Science
Science
Know It All
Growing up, I was called a know-it-all. In fact, for my 15th birthday, my dad got me a tee-shirt that said, "Feel free to ask me anything, I've reached the age, where I know it all." I would hope, after almost 30 years, I have grown out of that attitude of conceit, but considering the arguments I still have with the man-child husband, it is a problem I still struggle with. I find it difficult to just sit silently when hearing someone talk about, well, anything, that I have any knowledge about. I'm quick to interject a random factoid, or argue the case when someone states a fact that I object with; not based on any confirmed research, mind you - I simply just know it. Drives people crazy. I don't mean to be so aggressive; blame it my zodiac. The Aries in me despises to submit defeat and likes to be at the center of attention. "Hey, look at me! See what I can do!" Mother tells me I was a handful as a child; even at a small age, I knew how to command attention. Growing up in Alaska meant you found any ways possible to entertain yourself, and storytelling was one of my favorite things to do. Once during a 2nd or 3rd- grade recess, I commenced telling a group of younger kids that the woods surrounding our Christian school were filled with witches and demons, and on days that it rained, when the mist hung like spider webs in the blue spruce branches, you could hear them, pattering through the heavily mossed forest, approaching the fence that separated the trees from our playground, plotting which child to grab. On Kodiak Island, the smell of petrichor was always near, since it rained nearly every day. (see what I did there - I snuck in another bit of uncommon knowledge: that ozone-type smell of rain just before it arrives actually has a name. Petrichor). Needless to say, my mom got called to the school for that one. Alaska was a fantastic place to be a kid. The most amazing landscapes you could ever imagine were all around you; everywhere your eyes landed, was like an eyegasm. If that is not a real thing, it should be, because truly, your senses explode with overload at the colors and pristine beauty above and below. And the wildlife...I challenge you to find another place where a simple day trip into the woods to go ice skating during the winter, could produce 5 or more different species of wild critters. Speaking of critters and Alaska, did you know that the willow ptarmigan is its state bird? I think it is pretty cool that a group of about 6000 school kids had the say in that choice; they voted it to be and sent their choice to the Territory Legislature BEFORE Alaska was even given the title of 49th state in the USA. Another interesting bird factoid that I already know, having had lived in Alaska, is the puffin, (those cute little black and white birds with orange beaks that float in the ocean), lay eggs that hatch to become baby pufflings. Say it with me "pufflings". See, I'm loaded with a plethora of useless helpful information. I can cook up a bunch of stuff you may already know, but I bet some of it will be new. Speaking of cooking, you know those tall, white chef hats, usually worn by "professional" chefs? I use that term lightly these days, however, in this case, I'm referring to the actual pleated hat worn by pros. Those random folds actually serve a purpose - or they used to. Each fold on a chef's hat represents their level of experience; how many different ways they could cook an egg. I guess there are more ways to cook eggs than frying, scramble, poach or steam... Thanks to Google, anyone with access to a computer can type in "ways to cook eggs" and figure it out. Computers. If you were born anytime after 1990, having a computer in your house probably wasn't that big of a deal; a lot of people started buying them as prices came down. Did you know in 1977, the Apple II launched a personal computer that sold for about $1300.00 USD (today, that would be over $5000.oo USD), and that bad boy was considered by most, to be the first widely successful PC (personal computer). Nowadays, you can get a decent laptop for under $400.00 USD. When I was in high school, in the late 1990s, I could not 'Google' my research papers; I had to actually have my mom drive me to a brick -and- mortar building (called a library, for you tech-spoiled youngsters), to look up information. My senior year, I had to do a report on Scotland, so I had my mom drop me off after school at the library for a few hours so I could pull every book I could find on "Scotland". In doing so, I learned this little nugget - the unicorn is Scotland's national animal. Seriously. The unicorn stands for purity, innocence, as well as strength and its presence of importance goes way back to Celtic mythology. So far as national animals go, Scotland wins, in my book. All animals are pretty awesome. I mean, have you seen how many You Tube videos involving dogs and cats, alone, exist? Personally, I never get tired of seeing cats getting scared by plastic bags that wind up around their tails, and doing terrified zoomies throughout the house. I laugh so hard I cry at these videos. This topic leads me to insert my last bit of uncommon info - cats can be allergic to humans. I found that to be interesting while I was searching the web for cool bits of data. So, I leave you, reader, with this bit of wisdom: no matter how much knowledge you 'google', or how many bits of information you pick up online, know that only about 8% of it is actually available on the internet. Books, journals, and written text still have much to teach us, if we are just willing to look.
