Posts filed under ‘Demystified’
The History of St. Patrick’s Day
March 17th is the big day. I’m giving you some notice so you can dig to the bottom of your laundry pile, find your green shirt from last year and put it in the washing machine.
If you can’t find a green shirt, go with a blue one instead. According to historians, blue was the original color associated with Saint Patrick. In fact, the 1912 dress code for Lord Chamberlain specified that the household of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland should wear St. Patrick’s blue.
The 1924 Irish Olympic football team wore St Patrick’s blue and the Northern Ireland team (known then as the “Ireland association football team”) wore St. Patrick’s blue jerseys from 1882 until 1931, when they switched to green.
Let me tell you why… (more…)
Bad Fats Can be Hidden on Nutrition Labels
My good friend Scott is probably the fittest person I know. He works out at least once a day (sometimes more) and eats like a champion.
A little while back, I was in Toronto and staying at Neil’s place (author of The Book of Awesome). Scott came by and took us to the gym for a personal training session. At the end, I was beat and he hadn’t even broken a sweat. Then he said, lets do it again! I thought he was joking, I really did… but he was not.
The point is, Scott is very fit and extremely well read. When I asked him what book I should read to learn more about nutrition, he suggested this book.
I’ve been reading it off and on for a couple weeks now and it’s a great book. I found the section about fats very interesting. Of course, most people realize there are good fats and bad. Fats that your body needs and fats that your body shouldn’t have. But, there was an interesting little trick for identifying fat that is not itemized on the nutritional label. If you look at “total fat”, that number is often higher than the itemized fats listed below it (at least saturated and trans fats must appear itemized in the US since 2006). If you add up the saturated and trans fats and the subtract that from the total, you’ll know the approximate amount of unsaturated fats. The reason I say approximate, is because the trans fat number is regulated to be inaccurate in some cases. (more…)
Airplanes Refresh Cabin Air 20 Times an Hour
I was on an airplane a couple days ago and the person in front of me was coughing a lot, they sounded really sick.
I was just starting my vacation and the last thing I wanted was to get sick. So, I couldn’t help thinking about being trapped on the plane for the next four hours, breathing the same air as them.
I started to think about the air quality in general. I mean, people always talk about how bad jetliner air quality is, but I really didn’t know much about it.
I did some research and the air quality on planes, at least newer ones, seems pretty good.
Firstly, the air is not circulated from front to back, it is circulated side to side. That means you’re mostly sharing the air with the people in your immediate area, not the entire plane, which reduces the spread of germs. (more…)
Chilean Earthquake Shortened Earth Days
So far, 2010 is the year of the earthquake. In just over two months, there have been 13 notable quakes.
While the Haiti earthquake on January 12th was certainly the most devastating, it was not the most powerful. That title goes to the February 27th quake in Chile. It had a magnitude of 8.8, the fifth most powerful quake on record. It killed hundreds of people and triggered tsunami warnings in 53 countries.
The big Chilean quake was so powerful, it actually moved the city of Conception 10 feet to the West. It moved Santiago 11 inches and Buenos Aires, which is almost 800 miles from the epicenter, moved an inch. These results were found by an Ohio State research team who has 25 precise GPS sensors and have been monitoring crust movements in Chile since 1993.
Given these facts, there is no question it was a huge earthquake. But, further evidence is in the global impact of our spherical spaceship. The quake rocked the earth, moving us three inches off our axis. This new axis position actually shortens our days by 1.26 milliseconds.
Broken Secrets
Written By: Chad Upton
Photo: Berk2804 (creative commons)
Sources: 2010 Earthquakes, Moved Cities, Off Axis
Caffeine Free Coffee Beans Discovered
In case you haven’t noticed from my video about properly pouring coffee, my various Starbucks secrets or my post about why coffee is called java, I love coffee.
I got hooked on it when a local chain started serving high fructose cappuccinos. They’re mostly sugar, but they’re also a gateway to the serious stuff: coffea arabica, the most common species of coffee bean.
