My Two Favorite Foods Combined

Two of nature's most perfect foods combined into one. Hard to believe it took this long to come up with this treat for the ages.

Bacon flavored potato chips. It makes for a Happy Friday!

Wordology, Ossicone

Ossicones are the nubs that stick out on the heads of Giraffes and male Okapi. They remain covered in skin and fur and are never shed, unlike other antlers and horns. Ossicones consist of cartilage that has turned to bone. In a young animal, ossicones are porous, with clusters of bony tissue interrupted by blood vessels and folded skin. As the animal ages its ossicones grow denser and more compact.

Both male and female giraffes have a pair of these hair-covered horns, but males use these to roughhouse with each other as they are growing up. As males mature, other calcium deposits can form near these horns, making it appear they have up to five horns.

Tech and Food

Not sure how practical, but interesting to see. These are real products and great for those working lunches.

Split keyboard and plate.

Noodles and Phone

Phone and Coffee to go

Hey, is that a banana in your ear? Banana handset for phone

Tiger Facts

The final Bali tiger is thought to have been seen back in 1937, the last-remaining Caspian tiger was found in the 1950s, and the Javan tiger went extinct sometime in the 1980s. The six subspecies that have survived include: the Bengal tiger, the Indochinese tiger, the Malayan tiger, the Sumatran tiger, the Siberian tiger, and the South China tiger.

Between 1998 and 2000, nearly twenty percent of the Sumatran tiger population was killed. The South China subspecies is also listed among the ten most endangered animals in the world. The Siberian tiger has recently been discovered as genetically identical with the extinct Caspian variety, meaning that human intervention over the past century is the only reason we ever thought they were different.

Rosemary for Memory

Scientists have found that aromas can profoundly affect people's cognitive abilities. In a 2003 study, psychologists asked 144 volunteers to perform a series of long-term memory, working memory, and attention and reaction tests. Some subjects worked in a scent-free cubicle, some in a cubicle infused with essential oil from rosemary, and the rest worked in cubicles scented with lavender oil.

Those in the rosemary-infused cubicles demonstrated significantly better long-term and working memory than those in the unscented cubicles. Also, those exposed to the smell of rosemary reported feeling more alert than the control (scent-free) group.

Participants working in the lavender cubicles reported feeling less alert and those in the lavender-scented cubicles performed worse than the others in tests of working memory.

If you need your brain to perform at its best, you can try placing a rosemary plant on your windowsill. Research also shows that eating chocolate may improve memory and cognition, because it is rich in antioxidants called flavanols.

Oil Imports

The five countries that supply the most oil to the US (during 2011), in order, are Canada 133.8 million tonnes (sic), South America 111.2, Saudi Arabia 95.5, Nigeria Africa 68.3, and Mexico 59.8. Taken from a series of 36 maps that explain the world. LINK

Semi-Automatic Defined

In a semi-automatic firearm, whether it’s a pistol, rifle, or shotgun, when the round is fired, the expanding gas from the cartridge launches the projectile and then opens the chamber, ejecting the spent cartridge and, if available, using a spring system to slide the next cartridge into place ready for the next trigger pull.

The gun will not fire the next round and most guns are designed to prevent this from happening. This means one trigger pull for each shot.

Drawing in 3D

This is an actual drawing that looks incredibly 3D.

Fascinating Aztec Facts

The Westerners who came up with the name Aztecs likely took it from one of the original places that the Aztecs lived around the twelve century, called Aztlan, which was in the Northern part of Mexico. However, the Aztecs themselves actually referred to themselves as Mexica, which is actually where the name for the country of Mexico originally came from.

The Aztecs had their own language called N’ahuatl. The alphabet for this language was a form of picture writing. Knowledge about how to write things down was very specialized and was mostly performed by learned scribes and priests who had the needed training.

Records were kept on paper made of bark, or deer skin. The writing was usually performed using charcoal and then colored with vegetables and other substances. They kept tax records, historical records, records of religious sacrifices and other ceremonies and even poetry. Sometimes they put their writings together in a makeshift book that they called a codice.

