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Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
The Vintage McDonald's Cutlery That Was 'Banned' For An Unexpected Reason
In the 1970s and 1980s, McDonald's was known for more than just Big Macs and Happy Meals. It sounds too absurd to be true, but the fast food giant accidentally became part of the earliest stages of the "War on Drugs." It involved a tiny plastic coffee spoon, a drug epidemic, and an eventual government crackdown. Before we learned just how awful single-use plastic was, the innocent-looking utensil was first introduced as a convenient tool for stirring coffee. The offender was about five inches long and featured a small, flattened scoop at the end — just enough to stir a serving of sugar or cream into a cup of coffee. With the iconic golden arches as its handle, the spoon was another effort to add branding to the customer experience. But it wasn't long before the spoon found an unexpected second life outside of McDonald's dining rooms ... Cocaine use was truly booming in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and its fans were always looking for an easy way to measure clean, consistent bumps of the drug. The McDonald's spoon just happened to be the perfect size and shape for this purpose. This little tool became so widely associated with cocaine that it soon earned the nickname "the McSpoon." Its popularity in both the underground drug world and upper-class dinner parties didn't go unnoticed. One Connecticut newspaper in 1979 remarked, "One thing is certain: From the Tiffany's set to the McDonald's crowd, New York is snowed in coke." Read more: Taco Bell's Decades Menu Brings Back Old Faves, And We Ranked Them The U.S. government soon took issue with the spoon. At a hearing with senators and anti-drug activists, a lobbyist for the drug paraphernalia trade quipped that, "This is the best cocaine spoon in town and it's free with every cup of coffee at McDonald's." Unfortunately, the joke backfired. One of the activists attending, Joyce Nalepka, decided to personally call McDonald's then-president Edward Schmidt and ask him to replace and redesign the infamous McSpoon. Her talk must have been pretty persuasive, because the spoons soon disappeared from American McD's, replaced by a flat plastic coffee stir stick. Over time, the McDonald's coke spoon has become something of a pop culture relic. It has appeared in online forums, drug history retrospectives, and even as one of the nostalgia buys on eBay, where vintage versions of the spoon occasionally sell as collector's items. Of course, McDonald's never created or distributed the spoon with any malicious intent. But in the eyes of law enforcement and drug culture observers, the spoon had become too closely linked to illegal activities. The story of the McDonald's coffee spoon is a cautionary tale of unintended consequences. Even the most mundane products can be swept up in larger cultural trends, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. Today, the tiny plastic spoon lives on as a quirky footnote in the surprisingly intertwined histories of fast food and America's War on Drugs. For more food and drink goodness, join The Takeout's newsletter. Get taste tests, food & drink news, deals from your favorite chains, recipes, cooking tips, and more! Read the original article on The Takeout.
Boston Globe
5 days ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
‘Our moment to evolve': A nonprofit that launched after George Floyd is now navigating a DEI backlash
Related : But racism wasn't the only crisis gripping the country in those days. There was also COVID-19. And when the face masks started to come off in 2022, McCreary saw how society was ready, even eager, to move on from both Floyd and the pandemic. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up It was a familiar, vicious, cycle for Black America — progress, followed by painful setbacks. There was emancipation, then Jim Crow laws; the Civil Rights Act, then a generation of men jailed in the War on Drugs; equal opportunity laws, then a Supreme Court striking down affirmative action in college admissions. Advertisement Shellee Mendes, a mother of three, raised her sign during the March Like A Mother for Black Lives rally in Boston on June 27, 2020. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff And now America has gone from electing its first Black president to having a White House that is openly dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion. The New Commonwealth Fund hasn't been immune to the sea change. The group is shifting how it raises money, depending less on corporations and more on individuals. And just after the November election, the nonprofit removed the 'Racial Equity and Social Justice' part of its name from its website. Advertisement McCreary made this decision after counterparts around the country began receiving physical threats because of their work. She worried about the safety of her staff and people at other local organizations they work alongside. She wanted to set an example of how the organization could stay committed to racial equity while also practicing self-preservation. 'What we haven't done is we haven't changed our mission,' she said. From its headquarters in an industrial part of Roxbury, NCF provides about $3 million a year to nonprofits that are lifting communities of color, whether it be through justice reform or the arts. Since its launch, NCF has given out 448 grants to more than 250 organizations in Massachusetts, over $16.3 million in all. And even as the very idea of eliminating racial inequities feels under attack, the five-year anniversary of Floyd's death came at a time when organizations like NCF see their work as more essential than ever. 'How do we convince folks that this is the work for the long haul?' McCreary pondered. 