0.17 to 0.3 nanograms of BPA per milliliter of water and the epoxy-resin-lined bottles leached 6 times more. Exposing the bottles to hot water quadrupled the leaching. When it comes to metal bottles, those with golden-orange linings were the most “waterfoul”.
Considering the popularity of energy drinks, someone else thought relaxation drinks were a good idea. Relaxation drinks were first made in Japan in 2005. They don’t contain alcohol. Their main ingredients are melatonin, L-theanine, GABA, B vitamins and chamomile. Drinks such as “Vacation in a Bottle”, “Dream Water” and “Just Chill” supposedly relieve muscle tension and reduce levels of cortisone, the body’s main stress hormone. In 2010 about 22.4 million cases were sold – double the amount sold in 2008. However, that won’t cause soda manufacturers to need relaxation drinks. In 2010 they sold about 9.36 billion cases.
Being able to recognize lies would be a good idea. According to experts, an abrupt change in the manner of speaking – calm to agitated, lively to mellow – is a sign. Another sign is the use of phrases such as “to tell the truth” or “to be perfectly honest”. Zero hesitation before answering questions is a sign of rehearsed lies. If people are lying about themselves, the words “I” and “me” are used less frequently. Finally, fidgeting and fussing – such as excessive eyeglass cleaning – are more obvious when a lie is told to loved ones. It seems if we pay attention, we don’t have to take this “lying down”.
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