Above is a photo of two cars sitting in the intersection of Green Bay Road and Central Street at 9:30 a.m. this morning. Emergency responders and a tow truck were on the scene. Traffic was blocked on Central Street but it looked like they were letting cars through on Green Bay Road.
Here’s some news that comes as no surprise to me: research done at Connecticut College shows that Oreos may be more addictive than cocaine.
CBS News reports that Connecticut College psychology professor Joseph Schroeder and four of his students conducted a study with rats to determine whether high fat, high sugar foods can be as addictive as drugs of abuse.
“We found that the behavior they exhibited was equally strong for Oreo cookies as it was for cocaine or morphine,” Schroeder, the director of the Behavioral Neuroscience program at Connecticut College, told WCBS 880. “When we looked in the pleasure center of the brain, we found that the Oreo cookies activated the pleasure center more so than cocaine would activate the same center.”
The study was initiated by a student interested in researching the obesity epidemic, noting that low-income areas tend to have a prevalence of fast-food options.
Schroeder told WCBS 880 “Overall, [the study] lent support to the hypothesis that high fat, high sugar foods can be viewed in the same was as drugs of abuse and have addictive potential. It could be used to explain why some people have a problem staying away from foods that they know they shouldn’t eat or that they know are addictive.”
As some who has found himself polishing off a dozen Oreos in short order many times, this new research should be filed under the heading “Duh, yeah!”
This Sunday, October 13, come to the Levy Senior Center in Evanston to hear our federal and state officials discuss the new health care law. You can also learn about the enrollment process with in-person counselors.
Starting in October, you can enroll in health care coverage through Illinois’ expansion of Medicaid or the Federal Health Insurance Marketplace. If you have questions about the Affordable Care Act or want to learn more, you can meet individually with an in-person counselor from noon to 5:00 PM Sunday at the Levy Senior Center.
At 3:00 PM you can join a panel discussion on the Affordable Care Act and upcoming health care transition with Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, State Senator Daniel Biss and State Representatives Robyn Gabel and Laura Fine.
No appointments are necessary. For more information, contact Senator Biss’s office at 847-568-1250 or senatorbiss@gmail.com.
The Levy Center is located at 300 Dodge Avenue in Evanston (Google map).
The City of Evanston has released a nice video of our Central Street neighborhood to celebrate being named by the American Planning Association as one of the 10 best neighborhoods in the United States for 2013. Sit back and watch:
I’ve lived in Chicago for more than 35 years and I’ve spent many, many evenings enjoying downtown Chicago at night. Seeing the Museum Campus and Grant Park after a night game at Soldier Field, strolling down Michigan Avenue after a concert at Symphony Hall, looking down on the lights of the city from the Signature Room at the 95th, boat rides at night on the Lake Michigan or the Chicago River or just watching the city from my office windows on those late nights working. I thought I knew downtown Chicago at night.
Well, Max Wilson has opened my eyes to a new view of Chicago. His six minute time lapse video of Chicago at night. “Windy City Nights” is an amazing piece of art for anyone but it is particularly moving for those of us who call Chicago home. Over a two year period, Wilson shot over 200,000 exposures which occupied more than 8 Terabytes of data storage. He wheedled building managements to give him access to rooftops and other vantage points that bring a new perspective while also taking fantastic shots from places where thousands of Chicagoans and visitors stand day after day. He has put in all into a six minute video that shows what a beautiful and amazing city Chicago is.
For more information about Max Wilson and to learn how to license his work, visit his website: www.photoalbumarchives.com
Image: A still from “Windy City Nights” by photographer Max Wilson. © Max Wilson