The Beer Party

Last April the Polish Party of Friends of Beer was founded on a platform of encouraging beer-drinking in Poland in order to reduce vodka consumption. The party membership card features a verse that says, according to the translation published in American Brewer Magazine: “Have a beer, or two or three, and your gait will be swervy and slow; unlike vodka, which won’t let you get where you want to go.”

Stalking the Big Cats

Probably the biggest edible fish in the world is the pla beuk, a monster Southeast Asian catfish that can reach nine feet in length and weigh more than 600 pounds. It’s an endangered species, of course (too bad; its flavor has been described as a majestic cross between veal and sturgeon). Under Thai and Lao tradition, fishermen were required to hurl insults at each other while fishing for pla beuk.

A Computer Program With a Smudge of Flour on Its Cheek

Expert systems, widely used for monitoring petrochemical refineries, are computer programs that can learn from experience. Well, cooking is a matter of refining chemicals, sort of, and definitely a learning experience. So Mrs. Baird’s Bakeries of Ft. Worth, Tex., is training an expert system named G2 to keep tabs on the thousands of variables in its baking operation, from weighing ingredients to monitoring goods in the ovens.

Public Demands Sulfites

The Banfi company just gave up trying to market Liberte, its sulfite-free brand of wine.

Contest of the Year

Let’s hear it for Mike and Donna Brennan, winners of the July 20 baby food eating contest in Fremont, Mich. Mike polished off five jars of Gerber’s Apple Blueberry in 1 minute 20.71 seconds. Donna, who did the high-speed spooning, credited her experience feeding their four kids.

Eat Your Planet Clean

At last we can stop polluting the world with non-biodegradable sundae cups. Joy Cone Co., the ice cream cone maker, has just introduced a five-ounce capacity cake-style cone with a flat bottom, a reinforced wall and a wider top to accommodate sundae toppings. A portion of revenues from the IncrediBowl Edible Sundae Cup will go to the litter-prevention group Keep America Beautiful Inc.

Rx for Rats: Oolong

Scientists have found that certain tea tannins, known as catechins, kept down the blood pressure of rats who ate high-fat diets. Chinese tea also appeared to reduce the proportion of throat cancer in rats by a third to a half. (The teas with the strongest effect: Fujian oolong and jasmine.)