11-19-09 The Biggest Loser

I have always really liked working out and fitness so I had always liked The Biggest Loser TV show on NBC. It is a show about very overweight people who compete to be the Biggest Loser of weight loss and whoever looses the most weight wins a prize of money. I found on the internet that there are many different variations of the same show worldwide but they all have the same goal of losing the most weight. The first season of The Biggest Loser started on October 19th 2004 and has been going on its 8th season now. I think this show is so popular because of how horrible the obesity rate is in Americans especially kids. The obesity rates of adults have doubled from 15 to 30 percent since 1980’s. Another interesting fact is that the costs of health care are more than one-quarter of the expenses which are because of obesity. According to the surgeongeral.gov stated that “Nearly two out of every three Americans are overweight or obese.” Also the surgeongeneral.gov website started that since the 1960’s the obesity rate in kids has tripled to 15 percent and that “nearly three out of every four overweight teenagers may become overweight adults.” I sad thing about all of these horrible facts is that the rate is just going to keep increasing. I think the big problem with kids these days is all they want to do is play with video games and on the computer instead of going to play outside. I think The Biggest Loser show is a great idea and think they should have a show for little kids. I remember a few years ago there was a show with Shaq and he had overweight kids working out and showing them the correct foods to eat. I think The Biggest Loser show will never get old because there are always going to be many overweight people.

http://healthyamericans.org/obesity/

http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/news/testimony/obesity07162003.htm

11-19-09 Kool-Aid

I have always liked the Kool-Aid pitcher character that is on T.V. commercials. I wanted to find more information about Kool-Aid. The names of the inventors of the drink are Edwin Perkins and his wife Kitty in Hastings, Nebraska. Kool-Aid was introduced in 1927. All of the trials and creations of the drink all took place in Edwin Perkins mothers’ kitchen. At first Kool-Aid was a liquid concentrate and the name of it was Fruit Smack. Then in 1927 Edwin started shipping the Kool-Aid and realized it was very expensive to ship the Fruit Smack and that was when he found a way to take the liquid out and it was only in powder form. It was then when the name Fruit Smacked changed to Kool-Aid. The production of Kool-Aid was changed to be produced in Chicago starting in 1931. In 1953 is when the selling of Kool-Aid started to be sold to general food stores. Ever year Nebraska still holds a celebration in the summertime called “Kool-Aid Days” to remember the fame the city is known for. The official drink of Nebraska is Kool-Aid. The mascot for Kool-Aid started soon after Kool-Aid was being sold as a general food. Kraft Foods is the current owner of Kool-Aid. There are many flavors of Kool-Aid and I love drinking it. I think it is really interesting what I found out about Kool-Aid and I like the mascot because it always makes me want to drink it.

11-19-09 Touch Screens

It seems like touchscreens are on every electronic these days. I wanted to find out the history of touch screens so I went on Google. Touch screens started in a research lab halfway through the 1960’s. The first place they were viewed was in 1972 as a project called PLATO which is a computer learning terminal. The touch screens have become more accustomed to in kiosk systems like on ATM machines; PDA’s where a person uses a stylus to enter information in. The main reason that touch screens are becoming so popular is because of smart phones, PDA’s, portable game consoles, and appliances. The earliest touch screen computer that is known of was the HP-150 in 1983. It was not an actual touch screen but it had infrared transmitters which found any “non-transparent object” that was seen on the screen. By the 1980’s most of the touch screens could only detect one touch at a time and there was a small amount that could detect how hard a person would touch the screen. There have been many touch screen sensors that have been made by many different companies. Currently the producers of touch screens have noticed that the touch screen is a very popular user interface and that is what people desire. I was very surprised and found it interesting that touch screens started many years ago.I think touch screens are an awesome technology and I can’t even imagine what new touch screen technology will be out next.

11-18-09 Skittles the Sport

While I was looking at the information about Skittles I found a game called Skittles. I thought it was a joke at first, but then I looked into it more. The game is played in pubs in England and Wales. The game Skittles is only found in certain regions and is not a nation-wide game. The game is popular in south west countries of Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Gloucestershire. The game is played in a narrow building known as skittle alley. There are 9 pins that are called skittle pins. The rules and the pins are different for each region. They normally throw a hardwood ball at the pins, but sometimes use a rubber ball. The size of the ball is from 4 inches and 6 inches in diameter but do not have a place for fingers. After throwing the ball a wooden ramp gives the ball back to the players. The pins are made out of a cider apple tree from the West Country. The size of the pins varies in height from 6inches and 16 inches and the weight of the pin is different depending on what region it is. Sometimes the very front pin is bigger and shaped different than the other pins. When playing the game the pins are in a diamond shape. The game is played by a person throwing three balls at the pins and after each throw whatever pins are hit, those pins are then removed. A person has to reposition the pins after each throw and that person is called the “stickerup.” The goal is to get a score of 27 but this sometimes varies depending on what region. Usually the ball is thrown on the floor but in different regions it is more like a “bowling roll.” A person has a chance to go 12 times during the game. In the Midlands a oval shaped log is thrown in place of the ball. Also a game called Table Skittles. After reading about this game I believe it is exactly like the game in the U.S. that we call bowling. I think it is really cool and didn’t realize that there are many different ways of “bowling” all around the world.

