The most starred prison restaurant in Italy

In March 2016 the New York Times published a piece by Jim Yardley entitled “Italian Cuisine Worth Going to Prison For”. 

Yardley recounted his dinner at InGalera and summarized the history of the restaurant thus: «It is difficult to imagine a more unlikely success than that achieved by this place, and it is equally difficult to imagine a more fascinating experiment in the rehabilitation of prisoners». Silvia Polleri, a restaurateur who founded and manages InGalera, said that it was by reading that piece in the New York Times that she discovered that her restaurant was unique in the world: «I knew that we were the only ones in Italy. I didn't know we were the only ones in the world." The name InGalera was Polleri's idea, and she also came up with the "subtitle": "The most starred prison restaurant in Italy".

InGalera: how the Bollate prison restaurant works

“The restaurant is technically located outside the Bollate prison and not in its detention area for security reasons. This allows anyone to eat there without having to leave any identity document" explains the director. “It is managed by the ABC cooperative in which prison inmates work, and was created in order to eliminate the stigma on certain topics”, first of all the possibility of seeing these people in a different light. As soon as you enter the Bollate prison you are accompanied by some stewards to the restaurant, where guests of the penitentiary facility will be waiting for you. The restaurant is modern and welcoming and the kitchen is managed by chef Davide (no surnames), who studied at Gualtiero Marchesi's professional school before his conviction. With him a team of 3 or 4 people, a maître and waiters. Only the sommelier is external because he has to handle the orders and because the inmates cannot have anything to do with alcohol. Prisoners who are allowed to carry out work activities outside without escort will work. Everyone has a salary, with a normal paycheck.

During the services Polleri goes around the tables to say the exact same things in front of the customers that he says in front of the camera in Rho: the restaurant exists because in Italy the average recidivism of prisoners is 70 percent, and it is «a shame for the entire society." But in Bollate, among the unfortunately very small sample of inmates who work at InGalera, that percentage drops to 17 percent. 

People hired on a regular contract work at InGalera, explains Polleri: this is the reason why their recidivism rate is so low, because what they do in there is worth just as much as what others do out there. And therefore the demands must be the same, the limits as well: a customer can complain about the food and the service, or compliment one another. And nothing else.

Japan has a new island after an undersea volcano erupted

Japan has gained another island to add to its already impressive collection after an undersea volcanic eruption 1,200km south of Tokyo created a new landmass.

Experts said the tiny island emerged from a series of eruptions that began in October near Iwoto Island, part of the Ogasawara island chain in the western Pacific.

Fukashi Maeno, an associate professor at the University of Tokyo's earthquake research institute, confirmed that the water-type eruptions occurred about one kilometer off Iwoto, forming a land mass about 100 meters in diameter, reports The Guardian.

When magma ejected from eruptive activity comes into contact with seawater, it cools and solidifies, rising layer by layer until it rises to the surface.

The island is made up mainly of pumice, a volcanic rock with a low density. A storm surge or a particularly violent eruption could sweep it away at any moment, as happened to the Tongan island of Hunga-Hapai, wiped off the map by the 2022 eruption off the coast of Tonga in Polynesia.

Earlier this year, geographers declared that the Japanese archipelago, previously thought to consist of four main islands and about 6,000 much smaller and mostly uninhabited islands, actually consisted of twice as many.

Using digital mapping technology, the Japan Geospatial Information Authority said it had identified a total of 14,125 islands - 7,273 more than previously thought.

Almost half of Japanese married couples do not have sex

According to The Japan Family Planning Association (JFPA) survey, 48 percent of married couples had not had sex in the previous month, marking a new record in a country already facing a crisis due to falling birth rates.

Almost half of married Japanese couples are not having sex, going to a 'cry of distress' from men who are rejected by their wives. Among the most important reasons cited is that sexual intimacy with one's spouse is "a hassle."

The survey of 16- to 49-year-olds has been carried out eight times in the last 20 years and each time has revealed an increase in sexless marriages - defined as couples who have not had sex for for a month. In 2004, when it was first carried out, the proportion was only 32%.

"From the point of view of a society with fewer children, this is a serious trend," said Kunio Kitamura, president of the JFPA. "I think that trend will continue."

When giving reasons for abstinence, nearly a quarter of men said their partner was not interested. Kitamura added, "This is a remarkable figure and could be seen as a cry of distress from men."

Among the explanations for the lack of interest in sex are the poor quality of sex education and the decline of traditional dating agencies, which used to arrange unions between young people of marriageable age. Others attribute it to the habit of young Japanese people to socialize in groups, making it harder for men and women to break up into couples, and to the rise of hikikomori, or social recluses, who live at home and never go out.

