Happy Friday

If you don't get up before dawn, how can you enjoy the sunrise?

I am always up, bright and early to enjoy a Happy Friday!

Free Smile Friday

No words needed

High Fructose Corn Syrup Myths Debunked

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is basically the same as sugar, both in terms of composition and in the number of calories it contains. HFCS is produced by milling corn (maize) to produce corn starch, then processing that starch to yield corn syrup, which is almost entirely glucose, and then adding enzymes that change some of the glucose into fructose.

High fructose corn syrup contains no artificial or synthetic ingredients or color additives.

High fructose corn syrup and sugar have almost the same level of sweetness.

It has either 42% or 55% fructose, which is comparable to sugar with 50% fructose. Studies found no differences in the metabolic effects of high fructose corn syrup as compared to sugar. Since high fructose corn syrup and sugar are so similar, the human body absorbs them the same way.

There is no scientific evidence that high fructose corn syrup is to blame for obesity and diabetes. In fact, the US Department of Agriculture data shows that consumption of high fructose corn syrup has actually been declining while obesity and diabetes rates continue to rise.

Studies have shown that the body does not recognize a difference between high fructose corn syrup and regular sugar. They both contain the same ingredients, in the same quantities. The only difference is in how they are extracted and combined.

"After studying current research, the American Medical Association concluded that high fructose syrup does not appear to contribute to obesity more than other caloric sweeteners..."

Wordology, Lemniscate

In geometry, the lemniscate of Bernoulli is a plane curve defined from two given points. It is also generally called the infinity symbol.

Lemniscate comes from a Latin word lēmniscātus that means decorated with, or hanging ribbons – an origin that's reflected in the symbol's shape. It is pronounced Lemm nis kit.

Did You Know?

Center-cut bacon has only 25 calories per slice. . . and usually causes human faces to break into a smile.

Knife Tips

I hesitated to add these tips as most seemed obvious, but after talking to a few friends, decided they are worth mentioning. These tips are for cutting knives, not table knives. Most people have their favorite few knives used for almost all cutting tasks. Two things cause the most damage to knives, moisture and improper use.

• Keep it dry. After using your knife, rinse and dry to keep rust from beginning to form (yes, even on stainless).
• Don't put good knives in the dishwasher, wash and dry by hand.
• Do not let knives air dry.
• Store in a way that the blades of knifes do not touch anything which could dull them.
• Use food knives for food only. Keep other knives for other purposes.
  
• Sharpen twice a year. Use a wet sharpening stone or a honing steel (instrument for repairing cutting edge.)
• Use wood cutting board to reduce blade dulling. (Keep peroxide handy in a spray bottle and spray the board after rinsing, to prevent germs.)

What's in a Name, Richter Scale

The Richter Magnitude Scale, often shortened to Richter scale, was developed to assign a single number to quantify the energy that is released during an earthquake. It was developed in 1935 by Charles Francis Richter in partnership with Beno Gutenberg, both from the California Institute of Technology. The scale was intended to be used only in a particular study area in California.

The scale is a base-10 logarithmic scale. The magnitude is defined as the logarithm of the ratio of the amplitude of waves measured by a seismograph to an arbitrary small amplitude. An earthquake that measures 5.0 on the Richter scale has a shaking amplitude 10 times larger than one that measures 4.0.

Since the 1970s, the use of the Richter scale has mostly been replaced by the Moment Magnitude Scale (MMS) in many countries. However, the Richter scale is still widely used in Russia and other European countries. The MMS was developed in the 1970s to succeed Richter magnitude scale. Even though the formulae are different, the new scale retains the continuum of magnitude values defined by the older one.

The MMS is now the scale used to estimate magnitudes for all modern large earthquakes by the US Geological Survey. Earthquake measurements under the Moment Magnitude Scale in the United States are still usually erroneously referred to as being quoted on the Richter scale by the general public and the media, due to their familiarity with the old Richter scale name vs. the newer MMS.

Great San Francisco Earthquake

On this day, April 18 in 1906 at 5:13 a.m., an earthquake estimated at close to 8.0 on the Richter scale struck San Francisco, California, killing hundreds of people as it toppled numerous buildings. The quake was caused by a slip of the San Andreas Fault over a segment about 275 miles long, and shock waves could be felt from southern Oregon down to Los Angeles.

