Saturday, December 15, 2012

No Tweaking

What’s green and red, but leaves only red behind? Pistachios! Remember the sweet, green nut with the red shell that stained our fingers red every time we ate a handful? After harvesting, food processors dyed pistachios red to hide blemishes left on the shell by the hand-picking process. Apparently, processor felt the normally beige shells need a prettier look to appeal to consumers. Today, since machines harvest the nuts, the blemishes and most of the red-dyed nuts have disappeared.   

People in the Middle East have eaten the nuts for centuries in spite of the blemishes, but we’re a nation of “tweakers.”  We love tweaking things: people with curly hair want it straight, short people want more height, young people want to be older (but not too old)—and we’ll spend a small fortune to make it happen. At Christmas time, we spruce up our houses for the holidays by displaying a few wreaths, some outdoor lighting, or window candles. Tweaks are slight improvements, but some of us take it to the limit. Have a look:

 
                http://youtu.be/wXGmhTI4S8w
 Perhaps you can persuade your neighbors to decorate like that. We spend plenty of time and money changing and improving our faces, diets, homes, and many aspects of our lives. Isn’t there something that feels just right? What wouldn’t you want to change? 

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