food

The board game that was removed for making children steal food rations from Titanic survivors

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There have always been games with a morbid theme, but they are certainly not a thing of today. Already in 1975, board game creators were racking their brains to come up with the darkest and most impactful idea for the whole family. And what better way to spend an afternoon of harmless fun in the company of loved ones that one of the greatest tragedies in the history of modern locomotion. It sinks. When in 1975 Ideal Toy Corporation put on the shelves ‘The Sinking of the Titanic’the slogan printed on the box left no room for imagination (or interpretation): “Play while the ship sinks… and then face the dangers of the open sea.” From 8 years and older, be careful. The controversy, of course, was immediate, the game was withdrawn from the market, and although it was reissued under different names, today it is a sought-after piece for collectors of classic board games. How to play. The game has two phases. First, players are ship’s officers who must navigate the cabins of the Titanic rescuing passengers and stocking up on food and water rations as the ship sinks. In the second phase, with the liner already under water, survivors in boats race to reach the rescue ship. The first to arrive with two passengers, two rations of food and two of water wins. What does it look like? The board is cleverly articulated into two pieces joined by clips. Every time someone rolls a 1 or 6 with the dice, the board “sinks” into the bar, and more and more squares of the ship’s hull disappear under the water. If an empty lifeboat touches the water, it is removed, and if the player cannot find a place in any boat, he loses. In 1975, the idea was very ingenious: a board that is transformed. Ideal itself had already explored these possibilities with a previous success, ‘Mouse Trap‘, in 1963. Storms and cannibals. But the real morbidity (and, let’s face it, the distancing from historical facts) came with the modifying cards that threw the players against “violent storms, cannibals, the cruel sea and each other,” as the instructions. Actually, the game has little to do with what happened on the Titanic, and in that sense it is quite modest: there are no mention of real passengers and the tropical islands with cannibals have nothing to do with the frigid North Atlantic where the real ship sank. The controversy. Ideal received criticism for turning tragedy into entertainment. The game was withdrawn from the market and re-released under the name ‘Abandon Ship’, with all references to the Titanic eliminated, something not difficult because as we have said, the game had few authentic elements, except perhaps the unmistakable silhouette of the cruise ship on the box. Because of this, the original version of ‘The Sinking of the Titanic’ has been revalued and It is easy for it to reach approximately 150 euros on websites like eBay. Too soon. The Titanic sank in April 1912 and Ideal recovered from the tragedy 63 years later. What is significant is that the remains of the ship, located by oceanographer Robert Ballard in 1985, had not yet been found. The 1,500 bodies that lay four kilometers deep certified, with bodies included, the magnitude of the tragedy. But ten years before, after the sinking of the Titanic, there were only ghosts missing in the sea, a myth about the unfathomable dangers of the ocean. In 1975 you could still make a board game about it. In Xataka | AI is so good at chess that it is changing something: the way humans play it

the dangerous TikTok trend of chewing food with plastic that camouflages an eating disorder

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Eating something that we love very much, but without adding a single calorie to the diet, seems like something that resembles a true miracle, but the reality is that in China social networks are being flooded with a method that promises this. And we are not dealing with something revolutionary to trick the brain, but rather eating food wrapped in plastic. Something that has been baptized like ‘plastic eating’ as El PaĂ­s has reported. How it started. This trend has been with us for a short time, and the origin is in Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. Here the videos showed young people placing a piece of plastic wrap over your mouth or wrapping food in plastic and then chewing and spitting it out. The goal here is to taste high-calorie foods without swallowing them so as not to gain weight. Extended. The algorithm worked its usual magic, and the trend has quickly spread to other countries, even reaching TikTok, where this new challenge has been replicated. And when you start with this trigger in a new population, logically you have to take into account the risks of replicating it and turning it into something viral. Especially focused on adolescents, who may be more vulnerable in these situations. Its consequence. Beyond how bizarre it is to put plastic in your mouth to enjoy the flavor, but not have the effect of the calories, the more immediate physical damage must be considered. One of the most striking, related to repeatedly chewing a packaging that has not been designed for human consumption, carries a very high risk of suffocation and also dental damage. But we must not forget that we are chewing plastic here, so there is a risk of ingesting toxins. Different medical and scientific sources warn that these practices can expose us to the consumption of microplastics, which we have already been able to talk a lot about, as they are present in some important organs such as the placenta or testicles. Something that little by little is being related to hormonal disruption. Psychological risks. Without a doubt, it is another of the most important risks that we must take into account here, since what the networks sell as a trick to reduce the cravings we have throughout the day, is actually a classic symptom of eating disorders or eating disorders. In the clinical setting, it is known as ‘chewing and spitting’, which is a very common compensatory behavior in the diagnosis of anorexia and bulimia. It is not a new idea, since the iconic designer Karl Lagerfeld popularized and defended publicly this technique years ago after losing between 30 and 40 kilos. However, science denies that it has real benefits, since different studies suggest that when we chew food, the body prepares for digestion and increases the levels of ghrelin, which is the hunger hormone. But in reality, by not receiving food, hunger and anxiety are triggered, causing a severe loss of control, metabolic alterations and malnutrition. Social networks. The proliferation of these types of trends puts the role of social networks in the mental health of young people back on the table. Scientific data provided by recent studies indicate, for example, that exposure to content that promotes anorexia on TikTok significantly decreases body satisfaction in a matter of minutes, increasing the internalization of “thin ideals.” It has also been proven that 73% of young users with moderate or high risk of suffering from an ED show symptoms directly related to their interaction on TikTok. Images | Clown World In Xataka | We believed that extreme thinness was a fashion that had happily been overcome. What is happening on networks contradicts us

