Balcony shot by Markozen.
Day and Dusk
Year: 2019
Top 10 Soft drink brands of 2017 – Top Beverage brands
On the list of the top companies in the world are mainly found foods & beverage companies. As a result, the companies coming tops on the lists of the top drinks & beverages companies, by default emerge as some of the largest of all the companies in the world. The Coca-Cola Company has been at the helm for a long time now, and it isn’t going to relinquish that spot any soon. Below are the top 10 soft drink brands in the world in 2017.
1) Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is the most popular soft drink in the world and the most decorated of all the Coca-Cola company products. Commonly known as Coke, the beverage is produced and/or marketed in at least 200 countries. Together with at least 500 other different drinks producers and marketed by the Coca-Cola Company, there is neither a soft drink nor a soft drink company that rivals coca-cola as a whole.
2) Pepsi
Pepsi is a cola drink type manufactured by PepsiCo. This carbonated soft drink comes in a number of variants each having its own tastes and flavors. Some of these variants include Pepsi Next, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi Vanilla, Crystal Pepsi, Pepsi Zero Sugar, Pepsi-Cola Made with Real Sugar and Caffeine-Free Pepsi. Pepsi is one of the soft drinks liked because of its low caloric value as compared to other soft drinks. A 12 ounce can of Pepsi contains only about 150 calories. This is pretty low when compared with a number of cola drinks.
3) Red Bull
Red Bull energy drink has become the most popular energy drink in the world. It is a non-alcoholic drink that contains vitamin B-complex, carbohydrates, caffeine and amino acid taurine. During physical exertion, the taurine in Red Bull adds to the deficient taurine in your body thus boosting your energy. An average of about 5 billion cans of red bull is sold annually, giving the product a 40% energy drink world market share. It is distinct and hence one of the top soft drink brands in the world.
4) Nestlé S.A
Nestle is synonymous with instant coffee, bottled water, crunches and baby food among other food and beverage products. It is the largest food & beverage company in the world, but the fourth when it comes to the beverage segment. It’s Nescafe coffee brand is the leading coffee product on the market, with Nespresso – a home-brewing system brand also being very popular. Nestle Waters is also its other popular product that makes the company appear among the top 10 soft drink brands in the world in 2017.
5) The Gatorade Company
Gatorade drink was invented by University of Florida doctors during the 1960’s with an aim of aiding the hydration of the university’s football team. The team was called the Gators, hence the name. It is for such reasons that the debut Gatorade lemon-lime-flavoured drink is now one of the top sports drinks within the US and beyond.
Today, new beverage brands and flavors have been created by the company. These include the G series for nutrient and fluid need replenishment to professional and collegiate athletes, energy bars & shakes as well as Propel Fitness Water that is vitamin-enhanced. Gatorade is PepsiCo produced.
6) Sprite
Sprite is a colorless, lime-lemon flavored, non-caffeinated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. It is normally sold in a translucent green colored bottle that features a yellow-green label. On the other hand, the can always feature aluminum, green, silver and blue. The taste can easily be confused with that of Lemonade but Sprite plays on its own league of carbonated soft drinks.
7) Mountain Dew
This is yet another PepsiCo carbonated soft drink. It comes to us in Mountain Dew Soda Flavors, the Energy, Dew Slurpee, and International Variations as well as the Kickstart Flavors. These are produced in hundreds of variants, some of which have been discontinued, with only the best of them all being offered to the markets. Mountain Dew soft drink is currently found in the retail stores in all the continents and more than 100 countries. Mountain Dew is mostly marketed in beautiful green containers that are well designed and branded thus attracting more customers.
8) Pepper Soda
Dr. Pepper is a snap for most of the soft drinkers who are contemplating about the doctor to choose. Dr. Pepper Sodas and Snapple drinks are bottled and distributed by Dr. Pepper Snapple Group. The company served Canada, the USA, and Mexico as its mainstreams, with other countries also highly using its products. Among the company’s products, Dr. Pepper & Snapple is the most popular, the third most popular soda drink in the North American continent.
9) Fanta
Fanta is yet another popular soft drink beverage produced by the Coca-Cola Company and with a German origin. Today, there are at least 100 different flavors worldwide, with the most popular and common being Fanta Orange. Others are mainly fruit flavored with some of the flavors including citrus, pineapple, strawberry and blackcurrant etc. It is one of the most favorite soda brands for the children and toddlers.
10) Tropicana
Tropicana is a soft drink beverage that has defied the odds to come among the top 10 soft drinks and beverages in the world in 2017, beating other coca-cola and PepsiCo products. The juice, which comes in many flavors but with the orange variant being its main signature, is produced by Tropicana Products Inc. Some of the Tropicana variants include the Tropicana Twister Soda among others.
