The whoopee cushion is a classic
design that has not changed since its launch in 1932.
The idea of sitting down to make a funny noise is much older, Queen
Victoria was given a musical bustle in 1887 for her Golden Jubilee
which played 'God Save the Queen' when the wearer sat down. The
Roman Emperor Elagabulus used an early version of the whoopee
cushion at his dinner parties.
The Quad City Mallards ice hockey team hold the world record for the
largest simultaneous whoopee cushion sit with 3,614 sitters taking
part at Moline, Illinois, USA.
Whoopi Goldberg (Caryn Elaine Johnson) got her stage name from her
childhood flatulence and the fact that it made her sound like a
whoopee cushion. She adopted the traditionally Jewish surname
'Goldberg' as a stage name, because her mother felt that Johnson was
not "Jewish enough" to make her a star. Well, that's about the
end of it.
Apr 23, 2013
Apr 19, 2013
Patriot's Day
Patriots Day April 19 - America had remained neutral in the war until April 6th of 1917 when President Wilson and the U.S. Congress made a declaration of war. This poster calls for the American people to get on board with the war efforts.
Political Bonus
We tend to think the people in Congress today are a bit looney, but it all started way earlier.
In 1936, Democrats took overRhode Island ’s
state senate and began giving out $100 bonuses to veterans. A
Republican was concerned at this liberality and quietly recommended
a bonus for Sgt. Evael O.W. Tnesba of the Twelfth Machine Gun
Battalion. A Democrat seconded the bill and it passed immediately,
sending a ripple of laughter through the chamber.
In 1936, Democrats took over
Sensing they’d been had, the Democrats referred
the bill to a committee for study. There they discovered that
Evael O.W. Tnesba spelled backward is Absent W.O. Leave.
Racing Right
Races are usually run counterclockwise because
it is believed to be easier for right handed people, who make up the
majority of world population. Putting their right foot forward and
leaning into a turn feels more comfortable and provides more power
and balance than the reverse direction, say physicists.
Going counterclockwise also looks more natural, with runners passing the observer in the way most people perceive, think, and read; that is left-to-right. Easy to understand why counterclockwise was chosen standardizing international competitions.
Going counterclockwise also looks more natural, with runners passing the observer in the way most people perceive, think, and read; that is left-to-right. Easy to understand why counterclockwise was chosen standardizing international competitions.
Mustard
The oriental mustard plant originally started
growing in the foothills of the Himalayas, but migrated to the USA,
UK, Denmark, and Canada.
Mild white mustard grows wild in North Africa, the Middle East, and Europe and has also spread. Black mustard is grown in Argentina, China, the US, and Canada.
Canada and Nepal are the world's major producers of mustard seed, between them accounting for about 57% of world production in 2010. The United Sates receives 43% of Canada's total output of mustard seeds.
Mild white mustard grows wild in North Africa, the Middle East, and Europe and has also spread. Black mustard is grown in Argentina, China, the US, and Canada.
Canada and Nepal are the world's major producers of mustard seed, between them accounting for about 57% of world production in 2010. The United Sates receives 43% of Canada's total output of mustard seeds.
Get Rid of Smells
If you get something really smelly on
your hands, like mustard, garlic, or cheap cologne, try rubbing your
hand on some stainless steel under running water. This combination
should mostly wipe out the bad smells.
Another tip for removing odors from fish, onions, or garlic is to rub your hands across the blade of a stainless steel knife. You can even buy stainless steel 'soap', which is just a piece of stainless steel about the same shape and size as a bar of normal soap.
There is not much scientific data about how stainless steel removes odor and other types of odors are not affected by contact with the metal.
Another tip for removing odors from fish, onions, or garlic is to rub your hands across the blade of a stainless steel knife. You can even buy stainless steel 'soap', which is just a piece of stainless steel about the same shape and size as a bar of normal soap.
There is not much scientific data about how stainless steel removes odor and other types of odors are not affected by contact with the metal.
Eight Geography Quick Facts
- Scranton, Pa., was formerly called Skunk’s Misery.
- No point in Great Britain is more than 75 miles from the sea.
- On a map North East, Pennsylvania, is in northwest Pennsylvania and Northwest, Virginia, is in southeast Virginia.
- There is one spot on earth from which, within an hour’s driving time, you can visit Athens, Belfast, Belgrade, Bremen, China, Denmark, Dresden, Frankfort, Limerick, Lisbon, Madrid, Mexico, Naples, Norway, Oxford, Palermo, Paris, Peru, Poland or Vienna. The spot is in the county of Sagadahoc, Maine, US. It is surrounded by towns bearing these names.