Why does your refrigerator dry out food and when is it worth buying a ‘low frost’ one?

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Nowadays most refrigerators are “No Frost”, but… what does this really mean? Perhaps what you have heard the most is that they do not make frost, but they also have other peculiarities with respect to the more traditional models. For this same reason, today we are going to review the differences between both types of refrigeratorswith the advantages and disadvantages in each case. How a No Frost refrigerator works No Frost refrigerators use fans that constantly remove the coldwhich prevents water vapor from condensing on its walls. Since there is a constant, dry air flow, moisture does not accumulate in the form of ice, which prevents us from having to remove it ourselves. In addition, many models have a system that allows you to eliminate small traces of ice if they appear. This No Frost system has some especially interesting advantages beyond not forming frost. By having a constant air flow, this cold air reaches all corners of the refrigerator equally, homogeneously, which allows all foods to be preserved better for longer. Now, it’s not all advantages. When using a No Frost refrigerator, it is advisable that we take into account that your air system is dryand by reaching all corners evenly it can dry out food, especially fresh items such as fruit, sausages or vegetables. We must also pay special attention to another point: No Frost refrigerators consume a little more because they have a resistance that heats up to melt the ice automatically. For this reason, we recommend looking at the annual consumption in kWh, and not only at the letter of energy efficiency. How a cycle refrigerator works Cyclic refrigerators (also called Low Frost either Less Frost by some brands) are the traditional ones, the traditional ones. They work through a refrigerant gas that travels throughout its circuit until it reaches the desired temperature, at which point the air flow stops. It does not work using fans, so they can generate less noise than No Frost. As the cold of these refrigerators is humid and they do not have a fan that constantly stirs the air, plaques of frost can form on the walls, which forces us to remove them manually so as not to compromise their efficiency and durability. Additionally, if too much frost forms, the refrigerator motor may have to work harder, which means possible increase in electricity bill. The good thing about these refrigerators is that by having a system that generates humid cold, food is usually better hydrated, preserving it better for longer. This occurs especially in fresh foods such as vegetables, which hold up better without drying out. The good of both worlds We can also find refrigerators that bring together the best of both worlds: hybrid refrigerators. In this case, they come with both systems, but separate: the No Frost system in the freezer and the cyclic system in the refrigerator. This prevents frost from forming in the freezer and allows the fresh food in the refrigerator to stay moist for longer. In other words: mixed models come with a No Frost freezer which prevents us from having to chip away at the ice that forms every so often and they also have a cyclical or dynamic refrigerator that prevent fresh foods, such as lettuce, from drying out. The good and the bad of both options, face to face No Frost Cyclic (traditional) THE GOOD 🟢 You do not need to remove the ice manually, the temperature is more homogeneous on all shelves and the food tends to cool faster thanks to the fan air system. They keep food fresh for longer and are usually quieter and cheaper. THE BAD đź”´ Their dry air can dry out fresh foods and they tend to be noisier due to the operation of the fan. Plus, they tend to be more expensive. They can form frost on your walls and can cause uneven temperatures on different shelves. Ideal for: Storing a lot of food in the freezer without the ice blocking the drawers or for families that open and close the freezer constantly, thus recovering the optimal temperature in a short time. Eat a lot of fruits or vegetables without losing moisture in a short time or if you want a refrigerator that makes little noise. We do the math to see which one can compensate you more. Each of the refrigerators has its advantages or disadvantages, so to see everything much clearer we are going to give a couple of practical examples. If you are looking for a refrigerator that allows you to use it without further ado, without worrying about removing frost every few months, a refrigerator with a No Frost system will compensate you much more. Actual use: Let’s say you usually freeze a lot of food. The accounts: No Frost refrigerators allow you to better recover the temperature by opening and closing the freezer many times. In addition, you avoid emptying it to defrost the ice every few months. So? It is a choice that lies in both the comfort and the usefulness of the freezer: fresh foods dry out more, but in exchange we have a freezer that better maintains its ideal temperature. If you opt for these refrigerators, at least have one or more drawers with humidity control, generally called VitaFresh or BioFresh. Although there are fewer of them in stores today, refrigerators that are cycled or have a traditional system can be very attractive, both for the preservation of certain foods and for other characteristics. Actual use: You don’t usually freeze a lot of food and you usually eat a lot of it fresh. The accounts: Having a cycle refrigerator allows fresh food to last better. In addition, by not using a fan constantly, they tend to make less noise. So? It is ideal if you consume more fresh foods than frozen foods or if you have the refrigerator next to, for example, the living room and you are looking for as little noise as possible. … Read more

