Mar 28, 2014
Sunglasses Facts
If you get a really good pair of
sunglasses it will certainly be to your benefit. Ophthalmologists
have explained that if you get a cheap pair that does not protect
you from UVA and UVB, you might as well not wear sunglasses.
Normally if you are looking toward a bright light, your eyes will
squint to protect you, but if you are wearing sunglasses, your eyes
will open further to allow in more light. One researcher used a
meter to test random sunglasses that he bought from vendors in New
York and found that some of them did not live up to the protection
claims on the glasses. Caveat Emptor.
More Salt Facts
Salt is a terrific flavor enhancer, helping
to reduce bitterness and acidity, and bringing out other flavors in
the food.
Adding salt to bread dough controls the action of the yeast and improves the flavor. Bread made without salt will have a coarser texture and a blander flavor than bread made with salt.
Try sprinkling salt on citrus fruit, melons, tomatoes, and even in wine to enhance flavor.
Adding a little salt balances the flavor of sweets like cakes, cookies, and candies.
Boiling eggs in salted water makes them easier to peel.
Adding a pinch of salt (preferably non-iodized) to cream or egg whites before they are whipped increases their volume and serves as a stabilizer.
Salt is a mineral, so it can be stored indefinitely without going stale. It won't taste any fresher if you grind it with a salt mill.
Salt has been used for millennia as a preservative for meats, fish, cheese, and other foods. It works by absorbing moisture from the cells of bacteria and mold through osmosis, which kills them or leaves them unable to reproduce.
Salting slices of eggplants helps draw out the bitter juices.
Adding salt to bread dough controls the action of the yeast and improves the flavor. Bread made without salt will have a coarser texture and a blander flavor than bread made with salt.
Try sprinkling salt on citrus fruit, melons, tomatoes, and even in wine to enhance flavor.
Adding a little salt balances the flavor of sweets like cakes, cookies, and candies.
Boiling eggs in salted water makes them easier to peel.
Adding a pinch of salt (preferably non-iodized) to cream or egg whites before they are whipped increases their volume and serves as a stabilizer.
Salt is a mineral, so it can be stored indefinitely without going stale. It won't taste any fresher if you grind it with a salt mill.
Salt has been used for millennia as a preservative for meats, fish, cheese, and other foods. It works by absorbing moisture from the cells of bacteria and mold through osmosis, which kills them or leaves them unable to reproduce.
Salting slices of eggplants helps draw out the bitter juices.
April Fool Prank
On April 1, 1974, Oliver Bickar climbed
into Mt. Edgecumbe, a volcano that had been dormant for around 9,000
years, and made it look like it was coming back to life. After four
years of planning, Bickar doused 100 tires in cooking oil and lit
them on fire inside Mt. Edgecumbe. He also spray painted "April
Fool" in 50 foot letters around the rim.
Five Microwave Facts
A common myth surrounding microwaves
is that you can not put metal in them. The walls of the microwave
are metal. You put metal in when you cook things like hot-pockets in
those sleeves they come with (lined with aluminum, which heats up
and browns the crust via convection). Some even come with a metal
rack for double deck cooking.
A microwave oven’s radiation does not cause cancer, because it is not ionizing radiation. Even mice that spent their whole lives exposed to low levels of microwaves at the same frequency as a microwave oven, showed no adverse effects from the microwaves.
Devices like your wireless router, GPS satellites, Bluetooth devices, and smart phones also likely operate using the same band as your microwave oven. This is also why when you run your microwave, you may notice those wireless devices stop working well when you get too close to the running microwave. Some fractions of the microwaves from the magnetron are escaping and interfering with the signal your devices are using. The amount is too miniscule to be noticed or felt if you stand in front.
There is nothing special about the material the window of your microwave is made of. It is typically just plastic or glass. What stops the microwaves from cooking you is the metal mesh that is on the inside of the plastic or glass. The holes in the mesh are smaller than the wavelengths of the electromagnetic radiation your microwave is producing. The microwaves bounce off and back into your microwave oven to heat the food.
Many microwavable foods have a recommendation that you let the food sit for a few minutes before eating it. This is because sometimes the food is very thick and the microwaves may not have managed to penetrate deeply and so the center may not be warm, but is surrounded by a very hot outer layer. By waiting a few minutes, it allows the hot part to warm the center and the overall temperature of the food evens out. This is also why when you click “defrost” on your microwave you hear it periodically kicking on and off. It heats the frozen object for a short period and then lets the heated part warm the inner part by convection.
A microwave oven’s radiation does not cause cancer, because it is not ionizing radiation. Even mice that spent their whole lives exposed to low levels of microwaves at the same frequency as a microwave oven, showed no adverse effects from the microwaves.
