Most nations have at least one type of food that people from other countries think is unusual or unacceptable to eat. In France, people eat horse meat and frog legs. In South Korea and parts of China, restaurants serve dog meat. And in Australia, it's common to cook kangaroo meat on the barbecue and use emu eggs to make pancakes.

    The kangaroo and emu are native to Australia. Both animals are important to the national image of Australia and appear on the Australian coat of arms. They're also central figures in the history of the native Australians. However, they still hunt these animals for their meat, fur and fat.

    Today, Australian people continue to eat these animals. One of the reasons people eat kangaroo meat is that it's high in protein and low in fat, so eating kangaroo is a good option for anyone on a diet. It's also cheaper to eat kangaroo meat than other red meats. Because of this, a lot of university students choose to buy kangaroo meat. BBC News also reported that Australian scientists believe that eating kangaroo meat is good for the environment— kangaroos have different digestive systems than cows and sheep, meaning they produce less methane, the second biggest contributor to global warming.

    While emu meat is high in iron and vitamin C, most people don't think it tastes good. For this reason, they prefer emu eggs. One egg is large enough to make seven omelettes (煎蛋). And while ifs illegal to collect emu eggs from the wild, they can be bought from emu farms. Rather than cracking the beautiful dark shell, it's better to dry it by putting a small hole at each end and blowing. Afterwards, you can even carve a design into the eggshell.

    The past two decades have seen astronomers' catalogue of planets expand over two hundred times, as new techniques and better telescopes have found more than 2,000 of them orbiting stars other than the sun. But in the solar system itself, the list of planets has actually shrunk, Pluto（冥王星）having been downgraded from that status in 2006. The number of the sun's planetary companions has thus fallen from nine to eight.

    Now, a pair of astronomers from the California Institute of Technology think they have evidence that will restore the sun's record to its previous value. Their analysis of objects orbiting in the Kuiper Belt（柯伊伯带）, a ring of frozen asteroids（小行星）that circle beyond the orbit of Neptune (and of which Pluto is now regarded as the largest member), suggests to them that something about ten times as massive as Earth has changed those orbits. If you knew where to look, this planet-sized object would be visible through a suitable telescope. And Konstanin Batygin and Michael Brown believe they do know.

As they write in the Astronomical journal, they have analyzed the orbits of Kuiper Belt objects and found six that behave in a peculiar way. As the diagram shows, the points of closest approach of these objects to the sun, known as their perihelia（近日点）, almost coincide. Moreover, these perihelia all lie near the ecliptic（黄道）—the plane of Earth's orbit and also, approximately, that of the other planets—while the objects' orbits are all angled at 30° below the ecliptic. The chance of all this being a coincidence, the two researchers estimate, is about seven in 100,000. If it is not a coincidence, it suggests the six objects have been guided into their orbits by the gravitational intervention of something much larger.

    A computer analysis Dr Batygin and Dr Brown performed suggests this something is a planet weighing 5-15 times as much as Earth, whose perihelion is on the opposite side of the sun from the cluster, and which thus orbits mainly on the other side of the solar system from the objects its orbit has affected. This planet's perihelion would be 200 times farther from the sun than Earth's, and the far end of its orbit might be as much as six times that distance away. This gives a search zone, and Dr Batygin and Dr Brown are using Subaru, a Japanese telescope, to perform that search.

    Given other demands on Subaru's time, it might take five years for this search to find (or not find) the hypothetical planet. But looking at some existing data from. The Widefield Infrared Survey Explore, a satellite, might also show it, if it is there to be seen.

    Ironically, it was Dr Brown as much as anyone who was responsible for Pluto's downgrading, for he discovered Eris, an object almost as big as Pluto, in 2005.

    That discovery did much to damage Pluto's planetary proof. By his own admission, he was skeptical that the anomalies he and Dr Batygin have investigated actually would point to the existence of a replacement ninth planet. He is a skeptic no longer. Whether he is actually right may soon become apparent.

    In Scotland, 600,000 tonnes of food are thrown away every year. This amount of food, which could as feed about 1.2 billion poor people, is almost a third of household (家庭) waste. And food waste isn't just a big problem in Scotland.

    Money time, and resources (资源) are often wasted by throwing away good food. It also causes very harmful greenhouse gas, which is perilous to the planet.

    In the production stage, some foods do not enter the food chain for many reasons. Supermarkets usually care about the quality of food from farms. They often refuse strange-looking and unusually sized produce. However, they seem to forget that it is almost impossible to grow the perfect produce. Food waste at the consumption (消费) stage includes food going out of date and leftovers (剩饭) because of too much food. In households, even mostly fresh fruit and vegetables are thrown away.

