This guest post is contributed by Katheryn Rivas, who writes on the topics of online universities accredited. She welcomes your comments by email.
“Bacon mania.” That’s the term news outlets have been using the past few years to describe Americans’ whole-hearted obsession with the pig product. Comedian Jim Gaffigan even has a bit about the joys of bacon (family-friendly video). Pigs are big business down here in my state of Texas, too, especially with the rodeo in town. I’d heard of a few ancillary bacon-based or -inspired products, but until I went looking for them, I had no idea there were so many outlandish offerings made from pig’s meat. Without even getting into bacon mints or bacon clothing (scented tuxedo?!), just look at the subcategory of bacon drinks:
Bacon vodka. Or, more accurately, Bakon Vodka. Released by Black Rock Spirits in 2009, this flavored liquor is one of the most well-known modern takes on the food. A Baltimore reporter wrote that it has a “meaty aroma,” which seems obvious, and Black Rock claims that it’s sold well in its local Seattle area. Of course, if you don’t feel like buying flavored liquor, you can always make your own.
Bacon coffee. This drink seems to simultaneously make more and less sense than bacon vodka. Flavored liquor is nothing new, but meat-flavored coffee? I understand that they’re both often consumed at breakfast, but just because they’re ingested in the same meal doesn’t mean that it should happen at the same time from the same cup.
Bacon beer. The drinks never end with bacon. This one’s a small stretch, too, since technically it’s a smoked beer, known in Germany as “rauchbier,” and it achieves its flavor by having the barley dried over an open flame. That smokiness can lead to a distinct bacon taste. Of the three major drinks being blended with bacon, beer seems to be the most natural fit.
New Pig world headquarters has been in the path of Snowmageddon this week.
You, too? Here’s a quick look at products we carry that are related to snow. Not many items (and one of them is on clearance, hint hint), but talk about drifty … er, nifty. Click on the captions to see ‘em!
A customer called with a heads-up that PIG® Oil-Only Absorbent Mat appears in a new Weather Channel video. Oil was accidentally pumped into a basement, and our Mat Pads were part of the cleanup (see below for a frame from the video).
Imagine waking up to overpowering oil fumes when you’re home is heated by natural gas! Our best wishes to the family involved!
For the first time ever, OSHA has made available to the public a decade’s worth of injury and ilness data. A searchable online database of 80,000 employers from the years 1996 to 2007 is now available.
“Making injury and illness information available to the public is part of OSHA’s response to the administration’s commitment to make government more transparent to the American people,” said David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for OSHA.
OSHA also uses the data to target inspections. The Site Specific Targeting Program helps the agency focus its efforts on the appropriate area and industries.
New Pig’s address has been One Pork Avenue from Day One, but now it feels more official than ever. The county 911 system has been gathering street and road names lately (and changing some, and sometimes getting dramatic reactions) and fortunately they accepted “One Pork Avenue” from us.
That’s data that Google uses, and after only (!) two months, we’re now showing up on Google Maps with our semi-famous address! We’ve arrived!
The results so far are squishy and a little low in protein, but promising for hot dogs.
The possible (repeat: possible) environmental benefits are eye-opening. If livestock raising could be cut way back, greenhouse gas emissions, land use and water use might drop by 95 percent.
Of course, there could be other ramifications: Health effects of eating engineered meat will be carefully watched.
At any rate, keep an eye out for specials on lab chops.
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