By Saundra M Bobbish - Dyer5 years ago in FYI
Zombies: The Theory
The zombies in movies are the out of box things. They are just for entertainment purpose. But here we go deep into the facts about zombies. Here I will give real world references about zombies. I am not talking to act like horror, but in fact real horror.
By Zeeshan Mushtaq Lone5 years ago in FYI
Where Does Vanilla Come From?. Top Story - March 2021.
Poor dull Vanilla gets an awful rap. Its name has been railroaded into meaning boring or conventional or unexciting. Think vanilla. Think blah. Think bland. Think basic. That provenance was derived from a perverse misstep of vanilla ice-cream being labelled as plain ice-cream. But plain means popular — for a third of us — vanilla is our favourite ice-cream flavour with sexy, cool, hot-shot chocolate languishing a distant second.
By Will Russell5 years ago in FYI
The World's Tiniest Bird Can Hover (and other strange facts)
In the summer, hummingbirds may be all around, but until you put up a feeder, you're not likely to spot one. They fly as fast as 30MPH, and even 45 MPH. They make a humming sound, hence the name, and can be as small as a bee. Typically, these birds are about 2 to 4 inches long. At first, you may think this fast-flying bird is a beetle, bee or some other insect. Once your eyes are trained, and you put out a feeder (or plant flowers that have the nectar they like), you may see these playful birds start to visit more often.
By Christine Annette5 years ago in FYI
Magic Mushrooms and Magic Bullets
Last week, California senators introduced a bill to legalize hallucinogenic drugs, including LSD, ketamine, mushrooms, and MDMA, more commonly known as Ecstasy. The sponsors say the bill is one small step in ending the War on Drugs, which, since the 1980s, has cost billions of dollars and resulted in the United States having the highest incarceration rate on the planet.
By Ashley Herzog5 years ago in FYI
What It Smells Like When Whales Blow
Dear God, While we do appreciate the magnificence of the whale in nature, and have for centuries benefited from the splendor of its many varied resources, not the least of which is ambergris, the miraculous and naturally sourced rare product of sperm whale turd used in perfumes, which has a higher value than gold by weight, we do have one primary complaint about these majestic creatures.
By Byron Hamel5 years ago in FYI
Burn The House Down. Top Story - March 2021.
“Really the only sure solution is to burn your house down and start over.” This was what my vet offered the day she handed back my cat with the proclamation: “Yep, he has fleas all right.” She saw my obvious distress. Already overwhelmed, here was another thing to deal with. I almost cried. I don’t think I actually cried. I might have. As much as I love my children and love how much they love their cats, I will admit that I did not anticipate the trials of feline ownership. Trapped is how I felt. Helpless to rid ourselves of either the fleas or the cats. “Once you have them, you pretty much have them forever. Until you move or burn the house down.” My vet is practical and very matter of fact. She is pragmatic and I initially accepted her prognosis as gospel. Driving home my shoulders slumped. “We can never have friends over ever again.” I mumbled to myself. “We have fleas.” “Damn Cats! Why did I ever get cats for my kids? And now I can’t just get rid of their cats.” Like a mouse on a sticky trap trying desperately to wrestle myself free, I felt like the world’s dumbest parent. There must be a solution. People have cats. I know tons of people with cats and other pets. Surely they don’t just live with fleas for their whole lives. By the time I got home I was ready to armor up!
By Maria Calderoni5 years ago in FYI
DNA is not a Blueprint
Education is hard. Unfortunately it’s often necessary to simplify a concept for people to understand it when they’re first learning about it. Educators want children to learn concepts about how biological systems work, but some concepts are too complicated to explain in an accurate way. DNA is one of those topics. Sadly, as students learn, their simplified understanding of the topic is rarely corrected.
By Daniel Goldman5 years ago in FYI
Real Cures No One Talks About
Your day is going fine when you start to feel just a little tickle in your throat. You ignore it and go on with your day. Later you feel extra tired, just dragging and wonder where your usual energy has gone. The tickle in your throat gets worse and you find yourself clearing and clearing when you need to speak. Then your ears feel a bit plugged....
By Maria Calderoni5 years ago in FYI
