Imagine the tallest building in the United States. Fill that giant building 44 times with rotten fruits and vegetables. Now you know how much food Americans waste every year.

    It is hard to believe, right? About 133 billion pounds of food get thrown away. That's one-third of all the food we produce. And a lot of it is thrown away for one simple reason: It's ugly.

    The problem is that nature isn't perfect. Apples can get scarred (留下疤痕) by storms. Cucumbers grow in C shapes. Carrots change into unusual fork-like forms. Watermelons get too big to fit on a refrigerator shelf. These crazy-looking fruits and vegetables may taste great. But most grocery stores refuse to sell them. Store owners say people judge food by how it looks. No one wants a tomato that looks like a two-headed monster. But what if you could buy that tomato for half-price?

    A new movement is trying to make people see the “beauty” in ugly food. Some stores are selling ugly produce. It tastes the same. And you pay less for it because the food doesn't look perfect.

    Usually, the stores find a nicer word than “ugly”. A Canadian chain uses “naturally imperfect”. In some US stores, it's “misfit produce”. Whatever you call it, ugly food helps many people. Fanners get paid for food they were going to have to throw away. Shoppers get cheaper fruits and vegetables. The ugly-food movement will also help some of the 44 million Americans who don't have enough to eat. Many groups give the ugly produce to hungry people.

    So really, who cares if that carrot looks a little… ugly?

    Can small, organic agriculture really feed the world? Won't we need science to produce enough food as the world population is growing to 9 billion by 2050? The answer to both questions is YES—but that science may look different than you think.

    We've been told that the only way we'll be able to feed the growing population is through the science of GM(转基因) crops and chemicals. But the latest scientific studies are saying just the opposite. In study after study, the message about agriculture is: To feed the world, we need to support sustainable (可持续的) agriculture on different, local, family farms that work with nature.

    In 2008, an international study found that sustainable agriculture, not GM crops, shows more hope of ending hunger. The International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science, and Technology for Development (known as the IAASTD), calls for a change of the world's food and farming systems.

    The Assessment said that industrial agriculture has greatly destroyed the world's soils and other natural resources, and now is doing harm to water, energy, and weather safety. The report warns that expensive, short-term ways—including GM crops—are not likely to cut down long-term hunger, and could even make environmental and social problems worse in many places.

    A recent report by the UN Environment Program shows that food problems will become more serious because of environmental problems and strongly supports sustainable agriculture on small family farms. It also showed that a worldwide change to organics could actually increase the world's food production by as much as 50%—enough to feed a population of 9 billion people with the land we have now. GM crops, once popular, are now being questioned worldwide.

    It is irrefutable: Parents, who talk to, read and engage with their very young children as often as possible, help them build literacy (读写能力) skills at an early age.

    Also certain: Parents of very young children usually have to do a lot of laundry. And low-income families tend to bring their kids with them to public laundromats (洗衣房).

    Those truths appear once a week at select neighborhood laundromats in Chicago. That's when librarians lay down colorful mats and oversized board books beside the industrial washing machines.

    Inside one of about 14 laundromats in the city's low-income neighborhoods, the librarians gather all available children for Laundromats Story Time (LST), a Chicago Public Library (CPL) program.

    With the noise of the washers and dryers, anywhere between a handful to more than a dozen children hear stories, sing songs and play games designed to help their brains develop. The event also aims to instruct parents on how to repeat the experience for their kids, working to raise poor literacy rates in underserved communities.

    "We read books, we sing songs, we do plays," says Becca Ruidl, the CPL's STEAM Team early learning manager, who runs the LST program. "We kind of keep it going so parents can walk in adn join in at any time. But a big part of what we do is model literacy skills for parents so they can do it at home with their kids."

    While a laundromat seems an unlikely place to engage with children, "we really wanted to meet people in the community where they're. "Ruidl says.

