GMG's Friday Find: There's a Fly in My Soup...Pass the Salt!

For those of you who are opposed to killing anything, stop reading.  For those of you who own a flyswatter, read on.  There are some bugs and insects we just have a hard time living with. Even the Dali Lama was asked once why he swats at mosquitos, and his reply was "because I have an issue with them".  I'm not a huge fan of spiders or flies when they have taken up residence in my home, and I'm hard pressed to find anyone who doesn't mind co-habitating with these little pests.

Now there's a new weapon in the war on flies called the Bug-A-Salt.

It looks very much like a children's play gun and is almost as simply designed.  It has a chamber to hold salt (enough for 50 blasts), a safety (just in case) and a trigger.  You simply load the gun, point it at the offender (the fly on your cofffee cup for instance), release the safety and FIRE! The small pinch of salt that is sprayed on the malefactor causes its demise. I suspect the fun comes in acquiring a near perfect aim as the fly target is on the tiny side, however, I also suspect the fun comes from some ancient cellular memory of kill or be killed!

As an alternative to the fly asault weapon, RESCUE! offers disposable fly traps that work humanely by luring the flies into the trap where they die in peace. It's nice to have options.

And for some really gross fly stats you may consider,  flies carry over 100 different disease causing germs, they lay eggs on your food and vomit on it before feasting (truly disgusting), they lay 3,000 eggs in their 21 day life span, and their larvae hatch into maggots within 24 hours. That's enough yuk for me, how about you? Check out the video and give us your thoughts on this fly assault weapon.  Is there a place in your home or office for it?  We'd love to hear from you.

~Peggy
Garden Media Group

GMG's Friday Find: For the Love of Popcorn!

Our obsession with popcorn is impressive. There's evidence of popcorn from 3600 B.C., and for eons we have been popping and playing with the kernels of this amazing vegetable. Is popcorn really good for us?  According to Kantha Shelke, a spokeswoman for the Institute of Food Technologists, "Popcorn has an antioxidant called ferulic acid that's also found in beans, rice, wheat, barley and many other grains. Ferulic acid exhibits a wide range of therapeutic effects against cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular and neuro-degenerative diseases because of its strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity."

We not only consume popcorn, we play with it.  There are popcorn board games, phone apps, relay races, guessing games and even Christmas decorations. Now there is a fun new machine that, although in prototype stage, promises to be a must have for the popcorn enthusiast.

The Popinator was invented by the fine folks at Popcorn Indiana and it's voice activated to launch a kernel of popped corn in the direction of the command "Pop", allowing the recipient the delight of capturing an air-borne snack with little agility (well, only when you get good at it). The less obvious components of the Popinator include competition and gamesmanship, alertness, agility, laughter and satisfaction.  The possible scenarios for use may include parties and social gatherings, perhaps the counters at workout facilities, an alternative to little snacks served at food stores, staff meetings at work (we're definitely interested at GMG), or anywhere you may want a quick snack mixed with a little fun.

Check out the Popinator video and let us know what you think.  Would you put this on your must have list?

~Peggy
  Garden Media Group