Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Science/2020 September 30

= September 30 =

Tea and Coffee
Where it says tea and coffee where it says "The addition of cream, sugar, whipped cream, and flavorings can turn coffee or tea from a healthful beverage into a not-so-healthful one". What do they mean by "flavorings"? and when they say when drunk plain they are calorie-free beverages brimming with antioxidants, flavonoids, and other biologically active substances that may be good for health. What do they mean by "drunk plain"?

https://web.archive.org/web/20120814151602/http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-drinks/healthy-drinks-full-story/index.html — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2001:8003:7406:8B00:A4BA:BEAF:4F36:C343 (talk) 10:28, 30 September 2020 (UTC)
 * "Drunk plain" means "consumed without adding anything to it", what is commonly called "black coffee". The addition of less-healthful ingredients both dilutes the concentrations of healthful ingredients and adds things that are themselves unhealthy.  In particular, many additives may contain saturated fats and trans fats and sugar that are not terribly healthful in large amounts.  In terms of food energy (which is a concern for people who want to avoid weight gain), black coffee and plain tea are essentially zero-calorie foods (which is good!), and additives that add flavor are calorie-dense and nutrient-poor, especially cream and sugar and flavorings that are based on cream and sugar.  Flavorings often include sugared syrups such as these, or flavored cream such as these. -- Jayron 32 11:29, 30 September 2020 (UTC)
 * I think Jayron has covered it, but if part of your inquiry was on what things could be flavorings as distinct from the other items already listed, the flavorings could include alcohol, vanilla, cinnamon, or anything else the drinker feels like. Since it's so open ended, it obviously might include things that are not especially healthful. Matt Deres (talk) 16:44, 30 September 2020 (UTC)

Yes, part of my inquiry was what things could be flavorings. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2001:8003:7406:8B00:6101:616E:DF5:42A6 (talk) 01:37, 1 October 2020 (UTC)
 * Syrup? Honey? Wevets (talk) 03:08, 1 October 2020 (UTC)


 * Looking at the Dunkin' website one can see nutritional values for different "flavors" that can be added to coffee: Caramel Swirl, Pumpkin Swirl, French Vanilla Swirl, Hazelnut Swirl, and Mocha Swirl. One can also compare with and without sugar and milk. Bus stop (talk) 04:36, 1 October 2020 (UTC)


 * Irish coffee consists of hot coffee, Irish whiskey, and sugar, topped with cream. Some might argue the whiskey is a less than healthy "flavouring". HiLo48 (talk) 11:38, 1 October 2020 (UTC)
 * I had a few of those in Dublin and they made them soooo good. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 11:47, 4 October 2020 (UTC)
 * "What things could be flavorings"... Whatever you want, dude. It's your life.  Want bacon-flavored coffee?  Anchovy-flavored tea?  A little splash of olive oil?  A few marshmallows?  The sky is the limit.  Now, if you want to know what most people are flavoring their coffee with, check the lists above.  But "could be..." is limited only by the ends of your imagination and the strength of your stomach.  -- Jayron 32 11:44, 1 October 2020 (UTC)
 * The way I interpret that question is like, "when the people at the Harvard School of Public Health wrote, 'The addition of ... flavorings can turn coffee or tea ... into a not-so-healthful one', which flavorings may they have had in mind?". Presumably they were not thinking of bacon-flavored coffee or anchovy-flavored tea, neither of which has yet been identified as a public health risk. --Lambiam 13:09, 1 October 2020 (UTC)
 * My telepathy is not as well developed as yours. However, you'll note that I already answered the question your preferred way, and the OP indicated that that meaning was not what they intended when they reiterated the misunderstanding of what could be added to coffee.  -- Jayron 32 13:20, 1 October 2020 (UTC)
 * It doesn't matter. The sentence says "can turn", not will turn. It's just saying that coffee and tea are basically healthy on their own, but since many people add other things to them the health effects of any such additive must be considered. --Khajidha (talk) 13:23, 1 October 2020 (UTC)

When I asked about "flavorings" I meant to ask what Harvard school of public health meant by "flavorings" so I can know what ones they are talking about so I can hope to avoid them. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 118.209.255.182 (talk) 09:16, 4 October 2020 (UTC)
 * Probably the best thing to do is to look up how healthy the flavoring you want to add to your coffee is - the Harvard School of Public Health might not know what you want to add to your coffee, but you can compare, for example, the nutritional information for plain coffee vs. coffee with an additive similar to the one you want to add — Preceding unsigned comment added by Wevets (talk • contribs) 13:58, 4 October 2020 (UTC)
 * They're talking about people dumping things like sugared syrups into their coffee. For instance, the Frappuccino, which is a milkshake containing coffee. Nothing wrong with one as an occasional treat, but plenty of people have one every single day as their "morning coffee" and don't think there's anything bad about it because "it's just coffee". --47.146.63.87 (talk) 18:22, 4 October 2020 (UTC)
 * So that's why frappes taste so much better than black coffee... Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 19:04, 4 October 2020 (UTC)

