Well preserved meals

[Gob]

Looking almost as fresh as the day it was bought, this McDonald's Happy Meal is in fact a staggering six months old








Photographed every day for the past half a year by Manhattan artist Sally Davies the kids meal of fries and burger is without a hint of mould or decay.

In a work entitled The Happy Meal Project, Mrs Davies, 54, has charted the seemingly indestructible fast food meals progress as it

Sitting on a shelf in her apartment, Sally has watched the Happy Meal with increasing shock and even her dogs have resisted the urge to try and steal a free tasty snack.

'I bought the meal on April 10 of this year and brought it home with the express intention of leaving it out to see how it fared,' she said.

'I chose McDonald's because it was nearest to my house, but the project could have been about any other of the myriad of fast food joints in New York.

'The first thing that struck me on day two of the experiment was that it no longer emitted any smell.

'And then the second point of note was that on the second day, my dogs stopped circling the shelf it was sitting on trying to see what was up there.'

Expecting the food to begin moulding after a few days, Mrs Davies' surprise turned to shock as the fries and burger still had not shown any signs of decomposition after two weeks.

'It was then that I realised that something strange might be going on with this food that I had bought,' she explained.

'The fries shrivelled slightly as did the burger patty, but the overall appearance of the food did not change as the weeks turned to months.

'And now, at six months old, the food is plastic to the touch and has an acrylic sheen to it.

'The only change that I can see is that it has become hard as a rock.'

Even though she is a vegan, Mrs Davies' experiment has brought her amusement rather than fear.

'I don't really see this experiment as scary, I see it almost as an amusement,' she said.

'Although, I would be frightened at seeing this if I was a meat eater. Why hasn't even the bun become speckled with mould? It is odd.'

When asked if their food was not biodegradable, McDonald's spokeswoman Danya Proud said: 'This is nothing more than an outlandish claim and is completely false.'

It comes after Denver grandmother Joann Bruso left a Happy Meal to decay for a year until March to highlight the nutritional dangers of fast food.

Morgan Spurlock also made the film Super Size Me in 2004 charting the changes to his body eating just fast food for 28 days had.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z12C30ilbR

[tyro]

The top half of the bun seems to have cozied a few inches towards the fries. Meanwhile, one of the fries has actually escaped the container and has curled one end on the plate while the other appears to be kissing the affectionate bun.

I say we keep the camera going! This could be a classic along the lines of bun meets curl.

[Gob]

Oh OUCH! Tyro, OUCH!!

[dales]

30-year-old Twinkie soon to become teacher's legacy
BLUE HILL, Maine (AP) — A Twinkie standing the test of time on the edge of a blackboard may be a retiring science teacher's lasting legacy.
Roger Bennatti developed a reputation as an innovative teacher during his 31-year career at George Stevens Academy, using new methods to introduce students to subjects he loved. But the legend of the Twinkie looms over all.

Speckled with bits of mold, the bright yellow cake still adorns his lab, but Bennatti only vaguely remembers why he kept the Twinkie so long.

"We wanted to see what the shelf life of a Twinkie was," said Bennatti. "The idea was to see how long it would take to go bad."

The Twinkie stayed on top of the board through his career — joined in later years by a Fig Newton — and occasionally inspired new food experiments. Bennatti estimates the ever-yellow Twinkie is about 30-years-old.

"It's rather brittle, but if you dusted it off, it's probably still edible," Bennatti said. "It never spoiled."

The fascination with the Twinkie lasted until Bennatti's retirement in June, said Libby Rosemeier, a former Bennatti student and teacher at the school.

"We had to spirit it away at the end of the year," said Rosemeier, who has volunteered to become the Twinkie's new caretaker. "The kids all wanted it."

Rosemeier said her father, a carpenter, plans to make a case for the snack, and she hopes to hang it in her new classroom next year.

Bennatti will not leave teaching altogether. He purchased a large telescope and plans to develop a small observatory at his home in Bucksport, where he hopes to bring in small classes from area schools.

"This is how I can keep my hand in it," he said.

[rubato]

All organisms need water to grow and multiply. If the surface dried out quickly enough then it would be effectively preserved. There is a tendency to over-interpret the results because it was McDs food. Other than the 'spin' not all that interesting.

The corporate logo is the whole story.

yrs,
rubato

[Andrew D]

So an ordinary burger left out for 171 days would be in the condition of the McDonald's burger shown in the opening posting's linked article?

Really?

[oldr_n_wsr]

Why hasn't even the bun become speckled with mould?

Leave a regular (non-fast food) piece of bread (or hamburger bun) out on the counter. It won't get mold it will get stale (croutons anyone). mold needs moisture and unless you live in a rain forest, your house usually won't contain enough moisture to promote mold growth (at least it shouldn't). Put a piece of bread in a plastic bag and seal it, then you will get mold. We did that experiment in 3rd grade (maybe earlier).