Venus Rising

The Soviets successfully landed several spacecraft on Venus, beginning in 1975. Seven of the landers conducted chemical analysis of rocks, which indicate a composition similar to that of terrestrial basaltic volcanic rocks. In 1981, the Venera 13 lander provided the first color images of the surface of Venus. The US sent Pioneer to Venus in 1979 and Magellan in 1989 to continue the work of mapping the surface of the planet. Neither landed on the surface of the planet.

At the surface, the atmospheric pressure is 92 times that of the Earth's at sea-level. Venus has a surface temperature of about 900° F. It is about 84% of the size of earth and a Venusian day is 243 Earth days. Venus rotates from east to west, so the Sun rises in the west and sets in the east.

Happy Friday

May you have smiles when sadness intrudes, laughter to kiss your lips, and hugs when spirits sag.

I always smile and laugh while thinking about giving out free hugs and having a Happy Friday!

Five Anti Ant Actions

This is the time of year ants are really having fun with us, but here are a few household things to keep them away for a while. These are all cheaper than the commercial insecticides.

Put some vinegar in a spray bottle. Spray around the areas they show up, like all your door jams. Vinegar leaves behind a natural ant repellent and the smell dissipates quickly.

Draw a wide line of chalk on the ground, ants will not cross over it, nor will a number of other little creatures. if you see a few ants, draw a circle around them and watch how effective it is.

Black Pepper is another natural safe item to use if the other methods are not available, try sprinkling some pepper around. They hate that. Sprinkle some by their nest to keep them from feeding the queen. Course ground pepper is less effective.

Cayenne Pepper has the same abilities as regular pepper and it also keeps the squirrels away if you mix it with a bit of Vaseline and put it on your fence. Of course you need to replace after a heavy rain.

Cinnamon is also good to bug the bugs and it smells great

Ducks, Pigs, and Bunnies

For those of you who remember the good old days of clean and entertaining cartoons, here is a site that has what it bills as the top ten best Looney Tunes cartoons. Daffy is daffy, Bugs is bugged, Elmer is befuddled, Sylvester is sly and Porky is porky, plus more.  LINK

Technology History

Television was first introduced to the American public at the 1939 World's Fair. World War II delayed commercial network programming in the US until the late 1940's. A popular black-and-white model, the 1948 Admiral, had a 7 inch screen encased in a large metal box four times the screen size. It cost $2,495 ($22,642.49 at today's cost) 

One of the earliest computers, ENIAC was introduced in 1946. It weighed 30 tons, had 6000 switches, 18,000 tubes and occupied an entire room.

The Apple iPad has a  9.7 inch screen and weighs 1.3 pounds.

Salty Talk

We have seen the advice to reduce salt intake for blood pressure. The American Heart Association encourages people to consume no more than 1,500 milligrams a day of sodium, which is less than half of what people consume. It also says 90% of all Americans will develop hypertension over their lifetime.

Of course there is also scientific evidence that shows increased salt intake keeps blood pressure low for those with low blood pressure and keeps it high for those with high blood pressure. Now there is another new study that raises questions about sodium and its effect on the heart. European researchers followed 3,681 people, average age 40, for about eight years, testing sodium excretion in the urine. They found that systolic blood pressure (the top number) was slightly lower in those who excreted less sodium and those with lower sodium excretion had an increased risk of cardiovascular death. The findings were consistent in participants younger and older than 60 years. So, if you consume less salt you have more chance of cardiovascular death.

The AMA weighs in with, "Lower sodium intake is recommended for people with high blood pressure and people with heart failure."

The Salt Institute is delighted with the findings and I would think Orville Redenbacher is feeling vindicated. Maybe it's time to put a bit more salt on your bacon. . .

Did you Know

1 pound of lemons contain more sugar than 1 pound of strawberries.

Gillette and Objectionable Hair

In November 1902, King (his real name) Gillette filed a patent for a safety razor that was a modest improvement on previous models.  It sold for $5, the equivalent of about $100 today. He told his staff that, “The whole success of this business depends on advertising.” Then he proved it.

