Back to the Numbers

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This was a rude awakening to me, but makes sense. From Karen at Winespeed: Amount (in U.S.$) that a restaurant dish’s price rises ($0.18) for every increase of one letter in the average length of words describing that dish. Now that restaurants are cautiously reopening, you can check it out for yourself. According to Dan Jurafsky, author of the James Beard book award finalist The Language of Food, "When a restaurant uses longer words to describe a dish, it charges more for the dish.” Jurafsky is also professor and chair of linguistics and professor of computer science at Stanford.More startling numbers: Humans metabolize alcohol 40 times faster than other primates, according to a new study, published last month in the journal Biology Letters. According to the study, humans produce an enzyme called "alcohol dehydrogenase class 4" that allows our bodies to quickly metabolize ethanol. The genetic basis of this efficient enzyme is a gene adaptation called ADH7. Most animals lack this variation, making the beasts cheap dates indeed.​Yes, alcohol consumption is higher during this pandemic. So is mine. Some are saying alcohol consumption is up over 243%!!(MISSING) Is it the stress, or ?? We all know alcohol is detrimental to the immune system. And alcohol consumption predisposes people to infection. And is there a difference between unhealthy drinking and moderate drinking?So, what are we drinking? You would be surprised, as it is rather low brow. The best seller right now is an alcoholic seltzer called White Claw. I tried the refreshing new seltzers from Corona, with only 4.5%!a(MISSING)lcohol. Not bad! In the whiskey category, the winners are Jack Daniels and Jim Beam. I love Jack and Jim. For vodka, a relative newcomer, Tito's has overtaken Smirnoff. Tequila is also trending upward, led by Patron, Sauza, Jose Cuervo, and Casamigos. But the best news, if you want to call this increased consumption a bit of good news, is that nine out of ten bottles of wine are from the West coast!!! And $20 is the price point, as I have long espoused.I would bet the best-selling beer right now is NOT Corona! The winner, among many, is Bud Light. Craft beers are having a tougher time, with many resorting to direct selling. With so many beer bars closed, some craft beer purveyors have closed or switched to making alcohol-based hand sanitizer!

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