Sep 22, 2017
Salty Tip
Before frying, put a pinch of salt in the
pan. It should keep the oil from spattering so much.
Ig Nobel Awards 2017
The Ig Nobel awards are
given for achievements that first make people laugh then make
them think. On September 14, 2017 at the 27th First Annual Ig
Nobel Prize Ceremony, at Harvard's Sanders Theatre, the
following prizes were awarded.
- Physics, Using fluid dynamics to probe the question "Can a Cat Be Both a Solid and a Liquid?"
- Peace, Demonstrating that regular playing of a didgeridoo is an effective treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea (sic) and snoring.
- Economics, Experiments to see how contact with a live crocodile affects a person's willingness to gamble.
- Anatomy, medical research study "Why Do Old Men Have Big Ears?"
- Biology, Discovery of a female penis, and a male vagina, in a cave insect.
- Fluid Dynamics, Studying the dynamics of liquid-sloshing, to learn what happens when a person walks backwards while carrying a cup of coffee.
- Nutrition, First scientific report of human blood in the diet of the hairy-legged vampire bat.
- Medicine, Using advanced brain-scanning technology to measure the extent to which some people are disgusted by cheese.
Camel Camel Camel
Came across this interesting site. It tracks prices for all
things Amazon. You can create Amazon price watches and get
alerts via email and Twitter when prices drop. View the price
history of Amazon products. Seems practical if you are planning
a large purchase, but waiting for a price drop. LINK
Wordology, Ultracrepidarian
One who gives opinions on
something beyond his or her knowledge. Someone who does not know
what they are talking about. No comments please.
Gravity in Space
Contrary to common opinion, gravity is everywhere, even in
space. Anything with mass creates gravity. The effect of
gravity decreases as distance increases. At extreme distances,
the gravity exerted on a particular object might be almost
zero, but is never completely absent.
At the orbit of the International Space Station, Earth's gravitational pull is about 90% of what it is at Earth's surface.
Astronauts on spaceships in outer space are affected by gravity in the same way that their spaceships are. They are both orbiting Earth, which means they are falling sideways (in orbit) at the same time they are falling toward Earth.
On Earth, astronauts feel the force of gravity as weight, because the ground prevents them from falling. In outer space there is no ground to push against astronauts. As they orbit and fall toward Earth at the same rate as their spaceship, astronauts feel weightless, as if there were no gravity.
At the orbit of the International Space Station, Earth's gravitational pull is about 90% of what it is at Earth's surface.
Astronauts on spaceships in outer space are affected by gravity in the same way that their spaceships are. They are both orbiting Earth, which means they are falling sideways (in orbit) at the same time they are falling toward Earth.
On Earth, astronauts feel the force of gravity as weight, because the ground prevents them from falling. In outer space there is no ground to push against astronauts. As they orbit and fall toward Earth at the same rate as their spaceship, astronauts feel weightless, as if there were no gravity.
Burger and Booze Home Delivery
Saw an ad that shows Friday's is starting
home delivery of booze along with food. It claims to be first to
home deliver this combination and is rolling out in Dallas and
Houston, Texas, then nationwide next year. The liquor and mix
come separate and you need to mix it yourself. It will be
interesting to see how this will work with so many unique local
liquor laws around the country.
Sep 16, 2017
Happy Friday
You
cannot learn a deep appreciation of happiness if you do not dive
in.
Dive in all the way to appreciate a Happy Friday!
Dive in all the way to appreciate a Happy Friday!
What's in a Name, 7Up
7 Up is a brand of lemon-lime flavored,
non-caffeinated soft drink. The rights to the brand are held by
Dr Pepper Snapple Group in the United States, and PepsiCo in the
rest of the world. Creative marketing during prohibition moved
the product to underground speakeasies. Like other products such
as ginger ale and tonic, 7 UP quickly became a popular mixer for
alcoholic drinks. After prohibition was repealed, it was still
marketed as a mixer. By the late 1940s, 7 UP had become the
third best-selling soft drink in the world.
Westinghouse bought 7 Up in 1969 and sold it in 1978 to Philip Morris, which then during 1986 sold it to a group led by Hicks & Haas. 7 Up merged with Dr Pepper in 1988. Cadbury Schweppes bought the combined company in 1995. The Dr Pepper Snapple Group was spun off from Cadbury Schweppes in 2008.
7 Up was created by Charles Grigg, who came up with the formula for a lemon-lime soft drink in 1929. The product, originally named "Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda" contained lithium citrate, a mood-stabilizing drug. "Bib-label" referred to the use of paper labels that were placed on the plain bottles.
The US Food and Drug Administration banned the use of lithium in beer and soft drinks in 1948, and 7-Up was reformulated two years later. Its name was later shortened to "7 Up Lithiated Lemon Soda" before being further shortened to just "7 Up" during 1936.