Many countries do not share the hygiene habits we do in the US. Did you ever think about why we do things differently? Maybe it is not so much custom as it is the power of advertising. After selling millions of razors and blades to men, Gillette developed a new insecurity for women and he called it 'objectionable hair'.

The Journal of American Culture reveals that women shaving, in particular their underarms, was caused by magazine marketing.It says the hair-free underarm revolution was created by a marketing blitz from Gillette called The Great Underarm Campaign.

It began in May 1915, in Harper's Bazaar magazine. The first ad "featured a waist-up photograph of a young woman who appears to be dressed in a slip with a toga-like outfit covering one shoulder. Her arms are arched over her head revealing perfectly clean armpits. The first part of the ad read, 'Summer Dress and Modern Dancing combine to make necessary the removal of objectionable hair.'

Within three months, the once-shocking term "underarm" was being used. A few ads mentioned hygiene as a motive for getting rid of hair, and most appealed strictly to the yearning to be hip.

Gillette changed a nation and has sold billions of razors and blades in the process. This is the same company showed us that one blade was not enough, then two, then three, then four, and now five blades make the perfect shave. Reminds me of two and three ply toilet paper. The Gillette products became so ubiquitous that the name became as synonymous with razor as Kleenex is with tissues.

Seelig's

In 1912, Sam Seelig opened the first grocery store bearing his name in Los Angeles. By 1922, the Seelig’s chain had grown to 71 stores. When Sam decided to leave the company to enter the real estate business two years later, a contest was held to rename his stores. Safeway won. The name was a reference to the chain’s cash-and-carry policy.

While many grocery stores at the time offered credit, Seelig’s did not, making it the “safe way” to shop and avoid falling into debt. Safeway’s 322 stores merged with M.B. Skaggs’ chain of 428 stores in 1926 and was first listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1928. Today, the chain has more than 1,000 stores.

A Bird in the Hand is Worth Two in the Bush

This phrase has been current in English since the mid 15th century. It means that it's better to have a thing of lesser value in reality than it is to have something of greater value in theory.

For example, it's better to work at a modest job to make a living, than to wait for someone to offer you a high-paying one that might never happen.

One origin of the story is that a huntsman knew that he could easily catch at least one bird if he waited by a stream. There were many more birds in the forest, but he could not be sure he would catch any there if he tried.
What you have (a bird in the hand) is worth more than what you might possibly get (two birds in the bush).

Six China Facts

China's economy grew 316% vs. 43% in the US, during the past ten years.
85% of artificial Christmas trees in the US are made in China.
80% of Christmas toys in the US are made in China.
China raises more pigs than the next 43 pig growing countries combined.
US fastest high speed train is half fast compared to China's, 150 to 302mph.
During the next 15 years, China will build enough new skyscrapers to fill ten New York size cities.

Happy Friday

In love, it is better to know and be disappointed, than to not know and always wonder.

I know I am never disappointed and never wonder about having a Happy Friday!

Rape and Rapeseed

Rapeseed, sometimes called Rape, is a plant cultivated for its seed to make oils, bio-diesel, and animal food. It is a member of the mustard family, along with turnips, radishes, cabbage, and watercress, among others.

Rapeseed was the third leading source of vegetable oil in the world in 2000. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, after soybean and oil palm. Its saturated fat is 6% vs. palm oil at 79%.

Canola is a trademark for a hybrid variety of rape initially bred in Canada (Canola is an acronym for Canadian Oil, Low Acid). Canadian Rape growers renamed the oil back in the 1970s to get away from the negative connotation of the 'rape' name. (Like how prunes are now called dried plums.)

Rapeseed oil was produced in the 19th century as a source of a lubricant for steam engine and now makes into a bio-diesel. Rapeseed leaves and stems are also edible and some cook it like spinach or bok choy.  Despite of some lingering, but incorrect internet rumors, canola oil is not bad for you.

What's in a Name

Here is something that you don't think about often, unless you do not have one, then too many people seem compelled to mention it. The glabella is the name of the space between your eyebrows.