You’ve probably never heard of urea. The missiles in Iran are destroying their production, and that will affect your food

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At the beginning of the 20th century, the world feared it would run out of food because crops were not growing enough to feed a growing population. The solution came from chemistry: an industrial process capable of manufacturing artificial nutrients for plants and multiplying crops across the planet. Today, this invisible system supports much of what reaches our plates, but it also depends on a global chain. surprisingly fragile. The invisible substance that feeds us. We already said it in the headline, you may not know urea. However, this chemical compound is one of the silent pillars of modern agriculture. It is nitrogen fertilizer most used in the world and indirectly responsible for approximately half of global food production. Its function is simple but crucial: providing nitrogen to crops so they can grow quickly and produce larger harvests. To give us an idea, approximately half of global food production depends on synthetic fertilizers. nitrogen basedand urea is the most widespread of all. Without it, agricultural yields would fall abruptly, which would directly affect products as basic as wheat, corn or rice. The Gulf and fertilizers. It happens that a large part of this global agricultural system depends on a very specific region of the planet: the Persian Gulf. The Middle East is home to some of the largest plants of fertilizer production in the world and is also a key source of raw materials necessary to manufacture them, such as ammonia or sulfur. Furthermore, the Strait of Hormuz has become an essential artery for this trade. between one quarter and a third of the world’s traffic of raw materials for fertilizers passes through this maritime passage, along with approximately 35% of global urea exports and 45% of sulfur trade. A war that hits the food chain. The military escalation in Iran and the attacks around the Strait of Hormuz are starting to interrupt that delicate system. Maritime traffic through the area has been drastically reduced and several ships have been attacked, while industrial facilities in the Gulf have suffered direct damage. In Qatar, one of the largest fertilizer facilities in the world had to stop your production after a drone attack, while Iran has paralyzed its own ammonia production. Every missile in the Iran war is not only destroying its production, it brings us a little closer to a dystopian future scenario. Urea sample in the form of granules The domino effect of urea. When the supply of fertilizers such as urea is interrupted, the impact soon spreads to the food system. If farmers cannot apply enough fertilizer, the ccrops produce less. Some experts estimate that the lack of fertilizers could reduce harvests by up to 50% in the first affected agricultural cycle. This decline would quickly translate in price increases in basic foods. Bread could become more expensive in a matter of weeks, while derived products such as eggs, chicken or pork would do so months later, as the increase in the cost of animal feed is passed on to the entire food chain. Gas, the hidden ingredient. The manufacture of nitrogen fertilizers also depends on another key factor: natural gas. Between 60% and 80% of the cost of producing fertilizers comes from the gas used in the chemical process that transforms atmospheric nitrogen into compounds usable by plants. With the war driving up energy prices and damaging industrial infrastructure, the cost of production skyrockets even before fertilizers reach the market. In a few days, the international price of urea has risen more than 25%reaching levels close to 625 dollars per ton. Risk of global food crisis. I remembered the financial times that the situation also comes at a particularly delicate moment in the agricultural calendar. In much of the northern hemisphere, farmers are starting the season spring planting, when they buy and apply the fertilizers that will determine the year’s crops. If the Strait of Hormuz disruption lasts more than a few weeks, the impact could extend far beyond energy or maritime trade. Thus, what today seems like a localized geopolitical crisis could transform into something much deeper: a global food shock reminiscent of (or even surpassing) the one that occurred after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In that scenario, the war in Iran would not only be fought with missiles and drones, but also in the fields of crops half the planet. Image | liz west, nara, LHcheM, eutrophication&hypoxia In Xataka | Iran is directing its attacks where it knows it hurts the West: energy and data centers In Xataka | In 2022, the gas crisis skyrocketed the price of electricity in Spain. In 2026 we have a “green shield” but also a serious problem

In Ireland they fear that artists will go without food because of AI. So he’s going to give them a basic income.