Some couples don't expect to maintain a regular sex life after children arrive, and small, thin-walled apartments offer few opportunities for privacy. Poor communication is also cited as a factor, particularly among older people, who are constrained from discussing sex even with their spouses.

The "devil's comet" is seen again

The "devil's comet" is seen once every 70 years and now is the time. Write down your day! 

Scientifically called 2P/Pons-Brooks, but more commonly known as the "Devil's Comet," it was last seen in 1954. As it completes its orbit every 71.3 years, it follows a period when astronomers, including amateurs, will keep your eyes on the sky. The next date will be observed only in 2095.

The point of maximum visibility will be April 21, but the comet with a diameter of 39 kilometers has been visible from Earth since this week, writes The Independent.

Green in color, the "Devil's Comet" gets its nickname from two "horns" in its tail, which are nothing more than gas and ice eruptions that form from fissures that appear inside the nucleus.

One such eruption occurred last year, making it shine a hundred times brighter than usual.

Unfortunately, however, as Live Science writes, the comet, similar to a horseshoe, is beginning to lose its "horns", which will soon disappear completely.

Over time, since its discovery in 1812, the comet, more than 3 times bigger than Everest, has been baptized in many ways, including the "Millennium Falcon".

The comet has already been spotted in the night sky in Spain, and experts believe it should get brighter in the coming weeks as it gets closer to the sun.

At the age of 109, she was summoned to be a jury member.

Originally from Quimper (Finistère), Marie-Louise Jaouen, née Le Foll, will soon celebrate her 109th birthday, making her one of the oldest of Brittany. 

Unusually, she has just been called, in a written summons, to sit on the Finistère assize jury. Between astonishment and amusement, the family's reactions were numerous.

When she went to get her mail from the mailbox, Marie-Louise Jaouen, née Le Foll, certainly did not expect that: a summons to the assizes for the 2024 session. Problem, this resident of Quimper (Finistère), born September 17, 1914 in Kerfeunteun(1), will be 109 years old in two months, making her one of the oldest people in Brittany.

 “I have the honor to inform you that your name has been drawn for the year 2024.” Marie-Louise Jaouen, 109 years old, did not expect to receive this letter in her retirement home located in Quimper. She had been pre-selected to be part of a popular jury at the assizes, which judges crimes such as murder and rape.

 At the time, this made the whole family laugh: “It shows the efficiency of our administration. »

Crazy ideas from the world of wine (II)

 Bottles submerged 60 meters deep under the sea

Back to Earth and even below, 60 meters deep under the seas. It is here, off the coast of Finistère, that 6,500 bottles are stored. They rest there quietly, waiting to grow old. But why underwater, you ask us? The Amphoris company, which offers all winegrowers the option of immersing their bottles, explains that all the conditions are met for optimal aging of the best wines. Indeed, the choice of location is essential: water at a stable temperature of 13° all year round, total darkness, perfect hygrometry, the bottles are also individually fixed horizontally on the sand. 

Few shocks, no manipulation by humans, the place is also little exposed to passing boats. See you in a year for comparative laboratory tests: we will be able to see if aging was better than on Earth.

A tactile and intelligent bottle that keeps wine for a month

Technology is arriving strongly in the world of wine and nothing seems to be stopping the ideas of startups embarking on the wine adventure. The latest crazy idea comes from Boston and is called Kuvée. The principle: an empty bottle equipped with a smart screen and a valve that prevents air from entering the bottle, which allows the wine to be stored for a month. 

The screen shows you the number of glasses that can still be served, but also information on the origin of the wine! You can rate the wine, which will allow the tool to offer you ideas for other bottles that you could taste. We can't wait to try it!

Crazy ideas from the world of wine (I)

Who said that the world of wine was austere and without any innovation? Make no mistake, this universe is overflowing with creativity and many companies are proposing ideas as crazy as each other, with the aim of improving the tasting experience. 

We showed it to you in our article dedicated to gifts to give to winelovers, these wine lovers. Whether in space, in the era of artificial intelligence or even 60 meters deep under the sea, companies make bottles of wine, their source of creativity.

A round bottle for drinking wine in space!

How to drink wine in space? This is what the designer Octave De Gaulle, grandson of Charles De Gaulle, asked himself; he even made it his end-of-studies project. Weightless in space, liquids no longer flow and form spheres to minimize their contact with air. Cosmonauts therefore have to drink through straws: practical for water, but the antithesis of wine tasting criteria. 

The toric, ring-shaped bottle invented by Octave De Gaulle ensures that the wine always goes towards the cork. In addition, it is easily transportable around the arm and can be filled by placing it flat on the ground. Practical in itself, to facilitate tasting wherever you want, even light years from Earth!

(to be continued)