Here is a youtube video of the game http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgNH9RM3awQ

11-18-09 Skittles

I have always loved Skittles especially the sour skittles. I wanted to find out more about Skittles so I went on Google. Skittles are chewy, fruity flavored candies that are made by Mars, Inc. When a person bites down on a Skittle, it will be chewy and sugary tasting with the letter S on the candy. The main ingredients for Skittles are sugar, hydrogenated vegetable oil, fruit juice, citric acid, and other natural and artificial flavors. An English company was the first producer of Skittles in 1974. Finally Skittles were introduced to North America in 1979 and were imported. The first domestic production of Skittles in the United States was in 1982. Everyone knows that the saying for Skittles is “Skittles Taste the rainbow.” Skittles has recently started up an online marketing campaign and also on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. The flavors I found on the Skittles website was Original Fruit, Sour, Tropical, Wild Berry, and Crazy Cores.

11-18-09 Peanut Butter Twix

I was at Walgreens the other day walking through the candy section and saw the Peanut butter Twix bar. I found that the packaging of the candy bar caught my eye and also because I love peanut butter. I found that the original Twix bar is made my Mars, Inc. and is a chocolate bar that is a cookie, caramel and coated with milk chocolate. The Twix candy bar is normally packed with two bars in the package. The very first Twix was made in the United Kingdom in 1967 and was not until 1979 that the Twix was introduced to the United States. The Twix is now being made in Cleveland, Tennessee. I was surprised to find out that the Peanut Butter Twix is not all that new. It was first introduced in 1983 through 1997 and then 2000 until now. Instead of the caramel being in the candy bar; the peanut butter takes its place. The Twix was first in a yellow wrapper and currently it is with a red wrapper with PB on it. There is a big list of products of different Twix, too many to list. I think the packaging of this product is very eye catching because it is cool that the company can just put PB at the end of Twix and I knew right away that it meant peanut butter. I think it is very creative and I still haven’t tried the Peanut Butter Twix, but I plan to try it soon.

11-18-19 Microsoft surface

I was in my N-100 class and we talked about the new Microsoft Surface and thought it was such a cool technology and wanted to find out more. I went to Google and found information about it. The surface is a multi-touch product produced from Microsoft which allows one user or multiple users to use it by using a “natural hand gestures.” A person can scroll through pictures, order from a menu, place objects on the screen and it will interact with the device. If you place a camera on the surface it can get information and put it on the screen. The Microsoft surface in the future could help to improve the communication and be able to deliver more accurate information to customers. Microsoft Surface has four main capabilities which are direct interaction, multi-user experience, multi-touch, and object recognition. I think in the future the Microsoft Surface could possibly eliminate the jobs of a waitress because a person could order from the Surface, but there would need to be a person to bring out the food and drinks. I think the Microsoft Surface will be quickly becoming very popular and many business restaurants, and possibly people will be using the Microsoft Surface. On gizmodo.com I found that the price of a Microsoft Surface is $10,000.

11-12-09 Willy Wonka

I got the last GOLDEN TICKET! Everyone has heard of this and knows of the movie “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” I wanted to do some research about the Wonka candy. The brand started in 1971 by the company in Chicago named Breaker Confections. The company licensed the name “Willy Wonka” so they could make products to go with the movie. The first candy was not made until 1976. The Breaker Confections candy changed their name to Willy Wonka Brands in 1980. The Willy Wonka Candy Company brand was bought by Nestle in 1988. The candy is still being made in Itasca,Illinois. The products mentioned in the movie are the everlasting gobstopper and the Wonka Bar. I really think it is awesome how long ago the candy started out and the company is still selling the Wonka candies today. I love the design of all the candy because they use very bright colors and the fonts are “fun.”

11-12-09 LaCroix

Have you ever heard of LaCroix sparkling water? I absolutely love this water and I drink it all the time instead of pop because it is carbonated but much healthier. I searched for their website and found out some things. It is carbonated flavored water with no calories and is sodium free. The company has been in business for nearly 30 years and is going strong. The company that makes the LaCroix water is Sundance Beverage Company. They have many products and the only one I was familiar with was Faygo Pop. The National Beverage Corporation started in 1985 and it ranks fourth largest carbonated soft-drink company in the United States. Also I tried to find information about the design of the can but could not find anything. I really like the design of the can because the lettering is kind of cursive but its free flowing and simple. Also there is a teal and blue smooth line at the bottom of the label and I think the colors of the blue go together because when I think of water I think of blue even though the water we drink isn’t blue. My favorite so far is the lemon.

