Hydro Flask Blog
Exercise Bulimia-Bring your Hydro Flask!
“What do you mean I can’t run the stairs anymore?” I asked, confused. The girl with the clipboard shrugged: “I guess the neighbors complained and—” Before she could finish, I set out to find someone superior—someone with a headset or a walkie-talkie, preferably male. They can’t do this to me, I thought to myself. They just can’t. 
It was only the second day of filming on the then yet-to-be-named reality show Stylista, and even though I knew it wasn’t in my best interest to let my high-maintenance flag fly so soon, given the circumstances, I had no choice. Before I’d arrived in New York City, even before I’d signed the confidentiality agreement, I’d inquired twice—once each of Casting and of Production—whether I’d be able to exercise during the shoot, scheduled to last more than four weeks. Both informed me, in writing, that it wouldn’t be a problem. But on day one, not only had gym access “fallen through,” but it was also too late to rent machines for the cast apartment, and, because cameras had to be on us at all times, running outside couldn’t be accommodated. And now, apparently, no stairwell climbing, either. Later that night, I slipped away from the common room where the other 10 contestants were snacking and socializing and locked myself in the upstairs bathroom. There, for the next few hours, I sat on the floor having an emotional breakdown as quietly (so as not to rouse cameraman attention) as I could manage.
By Johanna Cox
Strongest Man in the World’ no longer with us
NEW YORK – A famed strongman who once lifted 3,200 pounds at Coney Island during its heyday and was still bending quarters with his fingers at age 104 died Monday after he was hit by a minivan. 
Joe Rollino
was struck as he crossed a major street in Brooklyn, and suffered a broken pelvis, head trauma and broken ribs. He died a few hours later at an area hospital.
Police said the driver was going the speed limit and had not been drinking. No criminality is suspected, but the driver was issued a summons for a defective horn.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
The Future of Shipping Containers
Aside from the Internet, no single invention might be as important to globalization as the shipping container. No joke.
Before that advent of standardized containers in the 1950’s, trans-oceanic shipping was hugely labor intensive and slow, because every ship and air shipment presented a brand new challenge. By contrast, standard shipping containers they allow cargo to be moved in massive quantities, quickly with huge cranes and a small staff; 90% of all international shipping traffic uses them. Two hundred million shipments each year use them. So if you love cheap goods from China, you have shipping containers to thank.
Which makes the Cargoshell, a collapsible shipping container, perhaps one of the biggest innovations since sliced bread. Think about the benefits of efficient packaging design andflat-pack, writ on a massive scale. 
As Gizmag reports, the innovations are many. By collapsing by 75%, they radically reduce the volume of empty containers being shipped. At 25% less weight, they cut down on fuel costs. And with a roll-up front, rather than doors that swing out, they can be packed in more tightly, since they don’t require as much open space to unload.
The only catch is money: At a cost of three times a standard shipping container, the payback window for all those fuel savings is very, very long.
But you’ve gotta think that this is really a feature of scale: The project is currently a pipe-dream being flogged by a tiny Dutch company. If manufacturing could ramp up and drop the price, these might just be appearing everywhere one day.
BY CLIFF KUANG
Track Instant Karma
Ever wonder if doing some random act of kindness might inspire others to pay it forward? Now you can answer that question–and track the progress of the supposed ripple effect on a new action-oriented philanthropic Web site calledDotheDeed.org. Sure to capture search engine traffic with its sexy-punny moniker, the site launched in December through a partnership with the Wichita Eagle newspaper and the Greteman Group, a Wichita-based ad agency. (Yes, those do-gooders smack dab in the center of family values country.)
This is how it works: Print out a “Do the Deed” business card from the site and fill in a unique 3 to 8 digit code. Then, the next time you help change a flat or shovel a walkway, pass it on. The card will explain to the new holder the intent of the project and how to log the altruism. You can do it solo or as a group–just make sure everyone has the same ID number. In Wichita, even the Girl Scouts are trying it out. The commercial reverberation is obvious: free advertising for the PR firm, free image polish for partners and sponsors, and likely a free exclusive for the newspaper.
So does it work? Consider it a good deed that we have told you all this. As such, we have registered our own Fast Company deeds card (code:Â FastCard). If you actually use the concept to past cheer on, simply use that code and we’ll report back what happened in a few weeks. Take that, Kevin Spacey.
