Stuff YOU Should Know
Is Cooking Monkey Business?
Consuming cooked food is considered to be an important evolutionary milestone for the human race. Since chimpanzees are closely linked to humans in terms of DNA composition and shared traits, researchers at Harvard University decided to conduct a study involving chimps and cooking devices. The series of experiments were conducted at famed activist Jane Goodall’s Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The results were published in the British academic journal, Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
The article, titled “Cognitive Capacities for Cooking in Chimpanzees” determined that chimps have a preference for cooked food over raw food. While this is not exactly the same thing as cooking the food themselves, scientists believe that the chimpanzees possess the complex cognitive abilities (such as reasoning and delayed gratification) required to do so. The chimps were given food that they could opt to “cook” in a man-made container that acted like a microwave where raw food was “transformed to cooked food.”
What Do You Think? Researchers said they didn’t feel it would be safe to give the chimpanzees access to gas and/or actual fire. But if they had, do you think some of the chimps would have been able to eventually cook on their own? Do some research on the subject and support your answer.
Greece Debt Crisis Continues
Earlier this year, btw brought you news of the continuing European debt crisis. Much of the concern is centers around Greece’s financial instability combined with a stubborn rigidity in cooperating with the countries offering assistance. In 2010 and 2012, the European Commission, European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) lent the country a combined $240 billion in a bailout. As the deadline for repayment approaches, the Greek government seems very unlikely to repay.
The reason why the rest of Europe is so concerned with making a proper deal with Greece is that failure to do so could have significant effects on the economies around the world. Earlier this month, the countries that make up the “Group of 7” (the U.S., the UK, Germany, France, Canada, Italy, and Japan) met to work out a new deal with Greece. This means structural reforms that would return allow Greece to maintain long-term growth. Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras rejected a recent proposal by the Group of 7 because it called for cuts to government pensions that Tsipras called, “absurd.”
Dig Deeper Next steps for the Group of Seven is to determine if Greece can, “stay in the euro,” and if the rest of the world can deal with the consequences if that happens. Find out what this means and what commentators believe will happen.
Summer at the Multi-Plex
At the movies. Photo: Denis Raev/iStock/Getty Images Plus
The summer of 2014 was considered the worst box office season since 1997. While ever-increasing outlets for entertainment is a likely contributor, Hollywood is hoping for a comeback this year. Summer releases are important to studios because they historically bring in nearly 40 percent of annual revenue. There are three films based on Marvel comics: Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man, and The Fantastic Four. Many more are sequels (Pitch Perfect 2, Mad Max: Fury Road, Jurassic World) or a re-boots (Man from U.N.C.L.E., Poltergeist). Tomorrowland is (sort of?) based on a Disneyland attraction.
Every generation has its own set of nostalgic pop culture favorites, and movies play a big part of that. Hollywood has a long history of big rollouts, but the era of Big Summer Blockbuster was born in the 1970s. Director Steven Spielberg soon became it patron saint, with films like Jaws (1976), Raiders of the Lost Ark (and its sequels, 1980 through 2008), Jurassic Park (and its sequels, 1993 to this past weekend), and even War of the Worlds. In the 80s, teens flocked to see other teens–Back to the Future (1985), Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), and Dirty Dancing (1987). The action film was kicked up a notch in the 1990s–Speed (1994) and Independence Day (1996). In the 2000s, movie franchises ruled–Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, Transformers, and The Fast and the Furious.