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The AI ​​is putting into serious doubt the continuity of different sectors as varied as the programmersthe music producerscinema and even illustrators. Creating a painting, a song, a video clip or an app used to involve having talent and the necessary knowledge. Now it is enough to choose the right AI model. A few days ago, the United Kingdom government was considering the possibility of implement a universal basic income to alleviate the effects of AI. The Irish government has gone ahead of them and has already launched an initiative in which it provides a basic monthly income to 2,000 artists. According to an official report of the impact of the measure, each public euro contributed to this basic income generates 1.39 euros of return. A test that is consolidated. In 2022, Ireland launched a pilot project of universal basic income for artists with which it sought to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on the cultural industry. The test turned out to be an unexpected success, so the Irish Administration has chosen to consolidate it by turning the Basic Income for the Arts into a tool against the precariousness of artists, and prevent them from abandoning their creative work. for economic reasons. According what was published by EFEthe Irish executive has provided the project with a budget item of 18.27 million euros so that 2,000 artists benefit from a payment of 325 euros per week. “This is an important milestone for the arts in Ireland and how we support them,” said Patrick O’Donovan, Ireland’s Minister for Arts and Culture. “Ireland is a world leader in supporting artists thanks to the BIA (Basic Income for the Arts),” he added in the official statement of the measure. A test that was a success. The pilot program started in November 2022 after the pandemic, selecting 2,000 artists from 9,025 applications through a lottery to avoid bias. Each one received 325 euros net per week for 36 months, equivalent to 16,900 euros per year, tax-free and without working conditions. The composition reflected the diversity of the sector: 707 in visual arts such as painters and sculptors, 584 musicians and composers, 204 filmmakers and audiovisuals, 170 writers and poets, 160 in theater and dance, plus 175 in mixed areas such as design or performance. This randomized design allowed us to measure real effects without bias for successful profiles. The pilot test was subjected to a study constant from independent entities, which were able to measure the benefits of the measure. The pilot demonstrated with data that 325 euros per week was enough to cover part of the basic expenses, freeing up to 25 extra hours per week so that the artists could dedicate time to creating. That is, it was low enough to allow artists to dedicate time to their artistic production, but not so low as to make them dependent on it. It is a basic income, but with conditions. The measure allows maintaining the same economic conditions as the 2022 program, but incorporates a series of conditions that avoid dependency by assigning it to alternative three-year periods. That is, the beneficiaries of the income in the 2026-2029 cycle cannot opt ​​for the 2029-2032 cycle, but they are eligible again for the 2032-2035 cycle. In addition, at the end of each cycle, there is a gradual three-month decrease in income, where the payment drops by 25% per month to facilitate the transition until they stop receiving it. More art, less precariousness. The more consolidated results of the pilot test published in September 2025, indicated that the initial investment in the project was 105 million euros, of which only 72 million were executed. However, that was enough to obtain a return of around 80 million euros. The artists who participated in the test increased their monthly income by an average of 500 euros, while their income from non-artistic activities was reduced by an average of 280 euros. That is, the basic income allowed artists to concentrate on their creations and make them profitable, allowing them live from his art and not from precarious or part-time jobs. “The economic return on this investment in Ireland’s artists and creative arts workers is having an immediate positive impact for the sector and the economy in general,” said the Irish culture minister. In Xataka | Barcelona tested a basic income of 1,297 euros per month and the job search was reduced by 22%: the test was a success Image | Unsplash (Dillon Wanner)

A town in Burgos has resorted to a desperate idea to get people to stay there: paying them for food

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Cardeñajimeno is a small town from the Alfoz de Burgos region, in Castilla y LeĂłn, where just under 1,200 residents live. Its city council is not willing to let that figure drop and has decided to tackle the challenge of depopulation by making it as easy as possible for its inhabitants, especially the elderly. As? Cooking for them and bringing food to their doorstep. Whatever it takes to escape from an “emptied Spain” that has been going on for decades. expanding your footprint through the peninsula, with the challenge what that entails. Objective: establish population. Spain may move in record population numbers, with 49.4 million of censuses as of October 1, 2025, but that does not mean that the entire territory is going through its best demographic moment. On the contrary. The ‘record Spain’ also hides a ‘Spain emptied’ that has spent decades spreading its footprint across the peninsula, feeding on municipalities that have been gradually depopulated. I warned him Before the pandemic, the Spanish Rural Development Network (REDR) recalled that in a matter of two decades the number of towns with less than one hundred neighbors had increased by 60%. A similar message The Galician Accounts Council was launched in 2024, remembering that a hundred towns in the region face the risk of becoming ghost towns. How to avoid it? That’s the million dollar question. In an attempt to fix the population and not swell the map of emptied Spain, over the last few years the administrations have racked their brains looking for solutions. Some offer financial aid to attract new residents. There are town councils that they are taking charge of local businesses (gas stations or grocery stores) to prevent their neighbors from being left without basic services. And not long ago we even told you about a remote town in the province of Soria that reached offer house and business in an attempt to attract new blood. Making it easy. In Cardeñajimeno (province of Burgos), they have gone one step further to make it as easy as possible for its inhabitants and prevent the elderly from packing their bags to move to larger towns. As? Taking care of your diet. The news has advanced it Burgos Connectwhich on Saturday revealed that two populations in the region “will pay for food” to their elders to stop the depopulation that is shaking part of the community. “Encourage permanence”. The towns in question are those that make up the municipality of Burgos: Cardeñajimeno and San Medel. A few days ago its Consistory launched a tender to look for professionals interested in providing a “catering service to elderly people” residing in the town. The goal? “Promote the elderly person’s permanence in their usual environment and avoid depopulation.” In other words, provide the necessary means so that no elderly person from Cardeñajimeno or San Medel is forced to move to Burgos or another larger town in search of comforts. But… Is it necessary? The case of Cardeñajimeno is interesting because it shows that rural Spain not only faces the challenge of depopulation, it also deals with aging. Although the situation of the town is far from being critical (the INE counts there 1,185 registeredbelow the 1,205 in 2022, but significantly above those recorded two decades ago), it does not escape the trend of the rest of Spain. 20% of its population is over 60 years old and dozens of octogenarians and nonagenarians reside in the town. “Nutritional well-being”. With the new service, the City Council wants to “provide nutritional and physical well-being to all those elderly who, given their special situation, require it.” To achieve this, it even contemplates that the company prepares “different diets” adapted to users with special needs. For example, diabetics or people who need crushed food. The base tender budget is 16,500 euros for one year, with a maximum price per menu of 9.6 euros, but the specifications also clarify that the final price will depend on the acceptance of the service, its users and how much food they request. On the State contracting platform the budget Estimated is 30,000. In other locations are already offered similar benefits. Image | Wikipedia In Xataka | Empty Spain is now officially one of the quietest places on the planet. There is no risk that it will cease to be

