Weird Wednesday Links: Deadly Disasters Caused by Food, Michelin Twitter Gaffes and Jell-O Retinas

August 31, 2011

Happy Weird Wednesday! This week, we're exploring the oddest news stories and products in my newsfeed. Let's dive right in, shall we?

Four deadly disasters caused by food, from the London Beer Flood to the Boston Molasses Disaster. [Smithsonian Magazine]

The Waffle Fries Tee sorts out any confusion as to the origin and ancestry of waffle fries. [Foodiggity]

Knork offers a full array of modern flatware that's unlike any set of tableware in your drawer. [Fab]

Dining do's and don'ts from around the world. For example, it's customary in Romania to leave a dinner party after the host recorks the wine bottle, whereas in Japan, licking your chopsticks is frowned upon. [Lapham's Quarterly]

Michelin New York editors accidentally tweet about enjoying dinner at a closed restaurant; Twitter shaming ensues. [Yahoo]

Social media disasters by major brands like Nestle and BMW, like the screenshot of a Greenpeace UK video featured above, which bashes Kit Kats. [Construction Marketing UK]

The Bottle Opening Ruler serves two essential, complementary purposes. [ThinkGeek]

Food for thought: middle-aged women who eat fast are typically heavier than those who eat slowly, according to a just-released New Zealand study. [Reuters]

Researchers have discovered that hydrogels -- which are similar to Jell-O -- enable them to isolate different proteins within a stem cell. This development may lead to lab-grown retinas or other 3-D tissues. [Futurity]

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