    In order to reduce food waste, here is what we can do:

    Understanding the terms “use by” and “best before” dates. “Use by” dates are there for your safety. It is dangerous to eat food after the use-by date and doing so risks your health. “Best before” dates tell you how long the food will be at its best quality. Once the food passes the date, it isn't necessarily bad, but you should still check, just to be sure.

    Every time you go shopping and you bring back new food, put them at the back of your fridge and bring the food that will expire (到期) soon closer to the front. That way, you know what needs to be eaten first.

    If you have any food that will expire soon, give it to charity if you aren't going to eat it. They will really appreciate the food you have given.

    Imagine you went to a restaurant with a date, had a burger, paid with a credit card, and left. The next time you go there, the waiter or waitress, armed with your profile data, greets you with, "Hey Joe, how are you? Mary is over there in the seat you sat in last time. Would you like to join her for dinner again?" Then you find out that your burger has been cooked and your drink is on the table. Forget the fact that you are with another date and are on a diet that doesn't include burgers. Sound a little odd? To some, it is the same with the Internet. The Nets ability to profile you through your visits to and interactions at websites provides marketers with an enormous amount of data on you--some of which you may not want them to have.

    Are you aware that almost every time you access a website you get a "cookie"? Unfortunately, it's not the Mrs.

    Reid's type. A cookie on the Internet is a computer code sent by the site to your computer--usually without your knowledge. During the entire period of time that you are at the site, the cookie is collecting information about your interaction, including where you visit, how long you stay there. How frequently you return to certain pages, and even your electronic address. Fill out a survey to collect free information or samples, and marketers know even more about you--like your name, address, and any other information you provide. While this may sound scary enough, cookies aren't even the latest in technology. A new system called I-librarian Alexa--named for the legendary third century.

    B. C. library in Alexandria, Egypt--does even more. While cookies track what you are doing at one site, Alexa collects data on all your Web activity, such as which sites you visit next, how long you stay there, whether you click on ads, etc. All this information is available to marketers, who use it to market more effectively to you. Not only do you not get paid for providing the information, you probably don't even know that you are giving it.

My Favourite Books

    Jo Usmar is a writer for Cosmopolitan and co­author of the This Book Will series(系列)of lifestyle books. Here she picks her top reads.

Matilda

Roald Dahl

    I once wrote a paper on the influence of fairy tales on Roald Dahl's writing and it gave me a new appreciation for his strange and delightful words. Matilda's battles with her cruel me parents and the bossy headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, are equally fumy and frightening, but they're also aspirational.

After Dark

Haruki Murakami

    It's about two sisters­Eri, a model who either won't or can't stop sleeping, and Mari, a young student. In trying to connect to her sister. Mari starts changing her life and discovers a world of diverse "night people" who are hiding secrets.

Gone Girl

Gillian Fynn

    There was a bit of me that didn't want to love this when everyone else on the planet did but the horror story is brilliant. There's tension and anxiety from the beginning as Nick and Amy battle for your trust. It's a real whodunit and the frustration when you realize what's going on is horribly enjoyable

The Stand

Stephen King

    This is an excellent fantasy novel from one of the best storytellers around. After a serious flu outbreak wipes out 99.4% of the world's population, a battle unfolds between good and evil among those let. Randall Flagg is one of the scariest characters ever.

    Sometimes the best gift is the one you can use at home. These items will likely be appreciated all year for time spent relaxing, entertaining or getting things done.

    Jawbone Jambox Wireless Speaker

    $199 retail (far cheaper online). The bigger version goes for $299.

    The cool-looking rechargeable wireless speaker is getting good reviews for its big, balanced sound and compact design. It lets you stream music from smartphones, laptops and other Bluetooth devices(设备).

    Chalkboard Wall Planter

    $129. 95 retail at Williams-Sonoma

    No need to make room indoors for more flower pots. Grow a herb garden indoors in a wall-fixed vertical planter, and you'll get the benefits of fragrance (芳香). Fill the 10 planting cells with the herbs of your choice, and hang the planter in a sunny spot. Use the chalkboard borders to label each plant. Measures 16 by 5 by 24 inches and weighs 11 pounds.

    Pocket Projector

    $299 retail at Brookstone

    Let everyone get a good look at the pictures on your smartphone, computer, video player, or digital camera. This rechargeable pocket projector can turn a flat surface into a 60-inch big screen with 1080p HD picture quality. Invite friends for a movie night or a presentation. An HDMI cable is included to connect it to your device.

    Adjustable Tablet Stand

    $159 at Sharper Image

    This is the gift for the person who enjoys mobile. Use it to keep your hands free while doing homework, crafts or writing out bills. It can be rotated through 360 degrees. The stand slides easily under your furniture and can be used on either side of a bed or a sofa. It also folds for storage.