'This is not a moment. This has to be a movement.' At first, Damian Wilmot wasn't as shaken by Floyd's murder as he had been by the Martin was the unarmed Black teen shot and killed in Florida by a neighborhood watch volunteer, George Zimmerman, who thought he looked suspicious. His death was the worst nightmare for every Black parent of a teenager. Advertisement 'I sort of saw my son in him,' said Wilmot. But when Floyd was killed, it was Wilmot's children doing the worrying. Floyd, who was killed by a white Minneapolis police while handcuffed, was 46 years old, and well over 6 feet tall. A mural dedicated to, from left, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Trayvon Martin and Ahmaud Arbery behind the Power Circle Barbershop in Tampa. Octavio Jones/For The Washington Post Wilmot, with a similar build, had just turned 50 at the time. His children saw Floyd in him. 'Daddy, it's not safe for you,' his son and daughter warned. Floyd's murder sparked discussions for Wilmot, both at home and at work as an executive at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, about what can be done to make sure no Black person dies like that again in police custody. 'Every company was making these proclamations about supporting social justice and doing something, but candidly I didn't think anyone really knew exactly what to do,' recalled Wilmot, who today serves as board chair of NCF. Vertex, like so many other corporations and organizations, issued a public statement vowing to fight racism and committed But Wilmot and other Black leaders in Boston wanted to do more. They called each other daily, and soon a group was regularly convening by Zoom. They felt a need to talk, to organize, and to use their hard-won collective power to do something they could call their own. It was a Advertisement A June 2020 photo of some of the founders of the New Commonwealth Fund. From left to right, Rodney Pratt, Malia Lazu, Damon Hart, Pamela Everhart, Quincy Miller, and Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan. Suzanne Kreiter The prospect of starting their own nonprofit to end systemic racism was energizing. 'We all agreed, yes, but let's do it together ... and let's lead this,' Wilmot recalled. The money began to pour in, with initial commitments of $20 million, which has grown into about $45 million today. From the get-go, NCF wanted to disburse the money to grassroots organizations in sums that would be transformative for them. One of the first recipients was Today, Elevated Thought has 17 full-time staffers, with new programs and a budget three times as large as it once was. Marquis Victor, founder and executive of Elevated Thought, poses for a portrait in the visual arts apprenticeship space at his Lawrence nonprofit. Danielle Parhizkaran Similarly, NCF has been critical to supporting emerging nonprofits like 'We've had a really, really successful start as an organization, and NCF is one of the anchors of why that was possible,' said Ariel Childs, executive director of Vital CxNs, which so far has received about $667,000 from NCF. NCF's launch generated national headlines and inspired Black leaders in other cities to start similar foundations, such as the Advertisement It didn't happen overnight, and NCF saw today's challenges coming. McCreary engaged four law firms to review the nonprofit's grant-making processes and assess whether they could withstand legal challenge, especially after the activist who sued Harvard to overturn affirmative action in college admissions began targeting organizations engaged in racial equity work. NCF's lawyers concluded its work would pass legal muster because its mission is focused on eliminating racial inequities, but not at the exclusion of other groups. Makeeba McCreary, president of the New Commonwealth Fund. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff For Eastern Bank's Miller, an NCF founder and board member, the legal threats underscore why the organization matters more than ever. He's confident it can weather the backlash against DEI — with a staff of 12 and millions of dollars committed. But smaller nonprofits focused on racial justice work don't have that luxury and could use NCF's help. Corporate support has slowed to a trickle, and there's only so much private money to go around, even as the needs keep growing. 'The work in 2025 is more important than the work in 2020,' Miller said. 'I don't even think it's close.' If anything, he views this moment as a chance to adapt. 'We have to evolve and change to keep supporting this work just like companies during COVID had to evolve and change,' Miller added. 'This is our moment to evolve.' Shirley Leung is a Business columnist. She can be reached at
San Francisco Chronicle
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
The queens of collaboration in Lucius are finding themselves again musically
NEW YORK (AP) — The magic created by the vocal blend of Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe, collectively known as Lucius, has opened many doors for them in the music industry. Sometimes quite literally — like when they arrived at the home of Joni Mitchell, invited by Brandi Carlile to sing at one of her 'Joni Jams,' and Paul McCartney answered their knock. It's a heady experience, singing at Mitchell's house. Tipped in advance that McCartney might be there, Laessig and Wolfe rehearsed a version of 'Goodbye,' a song he wrote that was a hit for Mary Hopkin in 1969. They sensed the moment he recognized it — hey, that's my song! The women have collaborated with many artists through the years, among them Carlile, Sheryl Crow, Harry Styles, Roger Waters, Jeff Tweedy, the Killers, War on Drugs and Mumford & Sons. This year, they're concentrating on their own music with Lucius, a rock band that also includes Dan Molad and Peter Lalish. They've released a self-produced disc that reflects their experiences settling in Los Angeles and starting families, titling it simply 'Lucius' even though it's their fourth album. An album that felt like coming home 'It felt like a coming home to ourselves,' Wolfe said. 