What the beautiful people eat on their nights off (Photo by Ingorrr) May 14 marks the birth of an iconic invention. On this day in 1965, the late Donald Goerke unveiled SpaghettiOs, the meal in a can that was destined to make children come running like cats at the click of a can opener. It would be rivaled in canned-food fame only by Spam, and would consistently sell more than 100 million count per year for generations to come. I admit I was one of those kids who cheered when the dinner menu consisted of a bowl of O-shaped noodles swimming in mysterious orange-ish sauce. I dare not taste them with an adult palate, however, for fear of spoiling the pleasurable memory. If you decide to revisit the flavors of youth, you might make a casserole (either plain or fancy) using the Os. Rather than use genuine SpaghettiOs in a recipe, though, some have attempted to copy the recipe (in cheesy and even vegan versions). The Campbell Soup Company recently changed their SpaghettiOs recipe, claiming to have reduced the sodium content by more than a third, a move that many processed food manufacturers have been making voluntarily as the FDA considers regulating sodium levels. Along with potential adverse health effects of sodium, another consumer worry is plaguing the canned food industry. Although U.S. manufacturers have mostly abandoned the use of lead solder in food packaging, recent studies have identified potential risks associated with the chemical compound Bisphenol-A, a component in the lining of cans. While differing experts will tell you that you either should or shouldn’t worry, a University of Missouri endocrinologist has at least taken canned tomatoes out of his own pantry. The good news is that a quest is on for BPA-free cans. They’re already in use for some foods, but the FDA has yet to approve them for foods with high acidity (including, yep, those darn tomatoes). Positive changes in the industry are certainly welcome in the name of health. I just hope they never change Spaghetti-Os too much. That would be a big uh-oh. Suggested Sites... MySlurp.com - as if the food wasn't fun enough -- kids can play with their virtual Os in these online games. Mealtime.org - recipes, research, and resources from the Canned Food Alliance. Can and Aerosol News - latest news from the industry. 10 Sophisticated Variations On Your Favorite Childhood Foods - from The Learning Channel. College Eating and Fitness 101 - for students living off canned food, some nutrition tips.

Directory categories: Food and Drink, Copycat Recipes, Canning, Packaging, Food Safety

Archived under: Brands, Cooking, Eating, Food and Drink, Health, Inventors, Kids, Nostalgia, Snacks

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Then there's always the old "truth in advertising" approach (Photo by Chris Harrison) There's no doubt that a name is an important thing. It's a symbol of what makes you unique, the way you identify yourself to the world, and (depending on who you ask) it has an enormous impact on how you're perceived by others. So it's no wonder that the subject of baby names is so wildly popular... and so fraught with peril. Because names are such a big deal, and the process of naming a tiny, helpless human being is so overwhelming, people have strong opinions about what makes a good name. We giggle at outlandish names like Ima Hogg or Shanda Lear or twins called Lemonjello and Orangejello. Many of us have, upon hearing an especially strange moniker, blurted out something insensitive like, "Who would name a child that? That's child abuse!" We all have our pet peeves about other people's name choices, and we certainly know what names we don't like. So when it comes to naming a baby, many of us agonize over it to the point of obsession. We pore over books and sites of impossibly long lists, and we batter search engines with a barrage of name-related queries. We dig deep into our family trees for useful names or previously unknown lineage. We fret over obscure name meanings, potential schoolyard taunts, unflattering rhymes, and accidentally funny initials. Once you exclude the minority of parents committed to family names and those who had names picked out before they'd gone on their first dates, there are three main camps of namers that we've observed: Top 40 Acts - From traditionalists sticking by steadfast classics like Elizabeth and Jacob to trendier parents riding a recent vogue (like the ongoing trend of last names as first names), these folks prefer names that are well-tested. Why dig deeper in the popular names list when there are so many good choices right at the top? Obscurists - Perhaps bored by their own common names, competing with wacky celebrity names, or trying to be the coolest hipster parents on the block, these folks consult lists of literary, historical, or (sometimes bizarrely specific) arcane monikers. Of course, when enough new parents latch onto a formerly esoteric name or look back to their grandparents' generation's names, we get a new boom of Olivias and Henrys for the Top 40 parents to enjoy. Creative Types - Not content with the existing field of choices, these folks want something utterly unique, crafting avant garde spellings or completely new names. Sometimes their handiwork has such mass appeal that they shoot up the charts: "Nevaeh" (yep, that's "heaven" spelled backwards) was virtually unknown before 2001 but now ranks 34 in the United States. Likewise the epidemic of "-adens" (Brayden/Jayden/Hayden/Kaden) and first-syllable-of-one-name-plus-"lyn" names (Kaylyn/Adalyn/Emmalyn/Jazlyn) had to start somewhere. Get these three groups into a discussion of baby names and even the most even-tempered and cheerful parents start to look like toddlers fighting over a shovel in a sandbox. The Creative Types and Obscurists think the Top 40 Acts are boring conformists; the Obscurists and Top 40s think the Creative Types are illiterate weirdos; and the Creatives and Top 40s think the Obscurists are pretentious hipsters. Everyone thinks that anyone who doesn't agree with them is dooming their children to lives of misery and mockery, and everyone is defensive of their own choices. Aren't baby names fun? If you're finding the process of naming your offspring so daunting that you're reconsidering having kids at all, remember that kids named Archibald Leach, Lucille LeSueur, Chaim Witz, Demetria Gene Guynes, and Elgin Baylor Lumpkin turned out all right -- as Cary Grant, Joan Crawford, Gene Simmons, Demi Moore, and Ginuwine -- after slight makeovers. Suggested Sites... Social Security Administration: Popular Baby Names - their 2009 stats show that there will be no shortage of Isabellas, Sophias, and Jacobs in the class of 2027. For girls, the E and A sounds still hold great appeal, with Emmas and Ellas and Avas aplenty, and for boys the -aden names show no sign of abating. NameBerry - obsess over names here, with dozens of lists of names, blogs on name trends, and much more. NameTrends.net - graph groups of names and watch name trends over time. The Baby Name Wizard: Name Voyager - unbelievably addictive visual display of name popularity over time.

