Cheesesteaks and Politics

For those unaware, Pennsylvania matters in the 2020 election. And it has mattered for years as a perennial swing state. There are of course the visits to steel mill cities like Pittsburgh, deindustrialised places like Johnstown, and unions love visits to places in Lackawanna and Luzerne. (You can read more about Pennsylvania as a swing state in my latest analysis here.)

But I want to focus on visits to Philadelphia. Because they inevitably involve the candidate consuming a cheesesteak. The Economist’s sister magazine, 1843, recently published an article on this very subject. And the whole thing is worth a read.

How have I managed to find this relevant to a blog about data visualisation? Well, they included a recipe to help people understand just what goes into the traditional Philadelphia dish.

Personally, I always have to confess, I’ve never been a huge fan. But, I’ll take provolone over whiz any day.

Credit for the piece goes to Jake Read.

The Internet in the Middle East and Arab World

Keeping with the unplanned theme of this week, i.e. things going on in the Middle East and Arab world, let’s take a look at another piece of work from Spiegel. Unfortunately, this one is not so much in English. The graphics, yes, the supporting context, no.

There are seven of them, this looks at what the designers termed Halal Internet. It looks delicious.

Iranian website access
Iranian website access

And while this looks delicious, it’s white chocolate, unfortunately. But change that bit, and I would be okay eating it.

Facebook usage
Facebook usage

Check out the article for the rest.

Credit for the piece goes to Klaas Glenewinkel and Jess Smee.

Thanksgiving Recipes by State

Today is an American holiday: Thanksgiving. We give thanks that European diseases and military technology allowed us to remove the native population for colonisation of the continent. We do that by watching American football and eating lots and lots of food. For dessert, well, we have dessert. But also gluttonous amounts of shopping. So in that spirit, here is the New York Times’ presentation of Thanksgiving recipes per state. The description is followed by an expandable recipe.

Mmm…bacon.
Mmm…bacon.

To be fair, I really am a fan of shoofly pie. But that’s just me.

Credit for the piece goes to the New York Times.