'There wasn't really a question, actually, whether the record would be titled something else. It just felt like it was us, and let's give it our name.' Laessig and Wolfe met and quickly bonded two decades ago as students at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. They first sang together as part of a school project to remake the Beatles' White Album — their version of 'Happiness is a Warm Gun' will never see the light of day — that was abandoned because they began writing their own music. 'We were always inspired by Phil Spector and Elliot Smith and people who used double vocals as an interesting textural thing,' Wolfe said. 'And we thought, well, we could actually do this live. We both wanted to be lead singers, but together.' 'Unison singing,' notes Laessig, 'is not for the faint of heart.' Check out the heartbreaker ' The Man I'll Never Find' — particularly the stripped-down, piano-led version — for a spellbinding example of their work. Many have wrongly assumed they were sisters. They look a little alike, and play up this image of two who have become one by frequently dressing alike onstage. Even offstage: they arrived at The Associated Press for an interview in nearly matching, all-red outfits with identical makeup. They are disciplined in alternating who answers questions. It can be, let's be honest here, a little creepy. 'We're dressing the sound,' Wolfe explained. 'I grew up in the theater. Being able to escape and feeling like, you know, you can put on your costume, put on your uniform and become something else for a moment in time. Even though it feels honest and real and close to the heart, there's something magical about it.' 'When you look at us, we wanted you to see one,' she said. 'We didn't want you to see two.' The gimmick served them well as they sought to make a name for themselves, Laessig said. 'We were touring in the van and doing festivals and nobody had a clue who we were, but we walked around in matching outfits. People were like, 'What is this about?' Oh, come see us. We're playing at this stage at 3 p.m.' Their collaborative nature is a strength they have brought to working on projects with other musicians. 'People who bring us in know that they're going to have something that's solid between the two of us,' she said. 'We just speak each other's language. And we like building worlds within worlds. Luckily we've been given the freedom in all of these different projects to be us.' Sharing looks, sharing styles and now, sharing a nanny Real life brings its parallels, too. They live in homes minutes from each other and, within the past year or so, both gave birth to babies. Collaborating with others has its strengths, and Lucius brought in Madison Cunningham and The War on Drugs to work with them on two songs on the new album. But becoming known for their work with others comes with a risk attached, that they lose sight of themselves in the process. 'We like exploring different worlds and seeing how it takes shape and how we can get lost in it,' Wolfe said. 'There's something really enchanting and magical about that. And, yes, sometimes after you explore that world, it doesn't necessarily feel like you.' To that end, the 'Lucius' album is in one sense a reaction against the dance-oriented production hand that Carlile and Dave Cobb brought for the 2022 album 'Second Nature.' The more rock-based new disc sounds like the musicians are more comfortable. It 'feels honest and real because we wrote about things that were just happening in our lives,' Wolfe said. They're looking forward to a busy summer of playing that music on tour, and sharing the experience with their young families. 'We get to do it together and see the world together and our kids are going to know different places and cultures and foods and things, more than I had as a kid,' Wolfe said. 'As tough as it can be with the nap times and sleep schedules, it's a beautiful thing.' ___
Winnipeg Free Press
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
The queens of collaboration in Lucius are finding themselves again musically
NEW YORK (AP) — The magic created by the vocal blend of Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe, collectively known as Lucius, has opened many doors for them in the music industry. Sometimes quite literally — like when they arrived at the home of Joni Mitchell, invited by Brandi Carlile to sing at one of her 'Joni Jams,' and Paul McCartney answered their knock. It's a heady experience, singing at Mitchell's house. Tipped in advance that McCartney might be there, Laessig and Wolfe rehearsed a version of 'Goodbye,' a song he wrote that was a hit for Mary Hopkin in 1969. They sensed the moment he recognized it — hey, that's my song! The women have collaborated with many artists through the years, among them Carlile, Sheryl Crow, Harry Styles, Roger Waters, Jeff Tweedy, the Killers, War on Drugs and Mumford & Sons. This year, they're concentrating on their own music with Lucius, a rock band that also includes Dan Molad and Peter Lalish. They've released a self-produced disc that reflects their experiences settling in Los Angeles and starting families, titling it simply 'Lucius' even though it's their fourth album. An album that felt like coming home 'It felt like a coming home to ourselves,' Wolfe said. 'There wasn't really a question, actually, whether the record would be titled something else. It just felt like it was us, and let's give it our name.' Laessig and Wolfe met and quickly bonded two decades ago as students at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. They first sang together as part of a school project to remake the Beatles' White Album — their version of 'Happiness is a Warm Gun' will never see the light of day — that was abandoned because they began writing their own music. 'We were always inspired by Phil Spector and Elliot Smith and people who used double vocals as an interesting textural thing,' Wolfe said. 'And we thought, well, we could actually do this live. We both wanted to be lead singers, but together.' 