Pan

What's the proposed day?

I really enjoyed that article! The ending is the best part:

Yeah, but there's clearly some kind of cord in the non-vestigial tails of other vertebrates, including cows. I was going to say it's part of the spinal cord, but I'm not positive.

For the rest of the story, click here.

Kuru was discovered in the highlands of New Guinea. Cannibalism wasn't traditional in Borneo as far as I know. The Dayak/Iban in Borneo were known for headhunting, which is simply keeping the heads of enemies killed in battle.

Thanks. I see it wasn't difficult to Google that.

It's possible, and undoubtedly, someone took that step.

Like who?

Thanks. Nice web site. Love those spotted lobsters! Do people eat them, too?

I can't wait to see them, Kris!

I'm sure it's for real, but why would a mad cow cause someone to give up chicken?

Oh. I can picture that.

Your English teacher would never up with that put????

Funny!

I'm wondering whether those Caribbean lobsters look really weird.

Thanks a lot, Brad.

Sarah, I'd like to join Sam in welcoming you to eGullet. I sure don't know the answer to what you're looking for, but I do want a report on the results of your quest.

Why is that? Is there something wrong with the rest of their bodies?

It's a risk/benefit analysis. The risk is really small but horrific, but so far, I've done just fine without beef products. The likelihood, though, is that it will eventually become clear that the risk really remains extremely low at this point, and I'll start eating beef products again. I want new procedures in place though, as soon as possible. Right now, there's no way of knowing how many infected cows have gotten into the food distribution system.

Man, Bratt, I've had the flu for over 3 weeks. If I had dragged my ass to a job like that, I would have been dragged to the hospital on a stretcher and rehydrated with an intravenous drip for a week. And actually, I physically couldn't have dragged myself anywhere including the emergency room on the worst day. You have got to watch out. When I was in high school, I went back to school too soon after severe respiratory illnesses three times in a row (i.e., after 3 weeks out instead of a month). Doing that depressed my immune system so much that I got sick for 3 years and, after finding someone with great difficulty who was able to cure me, it took me 3 more years to regain my full strength. You're young now, but so was I when I was in high school. Watch yourself, and remember that if you lose your health, you truly have nothing.

Brad, could you please give us some idea of prices, like Craig did?

I didn't google, Tryska! I've read stories about Cobb County in the past and didn't forget what I read. But if we're going to discuss this more, I guess we'd better go to PM. So back to phone answering at meal time...

Yeah, I see that I'm one of the few people on eGullet who will admit to giving up beef for the time being (my parents seem set to give it up for an extended period, and perhaps for good). There are risks that make sense and others that don't. 2001 was the year with the lowest number of fatalities per passenger mile flown in history to that point, including the suicide hijackings, but that didn't make much impact on people's attitudes because the suicide hijackings - especially to those who considered them preventable - were an unacceptable kind of risk, whereas a freak accident that people might have considered wholly unpredictable and unpreventable might well have been better tolerated by the flying (and potential flying) public. If I take a risk of eating unpasteurized cheese that I know might but probably won't have a bad effect on me, I believe I'm taking a sensible risk. BSE, because it seems to be caused by something that's so stupid, seems so senseless that the reaction is not simply to the risk - which is definitely very low - but the senselessness of dying from it. I don't know whether I'm expressing this very effectively, as it's hard to put my finger on it, and I've been awake for over 14 hours under the influence of narcotics (hydrocodone cough syrup).