The actual origin of the 7Up name is unclear, as is the origin or meaning of the red dot. It contains no sugar, preservatives, caffeine or coloring.
Westinghouse bought 7 Up in 1969 and sold it in 1978 to Philip Morris, which then during 1986 sold it to a group led by Hicks & Haas. 7 Up merged with Dr Pepper in 1988. Cadbury Schweppes bought the combined company in 1995. The Dr Pepper Snapple Group was spun off from Cadbury Schweppes in 2008.
7 Up was created by Charles Grigg, who came up with the formula for a lemon-lime soft drink in 1929. The product, originally named "Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda" contained lithium citrate, a mood-stabilizing drug. "Bib-label" referred to the use of paper labels that were placed on the plain bottles.
The US Food and Drug Administration banned the use of lithium in beer and soft drinks in 1948, and 7-Up was reformulated two years later. Its name was later shortened to "7 Up Lithiated Lemon Soda" before being further shortened to just "7 Up" during 1936.
The actual origin of the 7Up name is unclear, as is the origin or meaning of the red dot. It contains no sugar, preservatives, caffeine or coloring.
Banana Facts
The
wonderful banana probably first grew in Southeast Asia, and did
not make a big impact elsewhere until the early Islamic period
when it was brought from India to the Middle East, and on to
Africa. The banana turned up in Europe before that, but only as an
exotic rarity. In ancient Rome, it had to make do with borrowing
the name of the fig (a notion which lived on in the early French
term for ‘banana’, figue du paradis).
Spanish and Portuguese colonists took the banana with them across the Atlantic from Africa to the Americas, and along with it they brought its African name, banana, apparently a word from one of the languages of the Congo area (it has been speculated that it derives ultimately from Arabic banana ‘finger, toe’, an origin which would be echoed in the English term hand for a bunch of bananas, and serves as a reminder that many varieties of banana are quite small, not like the large sizes imported into Britain).
Spanish and Portuguese colonists took the banana with them across the Atlantic from Africa to the Americas, and along with it they brought its African name, banana, apparently a word from one of the languages of the Congo area (it has been speculated that it derives ultimately from Arabic banana ‘finger, toe’, an origin which would be echoed in the English term hand for a bunch of bananas, and serves as a reminder that many varieties of banana are quite small, not like the large sizes imported into Britain).
Since the end of the nineteenth century Bananaland
has been used by Australians as a colloquial and not completely complimentary
name for Queensland, a state where the banana is a key crop.
Even less complimentary is banana republic, a term coined in the
1930s for small volatile states of the South American tropics
(from their economic dependence on the export of bananas).
Wordology, O'Clock
The long form of this expression is 'two of the clock' or 'two
on the clock' and the apostrophe stands for the missing letters.
Two of the clock is an old expression that dates back to the
time of sundials and other means of telling time. In order to
distinguish the fact that one was referencing a clock's time,
rather than something else, one would say, "It is two of the
clock," which later became two o'clock.
Manicule
A
manicule is a unique symbol. Literally it takes the form of a
hand with an outstretched index figure, gesturing towards a
particularly pertinent piece of text or a direction.
Although manicules are still visible today in old signage and retro décor, their heyday was in medieval and Renaissance Europe.
Despite its centuries-long popularity, the first-ever use of a manicule is surprisingly difficult to find. They were reportedly used in the Domesday Book of 1066, a record of land ownership in England and Wales. Widespread use began around the 12th century. The name comes from the Latin word manicula, meaning little hand, but the punctuation mark has had other synonyms, including bishop’s fist, pointing hand, digit, and fist.
As far as punctuation marks go, the manicule’s function was fairly self-explanatory. Usually drawn in the margin of a page (and sometimes between columns of text or sentences), it was a way for the reader to note a particularly significant paragraph of text. They were essentially the medieval version of a highlighter.
The use and dynamic of manicules changed once books began to be printed. This new technology allowed writers and publishers to highlight what they believed to be significant. The little hands with outstretched finger make it easy to find the key points without re-reading the whole text.
Although manicules are still visible today in old signage and retro décor, their heyday was in medieval and Renaissance Europe.
Despite its centuries-long popularity, the first-ever use of a manicule is surprisingly difficult to find. They were reportedly used in the Domesday Book of 1066, a record of land ownership in England and Wales. Widespread use began around the 12th century. The name comes from the Latin word manicula, meaning little hand, but the punctuation mark has had other synonyms, including bishop’s fist, pointing hand, digit, and fist.
As far as punctuation marks go, the manicule’s function was fairly self-explanatory. Usually drawn in the margin of a page (and sometimes between columns of text or sentences), it was a way for the reader to note a particularly significant paragraph of text. They were essentially the medieval version of a highlighter.
The use and dynamic of manicules changed once books began to be printed. This new technology allowed writers and publishers to highlight what they believed to be significant. The little hands with outstretched finger make it easy to find the key points without re-reading the whole text.
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