MetaFilter posts tagged with salt

Tony Stark, eat your heart out.

Morriscat — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 14:29:04 -0800

Defense contractor takes break from F-35 JSF, finds a way to eliminate 99% of the energy cost of desalination. Lockheed-Martin has developed a way to craft sheets of carbon a single atom thick, which can filter the salt (and just about anything else) from water with a tiny fraction of the energy required by current processes. "Lockheed officials see other applications for Perforene as well, from dialysis in healthcare to cleaning chemicals from the water used in hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," of oil and gas wells." Previously.

Gayest Cities in America, 2013

Sailormom — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 04:21:05 -0800

Advocate.com has compiled a list of the gayest cities in America. Their eclectic criteria and point system is explained in the article. 15. St. Louis 14. Salem, Ore 13. Colorado Springs, Colo 12. Providence, R.I. 11. Oakland, Calif. 10. Twin Cities, Minn. 9. Atlanta 8. Madison, Wis. 7. Eugene, Ore. 6. Salt Lake City 4. Washington, D.C. 3. Spokane, Wash. 2. Springfield, Mass. 1. Tacoma, Wash. Honorable mention

Sodium memorial

Blazecock Pileon — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 05:23:50 -0800

Return to the Sea: Saltworks by Motoi Yamamoto

Clam Eating Salt On Table

Burhanistan — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 06:47:20 -0800

Clam Eating Salt On Table [YouTube]

A salty debate

nadawi — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 12:21:30 -0800

Should we be reducing our salt intake? Maybe not.

Oh Look It's The Hangover Ham!

The Whelk — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 09:12:13 -0800

Atlantic Wire: Science's Best Hangiver Cures Related: Gwyneth Paltrow's best hangover cures

"Scenes reflect what has not yet happened, scenes anticipate what has already happened."

villanelles at dawn — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 16:21:24 -0800

In the Cut: Piecing Together the Action Sequence. A video essay in three parts by Jim Emerson.

Part I: Shots in the Dark (Knight)

Part II: A Dash of Salt

Part III: I Left my Heart in my Throat in San Francisco

Science!

jacquilynne — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 11:57:41 -0800

An illustration of two dimensional vibration. A really cool illustration of two dimensional vibration.

To me that’s backwards! Humans, Autochthony, Earth, and a home for us all at the end of the Universe.

infinite intimation — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 11:15:29 -0800

Time lapse videos can be breathtaking, lovely, and a joy to watch… but they can also show you something you may not have thought about before. Before I even read the caption for Murray Fredericks’ video called "IRIDIUM", I knew it was filmed in the southern hemisphere. Can you guess how? If you live in the northern hemisphere — and odds are very good that you do — then you may have noticed the motion of the Sun and stars looked a bit odd. For example, as you watch the Sun set at the beginning of the video, it does so at an angle moving from the upper right to the lower left. The stars do too. When they rise, they move from the lower right to the upper left To me that’s backwards! VIA: BadAstronomy. This short is part of a larger project, known as SALT (Artist statement, project description - PDF); From apocalyptic red Martian-like landscapes to the surreal hypnotic beauty of a limitless sky reflected on the lakes surface. As Murray goes about his daily routine with discipline and attention, these surroundings convey a simple and emotional story. One man, alone on the surface of the earth, in the middle of the universe. Time-Lapse short produced at Lake Eyre in central Australia as part of the SALT project. saltdoco.com Cinematographer Murray Fredericks, Producer Michael Angus, Editor Lindi Harrison. Music 'Iridium' by Aajinta - Dean Frenkel, Jason Day, Michelle John

Buy-N-Large Pledges to Promote Healthier Foods

kliuless — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 06:09:23 -0800

Why Wal-Mart Is Making Our Health Its Problem - "So what's behind the [healthier-eating] initiative? In a word: scale. In a recent article in HBR, Chris Meyer and I argued that we'll see companies taking more and more ownership of externalities they could ignore because of changing sensibilities and better sensors (meaning detection and reporting of impacts by third parties). But we also identified a third driver: the scale of modern business. Whereas in the past, a single grocer could not have much impact on society, in today's highly consolidated market, Wal-Mart touches a significant percentage of the nation's food intake. Once you reach a scale where your decisions have ramifications for millions, it is hard to pretend that the impacts, even as distant ripples, are not your problem."

Tastes like Fred Astaire!

phunniemee — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 08:17:05 -0800

A user on food blog TheKitchn asks "Why do frog legs jump and dance when salted?" The answer? Unused ATP in the muscle cells. Bonus link for all of the barbecue nerds out there: Meat Science!

Oil Spill in Salt Lake City

pashdown — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 10:07:50 -0800

Another oil spill took place this weekend. 21,000 gallons from a Chevron pipeline leaked into the Red Butte River, which runs through the center of Salt Lake City and feeds the ponds in its largest city park, Liberty Park. Also affected was Tracy Aviary.

