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Author Topic: Useless Fact's Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 01-23-2007 05:08 PM                        Rated G Useless fact - What's the difference between "all-wheel drive" and "four-wheel drive"? As it turns out, "all-wheel drive" refers to vehicles that have permanently engaged or automatically engaging four-wheel-drive capability. " Four-wheel drive" implies the vehicle has manually engaging, temporary four-wheel drive. Your confusion is justified -- the auto industry, in their infinite wisdom, created these seemingly interchangeable terms. What is four-wheel drive, exactly? A four-wheel-drive vehicle has the ability to send power to all four wheels (not just the front two), giving the car more traction and stability. This helps when driving off road or on rough terrain. Some all-wheel-drive vehicles are the Oldsmobile Bravada, the Toyota RAV-4, and the Mercury Mountaineer. If you're trying to decide between the two systems, all-wheel drive is almost always better option that four-wheel drive: less hassle, better suspension, and better overall design.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 01-25-2007 09:26 AM                        Rated G Useless fact - Are eggs fattening? And is it true that they're bad for your heart? Here's the skinny on eggs: A single large egg has 75 calories, 63% of which comes from the 5 grams of fat that each contains. So, does that mean they're "fattening?" That depends on how many you eat over a given period of time. The calories alone won't cause you exceed your daily limit, which for most adults falls somewhere between 1600 and 2800 calories, depending on your age, sex, body weight, and level of physical activity. Even a three-egg omelet isn't a huge caloric hit, relatively speaking, even though it's likely to be cooked in butter (more fat). However... The percentage of fat in eggs is above desirable levels. Current dietary guidelines suggest that you should limit fat calories to about 30% of your total daily intake. That doesn't mean that you should never eat foods with higher percentages of fat, but obviously, the more high-fat foods you eat, the more difficult it will be to hit that 30% target. Still, if you ate just an egg or two per day, the high percentage of fat could be balanced by a generally low-fat diet. However... Judging by your followup question, you've heard that eating eggs can contribute to heart disease. The facts are these: A single egg contain about 215 milligrams of cholesterol, which is two-thirds of the recommended daily allowance for healthy adults (300mg). High levels of cholesterol have been linked to heart disease. The consensus seems to be that 3 or 4 eggs per week is a reasonable amount, with the yolks being the operative factor. If you eat just the egg whites, you can have many more and still stay within sensible dietary limits.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 01-29-2007 02:10 PM                        Rated G Useless fact - How safe is tongue piercing? When performed by a qualified studio, tongue piercing is pretty safe. Some tips for tongue piercing are: * Find a friend who's had their tongue pierced and ask them to recommend a studio. * Visit the studio. Ask to look at their photo portfolio. Does the studio seem sterile? * Ask if they use a hospital grade autoclave, which uses high pressure and heat to clean instruments. * The piercing shouldn't be done in a tattoo room, or an administrative office. * The staff should all be vaccinated against hepatitis-B. * The staff should be friendly and willing to answer all of your questions. * All the needles and jewelry should be kept in sterilized packages. * Health certificates should be clearly visible. * It usually takes four to six weeks for the piercing to completely heal, but your tongue will swell dramatically during the first couple days. Fret not -- apply ice and drink plenty of water. Don't smoke, don't kiss, rinse with warm salt water, and avoid spicy foods. After you've completely healed, you won't notice the piercing at all. It's true. Of course, any time you have minor surgery, complications are possible. You'll have to decide for yourself if the rewards outweigh the risks.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 01-29-2007 02:13 PM                        Rated G Useless fact - What is the purpose of the spleen? Can I live without one? I'm your spleen. I'm a purplish-red organ shaped like a loose fist and located in the upper-left part of your abdominal cavity. I have been called "the most ignored and misunderstood of all organs." In ancient times, people believed I was the seat of the emotions, but actually I am an integral part of your immune system. My job description includes: * filtering out foreign organisms that infect your blood * removing your old or damaged platelets and red blood cells * storing extra blood and releasing it as needed * forming some types of white blood cells If I become injured or diseased, I may have to be removed through a medical procedure called a splenectomy. The classical cause of traumatic damage to me is a motorcycle accident where one end of the handlebars strikes the abdomen. In general, I am removed by laparoscopy (minimal access surgery) when I am not too large and when the procedure is elective. It is performed by open surgery for trauma or when I am large enough. About 1% of the population is spleenless. You can live without me (although important, I am not a vital organ), but your resistance to infection will be lowered, at least initially. Although I like to think of myself as irreplaceable, eventually some of your other organs like the liver (a real team player), will take over my responsibilities.