now they are 60% of the food that Spain buys

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Spain has changed in many aspects in the last decade, but in few places has a transformation been experienced as rapid and radical as on supermarket shelves. And all on account of the white label. If the ugly duckling of the retail national, a concept associated with a cheap product of questionable quality has come to conquer the baskets (and wallets) of families. We Spaniards are increasingly betting on items from Hacendado, Auchan or Seleqtia compared to other similar ones that are sold with labels other than supermarkets. So much so that if we talk about the food sector, white label dominated last year. 60.5% value sharewith a growth rate much higher than that of brands associated with external manufacturers. Eating the market. The data starts from a study on large consumption carried out by the consulting firm Circana and advanced by EFE. And although it is in tune with other previous ones that reflect the white label boom in the retail Spanish, but that doesn’t stop it from being striking. In 2025, foods sold under “distributor brands” (those directly associated with supermarkets, such as Hacendado in the case of Mercadona or Auchan with Alcampo) accounted for 60.5% in value share. That is, they took six out of every ten euros spent in that niche. Growing faster. The data is conclusive, but is completed with another also recorded by Circa. It’s not just that private labels take up a lot of the money we spend on food when we go to the supermarket. It’s just that they are hoarding more and more. In 2025, spending on these types of items registered a year-on-year growth of 6.3%a striking percentage for three reasons. First because the value of its rivals marketed with a “manufacturer’s brand” grew much less, 1.4%. Second, because that 6.3% doubles the increase in the price of the shopping basket as a whole, which closed 2025 with an increase of 3%. The third reason is that with this increase, private label foods stand out as those that evolve best among all the product categories that are integrated into the “mass consumption”the label with which experts refer to items that are consumed on a massive and daily basis. Are there more indicators? Yes. And they all point in a more or less similar direction. For example, the study indicates that if we talk about general sales of “mass consumption”, excluding fresh products, the market share of the private label is around 51.7% compared to 48.3% for its manufacturer rivals. That does not mean that Hacendado, Seleqtia and other similar brands rule all branches of the sector. In fact, there is one in particular in which we Spaniards continue to opt mostly for brands that have nothing to do with supermarkets: beverages. In it 66.2% of family spending of 2025 has gone to manufacturer brands compared to 33.8% of private label. What does that mean? In practice, when we want to buy a soft drink or a bottle of water, we mainly choose recognized brands, such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi or Bezoya or Font Vella, rather than those from Dia, Lidl or Eroski. The war of the brands. Circa’s data is just a brushstroke in a much larger picture: the one that has been showing for years the growth of the white label in Spain. The data may vary from study to study, but the trend is always the same. If years ago we customers had reservations about resorting to the supermarkets’ own assortment, those doubts seem to have evaporated. A few years ago Kantar Worldpanel published a report which showed that in 2021 17.2% of customers filled their basket only with white brands, in 2022 it was already 19.5% and in 2021 21.3%. If we talk about spending, during that period Hacendado and other similar brands went from accounting for 42% to 48%. Other analysis published by The National suggest that in a matter of a decade (between 2013 and 2023) the market share of the brands controlled by the supermarkets themselves increased by 11.2 percentage points. Standing out in Europe. The white label has been the protagonist of such a boom in Spain (in 2024 it was already dominating more than 50% of the shopping basket in volume) that has made our country stand out in Europe. Last year Simon-Kucher he wondered how many Spaniards buy this type of items “exclusively” and discovered that the answer is 26%. It is the highest percentage, along with France. In the Netherlands they are 25%, in the United Kingdom 20% and in Germany 19%. If we also include those who “predominantly” bet on these products in their basket (not just exclusively), the figure shoots up to 64%, six points above France and far from the rest of the countries. “The high sensitivity to price and changes in purchasing habits have led to private label becoming the first choice for most households,” explained to Expansion Javier Rubio, from the Simon-Kucher firm. But… Why? This boom responds to several factors. One, key one, is what the consultant comments on: the price and the influence it has had on our shopping basket in recent years, marked by inflation. However, other relevant aspects come into play and have more to do with the commercial strategy of supermarkets, the places where we fill the refrigerator. In 2024 Promarca calculation that in the previous five years the presence of white brands on the shelves of the main supermarkets had increased by 13%. On the contrary, third-party brands decreased by around 23%. The association not only detected the disappearance of thousands of items with non-supermarket labels, it also verified that those that remained were charged more expensive on average. “The public price of manufacturer brand products set by the distribution is between 5% and 160% more expensive than that of private label brands,” warned. Whether your estimates are correct or not, the truth is that we buy more private label because we have it more at hand. Three chains, … Read more

