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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 02-17-2007 02:04 PM                        Rated G Useless fact - What's the difference between white eggs and brown eggs? According to the Egg Nutrition Center there is no nutritional difference between brown eggs and white eggs. Contrary to popular belief, brown eggs aren't a healthier alternative to white eggs. The color difference is due to the specific breed of hen. Hens with white feathers and white earlobes will lay white eggs, whereas hens with red feathers and matching-colored earlobes give us brown eggs. Note that chicken eggs aren't limited to just brown or white. They also come in blue or even a nice speckled finish (though you may have to make a special request at your local supermarket for these). So, there you have it: The difference between brown eggs and white eggs is purely cosmetic; it's just a matter of a baby taking after its mom.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 02-18-2007 03:48 PM                        Rated G Useless fact - How does an airbag work? Airbags deploy as a result of a simple but powerful chemical reaction. When your car is involved in a frontal car accident while traveling over twelve miles per hour, a motion sensor sends an electrical shock to a small capsule of sodium azide powder, which instantly turns into inert nitrogen gas. This gas fills a lightweight nylon bag, which pops out of a latched panel and covers your head and upper torso. Mind you, this all happens very quickly. It takes about 30 milliseconds for an airbag to deploy, while it takes 100 milliseconds to blink. Airbags start deflating within a second of their release. When coupled with seat belts, airbags save lives. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, airbags reduce the risk of fatalities and serious injury by 40 to 55 percent.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 02-19-2007 09:20 AM                        Rated G Useless fact - Who named the planets? The story behind the names of the planets was written long ago by early stargazers -- the first astronomers to focus attention on the sun, the moon, and the visible planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. They believed that each of these celestial bodies influenced a particular day of the week. Diverse cultures ascribed the names of their gods to individual planets (with the notable exception of Earth). The Romans matched planetary attributes with particular deities and named the known planets accordingly. Tiny Mercury was named after the fleet-footed messenger to the gods, probably because it moves so quickly across the sky; Venus, the brightest planet visible to the unaided eye, was named for the goddess of love and beauty. Jupiter, more than twice as massive as all the other planets combined, earned the name of the superior god. These Roman names were adapted by early European astronomers and have persisted, long after the ancient geocentric model of our solar system was proven wrong. These days, the hard-working scientists who find the planets get to choose their names. Although English is recognized as the international language of professional astronomy and planetary nomenclature, different languages have their own planetary names that are commonly used in everyday conversation.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 02-20-2007 05:24 PM                        Rated G Useless fact - Who built the Leaning Tower of Pisa? To this day, the primary architect behind the world's most famously defective tourist attraction remains unknown. There are several possible suspects, all of whom were famous Italian architects at the time: Bonanno, Deotiusalvi, Gerardo, Guidolotto, etc. This wonderfully erratic timeline of events details the tumultuous history of the listing monolith in question. Construction started in 1173, then stops 5 years later (some trouble with the foundation, perhaps?), then recommences 100 years later, then stops after 6 years, and on and on. Why does the tower tilt? It's built on especially sandy soil, which has settled unevenly over the years. It is believed that Galileo Galilei dropped two cannon balls of different masses from this tower to demonstrate that their speed of descent was independent of their mass. A lot of effort has gone into straightening the tower, including an ill-advised drilling technique in 1934 that only exacerbated the problem. As it stands today, scientists and engineers are slowly but surely righting the structure to a stable angle. The aim isn't to straighten it (what's the Leaning Tower of Pisa without its lean?), but to stop it from tumbling over.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 02-21-2007 09:31 PM                        Rated Useless fact - How can I tell if a strand of pearls is real? Want to know if you've got the real thing? Rub the strand across the front of your upper teeth. It may sound strange, but according to the links we visited real pearls will feel rough or gritty while fake ones will feel smooth. This is due to the micropores found on the genuine article. Imitation pearls are usually made by dipping a glass or plastic bead into a solution of fish scales. The coating is generally fairly thin and will chip over time. Check the pearls for tiny chips or flakes near the hole drilled through them. If you see chips, chances are your pearls are fake. Try holding the pearls in your hand for a minute. The real pearls will feel cold initially, then will warm. Real pearls can be either natural or cultured. Natural pearls are formed when a mollusk secretes a substance called nacre to coat an irritant that makes its way inside the animal's shell. Cultured pearls are formed with a little human help -- an irritant is purposely introduced into the shell of the animal. You usually need an x-ray or an expert to distinguish between natural and cultured pearls.