Bitesize #39 - 30 Seconds Or The Pizza’s Free

Race car driver and team leader Michael Waltrip made a Domino’s pizza delivery to Ken Wood’s house in Douglas County, Oregon, as part of an eBay auction to raise funds for Hurricane Katrina victims. Woods bid $4600+ for the delivery, which also includes a party for 25, hosted by Domino’s.

If you’re too stupid to tell when a fruit is ripe, a New Zealand company has come up with a colour-changing label that will tell you when a fruit changes ripeness. Whyever would we need such a thing. Chalk one up for the “another useless invention” list.

This rice cooker may not be usless, but at $1000, it might be the Lexus of rice cookers, according to Haruki Akasaka of Mitsubishi Electric Home Appliance, the maker. What’s so special about it? It’s not the size: 990cc (cubic centimetres). It uses electromagnetic induction heating to cook the rice. This makes the entire pot heat up, unlike regular rice cookers, and thus keeps a uniform temperature.

The reason for the high price is that parts of this cooker are hand-smelted in China, and only 50 units can be produced per day. And you thought rice was inexpensive.

If you’re making rice anyway, put some on for the bears. Unlike the bear in Vancouver that entered through a woman’s kitchen door, this bear tried to get in through the window. Uncle Hairy, is that you again?

Bears in your kitchen may be a pain in the arse, but if you have real pain, Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum says the remedy may be in your kitchen.

Additional sources: SceneDaily; Miami Herald; Globe and Mail; Nikkei Electronics Asia.