Seattle Sewage Has More Vanilla & Cinnamon In It During The Holidays

[matcom]

<snip>

Yule never believe what scientists are finding in Seattle's sewage: a spike in vanilla and cinnamon when the holiday season hits.

It's remarkable enough that the University of Washington's Rick Keil and Jaqui Neibauer, using sophisticated laboratory equipment, were able to track the uptick.

But consider that they also were able to estimate the number of "home-baked cookie equivalents" the people of Seattle gobbled down over the Thanksgiving weekend -- all in the name of figuring out how to protect Puget Sound.

The message?

"Even something as fun as baking for the holiday season has an environmental effect," said Keil, an associate professor of chemical oceanography. "When we bake and change the way we eat, it has an impact on what the environment sees. To me it shows the connectedness."

Don't worry about gobbling that snickerdoodle, though. There's no evidence that cinnamon or vanilla harms sea creatures, and, in fact, the choice of those spices was something of a lark.

But the research does raise serious questions, particularly as fish rely heavily on their sense of smell to locate food and, in the case of salmon, to find their way back to their home stream to spawn.

"All the spices have odors associated with them, so it's interesting to ask whether they are there in sufficient concentration (for fish) to smell them," Keil said.

The UW testing of treated sewage headed for the Sound from the West Point Treatment Plant in Magnolia showed that cinnamon, vanilla and artificial vanilla all rose between Nov. 14 and Dec. 9, with the biggest spike on the weekly test right after Thanksgiving.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/297137_vanilla25.html

[Hugin]

1. Charming factoid there matcom.

:rofl:

(Hey, I signed that 'Paplovirus Vaccination Petition' months ago and never got my
bracelet beads... What's up with that?)

[Midlodemocrat]

3. File this under

:stuff I could have gone to my grave not knowing:

[Steven_S]

2. Yes, and I'm sure....

that bean burrito eaters single-handedly change the viscosity of the water.

:)

[ashling]

4. sort of a shit pourri

so how does it smell? report back. LOL

[KamaAina]

5. You mean Starbucks' new vanilla-cinnamon holiday blend, right?

That's what most people think of when they hear "Seattle sewage"... :puke:

[SOteric]

6. I knew it. Our crap don't stink.

[Squeech]

7. Just saw this story

and I wondered if you were on it already, it's so perfectly Matcom newsworthy.

I baked gingerbread myself, and fried latkes. But first, the airing of grievances...

[YankeyMCC]

8. That's f'ing hilarious lol nt

[Rabrrrrrr]

9. So... what do they? Taste it?

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

[gr8dane_daddy]

10. A bit nutty.

[chknltl]

11. Um....Seattle, a word here....

The things one learns here in the DU! Just South of Seattle is the city of Tacoma...historically Seattleites have been jealous of us down here, hell they even stole our mountain! At one time it was called Mt'Takhoma' until those rascals up north got it changed to 'Rainier', but I digress. For decades we have been famous for our "Tacoma Aroma", (a mix from a wood-pulp plant and decades of industrial polluted tidal areas-it could bring tears to your eyes some days-literally!), but we cleaned most of it up and we are working to return Commencement bay to as close to pristine as possible. By and large that malodorous smell is a thing of the past! Ok so that's how we Tacomans take care of our problems....Seattle, I know you need a new viaduct and your basketball team is looking for a better home but for Pete's sake, surely you can do better than pouring a bunch of cinnamon and vanilla into Eliot Bay.

Btw Seattle, about that b-ball team of yours, we do have that wooden dome down here.....The Tacoma Tonics :eyes: ... just sayin' ya'know :hi:
c

[chknltl]

12. worth a kick

and not just cause I thought what I said was funny or....well ok so the whole damned thread smells a bit funny, besides we in Tacoma will never pass up on an opportunity to cast a spotlight on Seattle from time to time, "especially" when we can find stuff like this to share with the world. Thanks for finding and posting this matcom. It is my sincerest hope that someone from the Tacoma News Tribune spots this too...hmm..., I hope you don't mind if a little bird passes this gem along...(said the little bird while eagerly awaiting permission before doing anything)
chknltl

[Elidor]

13. Seattle: you'll love our shit

Glengarry West Point: an upscale development.