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 02-22-2007 12:50 PM                        Rated G Useless fact - What is "Pilates"? Pilates (pronounced pul-LAH-teez) is a popular exercise regimen that uses special stretches and machines. Pilates method is quite popular with rich and famous folks like Minnie Driver, Madonna, and Julia Roberts. Pilates is named after it's creator, Joseph H. Pilates, who was born in Germany in 1880. As a German intern in England during World War I, he designed a number of ingenious exercise machines using old hospital beds and springs. In 1926, he moved to New York with his wife and opened his own body conditioning studio. Emphasizing flexibility and overall strength over body bulk, Pilates quickly became popular with dancers like Martha Graham and George Balanchine. More and more Pilates studios popped up, and by 1964, The Herald Tribune observed: "In dance classes around the United States, hundreds of young students limber up daily with an exercise they know as "pilates" without knowing that the word has a capital "P" and a living, right-breathing namesake." Joseph died in 1968 at the ripe old age of 87. He must have been on to something.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 02-23-2007 10:47 AM                        Rated G Useless fact - How do sunless tanning products work? The active ingredient in sunless tanning products, dihydroxyacetone, reacts with the dead skin cells on the outer layer of your skin, turning their keratin proteins brown. This is why sunless tans are temporary -- we're constantly sloughing off dead skin cells. Dihydroxyacetone is usually derived from a vegetable source like beets or sugar cane. It was discovered as a skin darkener in the twenties but wasn't marketed until 1960's Coppertone Quick Tan. And in case you're wondering, it's thought by many scientists to be perfectly harmless -- the FDA added it to their list of approved cosmetic ingredients almost 30 years ago. However, it can cause skin irritation and can be absorbed into the blood system, which could "theoretically lead to effects throughout the body including fatigue, feeling unwell, or uneasiness." Tan at your own risk.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 02-25-2007 09:39 AM                        Rated G Useless fact - How do icebergs form? Icebergs ("berg" is the German word for mountain) are blocks of fresh-water ice that break off from glaciers and float out to sea. Glaciers are formed in polar regions where snowfall lasts for centuries, or even millennia, without entirely melting, and is eventually compressed into ice. In the North Atlantic, most icebergs originate from the tidewater glaciers of Western Greenland. Compressed snow becomes firn, a granular snow, transformed eventually by pressure into a dense ice. The weight of the icecap builds, causing the ice to flow as much as 60 feet a day through openings in the coastal mountains. Rising and falling tides cause slabs of ice to break off and form moving "rivers of ice." Usually, about 7/8 of an iceberg is hidden below the waterline, hence the expression "tip of the iceberg." Most arctic icebergs melt before they ever reach the Atlantic Ocean. The largest icebergs on Earth are found in Antarctica, where one the size of Rhode Island was spotted.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 02-25-2007 03:39 PM                        Rated G Useless fact - Why are ships launched by breaking a bottle of champagne over the bow? Christening a new ship with wine or holy water has obvious religious overtones, but the practice pre-dates Christianity. A Babylonian narrative from the third millennium BC replaces a bottle of Dom with a couple of heifers: Openings to the water I stopped; I searched for cracks and the wanting parts I fixed: Three sari of bitumen I poured over the outside; To the gods I caused oxen to be sacrificed. The practice of breaking a bottle of wine over a ship's bow was introduced by the British navy in the late 17th century as a cost saving measure! Previously the ships were baptized with a "standing cup" of precious metal, which was then promptly thrown overboard. The rapid production of ships during the height of the British Empire put an end to that. Why champagne over wine? Champagne has always been closely tied to new births, new years, and celebration in general. It's also a secular beverage with no religious strings attached. And it looks great flying around everywhere.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 02-25-2007 04:12 PM                        Rated G Useless fact - How can I tell if a strand of pearls is real? Want to know if you've got the real thing? Rub the strand across the front of your upper teeth. It may sound strange, but according to the links we visited real pearls will feel rough or gritty while fake ones will feel smooth. This is due to the micropores found on the genuine article. Imitation pearls are usually made by dipping a glass or plastic bead into a solution of fish scales. The coating is generally fairly thin and will chip over time. Check the pearls for tiny chips or flakes near the hole drilled through them. If you see chips, chances are your pearls are fake. Try holding the pearls in your hand for a minute. The real pearls will feel cold initially, then will warm. Real pearls can be either natural or cultured. Natural pearls are formed when a mollusk secretes a substance called nacre to coat an irritant that makes its way inside the animal's shell. Cultured pearls are formed with a little human help -- an irritant