Mother's Day is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, most commonly in May, but also in February, march, and April in some places. In the United States it was nationally recognized as a holiday (on the second Sunday in May) in 1914 after a multi-year campaign by Anna Jarvis (she died in 1905 and her daughter Anna Marie carried on the campaign). We use the singular (mother's) as opposed to the plural (mothers') to commemorate family mothers vs. all the mothers in the world.
As the US holiday was adopted by other countries and cultures, the date was changed to fit already existing celebrations honoring motherhood, like Mothering Sunday in the UK, or the Orthodox celebration of Jesus in the temple in Greece. In some countries it was changed to dates that were significant to the majority religion, such as the Virgin Mary day in Catholic countries, or the birthday of the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad in Islamic countries. Bolivia uses the date of a certain battle where women participated. Many Arab countries celebrate on March 21, the day of the vernal Equinox.
Traditionally carnations represent Mother's Day. Many religious services copied the custom of giving away carnations or wearing a carnation on Mother's Day. Florists promoted wearing a red carnation if your mother was living, or a white one if she was dead and this has remained popular.
May 7, 2010
Interesting iPhone App
True - For mothers-to-be, there is an iPhone application that sends ovulation alerts to your phone. It sends a series of 18 text messages (3 per menstrual cycle) that let you know when you are most likely to be fertile and provide helpful fertility advice. The name is 'booty caller'.
Stealing From Prisoners
True - Couldn't resist sharing this one. Seems Dutch prisoners have it better than some others. Who would expect that criminals would try to break into a prison? Thieves broke into a Dutch prison to steal the inmates’ televisions.
Twice in the last six weeks, burglars broke into a minimum-security prison and stole TVs from cells while prisoners were away for the weekend, a spokesman for the justice ministry said on April 21, 2010. Hmmm. . . TVs and 'away for the weekend'.
Twice in the last six weeks, burglars broke into a minimum-security prison and stole TVs from cells while prisoners were away for the weekend, a spokesman for the justice ministry said on April 21, 2010. Hmmm. . . TVs and 'away for the weekend'.
How Long Can You Hold Your Breath
Most people find it hard to hold their breath for more than a minute, but Stephane Mifsud held his breath for 11 minutes and 35 seconds last year, setting a new world record for stationary breath-holding, or "static apnoea".
Competitors float face down in a chilled pool to induce the mammalian diving reflex. When your face is submerged in cold water, outer blood vessels constrict, directing blood away from the extremities and towards the heart and brain. Your heart rate slows, reducing the rate at which oxygen is pumped around the body. With training, experienced breath-holders can drop their heart rate by twice that of non-divers upon immersion in cold water.
Hyperventilation before a prolonged breath-hold is also vital. This is because the brain monitors the amount of carbon dioxide in the blood to decide when to trigger the gasp reflex. Of course, having large lungs is a natural advantage.
Competitors float face down in a chilled pool to induce the mammalian diving reflex. When your face is submerged in cold water, outer blood vessels constrict, directing blood away from the extremities and towards the heart and brain. Your heart rate slows, reducing the rate at which oxygen is pumped around the body. With training, experienced breath-holders can drop their heart rate by twice that of non-divers upon immersion in cold water.
Hyperventilation before a prolonged breath-hold is also vital. This is because the brain monitors the amount of carbon dioxide in the blood to decide when to trigger the gasp reflex. Of course, having large lungs is a natural advantage.
Queen Elizabeth and Stamps
The world’s first adhesive postage stamps were issued by Great Britain in 1840, as the “Penny Black” depicting Queen Victoria. It began designating British stamps by the depiction of the country’s sovereign. Great Britain is the only country allowed by international postal regulations to omit a text name of the issuing country.
In 1966 Arnold Machin sculpted a bust of Queen Elizabeth for the Royal Mail. It has been in continuous use since then, and has been reproduced some 320 billion times. Three copies of the original bust were known to exist, but recently a fourth one was discovered at the Machin family home.
In 1966 Arnold Machin sculpted a bust of Queen Elizabeth for the Royal Mail. It has been in continuous use since then, and has been reproduced some 320 billion times. Three copies of the original bust were known to exist, but recently a fourth one was discovered at the Machin family home.