The juice is one of the healthiest and with very few calories as compared with its other competitors. Its ingredients are mainly natural, with some of the variants being sugar-free and with no artificial in them. With the increase in health awareness and consciousness of the population, don’t underestimate the future performance of the drink and its other sister soft drinks from Tropicana Products Inc.
America’s Strangest and Weirdest Conventions
For the last three years, American photographer Arthur Drooker has been to a dozen conventions across the country, photographing some of the quirkiest gatherings such as mermaids, clowns, Santas, fetishists and Lincoln look-alikes. Yet, he has barely begun. According to one estimate, America holds a staggering 1.2 million conventions, conferences, and trade shows every year. That’s nearly 3,000 gatherings every day! These unusual gatherings allow like-minded people to congregate, bond, and express themselves.
“Regardless of what they’re about, where they’re held or who attends them, all conventions satisfy a basic human urge: a longing for belonging,” says Arthur Drooker. “At conventions, people who share similar interests, even obsessions, come together to bond and to be themselves without fear, apology or explanation. The outside world doesn’t matter. In fact, for the weekend duration of most conventions, the outside world doesn’t even exist.”
Association of Lincoln Presenters, Natchez, Mississippi.
Santa Drill Team, Santa Celebration, Tampa, Florida.
Brony Parade, BronyCon, Baltimore.
At Ease, Military History Fest, St. Charles, Illinois.
Mermaid Matrimony, Merfest, Cary, North Carolina.
Zoo, Anthrocon, Pittsburgh.
Anthrocon (abbreviated AC) is the world’s largest furry convention, taking place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania each June or July. Its focus is on furries: fictional anthropomorphic animal characters in art and literature. The convention was first held in 1997 in New York State, and draws over 5,000 attendees annually. Anthrocon 2016 drew 7,310 attendees, with 2,100 fursuiters participating in the fursuit parade.
Fetish Con, at Tampa Hilton, Florida
World Taxidermy & Fish Carving Championships, Springfield, Illinois
Las Vegas convention stats:
How many conventions are held per year?
21,306 were held last year.
That is 58 conventions a day being held in Las Vegas, however, since conventions usually last 2-3 days, there would be well over a 100 conventions on the go on any given day.
How many delegates attended?
2015 saw 5,891,151 attendees.
The 37th ‘Vent Haven Convention bills itself as ‘the oldest and largest annual gathering of ventriloquists’ This one in Cincinnati.
And last, but not least, the Celebrity Impersonator Convention.
Fictional Espionage Agencies with Interesting Acronyms
C.I.S.O. (Canadian International Security Organization), from the Captain Canuck comic book series. Not to be confused with C.S.I.S., the current Canadian spy agency.
C.L.I.T.O.R.I.S. (The Committee for the Liberation and Integration of Terrifying Organisms and their Rehabilitation Into Society), from Red Dwarf
C.O.B.R.A. (Criminal Organization of Bloodiness, Revenge and Assassination), an international terrorist organization, headed by Cobra Commander, from the G.I. Joe series.
G.R.A.M.P.A. (Global Reaction Agency for Mysterious Paranormal Activity), an international intelligence agency in Marvel Comics.
I.S.I.S (International Secret Intelligence Service) is the agency employing the lead characters in Archer (TV series). Not to be confused with those blood thirsty Muslim terrorists.
K.A.B.O.O.M. (Key Atomic Benefits Organization of Mankind), from the movie The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear.
SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion), from the James Bond series.
- T.H.U.N.D.E.R.(The Higher United Nations Defense Enforcement Reserves), from Tower Comics.
U.G.L.I. (Undercover Global League of Informants) in the Hardy Boys book, Secret Agent of Flight 101.
U.N.C.L.E. (United Network Command for Law and Enforcement) and T.H.R.U.S.H., from The Man from U.N.C.L.E.. (The meaning of T.H.R.U.S.H. was never revealed on the series; but, in the novelizations it was stated to be “Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity”.)
V.E.N.O.M. (The Vicious, Evil Network Of Mayhem), the evil mask-wearing cohort from the 1980s Saturday-morning cartoon M.A.S.K.
V.I.L.E. (The Villains’ International League of Evil), Carmen Sandiego’s band of international thieves.
Z.O.W.I.E. (Zonal Organization for World Intelligence and Espionage), from the movies Our Man Flint and In Like Flint.
Imaginings from 1900 about what Life would be like in the year 2000
In 1900, German chocolate company Hildebrands produced a series of postcards imagining the wonders of life in the year 2000.
