Mar 29, 2019

Six Strange US Laws

Any person who attempts to pass off margarine, oleo, or oleomargarine as real butter is guilty of a simple misdemeanor in the state of Iowa, punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $625 fine.

In Alaska, it is illegal to give alcohol to a moose.

In Louisiana it is illegal to steal someone’s crawfish. Crawfish theft in excess of $1,500 can land the offender up to ten years in prison or a $3,000 fine.

In Minnesota, since 1971, it is considered a misdemeanor to operate, run, or participate in any activity where a pig is oiled up and released with the object of being recaptured.

In Nevada, it is illegal to use an x-ray device to determine someone’s shoe size.

In New York City, “altered” bagels (sliced, toasted, or served with cream cheese, etc.) carry an eight cent sales tax. Uncut bagels are tax exempt.

Smart vs. Connected

It is easy to use the terms smart and connected interchangeably, but the truth is they are not exactly the same thing.
Connected devices have ports, antennae, and protocols that facilitate communication between a product and its operating environment. A connected device can share data directly with other devices or over a network. The data transmission can be one way or two way.  Some wireless home speakers are solely connected, allowing you to play music from your smartphone via Bluetooth connection.

A smart device typically has an operating system that will let you connect with other information services, entertainment services or apps. For example a smart phone allows you to browse the internet and make calls, but it also lets you connect to apps. Smart thermostats are intelligent because they can make calculated decisions based on other system components, such as the owner's previous room temperature adjustments, built-in algorithms, and sensors.

Real Bacon Bombs

During World War II, handing over cooking fat to the government was doing your patriotic duty. The American Fat Salvage Committee was created to urge housewives to save all the excess fat rendered from cooking and donate it to the army to produce explosives.
Fats are used to make glycerin, and glycerin is used to make things blow up. Homemakers were asked to give their bacon grease to the local butcher, who turned it into the government, because it was needed for the production of glycerin.
One pound of waste fat equaled 1/10 of a pound of glycerin.
1/10 pound of glycerin equaled 1/5 of a pound of nitroglycerine.
1/5 of a pound of nitroglycerine equaled 1/3 pound of gunpowder.
1/5 of a pound of nitroglycerine equaled ½ pound of dynamite.


“A skillet of bacon grease is a little munitions factory,” announced a booming voice in a Disney propaganda cartoon. “Every year two billion pounds of waste kitchen fats are thrown away, enough glycerin for ten billion rapid-fire cannon shells. Making a roast? Don’t throw out those lovely puddles of grease drippings, save them for our boys on the front line." Housewives were directed to strain their leftover fats and store them in a wide-mouth can. Once a pound or more was collected, the fat was to be handed over to any one of 250,000 participating butchers and retail meat dealers or 4,000 frozen food plants who would then turn the fat over to the army. The donor received four cents a pound for the fat.

Peanut Butter and Alzheimer's

Came across this interesting information about a test for Alzheimer's. The test involves a jar of peanut butter and a ruler, and is performed under each nostril. If the left nostril is significantly worse at detecting the smell of peanut butter-than the right one, then it may be a sign of Alzheimer's. The olfactory cortex (part of the brain that processes smell) is the first area of the brain to deteriorate in Alzheimer's.


Peanut butter is a smell that is not typically lost as people age.

Cannabis, Hemp vs. Marijuana

One type of cannabis is high in the psychoactive cannabinoid THC, and low in the anti-psychoactive cannabinoid CBD. This type is popularly known as marijuana. Another type of cannabis is high in CBD and low in THC. Variants of this kind are called industrial hemp. They are both from the same species of plant, Cannabis Sativa L. They both have been bred for various characteristics and now also look different from each other. They both can be male or female or both, (in monoecious species).

During 1971, Canadian research scientist Ernest Small published a book The Species Problem in Cannabis. Although Small recognized there was not a natural point where the cannabinoid content could be used to differentiate hemp and marijuana, he drew a random number regarding different Cannabis varieties. From then on, his 0.3% THC became the magic number that separated hemp and marijuana.
Dana Larsen is one of Canada’s most respected and well-known advocates for cannabis reform. In his book, Cannabis in Canada: An Illustrated History, Larsen explores this magic number separating hemp and marijuana. “Small’s arbitrary 0.3 percent THC limit has become standard around the world as the official limit for legal hemp,” writes Larsen. “Small clearly noted that among the hundreds of strains he experimented with, ‘plants cultivated for fibre [sic], oil and birdseed frequently had moderate or high amounts of THC’… thus the worldwide 0.3 percent THC standard divider between marijuana and hemp is not based on which strains have the most agricultural benefit, nor is it based on an analysis of the THC level required for psychoactivity. It is based on an arbitrary decision of a Canadian scientist growing cannabis in Ottawa.”

Incidentally, hemp seeds are a good source of polyunsaturated and essential fatty acids. They have about a 3:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3, which is considered in the optimal range. Also regular consumption or use of commercially made hemp foods (such as seeds, cooking oil, cereals, milk, granola) or hemp products (lotions, shampoos, lip balms, etc.) will not show a positive result for THC on a drug test.

Mar 15, 2019

Happy Friday

When you look in the mirror, pretend you are a coloring book and paint a great big smile on your face.

I always like to paint on a smile, especially on a Happy Friday!

Happy St. Patrick's Day March 17

Here are a few facts and a few myths debunked.
Although Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, he was actually born in Roman-occupied Britain in the fourth century to wealthy parents. His birth name was Maewyn Succat, but he changed it to Patricius after becoming a priest.

The young Maewyn was kidnapped and sold into slavery by Irish raiders who robbed his family home when he was only 16 years old.

