Drunkometer

I like the old name better than the new 'breathalyzer'. Police in Indianapolis first used the drunkometer in 1938 on New Year's Eve.

The drunkometer, which had you breathe into a balloon, was invented by Dr. Rolla N. Harger, an Indiana University biochemist, in 1931. He patented his device in 1936 and helped draft the act that made it the legal method for helping establish blood-alcohol level. It was the first tool to successfully measure alcohol levels using breath analysis. The subject blew into a balloon and the captured air was then mixed with a chemical solution, which changed color if alcohol was present. The darker the solution became, the more alcohol contained in the breath. The level of alcohol in the person’s bloodstream was estimated using a mathematical formula, which Harger also developed. 

Attempts to measure alcohol levels by measuring breath content date back to the late 1700s, but prior to the drunkometer, the only effective method was through the direct testing of blood or urine samples.

In 1954, the breathalyzer, which replaced Harger’s drunkometer, was invented by Dr. Robert Borkenstein, a laboratory technician with the Indiana State Police. Probably not a good idea to drink and drive in Indiana.

Fiverr

Had to throw in this one because it is just silly. LINK  It is a beta site that people write in and share what they would do for five dollars. I would delete the site for nothing if I had the power.

Shoe Sizes

Did you ever wonder why some shoes of the same size fit different? A size 10, can be 8, 9, 27, or 42, depending on where you live in the world.

Shoe sizes were devised in England by King Edward II in 1364, who declared that the diameter of one barleycorn, approximately one third of an inch, would represent one shoe size. The measurement is still used today in the UK and US, but some other ways of measuring shoes are used in different parts of the world.

The Paris point equals to ⅔ centimeters (6.6 mm or about 0.26 in). Usually, only full sizes are made, resulting in an increment of ⅔ centimeter. This unit is commonly used in Continental Europe.

Metric measurements in centimeters (cm) or millimeters (mm) are used. The increment is usually between the step size of the Parisian and the English system. It is used with the international Mondopoint system and with the Asian system.

The A-E width indicators used by some US and UK shoe manufacturers and range from narrow to wide - 4A to 6E. Interestingly, the male shoe size in Australia is based on the female shoe size in the US.

Richard Simmons

He was born Milton Teagle Simmons on July 12, 1948. Yes, he is still around and sweatin' to the oldies.

Top Three Markups

According to Reader's Digest, here are the largest markups for the things we buy.

Bottled water: 4,000 percent markup - Come on, it's just water

Text messages: 6,000 percent markup.  A typical text message costs you 20 cents and the phone company 0.3 cents to transmit.

Movie theater popcorn: 1,275 percent markup - Lots of greasy phony butter and salt makes up for it

Cost of Money

As of 2009, it costs the government 1.62 cents to produce a copper plated zinc penny (up from .008 cents in 2001), 6.03 cents to produce a nickel, 5.65 cents to produce a dime, 11.31 cents to produce a quarter, 30.4 cents to make the 'gold' (manganese/brass)dollar, and 6.4 cents to make a dollar bill.

In 2008 a bill was introduced known as the Coin Modernization and Taxpayer Savings Act of 2008. This bill had proposed changing the composition of the cent to steel, although it would be treated to impart a copper color. The bill would have also provided the Secretary of the Treasury with authority to change the metallic content of the five cent coin. This bill was passed in the House, but never voted on in the Senate.

The 2011 Budget revives the issue and expands the scope to include the dime, quarter, and half dollar, in addition to the penny and nickel. The Department of the Treasury will have authorization to approve alternative weights and compositions for any of these five denominations. It hasn't passed yet, but a penny saved. . .

Three Interesting Coin Facts

A blind child read Braille on an American coin for the first time, and it was the 2009 Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar.

The United States Mint produced fewer coins in 2009 due to so many coins being cashed in from savings because of the bad economy. It was the lowest production in 45 years.

The mint made up for other losses by selling 1.7 billion dollars worth of gold bullion, eighty percent higher than 2008.

What's in a Name

Twitter - A small group of employees from Odeo, the San Francisco podcasting startup where Twitter initially began, had a brainstorming session. They were trying to come up with names that fit with the theme of a mobile phone buzzing in your pocket with an update. After narrowing down the options (which included Jitter and Twitter), they wrote them down, put them in a hat, and let fate decide. Fate decided on Twitter as the name was literally picked out of a hat.

Yahoo - Founders David Filo and Jerry Yang started what would become Yahoo when they were Ph.D. candidates at Stanford University. The project originally consisted of categorized lists of favorite links on the web, which made its original name, “Jerry and David’s Guide to the World Wide Web,” at least accurate if not so catchy. Yahoo is actually an acronym for “Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle.” According to the company, the team chose the name for its definition: “rude, unsophisticated, uncouth.”

Toilet Talk

Had to share this strange, but useful web site 'where do i put the paper' for travelers. LINK  It provides a guide to toilet and use of toilet paper habits around the world. Don't expect pictures or fancy text, just a black and white text of what to expect. You will be surprised at how many cities do not have facilities for flushing and how many do not provide paper. For instance, in Greece you should use the bin next to the toilet, because the plumbing system can't handle the paper. OK, if you are not planning to take a trip, skip it. If you are planning a trip, it could provide some good advice to save a bit of embarrassment.
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Off Road Vehicles

For those of you who like unusual off-road vehicles, this site is very fascinating. 

You can waste a few hours looking at these strange and unusual vehicles and robots. LINK

Top Ten Congressional Districts

Have you ever seen a map of Congressional Districts? As we approach this year and the resulting restructuring of Congressional Districts due to the new census results, you might enjoy some that have already been jiggered in interesting ways. Check the Illinois, Congressional District #4. It looks like two distinct districts, but is really one connected by a median along the highway. Leave it to those folks in Illinois. I wonder if it was done when Rod Blago was still in office? LINK

Blekko

Those of you who read my missives know how much I like Google, but I have found something that might provide some more relevant and limited results. It is called Blekko and the way it works is with use of slash tags. Those are those words preceded by a slash / to narrow your results. Many of us never get past the first few pages of results, so the limited pages is not an issue, and it does a fairly good job of filtering out spam pages. Super for searching business information.

If you want to search for pneumonia, and follow it with /health, you wind up with only 200 or so sites, but they are relevant sites. Each result also has a 'spam' button, so you can click the button to forever ban that site from your results. There is a few minute demo on the upper left side of the screen. It is in beta, but working now. Not completely ready for prime time, but getting close. Very cool stuff. LINK

Happy Friday

Buddha said - Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

I do not dwell in the past or dream of the future, I am concentrating on having a Happy Friday!

Paying For It

Here is an interesting site as we jump into the new year. It is called daystopay. The site provides a calculator that helps you find out how many days you have to work to pay for things you want to buy. For instance, if you want to buy a new television and it takes 100 days to pay for it, is it still worth the price. Fun site, easy to use, and provides for some fun budget discussions. LINK