I'll have a glass of sea water, hold the salt

zarq — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 09:42:39 -0800

Researchers at MIT and in Korea have developed a new, efficient desalinization nanotechnology that could theoretically lead to small, portable units powered by solar cells or batteries, yet deliver enough potable fresh water from seawater to supply the needs of a family or small village. As an added bonus, the system would simultaneously remove many contaminants, viruses and bacteria. MIT Press Release. Abstract and Supplementary Information from Nature Nanotechnology. (pdf) Also see Nanotechnology and Water Treatment for an overview.

This is Why You're Fat (and why I am too)

Mick — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 07:21:27 -0800

Obesity: The killer combination of salt, fat and sugar - "Rewarding foods are rewiring our brains. As they do, we become more sensitive to the cues that lead us to anticipate the reward. In that circularity lies a trap: we can no longer control our responses to highly palatable foods because our brains have been changed by the foods we eat." I know we don't do obesity well at MetaFilter. I think we've made strides on how we handle other topics and hope we can show the same thoughtfulness to this one as well.

First they came for the smokers, but I was not a smoker...

hexatron — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:03:15 -0800

A bill to prohibit the use of salt by restaurant kitchens has been introduced to the New York Senate.

Conservatives are not amused.
Well, who would be?

The sponsor Felix Ortiz has already made some controversial proposals

Infrastructures / Networks / Environments

netbros — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 07:47:21 -0800

The globe’s networked ecologies of food, water, energy, and waste have established new infrastructures and forms of urbanism. While these ecologies exist at the service of our contemporary lifestyles, they have typically remained hidden from view and from the public conscience. Infranet Lab is studying the shifting / changing conditions. Recent articles include Greening of Prison Infrastructure where you'll find solar fields used to power the prisons and gardens and greenhouses for nourishment. A three-part article about salt mining (1, 2, 3). About 50% of industrialized salt production is used in cold-climate regions for de-icing. Along with that massive seasonally dependent harvest, is the need to store salt (or sand) in a distributed fashion and at a municipal level. Like little salt banks or mail drop-off boxes, salt facilities dot the highway landscape. The recent volatile nature of the stock market has incited a new type of investment — in farmland, deemed ‘getting rich slow.’ Further, continual land development which encroaches on arable land, coupled with a rising world population — makes farmland an increasingly precious resource. It is currently estimated that 25 million acres of farmland are lost each year.

Blood Tide

Artw — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 09:15:27 -0800

Blood Falls - The iron rich red liquid gushing from a buried Antarctica lake shows how life may have existed on a snowball Earth, or on Europa.

Salt Sculptures

netbros — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:04:29 -0800

Following the death of his sister to brain cancer, Motoi Yamamoto adopted salt as his primary artistic medium. In Japanese culture salt is not only a necessary element to sustain human life, but it is also a symbol of purification. He uses salt in loose form to create intricate labyrinth patterns on the gallery floor or in baked brick form to construct large interior structures. As with the labyrinths and unnavigable passageways, Motoi Yamamoto views his installations as exercises which are at once futile yet necessary to his healing.

Cornbread Nation

Miko — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 18:07:03 -0800

The Southern Foodways Alliance is one weighed-down church-supper table, full of oral history/blog projects like The Tamale Trail, the Boudin Trail, interviews and recipes from the Bartenders of New Orleans, photo essay/interviews from Birmingham's Greek-Americans, a mess o'homemade films, and a passel of event and BBQ-shack photos on Flickr, all smothered in the tangy-sweet academic goodness of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at Ole Miss. These folks get my vote for most flavorful, funkiest food-loving folklorists in the lower forty-eight. Tamales previously mentioned here, and Prince's Hot Chicken here, but the whole site is worth a bookmark and a long evening on the porch.

When salting water for cooking use 1 tablespoon of salt for every 4 quarts of water

dersins — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 11:45:17 -0800

The only recipe for boiling salted water you'll ever need. Well, the reviews are entertaining, anyway.

Down down in the salt mine underneath the ground

dersins — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 10:20:00 -0800

Wieliczka Salt Mine in Poland has been in operation for 800-odd years. Needless to say, this has given the miners plenty of time to carve some pretty amazing things. More photos here and here. Videos here and here. Virtual tour here. Wikipedia.

Bacon Salt

mr_crash_davis — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 08:48:14 -0800

Because everything should taste like bacon.

Blood, sweat and tears

Brian B. — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 11:06:33 -0800

Is blood plasma salinity the same as seawater? No, but that proves evolution. "The answer is most definitely NOT that oceans were 1/3 as salty back then. It most definitely IS that the earliest vertebrates did evolve in salt water and then moved into fresh water....They have devised an extremely clever trick in kidney structure to allow salt transport pumps which really take salt back INTO the body from the urine but still manage to use them to produce urine much more concentrated that their body fluids and so excrete salt FROM the body."

Salt Crisis

ninazer0 — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 15:29:25 -0800

Salt: Not just a condiment, salt is a major force shaping our world. In Australia, what do you get when you combine ancient salt-pans with European farming practices? In one state alone, we're losing a football field an hour to the salinity crisis. What do you farm when all you have is salt?

There's a world going on, underground.

Capn — Mon, 04 Apr 2005 10:18:58 -0800

Detroit: city of auto manufacture, crime, Motown and... mining? Take this with a grain of salt, but beneath the city of Detroit Michigan, there is a vast underground mine.