The optimistic renderings envisioned people in Victorian fashions enjoying lives of boundless leisure and comfort enabled by a century of technological advancement.
The predicted innovations range from accurate (live broadcasts of plays) to absurd (cities covered by weather-proof glass roofs) to depressingly plausible in the near future (summer holidays at the North Pole).
Movable sidewalks.
Moving an entire city block by rail.
Strolling on a lake with the aid of balloons.
A live audiovisual broadcast of a theatre performance.
Weather-controlling machines.
A hybrid railship.
Tourist submarines.
Personal airships.
Tourism at the North Pole.
X-ray surveillance device.
Weather-proof city roofing.
Blast from the Past: Space Images
On September 22, 2010, with the departure of the Expedition 23 crew, Colonel Douglas H. Wheelock assumed command of the International Space Station and the Expedition 25 crew. He has been tweeting pictures to his followers since he arrived at the space station. We thought that we should put some of them together as a tribute to him and the whole ISS crew.
Prior to Discovery launch September, 2010.
Soyuz 23S, “Olympus” docked to the nadir side of the Space Station. This will be our ride back home to planet Earth when our work is complete here. Thought I would tweet this view out of the Cupola, as we were passing over the majestic snow-capped Caucuses. The sun rising and reflecting off the Caspian Sea (9-26-2010). Space Photo: NASA, Astronaut Wheelock.
Western Europe
Patagonia, southern tip of South America
Egypt, Israel, Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea.
Our ‘Progress 39P’ unmanned resupply spaceship on final approach for docking this past Sunday. It was laden with food, fuel, spare parts, and much needed supplies for our orbiting outpost. The greatest gift was just inside the hatch…some bags of fresh fruit and vegetables. Such a wonderful treat after 3 months of eating out of tubes and plastic pouches (9-15-2010)! Space Photo: NASA, Astronaut Wheelock.
Ayers Rock, Australia. This beast is 2.2 miles long and 1.4 miles wide.
The ‘Cupola’, attached to the nadir side of the Space Station, gives a panoramic view of our beautiful planet. Cosmonaut Fyodor took this picture from the window of the Russian Docking Compartment (Airlock). Here I am in the Cupola preparing a camera for our late evening Hurricane Earl flyover…trying to capture the moment…(8-31-2010). Space Photo: NASA, Astronaut Wheelock.
The Unique Mountain that is Kilimanjaro
Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania has a very unique appearance in relation to other giant mountains of the world. First of all the upper reaches of the mountain are not covered in ice and snow, and the sparse vegetation at the top give the mountain a dark chocolate colour. Second is the volcanic crater in the middle of the flat top. It reminds me of a big mound of chocolate sprinkled lightly with whip cream.
Kilimanjaro, with its three volcanic cones, Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira, is a dormant volcanic mountain in Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain in the world at 5,895 metres or 19,341 feet above sea level (the Uhuru Peak/Kibo Peak).
Kilimanjaro is composed of three distinct volcanic cones: Kibo 5,895 m (19,341 ft); Mawenzi 5,149 m (16,893 ft); and Shira 3,962 m (13,000 ft). Uhuru Peak is the highest summit on Kibo’s crater rim.
Kilimanjaro is a large stratovolcano. Two of its three peaks, Mawenzi and Shira, are extinct while Kibo (the highest peak) is dormant and could erupt again. The last major eruption has been dated to between 150,000 and 200,000 years ago.
Although it is dormant, Kibo has fumaroles that emit gas in the crater. Several collapses and landslides have occurred on Kibo in the past, one creating the area known as the Western Breach.
Not Your Mainstream Beauty Pageant
In Malawi, contestants at the first Mister and Ms Albinism Beauty Pageant in Lilongwe get ready on Saturday before the start of the show.
LILONGWE, MALAWI – Malawians have crowned a Mr. and Ms. Albinism during the country’s first ever beauty pageant for albinos, held in the capital Lilongwe. The Association of People with Albinism organized the event as part of efforts to destroy myths which have led to attacks on albinos in Malawi and other African countries.
There were cheers and ululations when beauty contestants with albinism strutted their stuff at a first-ever competition in Malawi.
In a country where they face stigma and the threat of attack because of how they look, some 20 contestants demonstrated that albinism can be beautiful.
Patience Phiri was among them.
“I am here because I have ever experienced the threat. Even my real friends I chat with, they have even said I am money. This has really affected my family because they are there, just to protect me,” Phiri said.
People with albinism in Malawi have been attacked because of false beliefs that their body parts, if used in magical potions, can bring good luck and wealth.
More than two dozen have been killed since 2014 and more than 100 are missing.