Directory categories: Baby Names, Parenting, Pregnancy and Birth, Names, Name Humor

Archived under: Babies, Fanatics, Humor, Kids, Names, Parenting, Words

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Beware the witches' hat that casts a spell to make kids throw up. (Photo by carlfbagge) If you've ever gone down a super-heated slide in shorts, spun on a witch's hat to the point of inertia-induced vomiting, or been hit in the face with the wrong end of a seesaw (guilty as charged), it may give you some comfort that April 26-30 is Playground Safety Week. Although playgrounds are intended to provide endless hours of childhood entertainment, some are little more than brightly colored death traps. Take the slide at Alamanda Estate Point Cook in Australia. After three children were seriously injured sliding down the massive blue tube, Villawood Properties, the housing estate's developer, hired a guard to monitor the playground until signage could be put in stating the slide's 4'2" minimum height rule. But it's not just super structures that can cause trouble. Recently, a report that studied the difference between fracture rates from playgrounds with sand versus those with wood chips was published in PLoS Medicine. The researchers found that children who fell on sand surfaces were less likely to break bones than those who fell in wood chips. And lest you think that indoor play structures are any safer, in 2005, an 8-year-old boy fell from an enclosed playground at a Burger King and suffered severe brain damage from the impact. However, for all of the dangers that playgrounds pose to children, there's the equally important concern that the pendulum is swinging too far in the opposite direction. Across the United States, jungle gyms, swings, merry-go-rounds, tire swings, and teeter-totters are all being torn down only to be replaced by pre-assembled plastic structures, rubber mats, and non-threatening playground equipment that's safe, sturdy -- and boring. Sure, these newer play structures are less likely to land children in the emergency room, but in protecting them from every scratch and bump they might incur on the playground, do we end up coddling them instead? Indeed, there does seem to be a backlash growing against the sterilization of risk in America's parks and school yards. In Berkeley, CA, kids not only get to climb up colorfully painted forts, crawl through tunnels, and scramble across rope nets at Adventure Playground, they actually get to build the structures themselves. There are several other Adventure Playgrounds in the U.S., as well as parks across Europe and Japan. Perhaps the lesson here is not for children to avoid risk at any cost, but to stay away from playground equipment that looks like this, and to exercise a little common sense. Suggested Sites... The 10 Most Unusual Playgrounds From Around the World - pictures from some of the coolest and most unique playgrounds across the globe. Super Playgrounds - some of the most interesting and expensive playgrounds out there. Find a Playground - locate a playground in your area. Playground Fail - funny pictures of playground sites gone wrong. Dangerous Slides - compilation of funny slide accidents. Watch at your own risk.

Directory categories: Safety, Playgrounds, Outdoors, Playground Equipment, Kid's Sports

Archived under: Big Brother, Celebrations, Children, Childrens Health, Events, Exercise, Games, Health, Kids, Parks, Safety

