Word: amber
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...scientists stunned colleagues by reporting that 80 million years ago, the earth's atmosphere contained about 50% more oxygen than it does now. Geochemists Gary Landis of the U.S. Geological Survey and Robert Berner of Yale reached their startling conclusion after analyzing tiny air bubbles trapped in bits of amber, the aged and solidified resin of coniferous trees. They placed the amber inside a vacuum chamber, then cracked it to let the ancient air escape. They found that it was 32% oxygen, compared with 21% in the modern atmosphere...
Berner quickly dismisses speculation that a change in the oxygen supply had anything to do with the extinction of dinosaurs. "It was a very slow change, over millions of years," he observes. "And most organisms easily adapt." Next comes testing bubbles in 300 million-year-old amber...
Today, whether it is New Amsterdam in New York City, Catamount Amber in Vermont, Abita in Louisiana, Lair Dog at the Tap & Growler in Chicago, Reinheitsgebot in Plano, Texas, or one of the 20 regional brews on tap at Cooper's Ale House in Seattle, the appeal of locally brewed beer is akin to that of regional cheeses, breads and homegrown vegetables. "It's the fascination with something unique and handcrafted," says Shelby Meyer, who writes a newsletter for a home-brewers' club...
...supplement is studded with advertisements from state-operated firms plugging such products as amber, furs and musical instruments. The Soviets paid some $300,000 for the insert. It ran in 900,000 copies of the Journal in the Eastern U.S., Asian and European editions...
...kitchen where it was brought to a frothy boil along with mutton, beef, noodles, vegetables, coriander and scallions. Puffed up like tiny spaetzle, the bread dumplings fleshed out a satisfying soup that was made fiery, sharp and aromatic with additions of chili and sesame oils, and winy, amber-colored aged vinegar. Many ganbei, or toasts, drunk with the strong-smelling mao-tai whisky, cloyingly sweet orange soda or cool, refreshing Chinese beer were raised...