    And it clearly meets a need: Library officials say the program is in increasing demand, while Ruidl says families have adjusted their household's laundry day to suit the librarians' laundromat visits. At the same time, LST's co-sponsors—including a laundry industry trade group and Libraries Without Borders, an organization fighting poverty through literacy—have worked with the CPL to draft an instruction handbook to help expand the concept to other U.S. cities.

    Dubai Aquarium & underwater Zoo

    Experience

    You will be surprised at the amazing collection consisting of over 140 species including 300 sharks, rays and the largest collection of sand tiger sharks in the world. Walk along the Rainforest, Rocky Shore and Living Ocean environments at the Underwater Zoo and you will find yourself face to face with dangerous piranha, giant catfish, playful otters, a Humboldt penguin colony and more.

    Options

    Basic Pass: With this basic pass, you'll get access to the Dubai Aquarium and underwater Zoo.

    Explorer Pas: If you're looking to get a little closer to the sea creatures, then this pass is for you. Along with the explorer pass you can also get access to the submersible simulator(潜水模拟器) & big screen theater and a free ride on the glass-bottom boat.

    VIP Line Buster: This pass includes all the benefits of an explorer pass and a tour guide. And you can get to try your hand at fish feeding!

Timings

    Sunday--Wednesday: 10:00 am--11:00 pm

    Thursday--Saturday: 10:00 am--12:00 am

    Pro Tip

    You can save a lot by buying a combo ticket(套票). This ticket gives you access to Undersea Zoo and Aquarium Tunnel alongside tickets to the observation deck on the 124th floor of the Burj Khalifa. Your government ID card has to be shown at the entrance.

    I love our kitchen. It's one of the most used parts of our home. About 9 years ago we updated our kitchen and got all new collections. At the time I didn't really do a lot of research on the functions of the equipment and I really wish I had. There were so many different choices on the market and I ended up buying some that I didn't really like all that much and now that it's time to update them again, I'll be more careful with the ones I choose.

    I've had my eye on KitchenAid for a while, especially the new KitchenAid equipment at BestBuy. The new KitchenAid equipment at Best Buy has a cook-like quality without the premium price that you might expect to pay, so it won't cost you a fortune. The equipment has a professionally inspired design that is a perfect balance of good taste and functionality.

    With the new KitchenAid equipment you will find cooking more optional and flexible, which contributes to your amazing performance while preparing a meal. Its five-door fridge offers organized storage and easier access to food.

    I love these new collections and I can't think of a better time to update your kitchen than right now, because when you buy now at Best Buy you will get 18 months financing or 5% rewards on major equipment and free delivery on purchases over $399. To learn more about how to transform your kitchen with the new KitchenAid collections, be sure to visit BestBuy.com.

Dickens House Museum

Type: Historic House / Palace

Address: 2 Victoria Parade, Broadstairs, Kent, CT10 1QS

About

Dickens House Museum, Broadstairs celebrates Charles Dickens' long connection with Broadstairs from 1837 to 1851, through personal items and letters. Guided tours available.

The museum is housed in the cottage that was Charles Dickens' inspiration for the home of Betsey Trotwood in David Copperfield. David's description of Betsey's cottage with its square gravelled garden full of flowers, and a parlour of old fashioned furniture still fits today.

The character Betsy Trotwood is based on Miss Mary Pearson Strong who lived in the cottage that is now the museum. According to the reminiscences of Charles Dickens' son Charley, he and his father regularly had tea and cakes in the parlour (会客室) with the kindly and charming Miss Mary Pearson Strong. He also remembers that Miss Pearson Strong was completely convinced of her right to stop the passage of donkeys along the cliff top in front of her cottage. This belief became the donkey incident for the character of Betsy Trotwood, with the famous quote: "Janet! Donkeys!"

Spread over four floors, the Charles Dickens Museum holds the world's most important collection of paintings, rare editions, manuscripts, original furniture and other items relating to the life and work of Dickens. Perhaps the best-known exhibit is the portrait of Dickens known as Dickens' Dream by R. W. Buss, an original illustrator of The Pickwick Papers. This unfinished portrait shows Dickens in his study at Gads Hill Place surrounded by many of the characters he had created.

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