Redheads Require More Anesthesia
By Kaye Nemec
It seems ridiculous to say out loud, but the fact of the matter is that studies have proven that redheads actually require more anesthesia than blondes, brunettes etc. In 2004 a study was published in Anesthesiology that found that up to 20% more anesthetic was needed to achieve the same result in redheads that had been achieved in the blondes and brunettes taking part in the study.
So how does this make any sense? Without getting all scientific (those details can be found here) the bottom line is that redheads have specific mutations on the MCR1 gene that not only increase expression of red pigment but may also be involved with the function of the central nervous system.
This study opened the door for scientists to learn more and more about anesthesia and how it affects different patients. Do you know people who swear Tylenol or Ibuprofen doesn’t do anything for them? How about people who swear they have to take more than the recommended dosage in order for the medicine to take effect? Perhaps there is some truth to their claims after all. This study is a breakthrough in what could be a detailed explanation of how different people are affected by different medications.
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Sources: OR.org, Medscape, Discovery Health
Photo: Johnnyalive
Seattle’s Best Coffee is Owned By Starbucks
By Chad Upton | Editor
If you’re not wired into the coffee industry, that Seattle’s Best at the mall may look like a suitable competitor to the Starbucks outlets that flank the mall corridor.
Actually, that’s kind of what they want you to think. If you’re anti-Starbucks, you might feel right at home with Seattle’s Best. It’s still high quality coffee, but it’s cheaper than Starbucks and doesn’t have the same cache, which is exactly what some people are looking for.
Even if you knew they were owned by Starbucks, you might not realize that Seattle’s Best is a few years older than Starbucks. Both companies began in Seattle, Starbucks officially started March 30, 1971 and Seattle’s Best began sometime in 1968.
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Sources: Wikipedia (Seattle’s Best, Starbucks)
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Searing Meat Does Not Lock in Moisture
By Terry D. Johnson
The idea that searing meat locks in the juices has been around since the middle of the 19th century. According to the theory, searing changes the structure of the outside of the meat, preventing the escape of moisture during subsequent cooking. It’s still a popular technique – despite demonstrably failing at its purported task.
This is a simple enough one to test. Take two cuts of meat, sear one, cook both, and weigh them to determine whether the seared meat loses less moisture than the unseared cut. Numerous experiments have shown that the seared meat typically loses at least as much moisture, and possibly more.
Does this mean you should avoid searing meat entirely? Not at all. Browning (or caramelization) of the meat’s surface will introduce flavors and texture. A good sear is still a worthy component of a good chef’s toolbox – but not because it laminates your prime rib.
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Source: The Food Lab
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Babies Don’t Find Yawning Contagious
By Kaye Nemec
You’ll probably find yourself yawning throughout this post. For adults, talking about yawning, reading about yawning and watching someone yawn is oftentimes contagious. In fact, at least 50% of adults will automatically yawn if they see another person yawning.
But this contagious behavior does not develop in children until around the age of five. Before age five babies will yawn as a sign of tiredness, but usually only a couple of times per day. On average, adults yawn seven times per day.
In the study performed by the University of Stirling, mothers reported that their babies did not respond to their yawns by yawning. Toddlers who watched a video of people yawning also did not respond by yawning.
Once children reach twelve years old they have usually transitioned into the contagious yawn stage and have a tendency to yawn contagiously as frequently as an adult.
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Sources: CBC, Newser.com
Photo: DanielJames
Solubilized Ibuprofen Fastest Non-Prescription Painkiller
By Chad Upton | Editor
If you get a lot of headaches, you might be dehydrated and need to drink more water. If you’ve tried that and you’re otherwise healthy, then you probably want the fastest over-the-counter drug you can buy.
Typical painkillers come in a number of formats:
- Liquids
- Liquid Gels
- Chewable Tablets
- Capsules/Caplets
- Hard Tablets
This list is in order of the quickest for your stomach to break down. Generally, the harder it is for your stomach to breakdown the pill, the longer it will take to mitigate your pain. While the format does impact the speed of absorption, the drug itself does too.
In one scientific study, researchers found that solubilized ibuprofen (active ingredient in Advil Liqui-gels) was faster at curing headaches than acetaminophen (Tylenol). The median time for solubilized ibuprofen was 39 minutes while acetaminophen had a 53 minute median time.
That doesn’t necessarily mean you should take Advil over Tylenol. If you’re not sure which you should take, start by looking at this comparison of common over-the-counter painkillers and talking to your doctor.
Generic brand solubilized ibuprofen is available at many pharmacies too.
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Sources: PubMed.gov, Wikipedia (Tylenol, Paracetamol, Advil)
Rulebook Specs for Home Plate are Impossible
By Chad Upton | Editor
The earliest known reference to “baseball” comes from a 1744 British publication called, “A Little Pretty Pocket-Book” by John Newbery. At the time, the field was triangular and used poles instead of bases. This game was brought to America sometime before 1791, when the first American reference is found in a town bylaw for Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
Of course, the game has changed a lot since then. The infield is has gome from triangular to “diamond” (square) shaped. Home base was originally a round metal plate, which is why it is often called “home plate.” Home plate became a square shape in the 1870s, making it jus t like the rest of the bases.
The rear point of home plate sat at the intersection of the baselines from first and third bases. Although this point never changed, in the year 1900, home plated went from four sides to five.
The front of the base was squared in relation to the pitcher. This was done to make it easier for the pitcher to see the left and right edges of the base. When the base was a square, there was only a small point on each side, which was difficult to see and could easily be covered with dirt. Having a long edge rather than a small point also makes it easier for the umpire to see if the ball passes over the base and make an appropriate call.
