How do you deal with plastic bags from the supermarket? Throw them away or recycle them? How about eating them?

The bags are not harmful to the environment. Humans and animals can safely eat them. An Indian company EnviGreen has made a bag with natural materials. It looks and feels just like plastic, but it can be broken down(分解) easily.

Ashwath Hedge who set up EnviGreen spent four years doing experiments with 12 natural materials. They included potatoes, corn, vegetable oil and bananas. He made the materials into liquid(液体) and used the liquid to make the bag.

Although the EnviGreen bag is more expensive than a common plastic bag, it has many advantages. According to The Wall Street Journal, it takes 1,000 years for common plastic bags to be broken down. But an EnviGreen bag can naturally be broken down in less than 180 days. It is also broken down in less than a day in water, and in less than a minute in boiling water. Hedge was happy to show it in his interview. He put an EnviGreen bag in water and ate it with a smile. 

There are more than 15,000 tons of plastic waste in India every day. But only 9,000 tons are processed(处理). In China, 3 billion plastic bags are used every day. Maybe the EnviGreen bag could be a solution to the world problem of plastic pollution.

Sleep like a giraffe

What’s your favorite sleeping position? On your back? On your side? How about standing up? Unless you happen to be a giraffe, I’d never have thought anyone would choose the last one. But now thanks to a Japanese company, it could actually be a real competitor.

Giraffenap is invented to allow the user to take a rest while standing when he/she feels tired or sleepy with the purpose of improving performance at work. It’s about the size of a phone booth (电话亭) and can even blocks out noise. In an introduction to the nap (小睡) box, the company says that it will allow the user to be refreshed in just 20 minutes.

But why does it have to be standing? The company explains that studies have shown that sleeping while standing allows people to reach a sleep state in which they breathe easily. When they wake up, they can feel the influence of a nap without having to sleep too much. And they can quickly return to work without feeling dizzy (头晕目眩的). Also, making the box stand upright means that it can save much floor space.

Now, I know what you’re thinking—wouldn’t a person just fall down if he tried to sleep while standing? Of course not. Inside the box are four points to support the body—head, buttocks (臀), legs and feet. That means he can rest his arms, legs and head in the box while still remaining upright.

Giraffenap has been made in two different styles—an extremely modern and unusual one named “Spacia” and a wood-covered one named “Forest”. They have been on sale in January 2024, so I hope one day you’ll pick your favorite design and try sleeping standing up—just like giraffes do.