The Art of Grass

Sometimes simple line drawings of grass bring out the essence of their beauty.

Here are a few local lovelies

(drawings by Dave Bransby)

Red grass (Themeda triandra)

Heart seed love Grass (Eragrostis capensis)

Wild oatgrass (Monocymbium ceresiiforme)

Guinea grass (Panicum maximum)

Narrow heart love grass (Eragrostis racemosa)

What Chocolate do People Like?

Experiment to determine taste preference of chocolate brand and flavour

Research questions:

• Can people really tell the difference between the more expensive Cadbury chocolate and the cheaper Beacon brand?

• Do people like dark or milk chocolate more?
• Does the preference for dark or milk chocolate depend on the brand?

Research design:

Blind taste test using 20 students and staff in the School of Biological and Conservation Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Twenty subjects were provided with randomly-selected blocks of a particular brand (Cadbury or Beacon) and flavour (dark or milk) of chocolate (five replicate subjects for each). They were asked to rank the the taste relative to a standard chocolate bar (Nestle milk) on a 7-point hedonic scale ranging from "Like it very much less" to "Like it very much more".

Analysis:

Two-way Analysis of Covariance for mean taste rating affected by brand and flavour (and brand by flavour interaction), adjusted for possible effect of age of subject (ranging from 20-58) on taste preference.

Results:

Preference for chocolate brand and flavour (compared to Nestle milk chocolate)

• There was no significant difference (p=0.861) in the preference for Cadbury or Beacon (for both flavours) - people can't tell the difference between them.

• People significantly preferred (P=0.043) dark to milk chocolate for both brands.

Recommendation:

Buy the cheaper Beacon dark chocolate to maximise your taste experience

News flash! Latest research reveals that even if you don't like chocolate, make sure you keep feeding your essential, hungry gut bacteria the finest dark (single origin) chocolate bars you can buy

and...

Improved thinking. Decreased appetite. Lowered blood pressure. The potential health benefits of dark chocolate keep piling up 

AND THE VERY GOOD NEWS (FOR MEN) IS THAT 2-6 SERVINGS OF PER WEEK ARE MANDATORY  IF YOU WANT YOUR HEART TO CONTINUE BEATING PROPERLY

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