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 01-29-2007 03:32 PM                        Rated G Useless fact - How do I avoid jet lag? The good doctor offers several concrete tips for the lagged and weary. To sum up: * If you are making a coast-to-coast flight, try adjusting your bedtime beforehand. Three days before your flight, start staggering your bedtime by an hour so you're on schedule when you arrive. * If you're flying internationally, think about your flight schedule beforehand. For instance, try to schedule a night flight when you're arriving in the morning. * Get a good night's sleep before your flight. Most initial jet- lag symptoms are simply the result of flying fatigue. * Drink plenty of water on your flight, and try to avoid alcohol and caffeine. They're both diuretics and can dehydrate you quickly. * Bring whatever you need to help you sleep onboard: eyemasks, neck braces, and slippers. Bring your pajamas. Be completely shameless. * Try to exercise whenever possible; stretching and walking up and down the aisles will help your circulation. * Adjust your clock to your destination's time zone to help you get in the right mindset. Start thinking about your schedule ahead of time to avoid any surprises. * After you've arrived, try to get some sunlight in the mornings to help adjust your body's internal clock. Exercise to stay awake, and try to avoid naps. * Pills of any kind should be treated with caution. They can do more harm than good.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 01-29-2007 03:36 PM                        Rated G Useless fact - What kind of wood generates the most heat when burned? There's nothing nicer than a warm and crackling fire to take the chill out of a winter night. First, note the important distinction between green and dry wood. Freshly cut green wood may contain as much as 50% water by weight. Since heat is lost as the water is burned off, green wood produces less heat than air-dried or seasoned wood, and it releases more smoke and creosote in the process. Density, or dry weight per volume, is a key factor in choosing good firewood. Heavier hardwoods, from broadleafed trees, produce more heat than softer, lighter conifers. Dense woods such as oak, ash, or mulberry are recommended; cottonwood, an abundant broadleafed tree in many regions, is, nevertheless, a low-density hardwood, and therefore, a poor heat source. Maple and oak are traditionally favored fuels in central North America, but since these trees are highly valued for other uses, try using woods that are abundant and affordable in your area. Whatever wood you choose, it's important to have it cut the correct size and to store it welll-dried. Stay warm and safe, and don't let the price of heating oil give you chills this winter. Check out the links in our Wood category and Firewood category for more.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 01-31-2007 07:46 AM                        Rated G Useless fact - What exactly is white gold? White gold is an alloy of gold mixed with white metals such as nickel, silver, and palladium. Like yellow gold, white gold glitters in a variety of carats: 18ct, 14ct, or 9ct. 9-carat white gold consists of 3 parts gold to 5 parts silver. Adding nickel to a white gold/silver alloy can produce good color and hardness, but nickel is allergenic, and produces skin reactions in approximately 20% of the population. Eighteen-carat white gold consists of 75% gold mixed with 25% white metals. New white gold rings are usually coated with a hard protective finish of rhodium, a silver-white metal like platinum. To keep a white gold ring looking its best, Gillett's recommends an annual replating of rhodium, since the coating wears off over time. Platinum, an entirely different element than gold, is a white metal that is denser, heavier, and longer-wearing than gold. It's usually used in almost pure form and does not require a protective coating. Platinum is quite expensive, a platinum ring is perhaps twice the price of a similar ring made in white gold  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 01-31-2007 07:48 AM                        Rated G When playing poker, why are a pair of aces and a pair of eights sometimes called a "Dead Man's Hand"? Dead Man's Hand, the worst poker hand that has its own proper name, officially consists of both black bullets (the aces of clubs and spades) and both black eights (the eights of clubs and spades). According to legend, this was the poker hand Wild Bill Hickok was holding on August 2, 1876 at the Saloon No. 10 in Deadwood, South Dakota, when he was shot in the back of the head and killed, hence the name. Though the first four poker hand cards are generally agreed on, much controversy and debate centers on the fifth card. Various sources have suggested the following possibilities for the mystery card: * the five of diamonds * the nine of diamonds * the jack of diamonds * the jack of spades * the queen of hearts * the queen of spades  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 01-31-2007 07:51 AM                        Rated G Useless fact - How much caffeine is there in chocolate? Contrary to popular belief, chocolate does not contain significant amounts of caffeine, except when caffeine is added by the manufacturer. There are about 30 milligrams of caffeine in your average chocolate bar, while a cup of coffee contains around 100 to 150 milligrams. The primary stimulant in chocolate is the theobromine, which is frequently confused with caffeine. In small quantities, chocolate is a very potent stimulant for horses; it is banned as an illegal stimulant in horse-racing. Remember that chocolate is toxic to dogs as they can not metabolize theobromine effectively.