Tea really does taste better from your favourite cup

Tea and coffee really do taste better from a favourite cup or mug, research has found.

Dr Tom Stafford, psychologist from Sheffield University, says a person's brain is trained to believe the daily ritual of making coffee or tea should be done in a certain way in order to derive maximum enjoyment.

He said: "Drinking tea and coffee is very ritualistic and people become very addictive to the way they want their brew made.

"Caffeine is very much a drug of reward and like any addict, people develop passions on how the drug is delivered.

"Where ever there is drug use then rituals will always develop.

"The long association with the delivery of a morning cup of coffee or tea people genuinely think it tastes better out of a particular cup.

"It might be irrational or arbitrary but it's absolutely true. Your daily brew tastes better from your favourite mug.

According to research, 65 percent of Brits have a favourite cup or mug they use for their morning cuppa.

source: The Daily Telegraph

Romeo city to charge for weddings at Juliet's House

The Italian city of Verona, home to literature's most famous lovers, is trying to woo the world's couples into tying the knot on the scene of Romeo and Juliet's most romantic encounter.

Under the scheme, to be launched in the next few days, spouses-to-be would say their vows on the balcony from which William Shakespeare's heroine is thought to have summoned her Romeo.

Verona Tourism Councillor Daniele Polato said Verona wants to be a ''wedding capital'' to rival the world's other popular wedding spots.

''We'll be offering tourist packages, the whole shebang, just like Las Vegas does,'' he told local dailies.

''It's a way of using the city's artistic heritage to boost tourism''.

The privilege of getting hitched where Juliet was famously wooed by Romeo in Shakespeare's play will not come cheap, however.

The 'Wed Me In Verona' marriage license alone will cost Verona residents 600 euros, people living within the city catchment area 700, European Union citizens 800 and non-EU couples 1,000 euros.

This compares to the 50 euros required for a civil marriage certificate in Italy. Mayor Flavio Tosi, who has courted controversy in the past with moves seen as anti-immigrant, stressed that there was no anti-foreigner bias at play.

''It costs extra because the administrative costs are higher,'' he said.

HOUSE REOPENED AFTER CLEAN-UP.

Juliet's House reopened a year ago after being scrubbed free of messages and bubble gum left by visitors to the star-crossed lover's shrine.

Officials were forced into the clean-up after a failed attempt to bring the site into the modern communications age.

A strict graffiti ban was issued and visitors urged to send their vows by e-mail and SMS to a huge computer display in the house's lobby.

To officials' dismay, the youngsters who flock to the site opted to stick to their felt markers and gum.

Verona makes much of the House - and the revenue it draws - despite historians' claims there is scant evidence it is the locale immortalised by the Bard.

The more poetic messages left here are often cited in foreign newspaper and magazine articles about trips to the home town of Shakespeare's famous couple.

The residence is believed to have once housed Juliet because it was the family home of the Cappello family, who, according to legend, were the Capulets of Shakespeare's play.

In fact the address is Via Cappello, Number 23.

Experts believe the real Juliet Capulet (Cappello) would have lived in the house in the 12th century, if she really existed.

The highlight of any visit to the home is Juliet's balcony, where visitors try to re-enact the famous ''Romeo, Romeo'' scene.

Apart from leaving love messages, there is also a ritual linked to the bronze statue of Juliet which stands in the courtyard.

Visitors to the house often caress the right breast of the statue as it's believed to bring good luck.

photo: balcony after last year's clean-up

source:www.ansa.it

Buddha, Jesus Christ and Ancient Egyptian were Ukrainians

Buddha, which is widely worshipped in Asia, was of direct relevance to Ukraine, the official publication of the country’s parliament, The Voice of Ukraine newspaper wrote.

“It is quite possible that Buddha belonged to the Scythian nation of Budins that lived on the territory of Ancient Ukraine during the first or the second millennium B.C. The name of the nation is still preserved in the names of Ukraine’s contemporary settlements – Seredina-Buda, Buda, and some others,” the newspaper of Ukraine’s Supreme Rada wrote.

“Everything is clear from the ethnic point of view. Buddha was a Scythian Arian, a member of the Budin tribe. The descendants of the tribe still live in the Sumsky and the Chernigov region of Ukraine, as well as on the neighboring lands of Belarus and Russia,” the newspaper said.

The ‘sensationalist’ article was written by Valery Bebik, a Doctor of Political Sciences, a professor, deputy principal of Ukraine University, the chairman of the board of the All-Ukrainian Association of Political Sciences.

Mr. Bebik published a number of his articles in the official newspaper of the Ukrainian Parliament before. He wrote his previous articles for the paper to “prove” the remarkable role of the Ukrainian civilization, which endowed the world with spiritual enlightenment, outstanding prophets, philosophers and leaders.

In 2008-2009, the Ukrainian professor shared his amazing observations of Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and the ethnic origin of Jesus Christ.

“The name of Egypt’s major temple, Het-ka-Ptah, sounds very much like Ukrainian words ‘hata’ and ‘ptaha’ (‘house’ and ‘bird’). The pictures on the Egyptian pyramids show that Egyptian queens were blonde women with blue eyes, just like many Ukrainian women. One should also pay attention to the fact that the trident, which is currently the minor national emblem of Ukraine, can often be seen there too,” the “scientist” wrote.

“We have already outlined the facts that placed in question the official, the church version of the ethnic origin and the Biblical dates of the life of Jesus Christ and the historical epoch, in which the basis of Christianity was formed. It looks like Christ actually lived 3,000 years before his canonical birth and spoke the Coptic language, which is a close language to the ancestors of contemporary Ukrainians,” The Voice of Ukraine wrote.