Google TV
Later this month, May 2010, Google is expected to announce Google TV. It will begin with a box using its android operating system (like windows, but open source) to be attached to your cable box or TV and allow internet activities via remote control. It could even replace your cable box. Wow, if we could do other things during commercials, can you imagine how much we could get done. I vote for split screen. Hmmm. . . the possibilities are endless.
May 5, 2010
Yamaha Recall
Yamaha recently recalled 10,000 grand pianos due to sticking pedals that cause pianists to play too fast, resulting in a dangerous number of accidentals. The pedal problem also makes it harder to come to a full stop at the end of a piece. Although there have been some accidentals, so far there have been no deafs. Analysts expect this to put a damper on their bass market.
When Congress heard about the treble, they called in the president of Yamaha for questioning. He gave a sharp response, playing down the scale of the problem, before taking the fifth. "Only a few modals are affected by this relative minor problem," he said. With no progression towards resolution, piano sales are flat. Analysts predict an interval of diminished revenue for the company.
Yamaha plans to fine-tune their marketing to augment sales to arrive at a more harmonious A-chord as this development is hammered out and the situation plays out.Ha.
When Congress heard about the treble, they called in the president of Yamaha for questioning. He gave a sharp response, playing down the scale of the problem, before taking the fifth. "Only a few modals are affected by this relative minor problem," he said. With no progression towards resolution, piano sales are flat. Analysts predict an interval of diminished revenue for the company.
Yamaha plans to fine-tune their marketing to augment sales to arrive at a more harmonious A-chord as this development is hammered out and the situation plays out.Ha.
Good Salt
In response to the Food and Drug Administration's thoughts of regulating the amount of sodium food manufacturers can include in consumer goods, Frito-Lay is redesigning the salt molecule to make it healthier.
The salt crystals on potato chips only dissolve about 20 percent of the way on the tongue, while the center of each tiny cube-shaped crystal remains intact until after it's swallowed. Thus, most of the salt you're eating on your chips is not contributing to the taste of the chip, but it is dissolving further down your digestive tract.
The redesigned salt crystal, with more surface area, should dissolve completely on the tongue, so chips should just as salty with less salt. If they come after bacon, there will be a civil war.
The salt crystals on potato chips only dissolve about 20 percent of the way on the tongue, while the center of each tiny cube-shaped crystal remains intact until after it's swallowed. Thus, most of the salt you're eating on your chips is not contributing to the taste of the chip, but it is dissolving further down your digestive tract.
The redesigned salt crystal, with more surface area, should dissolve completely on the tongue, so chips should just as salty with less salt. If they come after bacon, there will be a civil war.
recycled Glass
Thai monks from the Sisaket province have used over one million recycled glass bottle to construct a Buddhist temple. They used the recycled bottles to build everything from the toilets to their crematorium.
The Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew temple, also referred to as “Wat Lan Kuad” or “Temple of Million Bottles" is about 400 miles northeast of Bangkok in the city of Khun Han close to the Cambodian border. Using green Heineken bottles and brown Chang Beer bottles, the monks were able to clean up the local pollution and create a useful structure.
The water tower and tourist bathrooms are also made from recycled beer bottles. The temple also has large intricately crafted mosaics made entirely from the left over bottle caps.
The Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew temple, also referred to as “Wat Lan Kuad” or “Temple of Million Bottles" is about 400 miles northeast of Bangkok in the city of Khun Han close to the Cambodian border. Using green Heineken bottles and brown Chang Beer bottles, the monks were able to clean up the local pollution and create a useful structure.
The water tower and tourist bathrooms are also made from recycled beer bottles. The temple also has large intricately crafted mosaics made entirely from the left over bottle caps.
School Dress Code Violation
Mark Ashby was allowed to get a blue Mohican hairstyle by his parents as a reward for hard work at school in Omaha, Nebraska. The school then suspended him for breaking the dress code. Some days you just can't win.
Apr 30, 2010
National Humor Month
Hope you enjoyed National Humor Month this month. It was launched in 1976 by humorist Larry Wilde, Director of the Carmel Institute of Humor. He says, "Since April is often bleak and grim and taxes are due on the 15th, it can be one of the most stressful times of the year. Besides, it's the only month that begins with All Fool's Day - a day which has sanctioned frivolity and pranks ever since the 1500s." That reminds me of a joke. . .