By April 23, most fires were extinguished, and authorities commenced the task of rebuilding the devastated city. It was estimated that 3,000 people died as a result. Almost 30,000 buildings were destroyed, including most of the city's homes and nearly all the central business district.

Boston Marathon History and Facts

Next Monday, April 21, 2014 the Boston Marathon will be held. In the 2013 marathon, over 23,000 runners participated. Lelisa Desisa won the men's division with a time of 2:10:22. Rita Jeptoo won the women's division with a time of 2:26:25. More than $800,000 of prize money was awarded.

On April 19, 1897, John J. McDermott of New York won the first Boston Marathon with a time of 2:55:10. (During the past 117 years, winners have shaved 45 minutes off his original time.)

The Boston Marathon was created by Boston Athletic Association member and inaugural U.S. Olympic team manager John Graham, who was inspired by the marathon at the first modern Olympic Games in Athens the year before, 1896. A measured distance of 24.5 miles from the Irvington Oval in Boston to Metcalf's Mill in Ashland was eventually selected. Fifteen runners started the race but only ten finished.

The marathon's distance was changed in 1908 in accordance with Olympic standards to its current length of 26 miles 385 yards.

The Boston Marathon was originally held on Patriot's Day, April 19, a regional holiday that commemorates the beginning of the Revolutionary War. In 1969, Patriots Day was officially moved to the third Monday in April and the race has been held on that Monday ever since.

Women were not allowed to enter the Boston race officially until 1972, but Roberta "Bobbi" Gibb couldn't wait: In 1966, she became the first woman to run the entire Boston Marathon, but had to hide in the bushes near the start until the race began. In 1967, Kathrine Switzer, who had registered as "K. V. Switzer", was the first woman to run with a race number. Switzer finished even though officials tried to physically remove her from the race after she was identified as a woman.

In 1975, the Boston Marathon became the first major marathon to include a wheelchair division competition. Bob Hall won it in two hours, 58 minutes.

Easter Bunny

Today’s Easter Bunny grew out of religious practices in pre-Christian Germany. Eostra, a goddess of fertility and spring, was associated with the rabbit because of the animal’s high reproductive rate. The legend was subsequently merged with the Christian celebration of Christ’s rebirth.

Easter Coincidence

Easter Sunday, April 20. Observed in all Western Christian churches, Easter commemorates the Resurrection of Jesus. It is celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or next after the vernal equinox (fixed at March 21) and is therefore celebrated between March 22 and April 25 inclusive. This date was fixed by the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325.

Orthodox Easter (Pascha), Sun., April 20. The Orthodox Church uses the Julian calendar when calculating Easter, rather than the more contemporary Gregorian calendar. For this reason, Orthodox Easter generally falls on a different date than the Western Christian Easter, except this year the days coincide.

Happy Friday

Spring unlocks the flowers to paint the smiling soil.

I always unlock my smile to paint a Happy Friday!

Seven Spring Facts

The vernal (spring) equinox (‘equal night’) is the day when the center of the Sun is visible for exactly 12 hours. That is not the same as the ‘equilux’ (equal light) when there are 12 hours of daylight from the Sun’s first appearance and its going down. Australia and other parts of the Southern Hemisphere begin the first day of autumn at the same time and there is a movement to call this event the March Equinox or Northward Equinox to avoid a North Hemisphere bias.

Astronomically, spring officially begins on the spring equinox.

The spring and autumn equinoxes are the only days when the Sun rises directly due east and sets due west in the northern hemisphere.

The reason there is more daylight during the spring is the earth’s axis tilts toward the sun at this time of year.

We have used the word ‘spring’ for the season since the 16th century. Before that spring was used for centuries to apply to the source of a river and the spring season was known as Lent or Lenten.

The Slatina spring in Slovenia is alleged to have been discovered by the mythological winged horse Pegasus.

The earliest known use of the term ‘spring-cleaning’ was in 1857. 

Charlie Chaplin, Composer

Last week was listening to one of my favorite singers, Judith Durham, singing This is My Song, and found the composer was Charlie Chaplin, the movie comedian. He composed many tunes for his movies, including Smile, covered by Nat King Cole. The lyrics of both are especially tender. He was the only known person who wrote, directed, acted, and scored a motion picture.