Sometimes names, sayings, and slogans do not port well to non-English speaking countries. When Kentucky Fried Chicken opened their first restaurant in Beijing, they accidentally translated KFC's famous slogan, “Finger-lickin' good” to “We'll Eat Your Fingers Off!
Pepsi had fun when "Come alive with the Pepsi Generation" turned out to be "Pepsi will make your ancestors return from the dead". in Taiwan.
Pizza Hut calzone called the P'zone turned into pezón, the Spanish word for "nipple".
Puffs tissues had a problem in Germany as the name is a colloquial term for whorehouse.
A warehouse sign in China was painted on the building as "Translator Server Error".
Coors slogan, “Turn it loose!” came out as, “Suffer from Diarrhea" in Spanish.
Clairol had a curling iron called the "Mist Stick" that turned out to be “Manure Stick” in Germany.
Jersey Shore cast comes out as "The New Jersey Life of Macaroni Rascals".
Frank Perdue of chicken fame was surprised when, "It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken" was translated into, "It takes a hard man to make a chicken aroused".
The name for a massage parlor in Japan was translated into hand job.
An interesting twist was IKEA furniture in Swedish translated into English became a "Fartfull workbench". Finally after a Papal visit, “I saw the Pope” (el Papa) translated as “I saw the potato” (la papa).
May 20, 2011
Six Uses for Bananas
There are many uses for bananas, including the peels. For instance, you can dry out banana peels, grind them up, and use as a potassium and phosphorus rich mulch for new plants and seedlings.
You can skip the grinder and cut up banana peels and chuck them in the soil as plant food. This is especially effective for roses and staghorns. It also keeps aphids away from the roses, although I don't know why.
Put a banana peel into a large jar, cover it with water, and let it soak. Top up your watering can with the banana peel liquid of one part banana-peel water to five parts regular water. Makes great liquid fertilizer.
The tryptophan in bananas can be a relaxing mood enhancer, helping to combat the symptoms of depression. That is also why bananas and chocolate are so good to set the mood.
Adding a peeled banana in with a roast will tenderize it. You can also put a banana skin on top of chicken pieces to keep them moist while cooking and it does not affect the flavor.
One of my favorites is to use a cut up banana on cereal to eliminate the need for sugar.
You can skip the grinder and cut up banana peels and chuck them in the soil as plant food. This is especially effective for roses and staghorns. It also keeps aphids away from the roses, although I don't know why.
Put a banana peel into a large jar, cover it with water, and let it soak. Top up your watering can with the banana peel liquid of one part banana-peel water to five parts regular water. Makes great liquid fertilizer.
The tryptophan in bananas can be a relaxing mood enhancer, helping to combat the symptoms of depression. That is also why bananas and chocolate are so good to set the mood.
Adding a peeled banana in with a roast will tenderize it. You can also put a banana skin on top of chicken pieces to keep them moist while cooking and it does not affect the flavor.
One of my favorites is to use a cut up banana on cereal to eliminate the need for sugar.
The Year 1950
Here are some prices from that year.
Car: $1,750
Gasoline: 27 cents/gal
House: $14,500
Bread: 14 cents/loaf
Milk: 82 cents/gal
Postage Stamp: 3 cents
Stock Market: 235
Average Annual Salary: $3,800
This week last year many European airports were closed due to the Icelandic Volcano ash covering the skies.
Car: $1,750
Gasoline: 27 cents/gal
House: $14,500
Bread: 14 cents/loaf
Milk: 82 cents/gal
Postage Stamp: 3 cents
Stock Market: 235
Average Annual Salary: $3,800
This week last year many European airports were closed due to the Icelandic Volcano ash covering the skies.
May 19, 2011
Something is Rotten in Denmark
I heard someone say this on an English TV show recently and thought it interesting that they use the same expression we do. Looked it up and found out it is from Shakespeare's Hamlet when Marcellus sees the ghost of Hamlet's father, the king of Denmark. Literally it meant that something was wrong with the government of Denmark. Used loosely now, it means something is wrong or things are unsatisfactory.
Pocket Picks
Back in 1982, Sony came out with the 'Watchman', a flat panel black and white TV that was 7 inches by 3 inches, with a 1 3/4 inch screen and weighed about 22 ounces. It hit the US two years later, in 1984. It was amazing for its time.
Sony also had the 'Walkman' portable music player that you could carry with you. It came out in 1979.
Apple just took those concepts a few steps further with it's iPad, which combines TV, music, and computer technology in roughly the same size package. It just took 30 years for smaller, faster technology to catch up. I can hardly wait for the next 10 years, when all of this technology will be placed in a pair of glasses, and voice controlled.
Sony also had the 'Walkman' portable music player that you could carry with you. It came out in 1979.
Apple just took those concepts a few steps further with it's iPad, which combines TV, music, and computer technology in roughly the same size package. It just took 30 years for smaller, faster technology to catch up. I can hardly wait for the next 10 years, when all of this technology will be placed in a pair of glasses, and voice controlled.
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.
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.
May 13, 2011
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!
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
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.
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. . .
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. . .
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)