Interesting Facts About Your Feet
Did you know that you will walk more than 100,000 miles in your lifetime?
Over 80% of Americans suffer from foot pain.
Medieval Europeans believed that wearing pointy-toed shoes would make witches helpless.
High heels were first introduced in the 16th century by Queen Catherine de Medici of France.
In the same century, Italian women began wearing very strange-looking, two-foot high platform shoes called “chopines”. They were originally designed to keep women 'on a pedestal', so to speak. The shoes were banned because they presented the danger of miscarriage to pregnant women who fell from the that height.
About 60% of the body’s weight is supported by the balls of the feet, not the heels.
The foot measurement began in ancient times was based on the length of the human foot.
By the Middle Ages, the foot as defined by different European countries ranged from 10 to 20 inches.
In 1305, England set the foot equal to 12 inches. (The measurement we still use today)
In animals that walk on all four legs, the ends of the front and hind feet are much the same.
The human foot has 26 bones. There are three sets of bones: the ankle bones (tarsals), instep bones (metatarsals), and toe bones (phalanges).
Bones in the feet are not completely formed until a person is about 20 years old.
The foot has as many muscles as the hand, but the foot’s structure allows less flexibility and freedom of movement than the hand.
Swollen ankles can be a sign of congestive heart failure.
Feet that are insensitive to pain and temperature can be a sign of diabetes.
Cold feet may signify circulatory disease.
Over 80% of Americans suffer from foot pain.
Medieval Europeans believed that wearing pointy-toed shoes would make witches helpless.
High heels were first introduced in the 16th century by Queen Catherine de Medici of France.
In the same century, Italian women began wearing very strange-looking, two-foot high platform shoes called “chopines”. They were originally designed to keep women 'on a pedestal', so to speak. The shoes were banned because they presented the danger of miscarriage to pregnant women who fell from the that height.
About 60% of the body’s weight is supported by the balls of the feet, not the heels.
The foot measurement began in ancient times was based on the length of the human foot.
By the Middle Ages, the foot as defined by different European countries ranged from 10 to 20 inches.
In 1305, England set the foot equal to 12 inches. (The measurement we still use today)
In animals that walk on all four legs, the ends of the front and hind feet are much the same.
The human foot has 26 bones. There are three sets of bones: the ankle bones (tarsals), instep bones (metatarsals), and toe bones (phalanges).
Bones in the feet are not completely formed until a person is about 20 years old.
The foot has as many muscles as the hand, but the foot’s structure allows less flexibility and freedom of movement than the hand.
Swollen ankles can be a sign of congestive heart failure.
Feet that are insensitive to pain and temperature can be a sign of diabetes.
Cold feet may signify circulatory disease.
Interesting India Fact
India has more cell phones than toilets. About 545 million Indians have cell phones, but only 366 million have access to toilets.
Google Truth
You have probably heard that the Library of Congress is to archive every single public tweet ever made. There are about 55 million tweets sent every day.
Google also revealed how it is going to make the Twitter archive searchable for users. Google unveiled a replay feature that lets users search tweets posted at any given point in time right down to the minute.
Anyone wanting to know what people tweeted about on say the Haiti earthquake or the Oscars can type into the Google search box, select "show options" on the result page and then click "updates". A timeline will appear above the results allowing you to zoom in on tweets by the hour or minute.
Google says, "We think this is pretty significant because up until now the discussion has been about what is happening now and with today's replay button people will be able to go back and see what people were actually talking about around big events."
Currently the replay feature will only cover the last two months of tweets. Google said later this year it hopes to cover the entire archive all the way back to March 2006.
Google also revealed how it is going to make the Twitter archive searchable for users. Google unveiled a replay feature that lets users search tweets posted at any given point in time right down to the minute.
Anyone wanting to know what people tweeted about on say the Haiti earthquake or the Oscars can type into the Google search box, select "show options" on the result page and then click "updates". A timeline will appear above the results allowing you to zoom in on tweets by the hour or minute.
Google says, "We think this is pretty significant because up until now the discussion has been about what is happening now and with today's replay button people will be able to go back and see what people were actually talking about around big events."
Currently the replay feature will only cover the last two months of tweets. Google said later this year it hopes to cover the entire archive all the way back to March 2006.
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