'Unison singing,' notes Laessig, 'is not for the faint of heart.' Check out the heartbreaker ' The Man I'll Never Find' — particularly the stripped-down, piano-led version — for a spellbinding example of their work. Many have wrongly assumed they were sisters. They look a little alike, and play up this image of two who have become one by frequently dressing alike onstage. Even offstage: they arrived at The Associated Press for an interview in nearly matching, all-red outfits with identical makeup. They are disciplined in alternating who answers questions. It can be, let's be honest here, a little creepy. 'We're dressing the sound,' Wolfe explained. 'I grew up in the theater. Being able to escape and feeling like, you know, you can put on your costume, put on your uniform and become something else for a moment in time. Even though it feels honest and real and close to the heart, there's something magical about it.' 'When you look at us, we wanted you to see one,' she said. 'We didn't want you to see two.' The gimmick served them well as they sought to make a name for themselves, Laessig said. 'We were touring in the van and doing festivals and nobody had a clue who we were, but we walked around in matching outfits. People were like, 'What is this about?' Oh, come see us. We're playing at this stage at 3 p.m.' Their collaborative nature is a strength they have brought to working on projects with other musicians. 'People who bring us in know that they're going to have something that's solid between the two of us,' she said. 'We just speak each other's language. And we like building worlds within worlds. Luckily we've been given the freedom in all of these different projects to be us.' Sharing looks, sharing styles and now, sharing a nanny Real life brings its parallels, too. They live in homes minutes from each other and, within the past year or so, both gave birth to babies. Collaborating with others has its strengths, and Lucius brought in Madison Cunningham and The War on Drugs to work with them on two songs on the new album. But becoming known for their work with others comes with a risk attached, that they lose sight of themselves in the process. 'We like exploring different worlds and seeing how it takes shape and how we can get lost in it,' Wolfe said. 'There's something really enchanting and magical about that. And, yes, sometimes after you explore that world, it doesn't necessarily feel like you.' Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. To that end, the 'Lucius' album is in one sense a reaction against the dance-oriented production hand that Carlile and Dave Cobb brought for the 2022 album 'Second Nature.' The more rock-based new disc sounds like the musicians are more comfortable. It 'feels honest and real because we wrote about things that were just happening in our lives,' Wolfe said. They're looking forward to a busy summer of playing that music on tour, and sharing the experience with their young families. 'We get to do it together and see the world together and our kids are going to know different places and cultures and foods and things, more than I had as a kid,' Wolfe said. 'As tough as it can be with the nap times and sleep schedules, it's a beautiful thing.' ___ David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at and
The Hindu
31-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Punjab Police report disrupted drug supply chain, prices surge amid ongoing anti-drug drive
Punjab Police on Saturday announced that its intelligence reports and informal surveys indicate a significant disruption in the drug supply chain across the State, resulting in a 50% increase in street-level heroin prices and a 40% rise in the prices of synthetic drugs. Addressing a press conference on the ongoing three-month anti-drug campaign, Punjab's Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav stated that the drive against drugs will continue, adding that fresh, exhaustive lists of drug peddlers and suppliers are being prepared with inputs from districts, intelligence units, and the anti-narcotics task force, to intensify action against traffickers over the next 60 days. 'Intelligence reports and informal surveys indicate a disruption in the drug supply chain, resulting in a 50% increase in street-level heroin prices and a 40% increase in street-level synthetic drug prices due to strict enforcement. Repeated, targeted, and effective cordon and search operations have forced notorious drug smugglers to abandon their homes and flee, disrupting local networks and diminishing their operational capacity,' he said at the press conference The Congress party, however, took a dig at the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), referencing Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's assertion on May 3, 2025, in Jalandhar that 'Punjab will be made a drug-free state by May 31.' Posing a question to the Chief Minster, in a post on 'X', Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh said '...Today is May 31, 2025, the Deadline you set for defeating drugs in Punjab. Will you please tell us about the status of the 'War on Drugs'? Please tell us, whether the 'War' has really been won? Or, there is a Ceasefire? If the 'War' has really been won, people of Punjab would like you to make the grand announcement yourself. They would like to hear it from the horse's mouth before they start the celebrations. And if you make the victory announcement yourself, it should be followed by the 'Victory Parade'.' Meanwhile, the DGP added that the police are exploring the use of Global Positioning System (GPS)-enabled anklets to track and monitor the activities of major drug smugglers released on bail. 'We are examining the proposal from a legal standpoint to track and monitor the movements of bailed-out major smugglers through GPS anklets, with the approval of the competent court,' he said. He further said that since March 1, 2025, Punjab Police have registered 8,344 first information reports and arrested 14,734 drug offenders, including 13,038 drug peddlers and 1,696 listed suppliers and distributors.
