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Raw Bytes Computer News KPBX FM 91.1 Radio National Public Radio Network Frank Delaney Producer Broadcast on Wednesday Morning 7:35 AM During Morning Edition Support Public Radio ! The Theater Of the Mind |
In computer news this week 12/20/2006 |
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The
Mutant Oreo – and the immediacy of Internet Communications today With
Christmas approaching, we think of favorite memories of the holiday. I can close my eyes and smell the
tree, and I can remember the bubble lights and the old fashioned ornaments,
and I can almost smell the Christmas dinner cooking and all the desserts there
would be after dinner. In our
house we kids ate at a small separate table from the adults, probably because
we tended to spill and play with our food. One of my all-time favorite
desserts – even for Christmas – was Oreo Cookies. I thought this was a recently invented
treat when I was a boy, but I was surprised to do a Google search and find
that the Oreo cookie first appeared in 1912 and it approaching its hundredth
anniversary as America’s best selling cookie. Oreo History Way back in 1898 several
baking companies merged to form the National Biscuit Company (NaBisCo), the
maker of Oreo cookies. In 1912, Nabisco had a new idea for a cookie - two
chocolate disks with a creme filling in between. The first Oreo cookie looked
very similar to the Oreo cookie of today, with only a slight difference in
the design on the chocolate disks. As a boy, Oreos were my
favorite treat, and I even took them on hiking trips and campouts. As an
adult, there’s nothing like a few
Oreos and a glass of milk to chase away those blues. Ok, maybe a clip of Oreos .... I might even confess to a couple hundred rounds
at times of dieting distress. In recent years
I’ve tried to modify my eating habits, and have turned more to fresh
fruit for a dessert. But in moments of weakness they call to me when
I’m shopping, and last October 26th I bought a package of Oreos and a
gallon of milk, with a sugar high in mind. Imagine my surprise when
I opened the package and pulled several out, and the first one I picked up- was
a mutant Oreo !!! After half a century of eating Oreos
– here was a mutant! I was truly shocked ! Instead of it saying Oreo on both
sides of the cream filling, this cookie had one side reversed, so it was the
smooth side that is normally on the inside. It seemed truly un-American,
enough to shake my faith in our manufacturing processes. If this had happened to
my as a boy, I would have probably just eaten it, or possibly written a
letter, and after weeks of waiting maybe have received a letter back. But
instead I got on the internet and immediately found Kraft Foods website who now makes the
Oreos, and I sent them an email about my distress. The next morning I had an
apology email from an official Oreo Representative: “The problem you
described sounds like there was a possible mechanical failure at our
facility. After baking, the
cookies are lined up and "stacked" in rows automatically by the
equipment used to make the sandwich. Since this is a very fast moving
process, a cookie may flip when it is being stacked in rows “ And within a few days I
received a coupon for a free package of Oreo Cookies, which was very nice of
them, and my faith in the American manufacturing process is restored, and we
should all truly appreciate the immediacy of communications via the internet. But I’m keeping my
Oreo cookie that flipped its wig, maybe someday it will be really valuable like
one of those postage stamps with the plane printed upside down
.. in my dreams. Seasons Greetings and Oreos
to all For Raw Bytes This is Frank Delaney (C) 2006 MTA Micro
Technology Associates http://www.mtamicro.com/kpbx.html PO Box 31522 Spokane, Wa 99223-1522 (509)624-7230 |
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