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Kimchi in Space
rtknox00 writes "For astronauts spending months in space, the smallest touch of home can make a big difference. So when South Korea's first astronaut Ko San boards the International Space Station this April he'll be bringing along a hefty supply of kimchi, the national dish of his native country. While bringing a cherished food on a long journey might seem like a simple act, taking kimchi into space required millions of dollars in research and years of work." Science may never get Thorramatur in orbit.
Yes, it's nice that they are allowing this, however, I suspect that the smell will permeate everything in the station. Just saying.
So thats where our tax money went... researching the fluid mechanics of kimchi in 0 g..
They tried this awhile ago. You can't have carbonated beverages in a near-weightless environment because belching would result in vomiting up your food. As a result, the Coke had to be flat. Basically, it tasted really nasty and they've not tried it since that I know of.
The spice! It's in my eyes! AUUUGHH! It burns!! The goggles... they do nothing!
in space no one can hear you fart.
it's not durian.
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
But you can't take a haggis into space - what if yon beastie escapes and runs round and round in wee circles, because everyone knows that the legs on one side are shorter than the other, what with them living in the hills...
One swallow does not a fellatrix make
Where do scientists earn $300k/year?
In the U.S., you have to be a tenured department chair, with a Howard Hughes fellowship or the likes of it... in order to make $300k/year as a scientist. I figure about 0.001% of all scientists fit that bill.
Graduate Students: $0 - $25k/year ($40-60k/year in the industry, as a technician)
Post Docs: $25k-35k/year ($40-100k/year in the industry, as a junior scientist, i.e. technician)
Fellows: $35-50k/year
Assistant/Associate professors: $50-60k/year
Full Professors w/o fellowships, etc: $60-150k/year
The vast majority of all scientists in the U.S. have trouble making ends meet... not earning $300k/year... and I am talking about the BIOMEDICAL scientists, who are the HIGHEST PAID.
Taking kimchi up in space - man, the smell of that stuff is brutal - and in space, you can't exactly crack the windows when he starts farting now, can you? Seriously, just because you _can_ take a smelly, nasty food up in space because people of your ethnicity eat it doesn't mean you _should_ take it up. There's the "bringing home with you so you don't get so lonely" deal but there's also the "having to live in a confined space with several other people that have nothing in common with you" deal. And bringing food that has a >0 chance of really bugging your fellow astronauts isn't the greatest idea. What's next, having an Icelandic astronaut bring some håkarl up, too?
-- Josh Turiel
"2. Do not eat iPod Shuffle."
Yes, and World War II was essentially a frank exchange of opinion.
Yes, if you are looking for a "Western Food" analog that would get everybody to understand quickly.
There's one HUGE difference though, kimchee is not typically cooked when it's made, whereas sauerkraut is cooked. Both are fermented I think it's the same micro-biology that does it though. And kimchee has at least garlic, usually hot spices, ginger and FISH SAUCE (fermented juice from preserved fish) in it. I use the purified form of the latter, along with usually one or two cans of drained and crushed anchovies for flavor.
The cool part is that the vitamins in the kimchee stay intact, so you get the vitamin C that was in there along with what is created during fermentation. So if you are in an agrarian society and need a supply of vitamins for the winter, kimchee works well. If you have gut problems it will overwhelm whatever bugs are ailing you, and it gets a slow moving gut running like a well-oiled shotgun if you need that.
For the uninitiated, kimchee is rather offensive stuff. But properly made home-made kimchee is a comfort food that does wonders. I go from cranky and anxious to happy and relaxed with a few mouth fulls of the stuff. I need to make another batch, am on my last jar come to think of it.
In my own experience, if you live in a place long enough you adapt to the food such that you feel just as weird going "back in the other direction". I remember walking around a western supermarket for the first time in years and thinking "Ok, what the hell am I supposed to eat here".
Time to adapt for me personally; 2-3 years, and 3 years tops. After that, no craving for food that you were previously used to eating. You get totally localized.
I guess my point is, instead of packaging food that is obviously unsuitable for the purpose (because it fucking stinks for one), why not train to live on food that is especially suitable for space flight.
At this point I'm forced to ask where you got your nickname...
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