Top 5 Smartest Dogs

For the most part, dogs are pretty smart animals.  You can teach them to follow complicated commands, sniff drugs and guide the blind.  Try teaching a cat any of those tricks!  But it’s a well-known fact that not all dogs are equally smart.  I recently came across an article that discusses what, according to 122 veterinary professionals, are the five smartest dog breeds.

The gentle, loving and easygoing Golden Retriever has been hailed as an ideal dog for years, and anybody who’s owned them has only the best things to say about them.  But they’re also pretty intelligent.  Originally bred for hunting, Goldens are devoted family dogs who need plenty of exercise and activity.  For Goldens, the best activity is something that stimulates both the mind and the body.

Australian Shepherds aren’t afraid to show their love for you by leaning on your leg, sitting on your foot or jumping onto your lap.  But these dogs, originally bred to herd sheep, are also very intelligent, excelling at such activities as obedience, agility, flying disc competitions and herding trials.

While they may look silly and prissy, Poodles are active dogs that thrive on learning and attention from their owners.  They’re excellent choices for agility and obedience competitions, and even though Poodle’s aren’t always show dogs, they still require intense grooming.

A fearless, loyal dog, German Shepherds are naturals for military and police work.  But even if you’re not involved in such a line of work, German Shepherds tend to be loyal and energetic companions who love to spend time with their family.

Originally bred as herding dogs, Border Collies are intense, hardworking and energetic dogs.  Imposing their will on sheep is in their bones, so these dogs just might want to do the same thing to you too.  These dogs have exceptional focus, which is a real plus in the field, but if Border Collies are left without anything to do, this focus can turn out to be a problem.

 

JFK Braces For Ebola

Maria Haymandou’s latest blog post

With the first case of Ebola hitting the US, people have been terrified of coming into contact with the disease.  As part of a response to the Ebola outbreak, the government plans on taking the temperatures of travelers from West Africa arriving at five US airports: Newark, Washington, Chicago, Atlanta and New York’s JFK.

According to White House spokesman Josh Earnest, these five airports were chosen because they marked the destinations of 94 percent of the people who traveled to the US from those West African countries hit hardest by Ebola.  Interestingly enough, however, the one confirmed Ebola case in the US came from neither one of these airports, but under these new procedures, it’s estimated that 150 people will be checked every day.

Yesterday, the first confirmed Ebola death in the US, a Liberian man who had arrived in through Dallas, died from the virus.  Beforehand, Homeland Security agents at airports and other ports of entry had been observing travelers for potential signs of an Ebola infection.  However, it’s not clear how effective such methods will be, as people carrying the virus don’t always show symptoms upon leaving the airport; indeed, the man who died yesterday didn’t show any symptoms until four days after arriving.  So far, Ebola has killed over 3,400 people in West Africa and infected at least twice that number, hitting healthcare workers particularly hard.

Considering how New York is a major world city, through which people constantly travel, it seems inevitable that there will be Ebola cases here.  Whether or not New York will be hit by Ebola isn’t in question.  The bigger question is how they’ll handle it when it does.

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The Bialy

Maria Haymandou’s latest blog post

A big pile of bialys

Without a doubt, New York City is the center of Jewish-American cuisine.  New York institutions such as Katz’s and Carnegie Deli have become legends in their own right, and when it comes to traditional Jewish fare such as pastrami and bagels, everybody in the country bows down to the might of New York City.  But there’s other traditional Jewish fare that’s made its way into New York cuisine.  Any New Yorker could tell you about the knish, a large potato dumpling that is typically grilled, baked or deep fried, and can be found at most hot dog stands.  But even more obscure than the knish is another doughy treat that’s been a huge part of New York City’s history: the bialy.

The bialy looks a lot like, and is very similar to, the bagel.  However, its texture is a lot more fluffy than a bagel’s, and instead of a hole in the middle of it, there’s filling, typically, but not always, onions.  The name “bialy” comes from the yiddish “bialystoker kuchen”, named in honor of the Polish city where they were first made.  During the early 20th century, Jewish immigrants from Bialystok brought the recipe for bialys to New York’s Lower East Side.  Soon, the popularity of the bialy rivaled that of the bagel, and the treat was served in all five boroughs of Manhattan.  However, the bialy was a lot less accessible than the bagel, since if it isn’t eaten fresh out of the oven, it loses a lot of its flavor.  During the 1970s, the bialy, as well as most traditional Jewish foods, saw a rapid decline in popularity, until it was only sold in a few specialty shops in New York.  But it looks like the bialy is making a comeback.

For a long time, the bialy has had a cult following amongst those who grew up eating them, typically in New York, but also in Florida and Los Angeles.  Recently, traditional Jewish food has received a revival in popularity amongst younger people in New York, and the bialy has received a spike in popularity.  Just like in the old days, the center of the bialy in New York is Kossar’s, located on the Lower East Side.  Established 75 years ago, this bakery has long been a center of the now dwindling Jewish community in the Lower East Side.  However, sales for Kossar’s had declined over the years.  Now under new management, the owners of Kossar’s are championing a renaissance of the bialy in New York cuisine.  Here is a video of the owner of Kossar’s being interviewed about reviving the bialy.

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