Holiday sewage smells of cinnamon and vanilla
Apparently, what goes in during the holidays does come out. During November, scientists recorded an uptick in cinnamon and vanilla in Seattle's sewage, with the biggest spike on the weekly test right after Thanksgiving. Scientists estimate that Seattle ate the daily equivalent of about 160,000 butter- or chocolate-chip-type cookies and about 80,000 cookies containing cinnamon during the Thanksgiving weekend.
"Even something as fun as baking for the holiday season has an environmental effect," said Keil, an associate professor of chemical oceanography. "When we bake and change the way we eat, it has an impact on what the environment sees. To me it shows the connectedness."
"Don't worry about gobbling that snickerdoodle, though. There's no evidence that cinnamon or vanilla harms sea creatures, and, in fact, the choice of those spices was something of a lark."
