2 NEWS
The Voice
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I can relate to the song [‘I Know I’m Not the Only One,’ and it has beautiful lyrics, which is probably one of the reasons I was able to sing it well.”
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I learned that I had to gain a sense of urgency to work harder and practice more. But this was still one of the best tournaments I have been to.”
Suki Singh
Quincie Ndiaye
February 2015
NEWS 3
Sold Happily Feather After By Cathy Wang Staff Writer In June 2010, at the Webb’s Auction House in Auckland, New Zealand, a family from Wellington bought a single Huia bird tail feather for $6800. This transaction made the Huia feather the world’s most expensive feather, ousting the last record-setter, American bald eagle feather costing $2800. The Huia bird is so highly valued because it has been extinct for the past century and remaining feathers are rare. The Huia feather, verified to be authentic by New Zealand’s national museum Te Papa, is black with a metallic brown sheen and white tip. According to a spokesman from Webb’s, the family already had a huge collection of Maori natives’
artifacts, to which the Huia feather will be the newest addition. The Huia bird was the largest species of New Zealand wattlebirds, known for its loud distress calls and glossy black plumage. The Maori natives of New Zealand’s North Island highly treasured the Huia, and only chiefs of their tribes could be adorned with the feathers. In the early 20th century, Europeans took fancy to the feathers as well, and the demand for these feathers as a fashion statement increased dramatically. European explorers and settlers hunted the birds to extinction in 1907.
$1,000,000,000
Crappy Patties By Caitlin Chen Staff Writer On Aug. 5, 2013, the most expensive burger, which cost about $325,000 and two years to make, was unfortunately deemed “disgusting,” with the flavor of “an animal-protein cake” that had a taste somewhat “close to meat.” The “in-vitro” patty, grown in a lab by a team of scientists from University of Maastrich led by Dr. Mark Post and funded by Google co-founder Sergey Brin, was so expensive because the patty was made of cultured, man-made meat. The patty was made by growing stem cells from cow shoulder, multiplying them in nutrient solution, and combining the resulting muscle fibers to make a patty. The lean and
healthy patty completely lacked fat and had to be cooked with copious amounts of butter. Though the taste and texture were unsatisfactory, the event was meant to demonstrate the potential of this kind of meat, as it could provide an environmentally friendly way to produce healthy, high-quality protein while avoiding animal welfare problems. Though lab-grown meat is a distinct possibility, the world will have to wait for a sustainable, cost-competitive option in the near future, as Dr. Post estimated that if the project were expanded and the meat were made available to the public, each pound of lab-grown beef would cost $30.
10 CULTURE
The Voice
February 2015
CULTURE 11
12 SPORTS
The Voice
February 2015
SPORTS 13
February 2015
HUMOR 15