False Alerts & Food

This morning DC issued a Winter Storm Warning saying that there would be 6-10 inches of snow. Then they said it would be 4-8 inches. Even though these warnings are never right, it seems like people always freak out, or in my case, falsely convince themselves that they will get a snow day tomorrow and not have to go to school.

With regard to the freaking out, it's funny how a few inches of snow will send everyone to the grocery store to stock up on food as though we were going into a bomb shelter. Alex and I had to go today to pick up food for an event he was having for his work and stood in the checkout line for over half an hour even though all 10+ lanes had cashiers.

I have never waited in a grocery store line for that long before. While most people were reading celebrity gossip machines to pass the time, I started looking at the food in people's carts. It is actually interesting what you might assume about a person based on the food that they purchase.
It reminds me a lot, actually, of this photo exhibit that one of my friends just posted on facebook, which you can also find online at Time. The photos by Peter Menzel are part of a book entitled Hungry Planet: What the World Eats. It's fascinating to see people's eating and purchasing habits around the world.

Below are some of my favorite pictures from USA, Peru, Japan (love the guy on the tv), and Chad. I would have loved to have been a gastronomic anthropologist.