Bubble tea was invented by two rival Taiwanese teahouses, and a court ruled neither could own it

pop & funWikipedia1980s · Taiwan

Bubble tea was invented by two rival Taiwanese teahouses, and a court ruled neither could own it

the gist

Bubble tea grew out of a Taiwanese drink called bubble foam tea, made by shaking tea with fructose syrup and ice until it frothed. Tapioca balls were added later, and two teahouses now claim credit for putting them in: Chun Shui Tang in Taichung says a staff member first poured them into tea in 1988, while Hanlin Tea Room in Tainan says its owner was inspired by local tapioca snacks in 1986. The two sides sued each other from 2009, and in 2019 a Taiwanese court ruled that bubble tea is not patentable because it is a general food anyone can make.

so what

The ruling settled that a drink is a recipe rather than an invention, so no one can own bubble tea. It shows how a global craze can start as a local adaptation of older tea-drinking habits, shaped by Dutch colonial-era tea culture in Taiwan.

Hampi was once one of the world's largest cities, until its Vijayanagara capital was destroyed in 1565

the gist

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.

how it works

The city was built around a fortified core with temples, markets and water structures along the river, supplied by an extensive network of roads and waterworks. When the empire fell, the city was not rebuilt, so its stone monuments were left standing.

so what

Hampi shows how quickly a great city can vanish after a military defeat, and how a ruined capital can remain sacred. Its ruins give historians a view of medieval South Asia that few other sites can match.

fun fact

The name Hampi comes from Pampa, an old name for the Tungabhadra River.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

2 min

politicsshortCNA2:01

False allegations about Singapore’s hand in Indonesia’s markets and a made-up meeting

from CNA

CNA Verify has found close to 400 posts pushing falsehoods tying Singapore to Indonesia’s stock market rout and to a secret meeting that never took place. Together, they drew nearly 12 million views, and some were circulated by accounts that appeared to be working in concert, across multiple social media platforms.

Here’s how the disinformation campaign targeting Singapore was uncovered.

on YouTube: CNA ↗