Italian Lawmakers Consider a Ban On Fluffy Gelato Injected With Air

As the European Union plans to reopen to tourists who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, Italy’s cities and towns could be popular destinations. Gelato, however, may be getting a slight makeover. That’s because a group of Italian lawmakers has proposed a bill that aims to preserve the art of the country’s iconic dessert. The bill would make it illegal for Italian gelato sellers to use ingredients other than milk and its derivatives, eggs and fresh fruit. Gelato-makers who produce desserts with artificial colors, flavors, or hydrogenated fats would not be allowed to label those products as “artisanal.” Sellers who don’t comply could be faced with a fine of up to $12,000. The bill would also prohibit gelato sellers from injecting the dessert with air — a tactic that supposedly makes the frozen treat have a lighter, fluffier texture. Artisanal gelato contains between 20% to 30% air, which comes from mixing ingredients. Industrial-made gelato can contain up to 80% air, which is often added in the form of compressed air. The bill, which is under consideration by the senate, would limit the amount of air in artisanal gelato to 30%.

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South American Mayor Hires Mimes To Direct Traffic

Antanas Mockus had just resigned from the top job at Colombian National University, when the mathematician looked around for another big challenge and found it: to be in charge of a “6.5 million person classroom.” With no political experience, he ran for mayor of Bogotá and won. He was successful because people saw him as an honest person. As a city choked with violence, lawless traffic, corruption, and gangs of street children who mugged and stole, it was a city perceived by some to be on the verge of chaos. What people seemed to hate the most was the disorder of the city, mainly due to uncontrolled traffic. Mockus closed down the transit police because many of those 2,000 members were notorious for accepting bribes. Instead, he used mimes to improve both traffic and citizens’ behavior. Initially, 20 professional mimes shadowed pedestrians who didn’t follow crossing rules. A pedestrian running across the road would be tracked by a mime, who mocked his every move. Mimes also poked fun at reckless drivers. The program was so popular that another 400 people were trained as mimes. “It was a pacifist counterweight,” Mockus said. “With neither words nor weapons, the mimes were doubly unarmed. My goal was to show the importance of cultural regulations.”

 

 

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Here's Why George Lucas Has His Own Fire Department

Of all the words that come to mind when people consider what it means to be a celebrity, it could easily be argued that excess is the best one. While it can be said that producer George Lucas indulges in some excesses, it’s also noteworthy to mention that he spends a lot of money each year on firefighters. With Lucas owning Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic, Pixar and THX, he needed to find a place that could accommodate these businesses and their employees. That’s why he came up with the idea of creating a facility known as Skywalker Ranch. Given everything that goes on at the facility and all the people who work there, it would be a disaster if it was destroyed by a fire. That’s why Lucas created a fire brigade, complete with firetrucks he owns and 12 full-time firefighters who serve his facility. As it turns out, that's a really good thing as a fire broke out at Skywalker Ranch in 2013 and the firefighters helped to put it out alongside an advanced sprinkler system. Lucas doesn’t only worry about his own property. He regularly sends his firefighters out to aid the Marin County firefighters, including the time they helped put out a wildfire. It’s nice to know that someone with a net worth of $5.4 billion is willing to give back to his community.

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The Next-In-Line Effect

Imagine you’re a college student and it’s the first day of classes. Your professor announces that you’re going to do an icebreaker activity to get to know each other. You must tell the class your name, where you’re from, and one fun fact about yourself. Dread sets in as you panic, trying to think of something interesting to say. When it’s all over, you can’t remember a single thing anyone ahead of you said. That’s called the “next-in-line effect.” It’s the cognitive bias that causes a person to have lower recall for events that happened right before or after a performance. One theory for why this occurs is that too many demands on someone’s attention can make it difficult to properly form a memory for the event. Being consumed by the expectation of your performance can distract you and keep you from paying attention to anything else. Before you think you’ve never had that happen to you, ask yourself one question. Have you ever been engaged in a conversation with someone and you’ve been so focused on formulating your answer or comment in response that you fail to hear all of what the other person has said? That’s the next-in-line effect busy at work. In the college class scenario, you’re so focused internally, trying to rehearse what you’re going to say, that you’ve totally missed what everybody before you has said. So, the next time you can tell that someone you’re talking to isn't really listening, don’t take too much offense.

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