Twenty-three-year-old Chikondi Kadzanja won the Ms. Albinism Malawi title.
She told VOA that she will use her position to help end the attacks.
Crown winners of 2019 Ms Malawi Albinism -Chikondi Kadzanja (right) and First Princess Hilda Mcheso poses with lead judge Tamara.
“What I am going to do now is firstly to bring awareness to communities, especially the rural communities that hold negative attitudes, myths and misconceptions about persons with albinism,” Kanjadza said.
Twenty-four-year-old Burnet Phunyanya won the Mr. Albinism Malawi title.
He says his task will be to motivate albinos to be self-reliant.
“I am going to stand still and help persons with albinism. First of all making them to trust in themselves, trust their ideas, and believe in themselves,” Phunyanya said.
Pageant organizers plan to hold the event every year.
Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us
Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us is a Facebook event planned for September 20, 2019, at Area 51, a United States Air Force (USAF) facility within the Nevada Test and Training Range, to raid the site in search for extraterrestrial life. The event was created by Matty Roberts, who confirmed it was comedic and disavowed responsibility for any casualties if people actually attempt to raid the military base. Roberts posted the event on June 27, 2019. Over 2 million people have responded “going” and 1.5 million “interested” on the event’s page. The event and the music festival planned in conjunction was canceled due to poor planning, concerns of safety and legality, and lack of infrastructure, which Roberts announced on his “Alienstock” website.
Air Force spokeswoman Laura McAndrews said government officials were briefed on the event and discouraged people from attempting to enter military property. Nevada law enforcement also warned potential participants in the event against trespassing. The event, although purely comedic, has had an effect on businesses both locally in Nevada and around the United States, which are creating preparations for visitors and products for people going.
Area 51 has been the subject of many conspiracy theories regarding aliens since the 1950s, when some individuals reported seeing UFOs at the location of the base, around the time the military started flying CIA U2 spy planes in the area. The CIA declassified documents related to Area 51 and recognized its existence in 2013. Conspiracy theorists believe aliens, UFOs, or secrets related to them are stored at Area 51. In June 2019, The Pentagon provided a briefing on UFOs encountered by Navy pilots to members of Congress. U.S. president Donald Trump had also been briefed on UFOs.
College student Matty Roberts, the creator of the event, came up with the idea after watching Area 51 conspiracy theorist Bob Lazar and filmmaker Jeremy Corbell on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast on June 20, 2019. Lazar claimed to have worked with alien spacecraft when working at an underground facility at Area 51.
On July 10, speaking with The Washington Post, Air Force spokeswoman Laura McAndrews said officials were aware of the event, and issued a warning saying: “[Area 51] is an open training range for the U.S. Air Force, and we would discourage anyone from trying to come into the area where we train American armed forces”, adding: “The U.S. Air Force always stands ready to protect America and its assets”. A public information officer at Nellis Air Force Base told KNPR that “any attempt to illegally access the area is highly discouraged”.
Impact
Lincoln County
In August 2019, Lincoln County officials drafted an emergency declaration and a plan to pool resources with neighboring counties, anticipating the region being overwhelmed by a crowd of 40,000 people. The county has just 184 hotel rooms, and officials expected the local cellphone network to be unable to cope with the additional traffic, as well as expressing concern over crowding at campsites, gas stations and public medical services.
The town of Rachel posted a caution on its website, advising attendees to be “experienced in camping, hiking and surviving in a harsh desert environment and have a vehicle in good shape”. They advised that the town would likely be unable to provide sufficient food, water or gas to visitors, and expected local law enforcement to be “overwhelmed”. The website warned that local residents would be ready to “step up to protect their property”, adding that “It will get ugly.”
Business
Business owners in and around Rachel, Nevada, a town of just 56 people just outside of the base, have made preparations for visitors who want to go to Area 51. Connie West, co-owner of the Little A’Le’Inn restaurant and inn, has had all 13 rooms of the inn booked and plans to open up 30 acres for camping and might create merchandise for the event. Las Vegas businessman George Harris is planning to hire bands to play at an annual festival called “The Swarm”. Matty Roberts has also expressed interest in a music festival to be made outside Area 51. Kosmic Kae, owner of the shop Aliens R Us in Boulder City, says that even though the shop is 170 miles away from Area 51, business has increased due to fascination regarding aliens.
Other businesses around the U.S. have based products and services on this event. A collection of merchandise related to the event from online retailers was launched. Bud Light plans to release a promotional alien-themed beer label and promised a free beer to “any alien that makes it out” as long as a tweet with the new design gets 51,000 retweets. Fast food restaurant Arby’s has planned to deliver food with a special menu to the event.
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