As I got older, I started to notice the effects of all the caffeine. I would get headaches if I didn’t drink enough of the stuff, but I couldn’t stop drinking it entirely… I loved the taste and it was a habitual part of my day, so I switched to decaffeinated coffee. I’m not alone, decaf coffee is growing in popularity, making up 10% of the global coffee market. (more…)
Caller ID Can Be Hacked
If you rely on caller ID to screen calls, you should be aware that the number you see cannot always be trusted.
There are a few services available that let people choose the caller id number that appears when they make a phone call.
Telemarketers and collections agencies are not allowed to change their number, but some still do.
I share this secret because caller id spoofing is becoming popular among fraudsters. You should be weary of any caller asking you for something, especially money or personal information. If a caller claims to be from your financial institution or another company that requires personal information, ask them some information that confirms they are who they say they are. For example, if it’s your cell phone company, ask them which calling plan you’re on.
Food Nutrition Labels are Not Accurate
In 1990, the US Congress mandated that certain nutritional information be placed on packaged foods. There are some exceptions, especially for small manufacturers. Otherwise, every food product you buy has a label that lists the ingredients and nutritional value of those ingredients. Most other developed countries use a similar or even superior system.
This makes a lot of sense. Consumers can read packages and have a good understanding of what they’re eating so they can make healthy decisions. Unfortunately, this data is often inaccurate and intentionally misleading.
The misleading packages are easy to pick out if you’re looking, but often go unnoticed. These are usually products that you buy for a snack and consider to be a single serving, perhaps a small bag of chips or a small bottle of soda/pop. You read over the calories, fat and sugar content and while it doesn’t look great you know what you’re getting into. At least, you think you do until the person next to you that points out that is “per serving” and there are two servings per bag. Or worse, when there are 2.5 servings. What is 73 calories times 2.5? (more…)
Warm Your Car Up Faster
My friend Todd told me about this secret many years ago. He has rebuilt more cars in his suburban home garage than anyone I know.
I met Todd at my first part time job, we used to work early weekend mornings during high school. I was too young to have a driver’s license, so my dedicated parents would always drive me.
That was before remote starters, so I would usually start the car a few minutes before leaving. Actually, that’s not true — my Dad was usually the one starting the car a few minutes before I was ready to leave, which was about 10 minutes after I told him I would be ready to leave.
It didn’t make much difference to the car — it was still cold for at least half the trip. On the rare occasion that I started the car, I would turn the heater to its hottest setting and turn the fan to full blast. That’s actually the slowest way to warm the car, so lets talk more about the fastest way. (more…)
Why do Airplanes Fly at High Altitudes?
A few years ago, I was on a short, low altitude flight on a cold December evening in the Northeast. Because it was a short flight to a tiny airport, the aircraft was a small turboprop plane.
The flight was bumpy from the start. Somewhere in the middle, the flight crew was providing beverage service when the captain turned on the fasten seat belt sign. He instructed the crew to return to their seats and buckle up; before they made it to their seats, we hit a low pressure air pocket and the plane took a sudden drop.
It was just like a roller coaster making its towering first drop. We were in free fall for what felt like a really long time, but was probably only a couple of seconds. A few people flew out of their seats and hit their heads on the overhead bins, the crew was in the isle and did the same. Drinks, books, purses and other personal articles were thrown around the cabin, making a huge mess. (more…)
Botox can be Prescribed by Your Doctor
Botox is widely known as a beauty product used to reduce winkles.
It works really well for that because it prevents the neurotransmitters from contracting the muscles it is injected into. The wrinkles disappear because the muscle is completely relaxed.
Botox (botulinum toxin) is a toxin produced by botulism bacteria and it is extremely dangerous in sizable doses. Doses are measured in MU (mouse units). They’re called mouse units because it’s the quantity of toxin required to kill 50% of mice of a specific weight, strain and sex.
In fact, due to the prevalence of this bacteria in honey, it is not advisable to feed babies honey.
Despite its danger and common use for vanity, there are a number of reasons why your doctor may actually prescribe it. (more…)
Broken Secrets 