Quickies

Quickies: A 4000-Year Old Cookbook and the Woman Who Told Us About It but Wasn’t Believed

Happy Wednesday! I have just two quickies for you this week.

NPR has a fascinating story about researchers who made and ate recipes that were translated from 4000 year old Babylonian tablets. Apparently the resulting stews tasted pretty good but unfortunately NPR does not share the recipes in the article. One particular detail in the article is that a woman researcher named Mary Hussey said way back in the 1940s that she thought these tablets were transcribing recipes, but her colleagues didn’t believe her, instead saying that the tablets were likely medical texts. Too bad she’s probably no longer around to give an “I told you so” to her colleagues and try some of the resulting lamb stew.

If you are like me and love using fancy skincare-type products while simultaneously believing that they are probably not at all effective at doing anything, then you too will love this piece from Slate by Shannon Palus reflecting on her year of testing wellness products for their Well, Actually column (a particular favorite of mine). In the end, she comes to the conclusion that if you are using a product you like and it’s working for you (whatever that means to you) then that’s really all that matters.

Jamie Bernstein

Jamie Bernstein is a data, stats, policy and economics nerd who sometimes pretends she is a photographer. She is @uajamie on Twitter and Instagram. If you like my work here at Skepchick & Mad Art Lab, consider sending me a little sumthin' in my TipJar: @uajamie

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