St. Patrick did convert 
many pagans to Christianity, but the story of his driving all the snakes out of Ireland during 
his 40-day fast on a hilltop is not true. ­ The legend of the snakes is likely a metaphor for St. Patrick’s having driven evil out of Ireland.

St. Patrick’s Day falls on the anniversary of Patrick’s death on March 17 in the fifth century. His followers in Ireland began to celebrate his feast day on that day during the ninth and tenth centuries, even though he was never formally canonized by a pope.

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated all around the world.

Ireland’s prime minister gives the U.S. president an Irish cut-glass bowl filled with shamrocks, the three-leafed sprig that is one of the state’s emblems. The tradition dates back to 1952, when the first Irish ambassador to America, John 
Joseph Hearne, reportedly dropped off a 
box of shamrocks for Harry Truman

Members of the Order of St. Patrick actually used blue as their symbolic color. The shade: St. Patrick’s blue.

Leprechauns and St. Patrick’s Day really are not related, aside from the fact that they are both Irish. Leprechauns didn’t become a staple of Irish literature until many years after St. Patrick’s famed journey through Ireland. There are no female leprechauns.


Incidentally, until 1961, there were laws in Ireland that banned bars to be open on March 17. Since the holiday falls during the period of Lent in the heavily Catholic country, the idea of binge drinking seemed a bit immoral. Also, Éirinn go Brách, means roughly "Ireland Forever."

Spring is Here

March 20 is the first day of Spring in the US. During early spring, the axis of the Earth is increasing its tilt relative to the Sun, and the length of daylight rapidly increases for the relevant hemisphere. The hemisphere begins to warm significantly, causing new plant growth to "spring forth," giving the season its name.

Four Factoids

Van Gogh did not actually cut off his ear. He cut off a small part of his lobe in a fight with Paul Gauguin.

Over 50% of bottled water is tap water, so saying bottled water is better is less than half correct.

About 60% of beef raised in the US is Angus breed, so saying this place has Angus beef is just for advertising not quality.

Poison Ivy is not contagious. You cannot get it from someone who has it, you need to come in contact with the plant or sap from the plant.

Laughing and Calories

A study was commissioned by the comedy channel GO LD (Go On Laugh Daily) in Great Britain. Researchers, led by Helen Pilcher, PhD, looked into the number of calories burned by intense laughing and compared it to the calorie burn of other daily activities (strength training, running, and vacuuming).


They found that intense laughter by itself is its own workout. An hour of it can benefit you as much as a half hour of hitting it hard at the gym. Laughing burns calories, but it can also boost total energy expenditure by up to 20 percent. One hour of laughter burns up to 120 calories, about the same as 18 to 27 minutes of weight training, 15 to 20 minutes of walking, or 40 minutes’ vacuuming (unless you have a Roomba).

Skipping Breakfast

In a new study published in the British Medical Journal, researchers report that breakfast may have no impact on weight loss at all. In the study, a team of researchers from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, analyzed 13 randomized controlled trials during the past 28 years. Of the trials, seven examined the effect of eating breakfast on weight change, and ten examined the effect on energy intake.

One of the arguments against skipping breakfast, weight-loss experts say, is that you will feel hungrier throughout the day and be more likely to overeat. The new study’s first finding was that people do not feel hungrier after skipping breakfast and do not overeat the rest of the day. The researchers’ second finding was that eating breakfast does not prevent overeating later in the day. The researchers also found that breakfast skippers weighed about a pound less on average compared to people who ate breakfast.

Six Inventions from NASA

Everyone’s famous handheld vacuum comes courtesy of NASA after the agency partnered with Black & Decker to build battery-operated tools for collecting samples from the moon’s surfaces during exploration. The device was so good at collecting samples that it was quickly adopted for use in hospitals, industry, and your home.
Transcend Brac-kets come from NASA and are a high technology orthodontic innovation in which individual translucent brackets, especially designed for each tooth, work in concert with a thin metal connecting wire to gradually reposition teeth, mouth and jaws into proper alignment. Intended to meet a need for an orthodontic appliance that was aesthetically appealing yet as clinically effective as plastic or metal braces, Transcend Brack-ets are made of a very hard, shatter-resistant alumina with high strength and maximum translucency. The translucency allows light to pass through the ceramic material to the tooth, thereby causing the bracket to appear tooth-colored. The brackets do not stain, discolor, deform or bend.
In an effort to lighten astronauts’ suits and equipment, NASA developed suits with blow rubber molding. Not only did the material shave the 30-pound suits by a third, but the fireproof material also became the cushioning gel used in the soles of athletic sneakers.
Speedo’s Aqualab Speedo now considerd the most efficient swimsuit yet: the LZR Racer was invented by NASA.
Martek, a bioscience company, partnered with NASA to develop a nutritional supplement to sustain astronauts during long-duration space flights. Coincidentally, the supplement was made, in part, of microalgae high in DHA and ARA, two fatty acids important for infant development. When the partnership was over, Martek made a spin-off of the supplement, now found in nearly 95 percent of infant formula.


Radiant barrier technology was developed by NASA over 40 years ago to normalize temperatures aboard spacecraft and stations, but it was not until 2004 that it found a use in homes. The barrier can be applied to increase the efficiency of home insulation, further reducing heating and cooling bills.

Food Myth

To minimize fat and calories, always remove the skin before cooking chicken. Not true - the better way is to bake, broil, grill, or roast poultry with the skin intact to preserve its natural juices. Cook with the skin on and then remove before serving if you prefer.

What's in a Name, Virgin

According to the company, Virgin was named to reflect the experience Richard Branson and associates had when starting the company. It was none, thus virgins.