The official Major League Baseball rulebook specifies the dimensions for home plate. They say it should be a 12 inch square with two corners filled in so one edge (facing the pitcher) is 17 inches. It also specifies that the two sides should be 8.5 inches. That sounds good on paper, but that is an impossible shape to create — according to Pythagorean theorem. If the 12 inch sides are supposed to be at a right angle to each other, then the hypotenuse would be 17 inches according to the rulebook. Mathematically, the hypotenuse would have to be 16.9 inches.
Some would say it’s a small difference, but it’s actually a large difference in modern day manufacturing tolerances. Either way, the point stands: nobody can create a home plate with the exact specifications set in the rulebook.
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Sources: MLB.com, wikipedia (baseball, home plate), MAA
Photo: JC Derr (cc / graphics overlaid)
Up to 40% of Online Clothing Purchases are Returned
By Kaye Nemec
Online shopping is popular for people who don’t have the time to shop in stores or who simply feel browsing through a mall is actually a waste of time. With websites like Ebates.com, which gives you cash back for all your purchases, and PayPal.com, which allows you to pay without using your credit card, it’s ridiculously easy to add a few items to your cart and hope you get what you paid for.
Unfortunately, online shopping results aren’t always what we hope for. In fact, 15 to 40% of all online clothing purchases are returned (depending on the source). One in four loose fitting clothing items like t-shirts are returned when they’re purchased online. Almost half of all form fitting clothing items purchased online are returned.
Twenty percent of computer software purchased online is returned and 15% of books purchased online are returned.
If companies don’t have “return to store” or “free return shipping” options then our great, upfront deals could turn into a total loss in the end. Of the returns made from online purchases, 59% receive refunds, 27% are exchanged for another item and 11% are given a store credit.
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Sources: Shine, The Business Link
The Signature Line on Checks is Not a Line at All
By Chad Upton | Editor
Although personal checks are antiquated by modern payment standards, they still have some valid uses. For example, they’re still popular for personal and bill payments by mail. They’re also used to dodge online transaction fees to pay friends or submit payments for online auctions.
Turning a blank line into any amount of money has obvious fraud potential. Unlike most currency, the paper itself is not particularly special. However, the print on the paper has some security features built in.
Photocopying is thwarted in a couple of ways. First, the light blue ink is a specific color of blue that does not photocopy well.
There is also a feature called micro-security print, usually indicated with an “MP” (micro-security print) logo on the signature line. The logo indicates that very tiny print is present. While the signature line looks like an ordinary horizontal line, it is actually made up of very small repeating print, “AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE.” This text is extremely small; so small that it will become completely blurry and unreadable if it is photocopied.
The next time you see a check, try reading the fine print.
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Sources: 4checks.com, Yahoo! Answers
Poppy Seeds Can Cause Drug Test Failures
By Chad Upton | Editor
Poppy seeds are tasty, especially on bagels or in muffins and lets not forget about cakes either. But, poppy seeds can cause serious situations that might make you think twice the next time you see poppy seed encrusted baking. There are many documented cases of people losing their jobs or even their children because of drug tests with false-positive results.
Poppy seeds are oilseeds that come from the opium poppy. Although the seeds are not used in creating opiate drugs such as morphine or codeine, they do contain a small amount of opiates. If a person consumes enough seeds in the 48 hours leading up to a drug test, they can test positive for opiates in their system.
US federal prisons test inmates for drugs and therefore, they do not serve food containing poppy seeds within the prison. Prisoners on furlough, who are allowed to leave the prison, are forbidden from eating poppy seeds, so they can’t use it as a defense if they do test positive for opiates.
Because there have been so many false positives, testing standards were updated in 1998 to allow a higher amount of opiates before it is considered a positive result. This was done reduce the number of false positives from poppy seeds. Some labs still use the old standards and some medical journals claim that the new standards can still report false-positives in certain cases.
So, if you are at the mercy of drug testing, you might want to avoid poppy seeds entirely.
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Sources: Snopes, Wikipedia (Poppy Seeds, Opiate), Poppies.org
Photo: Johnson (cc)
Relevant
There are a lot of unpleasant opiate withdrawal symptoms that an opiate abuser will have to deal with to finally eliminate the drug from his system.
Urinals are Not Just for Men
By Chad Upton | Editor
Urinals are common in most men’s bathrooms, but they’re rarely seen in the ladies room. But, Urinals.net maintains a short list of ladies rooms with urinals built just for women. It’s not a complete list, but it’s a curious one.
Ladies’ urinals haven’t caught on for a variety of reason. First of all, they’re confusing. They are often very different from men’s urinals, so women aren’t sure if they should be used forward or backward. Also, they’re not as practical for females because of differences in anatomy and the types of clothing that men and women wear.
Urinals are very common in men’s rooms of course. But, there are some surprises there too.
For example, most guys have probably come across this in a bar at some point, whether they remember it or not: some bars and clubs fill the men’s urinals with ice during busy times.
People are inherently bad at flushing public toilets, likely because they want as little contact as possible with these appliances. Therefore, many public restrooms have automatic flush toilets. But, a much cheaper option is to use ice. You see, when urine melts the ice, the water from the melted ice dilutes the urine and flushes away the smell. It’s a low-tech automatic flush system.
Also, melting ice is fun, so it improves aim and that reduces the number of bathroom cleanings that are required.
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Sources: Wikipedia (Urinals)
Photo: Christian Church (cc)
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