A Plate Of Grapes

I’m on vacation this week which means fewer updates since my time is monopolized by school vacation activities with the little guy, books, games, etc… I’ve talked about this before. But this time, I did have some spare time to fiddle around with the site. You may have noticed our new logo (look up if you missed it). I’ve incorporated it into other elements of the site as well (favicon, etc…)… so, enjoy!

I also came across a disturbing bit of information regarding beavers and the commercial use of their, uh, butt sacs. Apparently, beaver’s have a specialized anal glad that produces a substance called Castoreum which beavers combine with their urine when marking territory. I guess it smells and tastes lovely because it’s “harvested” and used in perfume and as a food additive. An excerpt from Wikipedia:

“In the United States, castoreum as a food additive is considered by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be generally recognized as safe, often referenced simply as a “Natural Flavoring” in products’ lists of ingredients. While it can be used in both foods and beverages as a raspberry and strawberry flavoring, and vanilla, the annual industry consumption is around 300 pounds.”

Word from manufacturers is that it isn’t really used that much as a “Natural Flavor” anymore, but still… ewww.

Sometimes I understand vegans.