- No building in Washington, D.C., is taller than the Washington Monument. The city enacted a height restriction in 1899 to protect Thomas Jefferson’s vision of an “American Paris” with “low and convenient” buildings on “light and airy” streets.
- Canada’s coastline is six times as long as Australia’s.
- Weirton, W.Va., is the only town in the United States that borders two different states on opposite sides. It borders Ohio directly on the west and Pennsylvania on the east.
- Vatican City occupies about 4,736,120 square feet. The Pentagon, by comparison, has a total floor area of 6,636,360 square feet.
Apr 17, 2013
Four Person factory
Dirk Vander Kooij's furniture-making
company, Studio Dirk Vander Kooij, in the Netherlands needs only a
skeleton crew of four people. The hard work is carried out by an old
industrial robot that Vander Kooij fashioned into a 3D printer. He
converted an old industrial CNC (computer numerical control)
extruder into an interfaced mechanical arm that prints, level after
level, continuous layers of low-resolution plastic into furniture.
Using plastic recycled from old refrigerators, the machine "prints" furniture the way an ordinary printer uses ink to print documents. Many analysts expect 3D printing to revolutionize manufacturing, allowing more small firms like his to make products without hiring many people.
Using plastic recycled from old refrigerators, the machine "prints" furniture the way an ordinary printer uses ink to print documents. Many analysts expect 3D printing to revolutionize manufacturing, allowing more small firms like his to make products without hiring many people.
De-oxygenated Blood Turns Blue Myth
The common
misconception that blood which lacks oxygen turns blue probably
comes from the fact that veins appear blue and blood in the veins is
typically heading back to the lungs, hence depleted of oxygen.
People who perpetuate this myth often claim that the reason we never see blood in its blue form is that the instant we get cut, the blood is exposed to oxygen and instantly turns red. However, when you get blood drawn from your veins that isn't exposed to air, it is dark red.
When blood is deprived of oxygen it actually just turns dark red. When it’s oxygenated, it turns a brighter red. The red color primarily comes from the hemoglobin, which contains four heme groups. These heme group’s interactions with various molecules end up giving it the dark red or light red color we see. The hemoglobin itself is a protein that binds with oxygen to be distributed throughout the body in blood.
Veins are very close to the surface of skin. This location under the skin is largely why veins appear blue despite the fact that the blood is dark red. This is from the way light diffuses in the skin. Veins appear blue from the way subcutaneous fat absorbs low-frequency light. This permits only high frequency blue and violet wavelengths to penetrate through the skin to the vein, with the other wavelengths getting filtered off from the pigmentation of your skin.
If a person has darker or lighter skin the veins tend to appear green or brown. People with extremely light skin, such as an albino, will typically have veins that show up as dark purple or dark red, more closely resembling the actual color of the blood running through the veins.
People who perpetuate this myth often claim that the reason we never see blood in its blue form is that the instant we get cut, the blood is exposed to oxygen and instantly turns red. However, when you get blood drawn from your veins that isn't exposed to air, it is dark red.
When blood is deprived of oxygen it actually just turns dark red. When it’s oxygenated, it turns a brighter red. The red color primarily comes from the hemoglobin, which contains four heme groups. These heme group’s interactions with various molecules end up giving it the dark red or light red color we see. The hemoglobin itself is a protein that binds with oxygen to be distributed throughout the body in blood.
Veins are very close to the surface of skin. This location under the skin is largely why veins appear blue despite the fact that the blood is dark red. This is from the way light diffuses in the skin. Veins appear blue from the way subcutaneous fat absorbs low-frequency light. This permits only high frequency blue and violet wavelengths to penetrate through the skin to the vein, with the other wavelengths getting filtered off from the pigmentation of your skin.
If a person has darker or lighter skin the veins tend to appear green or brown. People with extremely light skin, such as an albino, will typically have veins that show up as dark purple or dark red, more closely resembling the actual color of the blood running through the veins.
Wordology, Ullage
The space in a bottle of wine that is not
occupied by wine. In other words, the amount the bottle lacks in
being full. Pronounced ull ij.
Salt Myth Debunked
There continues a myth that originated in the
1940s when a professor used salt-reduction to treat people with high
blood pressure. Science has since found out that there is no reason
for a person with normal blood pressure to restrict salt intake.