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The Easter Bunny: Neither Democrat nor Republican (Photo by dbking) Today is the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, a tradition at the Executive Mansion since 1878, and thousands of lucky kids will take part in the egg hunt, games, and storytelling. If you aren't in D.C. for today's activities, you can still order cool environmentally-friendly wooden souvenir eggs. But perhaps you have enough eggs left from your own Easter activities -- even if you didn't boil 13,000 eggs as they did at the White House last year -- that you don't need to hunt for more. After you've hidden and hunted for your eggs, what can you do with them? Well, if you enjoy eating egg dishes, but find plain old boiled eggs boring, you might make potato salad, scalloped eggs and ham, or even deviled eggs that retain the Easter colors. And since we're in the midst of school science fair season in lieu of eating your leftover eggs, you could conduct science experiments with them. The very act of boiling the eggs can be an educational experience. Once it's boiled, you can, with the help of a few common household items, watch a peeled egg get sucked into a bottle (this experiment includes fire, so adult supervision is required). Other egg experiments include making a "rubber" egg, learning about air pressure, and suspending an egg in water to make it float. Be warned, though: Some of these experiments, such as the classic egg drop, must be done with raw eggs. If you'd like to preserve your eggs as works of art, you need to plan ahead. You should blow out your eggs before decorating them, and seal them after. Regardless of what you choose to do, it’s Dyngus Day -- so get cracking, come out of your shell, and have fun! Suggested Sites... White House Easter Egg Roll - official Site for the White House event. Easter Leftovers from AllRecipes - leftover ideas for more than just eggs. The Naked Scientist - Kitchen Science Experiments - podcasts detailing dozens of fascinating projects. LearnPysanky.com - if you want to do some really serious egg painting. Plan a Perfect Easter Egg Hunt – Kaboose - lots of ideas for a fun, safe event.

Directory categories: Easter, Easter Games, Easter Eggs, Egg Recipes, Kids Science Activities

Archived under: Arts, Barack Obama, Children, Cooking, Creativity, Easter, Eggs, Events, Food and Drink, Holidays, How-To, Kids, Recipes, Society and Culture, Spring

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Poor Helene (before the Coke spill), dancing with that awful Damien, rather than Michel (Photo by The Spark) Yesterday, we began a stroll down memory lane in honor of the re-recording of the hit charity song "We Are The World" -- a song I had to sing at a sixth-grade assembly. We've been reminiscing about our early performances. Many of them we'd just as soon forget, but as you'll see, some had a shiny silver lining, or were even positive experiences! Helene: (pictured) My first memorable performance was in Kindergarten: My teacher was originally from Poland, so she taught us some Polish dances that we performed at the end of the year. I loved the costume, but I was really disappointed by my partner: I wanted to dance with Michel, not with Damien! My whole family came to see me dance, and the day would have been perfect if I hadn't spilled my first ever Coke on my pretty Polish dress. Vinay: We had to sign-language to Whitney Houston's "The Greatest Love of All" and I sure hope there aren't any photos or videos of it. Why? Because I never really learned it and so I was just trying to copy what was being done around me. Mica: I went to an artsy elementary school in Lima, Peru, where I was part of an after-school dance class (taught by famous Peruvian music artist, Susana Baca). I think it was in fourth or fifth grade that we had to dance La Marinera, a traditional coastal dance, at one of the school's shows. This is a very romantic dance typically performed by a man and a woman, but since most of us were girls in the class, I was relieved that we could perform as a group and not have to bear the embarrassment of dancing with a boy, in front of a large crowd. Andrea: The details are hazy, but in second grade, I was among a group of girls who were supposed to do a little dance during a talent show at our school. We all wore similar costumes -- red tights and red leotards -- but when show time came I felt so self-conscious, so mortified, that I insisted upon wearing a red cardigan on top of this costume. My mom kept trying to tell me that this sweater would actually make me stand out more, but she couldn't convince me. So I danced with my sweater on... and survived the ordeal! Emily: In eighth grade, my two best friends and I performed "That's What Friends Are For" at the annual choir concert. After that year, two of us moved to different states, but we still kept in touch. Recently, someone posted a photo of the performance on Facebook. I realized that when I was 13 I looked like one of the sister-wives on the compound in "Big Love." I'm not actually sure whether my extra-ugly uniform or performing a Dionne Warwick hit is more embarrassing, but at least I can say my friends weren't an issue. Mark: Placed on stage at Horsemanship and Mountaineering Camp in the Colorado Rockies. Second Grade. Told to sing Joe Walsh's "Rocky Mountain Way." Was offered the words to the song as I stepped up to the mic. "Have it all memorized," I replied. Band started, drummer signaled my cue, went blank. "Spennn lasss... Spent last year... Hummm, hum, hummm..." Camp counselors consoled me by saying it was the best comic relief value of the show. Adam: Not embarrassing, but awesome. We sang "The Rainbow Connection" from "The Muppet Movie." I think it was 1980. We all had flashlights and held them in front of us. Thank goodness my colleagues survived these ordeals to sing and dance another day. What performance do you remember from childhood? Suggested Sites... PS22 Chorus - these Staten Island kids are definitely into their performances. Rock Choir - singing groups for all ages and skill levels, but only in the U.K. so far. Camp Skits - ideas from Ultimate Camp Resource for fun at camp or any time. How to Tape a High School Play (Well) - instructables.com - how are you going to embarrass your kids in 20 years if you don't have evidence? Dr. Phil: "Stage Parents" - cautionary tales of parents who expect too much.

Directory categories: Music, Music Instruction for Children, Children's Camps, Poland, Susana Baca

Archived under: Actors, Arts, Children, Dance, Entertainment, Kids, Music, Performing Arts, Rock and Roll, School

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