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 02-01-2007 09:21 PM                        Rated G Useless fact - Where would I find the Sea of Tranquility? Well, that depends on if you are a practioner of acupressure or an outer-space enthusiast. If you are the former, it's located in the center of your breastbone, and is helpful in eliminating emotional stress or eye fatigue. For the purposes of this column, we'll assume you are the latter, in which case the Sea of Tranquility is located on the moon. Mare Tranquillitatis, the Latin name for this dark spot visible in the northern hemisphere of the moon, is most famous as the landing site of Apollo 11. That infamous "small step for man" took place in the southwestern part of the Sea of Tranquility on July 20, 1969. Upon landing, astronaut Buzz Aldrin surveyed the terrain and called it "magnificent desolation." Other "seas" on the moon include the Sea of Crisis, the Sea of Fecundity (or Fertility), and the Sea of Serenity. These seas, or maria, are not actually bodies of water, but are lower-altitude plains filled with "dark, solidified lava from earlier periods of Lunar volcanism." Most of the maria are concentrated on the side of the moon we can see from Earth, the near side of the moon. The far side of the moon (or "dark side" to Pink Floyd fans) is more barren and has few maria.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 02-02-2007 10:34 PM                        Rated G Useless fact - Why are the letters on the keyboard arranged the way they are? The current keyboard layouts are borrowed from the design of the first type writers. The Sholes & Glidden type writer, the first of its kind, was introduced to an unsuspecting public by the Remington family of gunmakers in 1874. The Sholes & Glidden was a heavy, bulky, barely functional machine that jammed in a strong breeze. As a result, its puzzling new QWERTY keyboard was designed to be difficult. That's right -- the slower you typed, the less chance that the keyboard spokes (not the official term) would slam into one another as they rushed towards the page. The keyboard we use today is essentially a "paragon of inefficiency." While other keyboard arrangements have been proposed, ones that actually make it easier to type, they've generally met the same fate of being rekected in favor of the difficult ones we use today.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 02-03-2007 09:02 PM                        Rated G Useless fact - How are Social Security numbers generated? Are they recycled? A social security number is a nine digit number resembling "123-00-1234" which is issued to an individual by the Social Security Administration (SSA) of the government of the United States. Formerly people often had no social security number until the age of about 15 or 16, since they were used for tax purposes and those under that age seldom had remunerative employment. In the 1980s, the law was altered so that persons without social security numbers could not be claimed as dependents on tax returns. Since then, parents have often applied for social security numbers for their children as soon as they were born. The nine-digit Social Security number is divided into three parts. The first three digits are the area number. The remaining six digits are more or less randomly assigned. SSA states that it does not re-assign numbers after the original holder's death. So far, over 400 million SSNs have been issued, and about 6 million new numbers are assigned annually. Apparently there are enough numbers left to last for several generations.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 02-04-2007 10:10 PM                        Rated G Useless fact - What causes the dark circles under your eyes? Is it lack of sleep? After a busy weekend that resulted in very little sleep, I was anxious to find the answer. According to the visited links, as you tack on the years, the skin covering your eyelids thins out, which may cause the blood vessels to become more apparent, giving your lower eyelids a darker appearance. It's also possible that thin eyelids can be inherited. Dark eyelids can also be caused from swelling in your lower eyelids. When you're lying down, gravity causes fluid to collect in your lower eyelids, which may create shadows below your eyes. Most doctors agree that dark circles under eyes are the result of aging or inheritance, and does not indicate illness or toxicity in the body. The two simple remedies that can help eliminate the hollow look are: * Gently massage saffron or almond oil on the dark area before going to bed. * Dip cotton pads in fig juice, rosewater, or cold milk. Lie down with your feet raised higher than your head, then place the wet pads on your closed eyes. Stay that way for 10 minutes.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 02-05-2007 11:04 AM                        Rated G Useless fact - Does the government create new money? If so, wouldn't this lead to inflation? While looking for the answer to your question I learned the astonishing fact that the Bureau of Engraving and Printing produces 22.5 million bills (from $1 to $100 denominations) every single day. Talk about making money! The vast majority of these bills -- 95 percent -- replace worn out or damaged currency already in circulation, but the rest are used to "increase the money supply." As for the second part of your question, the money supply is related to inflation, but not necessarily the cause of it,-- at least Federal Reserve Bank thinks so.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 02-07-2007 02:33 PM                        Rated G Useless fact - Is melatonin an effective sleeping aid? What are the side effects? The natural hormone melatonin is produced by the pineal gland and regulates the body's sleep cycle -- melatonin levels in the human body rise during the evening and abate during the morning. Not surprisingly, a melatonin supplement, available without prescription in tablets or capsules, has proved useful in combating insomnia, as well as jet lag and seasonal affective disorder (SAD). As you get older, you stop producing as much -- this is why the elderly are especially susceptible to insomnia. While melatonin is a relatively popular drug amongst nighttime tossers and turners, there are a lot of caveats associated with it. In general, you shouldn't take it if you're pregnant or suffer from an autoimmune disease  |  IP: Logged

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