Outdoor hedgehog brought in ?
Can an outdoor hedgehog (cub) encountered recently in an urban area of alleys between blocks of flats be brought indoor as a pet?--109.166.135.35 (talk) 23:59, 30 September 2020 (UTC)
 * While the wild European hedgehog freely roams the gardens of the United Kingdom and elsewhere, the species that is raised for the pet trade is the African pygmy hedgehog, Atelerix albiventris, according to Dr. Keller, who is board certified by the American College of Zoological Medicine...In the wild, hedgehogs eat a wide variety of bugs, plants, and roots. That diet can be challenging to recreate in captivity. “The best hedgehog diet would be a specially formulated hedgehog or insectivore diet, of which there are many commercially available preparations,” says Dr. Keller. “This diet can be supplemented with treats such as mealworms, crickets, and fruits and vegetables.” Bus stop (talk) 00:05, 1 October 2020 (UTC)

Well, I know hedgehogs are nocturnal and insectivorous and don’t make a good pet.Acidic Carbon (Corrode) (Organic compounds) 13:46, 1 October 2020 (UTC)
 * There are two complicating factors here. Firstly, there are no domesticated species of hedgehog.  Domestication is a complex evolutionary process whereby a species is specifically bred for being dependent on humans.  There are a shockingly small number of animal species that have ever been domesticated; I've seen some sources have as few as 12-14, among them things like cat, dog, goat, sheep, cow, horse, honeybee, llama, chicken, water buffalo, rabbit, donkey, and maybe I few others I can't recall.  This has to do with the social structures present in the animal population, similar species (c.f. horse vs. zebra or cow vs. bison) are not always domesticatable because their social structure doesn't allow it.  This is different from taming, which is acclimating a single animal to human presence, i.e. getting an animal used to you so it doesn't want to either attack you or run away.  Taming is done at the single animal level.  So, while a hedgehog is not domesticated, they may be able to be tamed, though many wild animals can only be reasonably tamed if raised from infancy by humans.  Taming an adult animal is fantastically difficult in many cases, and in some cases it may be illegal to do so.  If you want a pet hedgehog, there are some places where they are available, but you'll want to go through a reputable and humane breeder rather than to just catch some random hedgehog from your back garden and try to make it love you.  -- Jayron 32 15:33, 1 October 2020 (UTC)


 * Apart from other considerations, you should check if this (making a pet of a wild hedgehog) would actually be legal in your jurisdiction (Romania?). Some countries have laws controlling the taking of animals from the wild, and even animal walfare organisations that rescue orphaned or injured wild animals might need licences to carry out such work. In the UK it's not illegal to 'adopt' a wild hedgehog, but if you do you become responsible for its welfare and can be prosecuted if you fail to care for it properly.
 * Bear in mind that wild hedgehogs can also carry, and pass on to you, various diseases and organisms such as foot and mouth, salmonella, and some viruses and fungi (including ringworm). The good news is that although they are often have fleas, these are hedgehog-specific and won't transfer to humans or other animals. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 2.121.162.83 (talk) 08:07, 2 October 2020 (UTC)
 * I was about to mention fleas, thanks for "hedgehog-specific", didn't know that. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 11:44, 4 October 2020 (UTC)
 * Personal experience: I had two of them in my room for three days. They are easy to catch and they don't bite, they become friendly very quickly and already on the second day they allow you to stroke their belly with your finger tips, but : they are covered with ticks and fleas and in the long run you should treat them. And as a pet they are wortless because during the day they hide somewhere and sleep and after they wake up at dark they don't cuddle with you but walk tirelessly all night along the walls of your room, grunting and smacking, rattling loud with their spines and pushing even rather heavy pieces of furniture out of their path, which every time sounds like a small domestic earthquake. I returned them back to their hedge the third morning.
 * But they are interesting little persons so if you keep them only two or three days this is a nice experience for you and it doesn't seem to harm them.
 * PS But of course if you take a mother away from newborn babies for three days they will die. In Europe this can happen between August and October. 2003:F5:6F0E:4500:3D1B:A8CB:F3B2:4524 (talk) 21:48, 6 October 2020 (UTC) Marco PB