things i find interesting in jpn (2)

when you buy books at the bookstore, the store keepers wrap the book covers for you. why? japanese people often read on the train/bus, but in order to keep those "nosy neighbors" from peeking at what they're reading, the book covers are... covered.


* * * * *

what's so special about this garlic? the tag says "controlled stinkiness - you get almost no bad breath the day after consuming this garlic". it's true! you don't even get bad breath right after eating it! however, the price of this garlic is about twice the price of regular ones. i think it's worth it though. :)


* * * * *

i never paid attention to the label around plastic bottles when i was in the u.s. after i came to japan, i had to follow their recycling program* and found that in order to recycle plastic bottles, each household has to remove the label, take off the cap (you can't recycle the cap!), rinse, dry and flatten each bottle before throwing them into the recycling bin. that's why they have perforated lines to allow people to easily remove the labels from the bottles. i fully support recycling, but it's quite some work to do for each drink i consume! next time you drink from a plastic bottle in the u.s. or in hk (not the japanese drinks), tell me if they have perforated lines on the labels or not.

(*note: you only have to do it when you recycle at home; when you're out on the streets, you can just throw empty plastic bottles as is at designated recycling bins)