In the 17th century there was a food that was considered deadly for the rich, but did not kill the poorest: the tomato.

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Today it is almost impossible to imagine Mediterranean cuisine without tomatoes, a food highly valued by its nutritional benefits and their antioxidant propertiesanti-cancer and how preventative for aging cellular. However, its integration into the European diet was a slow process full of obstacles, marked by a phenomenon that stigmatized it for centuries, calling it a poisonous food that could lead to cause death, especially if you were rich. Curiously, the poor were immune to its poison. The tomato was deadly for the rich The history of the tomato hides a phenomenon that defied the logic of the time, as it seemed to act as a selective executioner capable of distinguishing the social status of those who ate it. While the peasants and the popular classes They consumed it without suffering harm In some cases, rich aristocrats and wealthy merchants became seriously ill and even died after ingesting it, which consolidated the belief that it was a poisonous and cursed fruit. However, the key to this medical mystery lies not in the biological composition of the tomato, but in the chemistry of the utensils used by rich Europeans when serving and preparing this food. The upper classes of the 18th century had the custom of serving their banquets in pewter tablewarea metallic alloy highly appreciated for its shine and similarity to silver, composed mainly of tin and copper, but with a high lead content. Unlike the rich, the humble classes could not afford these luxuries and ate on simple plates made of wood, clay or coarse ceramics, materials that were chemically inert to food. The problem was that, when the natural acidity of the tomato came into contact with the surface of the pewter plates, their interaction caused a chemical reaction that leached lead from the alloyreleasing this heavy metal directly into the food. As a result, the aristocrats suffered lead poisoning (lead poisoning), whose symptoms were erroneously attributed to the toxicity of the tomatoes and not to the dish in which it was served, granting him tomato the nickname “poison apple” for more than 200 years. Bad botanical companies The rejection of the tomato in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries was not only due to the wealthy victims that this evil fruit claimed, but was supported by the botanical science of the time, which classified it under a family of some plants with a bad reputation: nightshades. Naturalists identify the tomato as a member of the Solanaceae, the same group to which plants belong. famous for their toxicity such as nightshade, henbane or mandrake. This botanical association was enough for doctors and scholars to assume that the new fruit native to the Americas shared the deadly properties of its distant relatives. This botanical classification reinforced the irrational fear of the plant, linking it not only with the poison that was clearly killing the richest, but with spiritual and moral dangers typical of the time. The mandrake, in particular, was strongly associated with witchcraft and rituals dark due to its narcotic effects and the anthropomorphic form of its roots. By placing the tomato in this same biological bag, all the negative connotations and superstitions that surrounded the plants used in the dark arts were transferred to it. As and as they pointed out in National Geographicthe herbalist John Gerard was one of those responsible for fixing this negative image in the collective mind, leaving in writing in his work Herball of 1597 a devastating sentence. Gerard described the plant as producing “corrupt and poisonous fruits”, a statement that, coming from an authority on the subject, cemented the terror of the tomato in Britain and its colonies for centuries. Although in Spain and Italy the tomato began to be accepted earlier due to the influence of customs brought from Americain northern Europe the shadow of suspicion lasted much longer. It was necessary for modern chemistry to explain the pewter reaction and for botany to refine its classifications so that the tomato could finally clear its name and occupy the place it today has on our tables, no matter if you are rich or poor. In Xataka | They are millionaires, but they eat like children. Warren Buffett and Mark Zuckerberg share a passion for junk food Image | Nano Banana, Unsplash (Wanasanan Phonnaun)

