Healthcare Matters

Some cities have it all. Not only known as the birthplace of our nation and inventor of the original cheese streak, Philadelphia has many other “firsts” to its credit including: the first American flag (1777); the first museum in the U.S. (1805); the first U.S. Mint, opened in 1792; the first Library, founded in 1731; Penn was the first university in the United States (1765); and the first public zoo. Philadelphia now holds the dubious distinction of being the  nation’s top spot in Terminix’s “Annual Bedbug-Infested Cities List.” The list was created by compiling data from the 300 Terminix branches across the country. The company created the ranking by evaluating service calls from customers, as well as confirmed cases by service professionals. Flyer fans have been known to be carriers.

______

As a show of respect to New York’s Mayor Bloomberg, scientists at Burger King and Taco Bell have released two new “treats for the obese.” Despite all the talk of austerity, the “BK Pork Sundae” was unveiled yesterday. Soft serve vanilla ice cream with fudge, caramel, bacon crumbles and a nice piece of crisp bacon stuck in the center that can be used as a spoon. You can even request a bacon grease floater. At 510 calories, 18 grams of fat and 61 grams of sugar,  the desert is optimized for folks who don’t want to deal with old age.

Not to be outdone, Taco Bell has decided to go upscale with the release of its new “Nacho Burrito.” Weighing-in at a scant 470 calories, this new food creation aims to give you the nacho-eating experience — complete with the crunch of tortilla chips, all smothered in cheese — conveniently wrapped in a soft tortilla with real beef (none of that faux stuff). Taco Bell scientists cite the country’s glaring need for “nacho portability.” The idea is to give those who text while driving something they can eat at the same time.

The Nacho Burrito is wisely value priced at .99 cents, but the BK Pork Sundae is “bacon-me crazy” at about $2.50. I wonder if the bacon grease floater is included?

Have a great weekend,

—Tom Finn