is purposely introduced into the shell of the animal. You usually need an x-ray or an expert to distinguish between natural and cultured pearls  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 02-26-2007 09:23 AM                        Rated G Useless fact - Does taking vitamin B prevent mosquito bites? In a word, no. Dr. Jonathan Day, an expert on mosquitoes, doesn't think so: "We've tested many home remedies like garlic, bananas and vitamin B," says Dr. Day. "While they may offer other health benefits, repelling mosquitoes and other biting insects is certainly not one of them." Instead, Dr. Day recommends any repellent featuring the chemical compound DEET, which has been on the market for over 40 years. So stick to the spray and mosquito repellents. Mosquito repellents generally contain one of the following active ingredients: DEET, Catnip oil extract - Nepetalactone, Citronella or eucalyptus oil extract. Often the best "repellant" is a fan or gentle breeze as mosquitoes do not like moving air.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 02-27-2007 02:04 PM                        Rated G Useless fact - Why do dogs wag their tails when they're happy? There are several reasons why a dog wags its tail, and not all of them have to do with being a happy-go-lucky puppy. Since the ancestors of today's domesticated dogs ran in packs, communication -- whether by barking, growling, or wagging tails -- was essential. A dog with a loosely wagging tail is usually a dog that is friendly or excited. However, a wagging tail is not always a sign of an amiable pooch. An aggressive dog might hold its tail high and wag only the tip, while a submissive or scared dog is more likely to hold its tail low and wag it stiffly. Some experts believe that a wagging tail is a sign of conflict. When an animal is in conflict, it wants to retreat and advance at the same time. The wagging tail is an indication of this confusion. When you see a dog wagging its tail, odds are that the dog is in good spirits, probably running after a ball or begging for a treat. However, you should be aware that a wagging tail isn't a definitive sign of a friendly dog; proceed with caution if you think the dog is aggressive.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 02-28-2007 08:48 AM                        Rated G Useless fact - Why do we have toenails and fingernails? Nail polish may be a good enough reason for having them but you might be looking for a more scientific answer. The human and primate nail corresponds to the claw, hoof, or talon of other animals. Human nails protect the tips of the toes and fingers, while fingernails help us pick up small objects and scratch ourselves. On the other hand, the feet of primates are capable of gripping objects, just like their hands, so their toenails have much the same function as fingernails. However, human toenails seem to be an evolutionary leftover. Nails are essential for manipulation and scratching (and he points out the importance of scratching in a primate or human's life). there's some disagreement about whether or not toenails and fingernails serve to protect our digits, all the links agree that our nails help us pick up little stuff like pencils, peanuts, and even bottles of nail polish.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 03-01-2007 09:28 AM                        Rated G Useless fact - What causes gray hair? Many of us point to our jobs as the reason for gray hair, but we must seek the biological cause of those pesky reminders of our own mortality. When our bodies are functioning well, cells in our hair follicles called melanocytes generate pigments -- the chief one being melanin. When the melanocytes stop producing these pigments, we sprout a transparent hair, which appears as an unsightly gray due to the color of the dead cells that comprise the strand. Why does this happen? The most common reason is heredity; premature gray hair is yet another thing we can blame on our parents. But there are also several medical conditions characterized by graying of the hair. A B-12 deficiency, a thyroid imbalance, and anemia can all cause premature gray hair. And if you needed yet another reason to quit smoking, there is new evidence that smokers are four times more likely to go gray at a young age. The common belief that psychological shock or trauma can turn hair gray overnight is cause for a fair amount of controversy. While some people claim such an occurrence, many scientists question the actual time frame involved.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 03-02-2007 09:04 PM                        Rated G Useless fact - How do you fix scratched CDs? CD scratches cause the laser in your CD player to mistrack, resulting in that oh-so-familiar skipping sound. Locating those scratches can be tricky, but it helps to remember that CDs are the opposite of LPs -- the first track is towards the center of the disk. There's a bunch of CD-cleaning fluids sold in CD stores. Believe it or not, most of these products actually work. CD-cleaning fluids work by filling in the CD scratches with chemical softeners and tiny abrasives; the process is similar to getting a touch-up on your car's bodywork. That's why a lot of them are called "resurfacing kits." You'll still be able to notice the scratches on the disk, but it should play fine. If you don't feel like shelling out the cash for a special kit, you can try fixing your scratched CDs with just a cloth and a mild abrasive like toothpaste. Just remember - always brush your CDs with a soft, lint-free cloth in a straight line, from the inside out. Never use a circular motion -- this could create scratches that won't go away.  |  IP: Logged

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