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.

Google Mirror

Try typing the website elgoog.im into Internet Explorer or whatever browser you use. You can then choose from a number of other interesting options, such as underwater, gravity, pacman, etc.

For another game, type "zerg rush" (with the quotes) into the Google search bar and watch.  Both are a  fun and interesting waste of time.

Prescription Cigarettes

Just when some states have begun to legalize marijuana, one state wants to un-legalize cigarettes.

SALEM, OR (KPTV) - There is a new bill in the Oregon Legislature. Rep. Mitch Greenlick, from Portland, is sponsoring a bill that makes cigarettes a Schedule III controlled substance, meaning it would be illegal to possess or distribute cigarettes without a doctor's prescription.

Under the proposal, offenders would face maximum punishments of one year in prison, a $6,250 fine or both. This should be fun to watch.

Internet and Devices

This year there will be more mobile devices in the world than people, according to Cisco's annual report. At the same time, many of the world's population do not yet have Internet access.

This year more people in the world will be getting Internet access for the first time.

Today's Internet is out of space as it only planned for a maximum of 4 billion addresses. A brand new Internet opened in June 2012 after a decade of work. It is called Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6). Eventually, all the new devices and websites will only work on IPv6 and all the old ones will need to convert. IPV6 is able to handle in excess of 340 trillion addresses.

Below is where you can test to see if your computer can connect. It takes a few seconds. Do not worry if you cannot connect, it will be at least more than five years before your equipment will be required to change. When you upgrade your equipment, it will be compatible. (you can test it here).

Mice and Cheese Myth Debunked

Mice do not really like cheese and they will even actively shy away from certain types of cheese.

According to Dr. David Holmes of Manchester Metropolitan University who recently did a study on whether mice liked cheese or not, while hungry mice will pretty much eat anything (even cardboard), most types of mice strongly prefer grains, fruits, and sweet things. Certain types of mice will also eat insects and other small animals.

Basically, they like to eat what they have been accustomed to eating since before humans started making cheese around 10,000 years ago.

Many mice also like peanut butter and sweet chocolate. Interesting to know that mouse urine glows under florescent light.

Four Common Masculine and Feminine Words

Fiancé vs. fiancée. The former is a male engaged to be married; the latter is a woman engaged to be married.

Blonde refers to a woman with yellow hair and blond refers to a male with yellow hair.

Brunet refers to a man’s hair color and brunette refers to a woman’s hair color.

In education, female is professor emerita and male is professor emeritus.

Fingernail and Toenail Facts

Fingernails grow about 3.5 mm per month and toenails grow about 1.6 mm per month on average. The exact rate at which your nails grow depends on several factors, such as age, sex, diet, exercise, etc. Nails also grow faster in summer when it is warmer. Fingernails can be seen on babies after the tenth week of pregnancy.

Nails consist of many different parts. The visible part is known as the nail plate and below that is the nail bed. The white, half-moon shaped part at the base is called the lunula or distal matrix. The tissue over the top of the matrix is called the cuticle, and the soft tissue directly over the cuticle, is called the eponychium.

Ninety percent of nail growth comes from the matrix. Pressure within the matrix forces dead karatinized cells out. Speed of growth is caused be blood supply and it seems the increased activity of our fingers vs. our toes causes more blood supply to our fingers which leads to faster growth.

The longest fingernails ever recorded on a women belonged to Lee Redmond of Las Vegas. After growing for 30 years, they measured a combined length of 28 feet 4.5 inches. Unfortunately, she lost her fingernails in a car accident in February 2009.

Clean trimmed nails are more noticeable to the beholder than the owner.

Texas Sized Hoax

During the oil boom of 1919, Wichita Falls, Texas, was desperate for office space. Developer J.D. McMahon offered to build a 480″ highrise downtown.

Investors loved his offer and poured in the money. The building turned out to be four stories tall. The disgruntled investors double-checked the blueprints and discovered the problem. McMahon had promised a building 480 inches (40 feet) tall, not 480 feet. He delivered on his promise and by the time of their discovery, he was long gone with the rest of the money.

Good Penmanship Saves Lives

Poor penmanship is responsible for up to 61 percent of medication errors and more than 1.5 million patient injuries per year, according to a recent report from the National Academies of Sciences' Institute of Medicine.

Electronic scripts go a long way in reducing these errors. Until all orders are electronic you might want to ask the doc to tell you the name and print it so you do not become a bad statistic.

Laughter is Natural

Laughing is extremely difficult to control consciously. Most people cannot laugh on command.

Laughter almost always occurs during pauses at the end of phrases. It requires the coordination of many muscles throughout the body. A good hardy laugh is like a full body workout. It gives your diaphragm, abdominal, respiratory, facial, leg, and back muscles a workout.

If you want an easy way to trim a few pounds, watch a funny movie or share a good joke with friends. If you need some new material, try some of my humor books.

Here is another good way to burn calories. When you kiss someone for a minute, you both burn about 2.6 calories. According to that math, that is about 156 calories an hour. I am available for testing the theory.