BY BEN PAYNTER
The A-Team is coming!
Dunh dunh da, dunt da dunt da, danut da dunt da dan da dunt dun. That’s the song (or close to it) every time I’m working on any kind of home improvment project.
Man I loved the A-Team -and still do. So you can imagine my excitment when it came across my desk that Joe Carnahan (Smokin Aces, Narc)will be releasing a remake of the original t.v. series staring Bradley Cooper (The Hangover), Liam Neeson (Taken), Sharlto Copley (District 9) and Quentin Rampage Jackson. Ridley and Tony Scott are currently producing this could be hit.
It’s slated to hit theaters June 11th, 2010 and is said to has a plot line that includes a group of Iraq War veterans looks to clear their name with the U.S. military, who suspect the four men of committing a crime for which they were framed.
Sure to have jeeps that blow up and roll over ( don’t worry the driver always excapes unscathed) and a fair share of blow torches and chainsaws, get ready to fill up your Hydro Flask with a tasty treat and get ready for a flash from your childhood past!
-Travis Rosbach
Snuggie’s (Poor) Performance Review Letter
Dear Snuggie,
It feels sort of odd to be writing to you while actually wearing you, but what can I say? I was sitting on the couch and didn’t want my shoulders to get cold. My wife said I should just put on a sweater, but can a mere sweater inspire pub crawls, knock offs, and even help save a largely mediocre Weezer album? I don’t think so. At least 4 million people side with me. They saw your rad infomercial and plunked down $19.95 thanks to that sweet buy-one, get-one deal. You’ve become a sort of ironic-hip icon.
But wait a second. Is it chilly in here or is it just you? It turns out my wife (and the Fast Company braintrust) were right: Consumer Reports just released a summary of your actual efficiency at warming people, and, sorry bud, it doesn’t look so good. Researchers found out that, after 10 cycles in the washing machine, your “ultrasoft thick luxurious fleece” shed like a “sandwich bag’s worth of lint.” Brrr. That sort of sucks. Maybe you should have taken that sage advice to upgrade to Gore-Tex when you had the chance.
BY BEN PAYNTER
Lawmakers push BPA ban
Baby bottles and non-spill sippy cups designed for children under the age of five could no longer contain the plastic hardening chemical Bisphenol-A, under legislation being considered by lawmakers at the Capitol.
State Representative Kelda Helen Roys (D-Madison) says the bill is designed to protect children from a chemical that some studies have shown can have a negative impact on the development of young children and infants. She says it mimics estrogen, and has been linked to a number of health problems in laboratory animals.
Industry experts claim the negative health effects of BPA remain unproven. Dr. Steve Hentges with the American Chemical Council told a legislative panel Wednesday that thousands of studies have looked at the chemical, and they’ve lead most governments around the world to conclude it’s not dangerous.
However, Roys says there are clearly concerns about its continued use in products for children, since many major companies have started making products that are labeled as BPA free. She says parents shouldn’t have to worry about if a product being used to feed their children is safe.
The bill is currently being considered by an Assembly committee.
Bill sponsor sees support for BPA ban
Madison The sponsor of a state bill to ban bisphenol A in baby bottles and sippy cups said Wednesday she is confident there is enough support to institute such a ban in Wisconsin.
State Sen. Julie Lassa (D-Stevens Point) said a Senate committee vote on the matter could come in the next few weeks.
Meanwhile, the Assembly’s Committee on Consumer Protection held a 2 ½ -hour hearing Wednesday on the merits of the bill. Health advocates spoke in support of the measure, noting that the chemical has been linked to breast cancer, reproductive failures, behavioral problems, obesity and sexual dysfunction.
Food manufacturing representatives and chemical industry employees, including Steve Hentges, the chief lobbyist for the chemical makers, urged the committee to turn down the bill. He said science does not show any danger to human health. He noted that no government agency has found BPA to be of concern.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said the chemical is safe for all use. But after the agency’s own advisory board found the FDA did not consider enough of the science, the agency promised to review its decision.
The FDA has missed three self-imposed deadlines, but a new statement is expected any day.
A Journal Sentinel investigation found the FDA’s initial opinion was written largely by chemical company lobbyists, including Hentges.
