Coffee Weapon

Researchers said on Friday that a couple of cups of coffee every day may help some heart attack patients to avoid further serious problems, provided they have normal blood pressure.

The findings come as a surprise considering the fact that strong coffee can cause palpitations.  However, the discovery underlines the complex nature of coffee’s effect on the body.

Colon cancer not exacerbated by coffee or soda

People who drink coffee and soda are not more at risk of developing colon cancer than those who do not, according to a recent study.

The research, conducted at the Harvard School of Public Health and published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, looked at 13 previous studies on the disease conducted in the US and Europe.

Some of these studies have previously suggested that coffee and tea could increase the risk, and some have claimed it could be lowered. Science Daily points out that tea contains anti-oxidants that could serve to prevent cancer but also has polyamines, which theoretically promote cancer.
The new survey looked at 731,441, followed for up to 20 years, 5,604 of which developed colon cancer. Insight into their eating and drinking habits found that coffee lovers – even those who drank up to 6 cups a day – were not more likely to develop the illness. This also applied to those who drank large amounts of soda.

“Drinking coffee, even more than six cups a day, was not associated with risk of colon cancer,” confirmed researcher Dr. Xuehong Zhang of the Harvard School of Public Health.

A brokenhearted New Bedford substitute teacher laced his own coffee with a chemical used to remove graffiti because he was trying to get attention after breaking up with his girlfriend, police said.

In other news:

Leslie Buck, Designer of Iconic Coffee Cup, Dies at 87

It was for decades the most enduring piece of ephemera in New York City and is still among the most recognizable. Trim, blue and white, it fits neatly in the hand, sized so its contents can be downed in a New York minute. It is as vivid an emblem of the city as the Statue of Liberty, beloved of property masters who need to evoke Gotham at a glance in films and on television.

From the New York Times
It is, of course, the Anthora, the cardboard cup of Grecian design that has held New Yorkers’ coffee securely for nearly half a century. Introduced in the 1960s, the Anthora was long made by the hundreds of millions annually, nearly every cup destined for the New York area.

A pop-cultural totem, the Anthora has been enshrined in museums; its likeness has adorned tourist memorabilia like T-shirts and ceramic mugs. Like many once-celebrated artifacts, though, the cup may now be endangered, the victim of urban gentrification.  New York Times

Mother arrested for having coffee in Starbucks – An American businesswoman is fearing for her life after she was arrested for having a coffee with a male workmate in a Starbucks in Saudi Arabia. Yara, a 37-year-old mother-of-three, said she was strip searched and forced to sign false confessions while in custody. A judge then told her she would “burn in hell” before she was released on Feb 4. -  Full Article here

A SWEDISH businessmen concluded his Shanghai trip with “huge disappointment” after he was lured by two young women to a downtown coffee shop and charged nearly US$676 for beverages.

The man told the newspaper he was stuck with a 4,966-yuan bill after he met two Chinese women while strolling around Nanjing Road Pedestrian Mall on November 27.

They initially ordered three cups of coffee, which, according to the foreign businessman, cost about 40 yuan each. There was no alcohol available on the menu, the man said.

Soon after the coffee arrived, one of the women ordered a whiskey despite the man’s refusal, the report said. While he took a phone call, the women quickly ordered 11 more whiskeys and drank them in about 10 minutes, the Swedish businessman told the newspaper.
He decided to end the conversation and was handed a bill of 491 yuan, the report said. He decided to pay with a credit card and then the bill changed to 4,966 yuan, the report said.
Manabe employees insisted that each whiskey was 400 yuan and the two women had ordered 12, the report said.
The young women claimed they were students and could not afford the bill, the report said.
Feeling pinched, the foreigner was forced to sign the huge bill as he had no idea how to call police and report his location, the report said.
Full story here

This caught my eye recently:

A crazy combination of events has led me to give up caffeine. Let’s call this Dopey Experiment No. 897.

She may have failed to mention she has a 3 pack a day cigarette habit. Read more about this here.

Denise Snodell: Coffee vs. sleep — the ZZZs have it

I..think, that in general:

That the Internet creates a great many ’speak first, think later’ dialogs.

That the safe anonymity of the Internet generally fosters thoughtless rudeness and unwarranted self-importance.

That because no one has to look someone in the eye, to insult them, they do so more freely, and more frequently, on the Internet.

That because all dialog on the Internet, is thru emotionless text, misunderstandings will run rampant and unchecked.

That emotions on the Internet are volatile, unreliable, misrepresented or even deliberately faked.

That because connections on the Internet are essentially ephemeral, few will take the time to explain themselves or understand where others are coming from.

That what happens on the Internet, has only as much importance to our real lives, as we chose to give it. That the importance we chose to give it, may not be reciprocated or have the same importance to someone else on the Internet.

The coffee you drink as a pick-me-up in the morning could also make you more open to persuasion, researchers say. Evidence from a new study (2005) suggests that this happens because caffeine revs up the brain, not because it generally boosts mood.

Previous studies have shown that consuming caffeine can improve one’s attention and enhance cognitive performance,

Moderate doses of caffeine can also make you more easily convinced by arguments that go against your beliefs, say Pearl Martin of the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, and her colleagues.

In 2005, her team published a paper suggesting that the compound primes people to agree with statements that go against their typical views because it improves their ability to understand the reasoning behind the statements.

I didn’t really believe that but after a couple cups of coffee, I di I really do.. Doh