Ozempic came to simplify the relationship with food. Christmas is proving how wrong we were

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Christmas has always been a delicate territory for the relationship with food. Family reunions, full tables and seemingly harmless comments turn these dates into a kind of silent examination of the body. For years the answer was the express diet before the holidays. Today, in many cases, the conversation revolves around a weekly injection. In the United States, there were cases of people skipping their Ozempic shot to enjoy Thanksgiving, according to The Wall Street Journal. The phenomenon in Spain is less visible, but the question is inevitable: what will happen this Christmas and what consequences could this jump have? Ozempic in Spain: a discreet use on the rise. Ozempic or other drugs based on semaglutide or tirzepatide have restricted access, require a prescription and, in theory, priority for patients with diabetes. Even so, its use for weight loss exists and is increasing, especially in the private sector. “In consultation, doubts begin to appear about what to do with these drugs on special dates such as Christmas,” explains Dr. VĂ­ctor Bravoendocrinologist interviewed in Xataka. “It is not always verbalized as ‘I’m going to skip the dose’, but the idea of ​​’stopping a little’, ‘adjusting’ or ‘I’ll see after the holidays’ does appear.” The difference with the United States is one of degree, not nature. There the debate It is public and massive. Here it begins more quietly, but with the same roots: fear of losing control, social pressure and a complex relationship with food that the holidays intensify. Understand well what it is. Ozempic is neither a one-time appetite suppressant nor a cosmetic aid. Its active ingredient is semaglutide, a drug that replicates the action of the hormone GLP-1 that the body releases after meals. This hormone intervenes in the regulation of insulin and satiety signals, so the treatment reduces appetite and prolongs the feeling of being full. “This is important to understand well,” emphasizes Laura AlbĂł, psychologist specialized in eating disorders and EMDR traumawith whom we have chatted in Xataka. “It is not a pill that takes away the desire to eat only that day. It is a treatment that modifies the signaling of hunger and satiety on a continuous basis. Interrupting it is not neutral.” Besides, as recalled by the scientific reviews recently analyzed by the WHOthese drugs work to lose weight, but they are not free of side effects nor is their long-term impact still known with certainty. Nausea, digestive discomfort and, in some cases, abandonment of treatment are part of the real picture. The Christmas dilemma: enjoy without losing control. One of the most repeated promises of GLP-1 is peace of mind: eating without fear of overflowing. Precisely for this reason, Christmas is experienced as a paradox. “What we observed is that many people consider these dates as an exception,” explains AlbĂł. “It’s the same mental scheme of diets as always: now I can relax, now it’s time to enjoy, and then I’ll control myself again. The tool changes, but not the logic.” According to the psychologist, the conflict is not so much in the amount of food as in the meaning attributed to it. “When someone feels like they need to skip treatment to enjoy themselves, they are reinforcing the idea that eating with pleasure and eating with control are incompatible. And that dichotomy is a clear basis for eating discomfort.” From a medical point of view, Dr. Bravo agrees that expectations are often unrealistic. “Some people hope that by stopping the medication for a few days the body will function as before the treatment. But what usually returns is not a ‘normal’ relationship with food, but a sharp increase in hunger and constant worry about eating.” As we have previously mentioned, in the United States, some patients delayed the weekly dose to arrive with a greater appetite for holiday meals. But Laura AlbĂł warns that this approach displaces the problem: “It’s not just physical hunger. It’s mental noise, paying attention to the menu, the dessert, how much is left. Just what many people had managed to silence.” What happens if you skip Ozempic? From a physiological point of view, interrupting or delaying a dose can cause a return of hunger that is more intense than expected. “The body once again receives signals that had been dampened for weeks or months,” says the endocrinologist. “This does not mean that the person eats ‘normal’, but rather that they may experience a sharp increase in appetite and greater difficulty in self-regulation.” But the impact is not just physical. “On an emotional level, the effect is usually a swing,” adds Laura AlbĂł. “First the idea of ​​permission appears—now I can eat—and then, if the person feels that it has gone too far, guilt and shame come. This cycle is well known in consultations.” Scientific evidence supports this risk. Studies on hormonal regulation of appetite show that the body’s adaptations after weight loss do not disappear immediately. Skipping treatment does not eliminate that vulnerability; in some cases it intensifies it. So what do the experts recommend? There is no single answer, but there is clear consensus among the professionals consulted: Do not make impulsive or guilt-based decisions. Do not use medication as punishment or as permission to eat. Maintain basic schedules and routines to avoid arriving extremely hungry. Understand that two or three meals do not determine the success or failure of a treatment. “The important thing is not to turn Christmas into a test,” summarizes psychologist Laura AlbĂł. “Two meals do not change a body, but they can greatly alter the emotional state.” For its part, Dr. Victor Bravo He insists that any adjustment should be discussed with the professional who prescribes the treatment: “Not so much because of the specific meal of a day, but because of what that decision can trigger later.” The role of the family: the noise that cannot be seen. Although the focus is usually on who takes the drug, the environment has a decisive weight. Comments such as “how little you … Read more

