Crisis Culture

Promising a “vacation in a bottle” or an “acupuncture session in every can,” makers of anti-energy drinks, as they’re known, say that after bailouts, foreclosures and Ponzi schemes, Americans nowadays would rather chill out than tweak out. To help us do so, they’re spiking their new beverages with ingredients such as chamomile, melatonin, and valerian root — all known for their supposed calming effects. Now in convenience-store display cases across America, drinks with names like Slow Cow, Ex Chill and Malava Relax are increasingly jockeying for space with their amped-up alter-egos like Jolt, Monster and Rockstar.

“It’s my quest to relax the world,” says Innovative Beverage Group Holdings (IBGH) CEO Peter Bianchi, who developed the anti-energy beverage Drank. “I saw America becoming more and more hurried. We are going to burn out after a while.”

(Daily Finance via BoingBoing)