The Top-Secret Burger Changing the Food Industry and 4 Other Links You Can’t Miss

By Jeff Cattel

There’s too much Internet—with wonders like this 18th century workout routine—and too little time. That’s why we curate a list of the best of the best (a.k.a. “the Greatist”) things we’ve come across on the Web this week. In other words, it’s the stuff we’d email/gchat/tweet/text you immediately if we were besties. While we’ll never stop striving to bring our readers amazing content on a daily basis, we know not all the best stuff comes from us.

1. The Top-Secret Food That Will Change the Way You Eat (Outside)

Thinking about the sound of a burger sizzling on the grill or the juicy burst of flavor we get from the first bite is enough to make us salivate. But then we think of how industrial farming affects climate change and adds to water scarcity, which is enough to make us say, “Veggie burger, please.” Luckily our friends at Outside introduced us to the Beast Burger, a meat made in a machine that acts like a mechanical cow—consuming grasses, water, and oil and combining them to make a product that’s chock full of protein, calcium, and antioxidants. But is it meat? Or meat like? One thing is for sure: This is mind blowing.

2. The Weird Connections Between Hearing and Taste (Science of Us)

We know that smell can play just as big of a role as taste in determining whether we like a meal or leave our plate half eaten. But what about sound? Researchers at the University of Manchester found that sound can have strong impacts on how people perceive the food they’re eating. Have a lot of white noise (like a blender or dishwasher) running in the background? Food will taste bland and crunchy. On the other hand, if you’re chair dancing to your favorite melodies, food will likely taste more bold and complex. So, now we’ll be eating every meal listening to “Shake It Off.”

3. The Benefits of Being Cold (The Atlantic)

As we sit in our toasty office with a cup of just-brewed coffee in hand, it’s hard to imagine that just a few generations ago when the mercury dipped outside, our ancestors dealt with living in the cold. And besides the potential for frost bite and hypothermia, living in the cold had some serious benefits, namely as a way of regulating weight and health. When your body is in full-on shiver-me-timbers mode, it draws more energy from the food you consume to keep your core temperature hot. That means less food turns into fat. So, what happens when researchers try to mimic these chilly environments today?

4. Inside the Strange World of “Lip Balm Addiction” (Refinery29)

A stick of Burt’s Bees peppermint lip balm always sits next to us on our desk—and yes we did just reapply (it’s hard to read a story about lip balm and not think about how chapped your lips …read more

Source:: Greatist