Stuff People Ingest Voluntarily episode 31Before you start accusing us of focusing on the poor, fading laundry as part of our own Antonioni scheme to sabotage the world’s image of an entire nation, let us be clear: we are more interested in the one small bright square so carefully preserved like some tiny peep window into the underbelly of the corn juice craze than we are in the clothesline that hangs below it. Yes, even Chinese people do laundry, and also like to purchase dish towels in strict color themes of vibrant hues. Some things are the same the world over.
Corn juice, however, has not spread so fast as other customs. For those unaware that such a beverage even exists, here is a close-up, courtesy of a long ago post. Old-timey moonshiners and lushes might protest the hijacking of their tongue-in-cheek term for Bourbon, but they would have little claim. Known to a third of the world’s consumers as yumijiang, it is a gritty yellow semi-liquid most likely inspired by the popularity of its cousin soy milk. I anxiously await the day this product appears in the drink machines of American gas stations; that will be the true sign of China’s influence in this world. Read more »