Decades of scientific research have failed to prove any benefits of a low-salt diet, and in fact tend to show the opposite. Studies have also failed to prove salt's connection to heart disease.
Salt is essential for life. Natural salt is important to many biological processes, including:
Being a major component of your blood plasma, lymphatic fluid, extracellular fluid, and even amniotic fluid; Carrying nutrients into and out of your cells; Increasing the glial cells in your brain, which are responsible for creative thinking and long-term planning; and helping your brain communicate with your muscles, so that you can move on demand via sodium-potassium ion exchange.
A Scottish Heart Health Study, was launched in 1984 by epidemiologist Hugh Tunstall-Pedoe and colleagues at the Ninewells Hospital and Medical School in Dundee, Scotland. The researchers used questionnaires, physical exams, and 24-hour urine samples to establish the risk factors for cardiovascular disease in 7300 Scottish men. This was an order of magnitude larger than any intrapopulation study ever done with 24-hour urine samples. The BMJ published the results in 1988: Potassium, which is in fruits and vegetables, seemed to have a beneficial effect on blood pressure. Sodium had no effect.
A review published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. University of Copenhagen researchers analyzed 114 randomized trials of sodium reduction, concluding that the benefit for hypertensives was significantly smaller than could be achieved by anti-hypertensive drugs, and that a "measurable" benefit in individuals with normal blood pressure of even a single millimeter of mercury could only be achieved with an "extreme" reduction in salt intake.
Recent studies, including those cited by Harvard University at St. George’s Medical School in London, have shown that potassium rich foods are an essential defense in helping to relieve high blood pressure. Potassium is an essential mineral that enables the body to maintain a healthy fluid and electrolyte balance, while also promoting optimal nerve and muscle functions.
If a person has high blood pressure he or she may become salt-sensitive. Hypertension is actually promoted more by excess fructose than excess salt. This can be relieved by reducing salt intake or increasing potassium intake, because it is the balance of the two that is important. Eating more potassium is probably more important than reducing salt.
Potassium is found in orange colored fruits and vegetables, including pumpkins, carrots, and apricots. Tomatoes and bananas are another source of high potassium. It is also found in artichokes, avocados, broccoli, dark chocolate, spinach, potatoes, yogurt, fish, and and a variety of beans.
Decades of scientific research have failed to prove any benefits of a low-salt diet, and in fact tend to show the opposite. Studies have also failed to prove salt's connection to heart disease.
Salt is essential for life. Natural salt is important to many biological processes, including:
Being a major component of your blood plasma, lymphatic fluid, extracellular fluid, and even amniotic fluid; Carrying nutrients into and out of your cells; Increasing the glial cells in your brain, which are responsible for creative thinking and long-term planning; and helping your brain communicate with your muscles, so that you can move on demand via sodium-potassium ion exchange.
A Scottish Heart Health Study, was launched in 1984 by epidemiologist Hugh Tunstall-Pedoe and colleagues at the Ninewells Hospital and Medical School in Dundee, Scotland. The researchers used questionnaires, physical exams, and 24-hour urine samples to establish the risk factors for cardiovascular disease in 7300 Scottish men. This was an order of magnitude larger than any intrapopulation study ever done with 24-hour urine samples. The BMJ published the results in 1988: Potassium, which is in fruits and vegetables, seemed to have a beneficial effect on blood pressure. Sodium had no effect.
A review published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. University of Copenhagen researchers analyzed 114 randomized trials of sodium reduction, concluding that the benefit for hypertensives was significantly smaller than could be achieved by anti-hypertensive drugs, and that a "measurable" benefit in individuals with normal blood pressure of even a single millimeter of mercury could only be achieved with an "extreme" reduction in salt intake.
Recent studies, including those cited by Harvard University at St. George’s Medical School in London, have shown that potassium rich foods are an essential defense in helping to relieve high blood pressure. Potassium is an essential mineral that enables the body to maintain a healthy fluid and electrolyte balance, while also promoting optimal nerve and muscle functions.
If a person has high blood pressure he or she may become salt-sensitive. Hypertension is actually promoted more by excess fructose than excess salt. This can be relieved by reducing salt intake or increasing potassium intake, because it is the balance of the two that is important. Eating more potassium is probably more important than reducing salt.
Potassium is found in orange colored fruits and vegetables, including pumpkins, carrots, and apricots. Tomatoes and bananas are another source of high potassium. It is also found in artichokes, avocados, broccoli, dark chocolate, spinach, potatoes, yogurt, fish, and and a variety of beans.
Apr 13, 2013
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