Devices like your wireless router, GPS satellites, Bluetooth devices, and smart phones also likely operate using the same band as your microwave oven. This is also why when you run your microwave, you may notice those wireless devices stop working well when you get too close to the running microwave. Some fractions of the microwaves from the magnetron are escaping and interfering with the signal your devices are using. The amount is too miniscule to be noticed or felt if you stand in front.
There is nothing special about the material the window of your microwave is made of. It is typically just plastic or glass. What stops the microwaves from cooking you is the metal mesh that is on the inside of the plastic or glass. The holes in the mesh are smaller than the wavelengths of the electromagnetic radiation your microwave is producing. The microwaves bounce off and back into your microwave oven to heat the food.
Many microwavable foods have a recommendation that you let the food sit for a few minutes before eating it. This is because sometimes the food is very thick and the microwaves may not have managed to penetrate deeply and so the center may not be warm, but is surrounded by a very hot outer layer. By waiting a few minutes, it allows the hot part to warm the center and the overall temperature of the food evens out. This is also why when you click “defrost” on your microwave you hear it periodically kicking on and off. It heats the frozen object for a short period and then lets the heated part warm the inner part by convection.
Writer's Worth
The top famous authors are worth much more
than we might expect. J.K. Rowling went from rags to riches and was
worth over 1 billion dollars in 2011. Other wealthy authors include
Danielle Steel ($610 million), Stephen King ($400 million), Tom
Clancy ($300 million), James Patterson ($250 million), John Grisham
($200 million), Barbara Taylor Bradford ($200 million), Nora Roberts
($150 million), Stephenie Meyer ($125 million), and Dan Brown ($100
million). That is something to write home about.
Happy Rhino Sounds
I know you have all wondered what a baby
rhino sounds like when it is having fun. Well, today is your lucky
day. Enjoy. LINK
Mar 21, 2014
Happy Friday
"It is chiefly through books that we enjoy the intercourse with superior minds."
It is chiefly through friendship that I enjoy intercourse with a Happy Friday!
It is chiefly through friendship that I enjoy intercourse with a Happy Friday!
Ah, Spring! Lake Superior State University in Michigan is
home to the annual tradition of burning a snowman to signal the beginning of
Spring. This year, it will need a really big fire.
LSSU is also the place where you can obtain a license to
hunt unicorns. LINK
There is a limit of one per month and you can find all the regulations HERE.
This university is also home to the annual banished words
list. The word with most nominations for 2014 is "selfie".
Ten Squirrel Facts
Spring is here and the squirrels are here. Did you know squirrels can leap 10 times their body length? They can turn their ankles 180 degrees to face any direction when climbing. They have good eyesight, and they can learn from copying other animals and humans.
Fifty Six cases of bubonic plague (it is now treatable with antibiotics) and seven deaths were recorded in the US between 2000 and 2009, and squirrels harboring the infected fleas were among the main culprits.
Squirrels are clever, and can learn to navigate numerous obstacles to find the most efficient route to food.
They will find a dead rattlesnake, chew its skin, and then lick themselves. This leaves the squirrels smelling like snakes, and scientists believes this tricks animals into thinking that the squirrels’ burrows are actually home to snakes.
Squirrels store nuts and acorns for winter, because they do not hibernate. Also, because they bury their acorns, squirrels are partially responsible for oak trees in much of the US.
Hungry squirrels have been observed scoring a maple tree’s bark with their teeth, letting the sap leak, and returning to lick it later when it’s dried up.
Squirrels’ tunnels can exceed 9 meters (30 ft) in length.
Fifty Six cases of bubonic plague (it is now treatable with antibiotics) and seven deaths were recorded in the US between 2000 and 2009, and squirrels harboring the infected fleas were among the main culprits.
Squirrels are clever, and can learn to navigate numerous obstacles to find the most efficient route to food.
They will find a dead rattlesnake, chew its skin, and then lick themselves. This leaves the squirrels smelling like snakes, and scientists believes this tricks animals into thinking that the squirrels’ burrows are actually home to snakes.
Squirrels store nuts and acorns for winter, because they do not hibernate. Also, because they bury their acorns, squirrels are partially responsible for oak trees in much of the US.
Hungry squirrels have been observed scoring a maple tree’s bark with their teeth, letting the sap leak, and returning to lick it later when it’s dried up.
Squirrels’ tunnels can exceed 9 meters (30 ft) in length.
What's in a Name, Whipping Boy
This term is still used, but did you know there really were whipping boys? Whipping boys were created, because of the divine right of kings, which stated that kings were appointed by God, and implied that no one but the king was worthy of punishing the king’s son. Tutors to young princes found it difficult to enforce rules or learning.
A whipping boy was a young boy who was assigned to a young prince and was punished when the prince misbehaved or fell behind in his schooling. The idea was that seeing a friend being whipped or beaten for something that he had done wrong would be likely to ensure that the prince would not make the same mistake again. Whipping boys were established in the English court during monarchies of the 15th century and 16th centuries.
