Quirky World: Love at first bite could ruin your appetite
But be careful not to order one that is too good — it is likely to spoil your enjoyment of the main course, new research suggests.
Food scientist Jacob Lahne, from Drexel University in Philadelphia, said: “It’s always worth remembering that our experiences are contextual — that is, what we like and don’t like, or taste and don’t taste, is not objective but related to the environment, our state of mind and many other variables. If you have a fantastic appetiser and then the main seems lacklustre, that could be because of this type of contrast effect.”
A lottery scratchcard bought as a last-minute Father’s Day gift turned a truck driver into an instant millionaire.
Joseph Morrah, 61, of Jeannette, Pennsylvania, was the lucky recipient. His daughter Christina put the ticket in a card she gave him, but Mr Morrah’s wife Debbie said it was her idea to buy the $20 ticket at the last minute because she had not bought him anything and “felt bad”.
Pennsylvania Lottery said the Million Dollar Payout ticket was confirmed by officials in Harrisburg.
Mr Morrah, a supermarket truck driver for 31 years, says he will retire early.
Tama the stationmaster, Japan’s feline star of a struggling local railway, was mourned by company officials and fans and elevated into a goddess at a funeral yesterday.
The calico cat was appointed stationmaster at the Kishi station in western Japan in 2007. Donning her custom-made stationmaster’s cap, Tama quietly sat at the ticket gate welcoming and seeing off passengers. The cat quickly attracted tourists and became world-famous, contributing to the railway company and local economy.
Tama, who had turned 16 in April, died of heart failure on June 22. During yesterday’s Shinto-style funeral at the station where she served, Tama became a goddess.
The Shinto religion, indigenous to Japan and practiced by many Japanese, has a variety of gods, including animals.
In one of several portraits decorating the altar, Tama posed in a stationmaster’s hat and a dark blue cape. Sake, as well as watermelon, apples, cabbage, and other fruits and vegetables were presented to the cat. A stand outside the station was heaped with bouquets, canned tuna and other gifts left by thousands of Tama fans who came to pray from around the country.
Wakayama Electric Railway president Mitsunobu Kojima thanked the cat for her achievement, and said Tama will be enshrined at a nearby cat shrine next month.
Before Tama’s arrival, the local Kishigawa Line was near-bankrupt; and the station was unmanned as it had lost its last staff.
“But she was really doing her job,” he said. The rest was a miracle, and his company’s success story also gave hope for dozens of other struggling tiny local train lines, he said.
Tama is a popular name for cats in Japan, where they are considered spiritual. The word could translate as treasure, ball, or spirit.
The cat had climbed the corporate ladder from stationmaster to ‘ultra-stationmaster’ and vice president of the company before receiving the additional title yesterday of “honorable eternal stationmaster.”
Tama will be succeeded by another calico cat, Nitama, an apprentice stationmaster.
A 73-year-old man has taken his 12,000th ride on his favourite roller coaster at King’s Island amusement park in Ohio.
Gary Coleman, of Monfort Heights, took the milestone ride in the front row of the Diamondback roller coaster, the park said.
The retired church minister has made 493 trips to the theme park outside of Cincinnati since 2009, when the 70m steel roller coaster opened.
It is the tallest and fastest roller coaster at Kings Island and reaches speeds of up to 80mph.
Mr Coleman said he has loved coasters since childhood and plans to continue increasing his ride count as long as he remains healthy enough to do so.
Baseball history was made on a field of wistful dreams in California’s wine country with the appearance of the sport’s first openly gay active professional.
Pitcher Sean Conroy, 23, took the mound in his first start for the Sonoma Stompers, a 22-man team that is part of the independent Pacific Association of Baseball Clubs, in the San Francisco area.
The Stompers recruited the New York native in May. General manager Theo Fightmaster said Conroy privately shared his sexual orientation with team-mates before agreeing to come out publicly in time for the team’s gay pride night.
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