Wednesday, October 17, 2007

I've found the perfect website for those of us who can't afford to travel but still want all the travel junk anyhow. KIOSK - Interesting Things From Interesting Countries is the place to be if you are interested in design and items from other countries. I think that my favorite is the tar-candy, the commentary on which is excerpted below:

To some people, summer is defined by the perfumed odor you have walking by warm train tracks. To others, summer is just a great time for candy. Well, some smart Finn said, “Let's combine the two!” Yes, this is tar-candy! Very diluted wood-tar-water is used to make these licorice pastilles have a distinct taste of tar. Tar was long considered a multi-cure that healed all illnesses and wounds, together with sauna and vodka the three were the cornerstones of Finnish healthcare. Today, most would agree that too much tar gives you a stomachache, too much sauna gives you headache and too much vodka will give you both. Nevertheless, in smaller quantities they are quite divine. Tar-candy, much like sauna and vodka, does have a threshold before you start liking it. The first few pastilles will taste strange and unfamiliar, but soon all you want to do is to walk along those train tracks with a tar-pastille in your mouth!

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