Science
Science
- Top Story - March 2021
Where Does Vanilla Come From?
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.
Will RussellPublished 3 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.
Christine AnnettePublished 3 years ago in FYIAstrobiology and Cryovolcanism
Those two science words might seem big, but really, they're deceptively simple. That's just what makes this string of facts and theories so great.
Fabian de KerckhovePublished 3 years ago in FYIMagic 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.
Ashley HerzogPublished 3 years ago in FYIWhat 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.
Byron HamelPublished 3 years ago in FYI- Top Story - March 2021
Burn The House Down
“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!
Maria CalderoniPublished 3 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.
Daniel GoldmanPublished 3 years ago in FYIReal 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....
Maria CalderoniPublished 3 years ago in FYIParanormal Activity?
One of my favorite things that exist in this great big orb of a planet that we call home is the concept of the paranormal. It’s such a large umbrella term that fits so much underneath it. Ghosts, demons, monsters, creatures of lore, aliens, and even places fall within the realm of the paranormal. Now I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a bit of a paranormal junkie. I’ve seen a lot of the shows going into various paranormal places. Usually to do with hauntings or the like, and they go for so many different approaches. They’ll check for magnetic fields that shouldn’t be there. They’ll look for abnormally hot or cold spots. Anything out of the ordinary.
Cody DunningtonPublished 3 years ago in FYITrivia Benefits of Winter & Snow
It’s time to change our attitude about the cold season. “Hmmm…”, you say. “This article must be talking about recreational activities only available in winter… sledding, skiing, ice skating, building a snowman or a snow fort, forming snow angels, and letting the kids paint a snow picture with a spray bottle full of food-coloring and water." Nope! You already know about the enjoyment of winter recreation. For a moment, quit grumbling about the icy roads and school closures and consider some seldom-known winter snow benefits for plants, animals, and humans:
Karla Bowen HermanPublished 3 years ago in FYIVibrational Conversations with My Plant
Vibrational Conversations With My Plant In the ancient world it was well known that everything on our planet was alive and a manifestation of Divine Consciousness which also meant that it possessed some form of intelligence and consciousness. This applied to the mineral, plant, animal world, the world of man and woman and a multitude of other forms. The focus of this paper will be in the world of plants. There has been a great amount of research conducted in this present day and time that show and prove that this knowledge of the ancient world was right and exact. The research shows that plants have the ability to react, respond, and sense the world around them. As a child my grandmothers use to always give me plants and seeds to grow. She use to always say how she talked to her plants and to this day if you go to her house it is one of the only ones on the block with an abundance of green and thriving plant life and flowers on the porch and in front of it. I have always been fascinated by this and decided to see it for myself with my own plant which I will discuss in this paper along with some examples of the research that has been conducted that shows the many abilities of plants. I will show how when you in tune to the vibration of a plant remarkable results and things happen.
Devin McKenneyPublished 3 years ago in FYIThe Oxford Electric Bell
The Oxford Electric Bell is a relatively obscure fact, but one of the most fascinating. I came across this fact on YouTube one day and have been telling everyone about it ever since. The Oxford Electric Bell was created by Watkins & Hill, a London based manufacturing firm in 1825. During this time "Dry Pile" was invented and is the first form of modern day batteries. Giuseppe Zamboni was the inventor of the dry piles, which had metal disk with different chemicals such as silver or zinc layered between. It is interesting to note that Zamboni as a priest and psychist and it seems the Catholic church did some ground breaking research with their educated priests at the time. It is thought that the Oxford Electric Bell is made with Zamboni plies. They know some of the components that make up the battery, that they can see from the outside. It is known that the batteries are coated in molten Sulphur for insulation. There is no absolute evidence that Zamboni plies are contained within, it is only the most popular theory. It is unknown if the Oxford Bell has ever been x-rayed or examined in another way, so scientists can figure out what is the exact makeup of the battery. The Bell itself played an important role in distinguishing between two different theories of electrical action. The theory of contact tension, which has since become obsolete and the theory of chemical action. I'm not sure what this battery proved, but it seems weird that if an energy source can last so long modern manufacturers don't use it.
Shawna McCord BennettPublished 3 years ago in FYI