11-12-09 DOVE

Dove chocolate is always smooth and silky tasting; it is one of my favorite chocolates. The chocolate started in the 1939 by a Greek-American founder named Leo Stefanos. The chocolate shop that Leo Stefanos opened was called DOVE and it was in the south side of Chicago. The DOVEBAR ice-cream started up in 1959 and became a popular hit. Leo Stefanos died in 1977 and then his son took over the business. In 1984 Mike introduced the DOVEBAR at a food fest in Washington DC and then he started to receive orders for the bars all around the country. The company Mars really liked the DOVEBAR so they bought the DOVE company and then the DOVEBAR goes nationally. In 1991 is when the DOVE milk chocolate and dark chocolate promises started up where the wrapper had an individual inspirational message printed on the inside of the wrapper. Dove Chocolates are made with 100% pure cocoa butter and tested twice which is what makes them different from other chocolates. I think DOVE chocolates are the best tasting chocolate. Also I really love the packaging on the chocolates because they are unique from any other chocolate. I always like reading the inspirational sayings on the inside of the wrapper. I was very surprised that the DOVEBAR came out before the DOVE promises.

11-5-09 Bubble Yum

Every year the U.S sells 1.3 billion chunks of Bubble Yum gum. I have always loved bubble yum gum and the wrapper. I think the gum package looks like a bubble has burst on the wrapper. Also I like the font of the letters because it looks like big bubble letters and I think it goes well with the design. Lastly the bright pink color I think gets people’s attention like it does mine. I looked on the internet to find out more about bubble yum. Bubble Yum was introduced by the Lifesaver Company in 1975 and was the first soft bubble gum ever created. In 1976 Bubble Yum started to become very popular with young kids and teens that LifeSavers had to slow down the marketing of the gum so the company could keep the production up because it was in such high demand. In 1977 people were spreading rumors that the reason the gum so chewy was because there were spider eggs in it. There was a decrease in sales once this happened but then the Life Savers Company let people know with an official page in the U.S. newspapers to reassuring people that it was not true. Soon after the sales started to increase and passed the sales of Life Savers candy and finally was named the most popular bubble gum brand. In 1981 Nabisco first bought Life Savers and then in 2000 The Hershey Company bought it and currently owns it. All of the flavors are Original, Sugarless Original, Chocolate, Cotton Candy, Jolly Rancher Watermelon, Sour Apple Berry and Grape.

11-5-09 Snuggie

I always see commercials for the snuggie on TV and I am so annoyed by it. I think it is a really creative and smart invention because now they even have them for dogs. I wanted to find out more information so I looked on Google. The inventor of the Snuggie was Gary Clegg and he is 29 years old. The Snuggie started in 2008 and it became popular in the late 2008 and early 2009. At first many people made parody videos on YouTube and made a big joke about it. Also the product became famous after many commercials were advertised on TV and also on Jay Leno, Ellen DeGeneres, Bill Maher and Jon Stewart mocked the commercial during their show. They have sold more Snuggies than expected. There have been more than 4 million Snuggies sold which includes the original Snuggie, Snuggie for Dogs, Snugglette for children and Collegiate Snuggie. I will never buy a Snuggie because I do not think the fabric is that thick enough that it would keep me warm enough.

11-5-09 KFC Paper Bucket

I have always thought the design of the KFC chicken bucket was interesting because it has looked the same ever since I was born which has been 20 years. I started searching on Google to find out more information about the KFC chicken bucket and found out some interesting things. KFC was founded in 1930 in North Corbin, Kentucky. The founder was Harland Sanders and the franchise started in 1952 in South Salt Lake, Utah. The abbreviated name “KFC” was formed in 1991. The KFC paper buckets were originally created by Dave Thomas (Wendy’s). He was a franchisee of the original Kentucky Fried Chicken and worked several outlets in Columbus, Ohio. Thomas believed that the paper bucket made the chicken stay crispy because the paper bucket helped to wick away excessive moisture. Also Dave Thomas was the creator of the “famous rotating KFC bucket signs” that KFC restaurants in the U.S. had outside their restaurant. I think it is really awesome that Dave Thomas created the paper buckets and did not know that he did that. I think it is interesting that the design of the bucket is very simple, but I feel like it’s a trademark that when a person see’s the KFC paper bucket they know what it is. After looking up the information and looking at the pictures on google this made me very hungry.