Last year, Canada declared BPA to be a toxin and has outlawed the sale of BPA in baby bottles. Similar measures have passed in Minnesota, Connecticut, the city of Chicago and counties in New York.
“We cannot wait for the FDA to act,” said Lassa. “Wisconsin needs to act now to protect our youngest citizens.”
By Meg Kissinger of the Journal Sentine
A missed deadline
Like many of those advocating for stiffer regulation of the chemical bisphenol A, we were frustrated that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration missed another of its self-imposed deadlines for letting consumers know whether it considers BPA safe.
It’s better to make the right decision than a hasty one. But we know this: There is ample reason to suspect BPA in a range of human illnesses. The ubiquitous chemical is found in everything from hardened plastics to the lining of metal food containers and is present in the urine of more than 93% of American adults and more than 90% of newborns. Even at very low doses, it is believed to interrupt the body’s endocrine system.
Despite the numerous independent studies that raised health concerns about BPA, the FDA under the Bush administration relied on other studies, mostly funded by the chemical industry, to determine that the chemical was safe. Under pressure, the FDA re-examined its policy, which led to the series of now-blown deadlines for making a decision.
We think it’s clear that BPA should be banned in any product intended for children. Canada has banned BPA for use in baby bottles; similar bans have passed in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Chicago and two counties in New York. Most manufacturers of baby bottles have stopped using BPA voluntarily.
Bills in both the state Legislature and in Congress would ban the chemical from products for kids; some would go further. The Assembly Committee on Consumer Protection, chaired by Rep. Gordon Hintz (D-Oshkosh) will hold a hearing at 10 a.m. Wednesday on Assembly Bill 405, which would prohibit BPA from being used in bottles or cups for children. The bill is less ambitious than we would like.
The FDA and lawmakers should phase out use of the chemical. To ensure food safety, appropriate substitutes would need to be found, but given a reasonable time frame, the industry could adjust.
In testimony to a Senate panel last month, Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program, compared BPA to lead, mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls. All have been found to cause serious health problems. Birnbaum is right: BPA is a hazard for both kids and adults. It’s time to act.
-JSOnline
It’s best to avoid BPA, federal official says
The head of the primary federal agency studying the safety of bisphenol A said Friday that people should avoid ingesting the chemical – especially pregnant women, infants and children.
“There are plenty of reasonable alternatives,” said Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program, in an interview with the Journal Sentinel.
While stressing she is not a medical doctor, Birnbaum said she has seen enough studies on the chemical to be concerned about its effects on human health.
A grandmother, Birnbaum said she advises her children to avoid using food packaged in containers made with BPA.
Asked if consumers should be worried about BPA, Birnbaum said, “Absolutely.”
In August 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, charged with regulating the use of chemicals in food products, declared BPA to be safe for all uses – a decision chemical-makers routinely point to as proof their product is safe.
However, the agency is reconsidering that ruling after its own advisory board found that FDA scientists ignored valuable studies that found the chemical caused harm.
The agency missed a self-imposed Nov. 30 deadline to review its finding but is expected to issue a new determination any day.
A Journal Sentinel investigation found that lobbyists for industry wrote entire sections of the FDA’s original assessment. E-mails obtained by the newspaper found that FDA scientists relied on chemical industry lobbyists to examine BPA’s risks, track legislation to ban it and even monitor press coverage.
In formulating its decisions, the FDA considers assessments made by the national institute, Birnbaum’s agency.
BPA, developed as an estrogen replacement, is used to make polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins. It is used to line most metal food and beverage cans and to coat carbonless paper receipts. Last year, six major baby bottle manufacturers promised to discontinue BPA in their products, citing concern for their consumers’ safety.
Sunoco, one of the companies that makes BPA, said it would no longer sell the chemical without a guarantee that it would not be used to make baby bottles.
Canada has declared BPA to be a toxin and prohibits its use in baby bottles.
On Friday, health and environmental groups stepped up their call for a ban on BPA.
“About 125,000 babies have been born in the United States since Nov. 30, the FDA’s missed deadline,” the Breast Cancer Fund said in a news release. “It’s time for the FDA to issue an immediate ban on BPA in hard plastic food containers and require labeling of all other food packaging containing BPA.”
By Meg Kissinger of the Journal Senti