The real deal about festivals isn’t the music, it’s that you can’t bring your own food in. But that’s over

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The sentence of Valencia Court against Madrid Salvaje It’s not just about snacks. It is an assault won by consumers in a larger war: that of maintaining cultural experiences without every moment being designed for the purchase and sale of services. A ray of hope in the battle between “leisure as a business” as opposed to “leisure as a social right” that defines our era in an increasingly clear way. The battle for free entertainment. The judgmentwhich comes after the lawsuit from FACUA-Consumers in Action, is the first judicial resolution in Spain which establishes the abusive nature of these prohibitions at music festivals. But its importance transcends the anecdotal, since what is at stake is not only the right to bring a sandwich to a concert, but something more structural: the battle to maintain cultural spaces that are not completely immersed in transactional dynamics. A chronology of victories. A series of rulings can be traced that serve as a preamble to this latest judicial decision and that have paved the way to reach this point. For example, in 2001the MarĂ­a Cristina multiplexes in Toledo lost a lawsuit that certified that prohibiting entry with external products was an “irrational restriction on the consumer’s ability to choose.” There was already talk of “tied sales”: indirectly imposing services that the client had not requested. In 2022 another milestone arrived: the law was enacted that requires all hospitality establishments to offer free tap water. Although the official justification was environmental (reducing single-use packaging), it also served as a basis for this issue of forced consumption. Since then, the fines have increased: Yelmo Cines, for example, was fined 30,001 euros by the Basque Consumer Institute for prohibiting food from abroad. Spanish legal doctrine already makes it clear: if the main activity is showing films or scheduling concerts, hospitality is accessory. Beyond the sandwich. What happens at festivals is a symptom of a deeper mutation: leisure is being colonized by logic that transforms the cultural experience into a financial asset. It is understood if we look at the case of Live Nation, owners of Ticketmaster. In 2024, US Attorney General Merrick Garland defined like this the business model: “Live Nation uses illegal anti-competitive conduct to exert monopolistic control over the live events industry at the expense of fans, artists, small promoters and venue operators.” That is: you control the 70% of the ticketing market in the United States60% of concert promotion, and exclusive contracts with 75% of the large venues (the numbers are comparable in other countries of the world). In this way, each business segment feeds and reinforces the others. Ticket revenue is used to tie artists into exclusive promotional contracts, allowing for long-term ticketing exclusives, with more commission income… and perpetuating itself ad infinitum. By controlling the entire distribution and business chain you earn more money. Parallel trends. This transformation of leisure does not come from nowhere. It is intertwined with a couple of trends that redefine current leisure. On the one hand, the shrinkflation cultural (untranslatable, but here it goes: shrinking inflation), reduce the size of the product while maintaining or even increasing the price. General admission prices to American festivals they rose 55% between 2014 and 2024. And it’s not just that it costs more: it’s that you receive less. What was once included (being able to bring your own food, access to free drinking water, reasonable personal space) is now sold as a “privilege” or outright prohibited. Furthermore, in 2006, Spirit Airlines introduced the “unbundling” model: a cheap ticket that only includes one seat. Luggage, seat selection and priority boarding became extras that, as in 2024 had generated billions of dollars in baggage and seat selection fees. In other words: the unbundling did not reduce the cost of flying, but rather fragmented the final price into multiple hidden charges. Because ultra-low-cost airlines operate with very tight margins in base notes, recovering profitability through peaks that represent up to 47% of income. Festivals follow the same recipe: tickets that barely cover fixed expenses, while the real margins come from drinks and food. And since now live performances are essential for the survival of the music industryit makes sense that all efforts are focused on making it profitable. A crucial moment. After decades of unstoppable advance in the commodification of every aspect of entertainment (from cinema to sports stadiums, passing through theme parks), this judicial ruling indicates that perhaps the pendulum is beginning to swing in the opposite direction, at least in certain details. Consumers may not have completely lost the battle for “leisure as leisure” to the relentless “leisure as business” model that has been theorized for decades (Joseph Pine and James Gilmore spoke in 1998 of“the experience economy” and, even further back, the German sociologists Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer once defined visionary “colonization of free time) Extirpating leisure from capitalism. In 1944, the political economist Karl Polanyi published ‘The Great Transformation’where he argued that land, work and money are essential elements of life that They should never have become commodities. When the market attempts to subordinate “the very substance of society to the laws of the market,” society reacts spontaneously to protect itself from its own disintegration. So this judicial resolution is about being able to enter the next MadCool with a sandwich, but also about something more. Header | James Jeremy Beckers in Unsplash

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