Aging Cheddar Becomes Internet Star

A large English cheddar cheese has become a star of the Internet,
attracting more than 1 million viewers to sit and stare at it as it
slowly ripens.
First placed in front of a webcam in late December, the Westcombe
cheddar from West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers leaped to public
attention in early February and has since attracted viewers from 119
countries.

"The hits went over 1 million this morning. It
has been a real challenge keeping the cheese up and running with all
the interest it has generated," a spokesman for the company running the
website, www.cheddarvision.tv, said Wednesday.

Watchers
have tuned in from as far afield as Albania and New Zealand, although
most are from the United States where a school has even sent in
pictures of two crocodiles to guard the cheese.
"The whole idea was to show people how real food is made -- and it
seems to be working," cheesemaker Tom Calver said. "It takes a year for
the cheese to mature. This is not fast food. It is slow food."