A whipping boy was a young boy who was assigned to a young prince and was punished when the prince misbehaved or fell behind in his schooling. The idea was that seeing a friend being whipped or beaten for something that he had done wrong would be likely to ensure that the prince would not make the same mistake again. Whipping boys were established in the English court during monarchies of the 15th century and 16th centuries.
Dull and Boring
The town of Boring, Ore. has become official partners with the Scotland town of Dull. The two towns joined forces in 2013 in an attempt to increase tourism. Oregonians declared a new state holiday called "Boring and Dull Day" to celebrate the occasion, while Scotland invited a bagpipe player to play some tunes.
Eye Floaters
Eye floaters are little oddly shaped objects that appear in your vision, often when a person looks at bright light such as a blue sky. Their shapes vary greatly, but will often appear as spots, cobwebs, or randomly shaped stringy objects. These are not optical illusions, but rather something your eyes actually perceive. There are a few different things that can cause this, but in most cases these eye floaters are caused by pieces of the gel-like vitreous breaking off from the back portion of your eye and then floating about in your eyeball.
The vitreous humor, or often just “vitreous”, is a clear gel that fills the gap between your retina and lens, helping maintain the round shape of your eye in the process. This gel is about 99% water and 1% mostly consisting mostly of a network of hyaluronic acid and collagen. Hyaluronic acid ends up retaining water molecules. Over time though, this network breaks down which results in the hyaluronic acid releasing its trapped water molecules. When this happens, it forms a watery core in your vitreous body.
As you age, pieces of the still gel-like collagen/hyaluronic acid network will break off and float around in this watery center. When light passes through this area, it creates a shadow on your retina. This shadow is actually what you are seeing when you see the eye floaters.
Children and teenagers almost never experience these types of eye floaters as there must first be some deterioration of the gel-like substance in their eye for these floaters to appear. However, they do still sometimes experience a certain type of eye floater that often appears more like a crystallized web across their vision. These floaters aren't found in the vitreous humor like the other floaters. Instead, they are found in the Premacular Bursa area, right on top of the retina. These floaters are microscopic in size and only appear as big as they do because of their proximity to the retina.
The vitreous humor, or often just “vitreous”, is a clear gel that fills the gap between your retina and lens, helping maintain the round shape of your eye in the process. This gel is about 99% water and 1% mostly consisting mostly of a network of hyaluronic acid and collagen. Hyaluronic acid ends up retaining water molecules. Over time though, this network breaks down which results in the hyaluronic acid releasing its trapped water molecules. When this happens, it forms a watery core in your vitreous body.
As you age, pieces of the still gel-like collagen/hyaluronic acid network will break off and float around in this watery center. When light passes through this area, it creates a shadow on your retina. This shadow is actually what you are seeing when you see the eye floaters.
Children and teenagers almost never experience these types of eye floaters as there must first be some deterioration of the gel-like substance in their eye for these floaters to appear. However, they do still sometimes experience a certain type of eye floater that often appears more like a crystallized web across their vision. These floaters aren't found in the vitreous humor like the other floaters. Instead, they are found in the Premacular Bursa area, right on top of the retina. These floaters are microscopic in size and only appear as big as they do because of their proximity to the retina.
Banana Food Hack
Take two to four ripe bananas,
peel them and let them sit in the freezer for an hour, then slice
them up toss into a blender. You will get a smooth and tasty treat
that is good for you. If you feel the need to punch up the taste,
add two tablespoons of peanut butter or chocolate chips.
Wordology, Lb
Did you ever wonder why we use the Lb abbreviation for pound? Lb is an abbreviation of the Latin word libra. The primary meaning of libra was balance or scales (as in the astrological sign), but it also stood for the ancient Roman unit of measure libra pondo, meaning “a pound by weight.” The word “pound” in English from the pondo part of the libra pondo but the abbreviation comes from the libra. The libra is also why the symbol for the British pound is £, an L with a line through it. The Italian lira also used that symbol (with two lines through it), the word “lira” itself being a shortened version of libra.
“Ounce” is related to the Latin uncia, the name for both the Roman ounce and inch units of measurement. The word came into English from Anglo-Norman French, where it was unce or ounce, but the abbreviation was borrowed from Medieval Italian, where the word was onza. These days the Italian word is oncia, and the area once covered by the Roman Empire has long since switched to the metric system.
“Ounce” is related to the Latin uncia, the name for both the Roman ounce and inch units of measurement. The word came into English from Anglo-Norman French, where it was unce or ounce, but the abbreviation was borrowed from Medieval Italian, where the word was onza. These days the Italian word is oncia, and the area once covered by the Roman Empire has long since switched to the metric system.
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