Aztec men were allowed to have more than one wife, however, there were certain strict rules governing these relationships. The first wife the man took was considered his “principal” wife, and was the only one he went through marriage ceremonies with. The other wives were secondary, but still recognized in the official records. While the first wife was considered the most important, the man was still expected to treat all of his wives with equal respect. The man was the head of the household, but women still had power in the relationship and were well treated in Aztec society. Extra wives contributed to the wealth of the family and were considered a mark of great status and afforded them a high position in the culture. The Aztecs allowed divorce in some situations, but adultery by either party was punishable by death.

While the Aztecs put strong emphasis on parents teaching their children properly, they also had mandatory public schooling for all children. Those of a noble class had different schools to attend and schools were also separated by gender. Boys of nobility would be sent to the Calmecac School where they learned from the priests about history, astronomy, art, and how to govern and lead. Boys of lower caste were sent to the Cuicacalli School, which was much more focused on preparing them for possible service in the military as warriors. Girls were sent to separate schools and much more of their education was focused at home where they were taught domestic duties such as cooking and weaving.

Finicky Finns

Finnish tradition is to assess fines according to gross income. For years, this was based on the honor system. Finnish police would ask the person pulled over how much they made per year, consult a table, and fine them accordingly.

 
The police hated it, because they were constantly lied to about how much people made. They recently developed new high-tech tools for calculating traffic fines and motorists began protesting and complaining about the prices. They thought it wasn't fair that they were charged on their gross income instead of their net income. So, in 1999 the government made major changes, including basing fines on net income.

The biggest change was that the police can use their cell phones to tap into official public records and find out motorists’ income. The changes have allowed for fines to be more accurate, much to the dismay of the motorists.

Free Stuff

We all like something for nothing. Here is a site that gives you free stuff from dog food to baseball hats and everything in between. http://www.ilovefreestuff.com/

Michigan Map Names

University of Michigan alum go to great lengths to taunt their sports rivals. One particularly astute grad, state highway commission chairman Peter Fletcher memorialized his on Michigan’s official state map in 1978.

He asked a cartographer to add two towns to nearby Ohio. Thus the fictitious towns of Goblu and Beatosu were created. The map can be seen on the official michigan.gov web site. It noted that after the hoax was discovered, new maps were issued, minus the bogus towns. A few collector item maps remain in the public and copies are also available in the official Michigan archives.

Fletcher noted in a 2008 interview that he placed the fake towns in Ohio, safely outside Michigan state lines. “We have no legal liability for anything taking place in that intellectual swamp south of Monroe,” he said. He added that he had never forgiven Ohio for the Toledo War of 1835.

Nobel and Noble Dates

Next week Thursday marks an interesting date. It is the birthday of Mario Andretti, Bernadette Peters, Zero Mostel, Bubba Smith, Charles Durning, Tommy Tune, and Earl Scheib (I'll paint any car any color, etc.) among others.

The two most common birth dates among the 555 Nobel laureates are May 21 and February 28 (seven apiece).

Top Ten Benefits of Cinnamon

Did you know cinnamon:

• Can Lower Cholesterol - Studies have shown that 1/2 teaspoon  per day can lower LDL cholesterol.
• Helps Regulate Blood Sugar - Several studies suggest that it may have a regulatory effect on blood sugar, beneficial for people with Type 2 diabetes.
• Helps with Yeast Infection - In some studies, it has shown an amazing ability to stop medication-resistant yeast infections.
• Helps with Cancer Prevention - The U.S. Department of Agriculture in Maryland showed cinnamon reduced the proliferation of leukemia and lymphoma cancer cells.
• Aids Anti-Clotting - It has an anti-clotting effect on the blood.
• Provides Arthritis Relief - In a study at Copenhagen University, showed half a teaspoon of cinnamon powder combined with one tablespoon of honey every morning before breakfast had significant relief in arthritis pain after one week.
• Is Anti-Bacterial - When added to food, it inhibits bacterial growth and food spoilage.
• Aids Brain Health - One study found that smelling cinnamon boosts cognitive function and memory.
• Fights E. Coli - Researchers found that cinnamon fights the E. coli bacteria in unpasteurized juices.
• Is High in Nutrients - It is a great source of manganese, fiber, iron, and calcium.