Tidbits #79-83 - June 14, 2011

The Spotlight on Mickey D

• The first McDonald's opened in 1940 in San Bernardino, California. By 1970 there was a McDonald's in every state.
• McDonald's is the single largest purchaser of beef, pork, potatoes, and apples in the US.
• There are 1,008 Mickey D's in France.
• McDonald's calls frequent buyers of their food "heavy users." (Not kidding)
• 40% of McDonald's profits come from the sale of Happy Meals.

Tidbits #74-78 - June 14, 2011

Om Nom Nom

• Fast food provider Hardee's Monster Thickburger contains 1,420 calories and 107 grams of fat.
• Farmers in Japan have developed square watermelons because they stack easier.
• The world's biggest pumpkin weighed in at a staggering 1,502 pounds - that's nearly as heavy as a fully-grown cow.
• All fruits have 3 layers: exocarp (skin), mesocarp (pulp), and endocarp (pit).
• Experiment: If you place a T-Bone steak in a bowl of Coke, it will be gone in two days.

Tidbits #69-73 - June 14, 2011

Crawlers

• Crickets hear through their knees.
• An ant can detect movement through five centimeters of earth.
• The world's smallest winged insect is the Tanzanian parasitic wasp. It is smaller than the eye of a housefly.
• Until the 1960s, the crosshairs on gun sights were made from spiderweb filaments.
• Crickets' chirps vary due to the temperature. For a rough estimate, count the number of chirps in 15 seconds, then add thirty seven and you'll have the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.

Tidbits #64-68 - June 14, 2011

The Secret Life of Dogs

• The Basenji, an African dog, is the only dog that does not bark.
• The average American dog will cost its owner $20,000 in its lifetime.
• Even bloodhounds cannot smell the difference between identical twins.
• The smallest living dog as of June '07, according to Guinness World Records, is a 4.9 inch, 1.4 pound Chihuahua. The smallest dog ever recorded was a 2.8-inch tall Yorkie.
• Some dogs can predict when a child will have an epileptic seizure and even protect the child from injury, even if they're not trained to do so.

Tidbits #59-63 - June 14, 2011

Medical Oddities

• A man named Charles Osborne had the hiccups for 68 years straight.
• The human eye blinks about 4.2 million times a year. A blink lasts roughly 300-400 milliseconds.
• When you are looking at someone you love, your pupils dilate; they do the same when you're looking at someone you hate.
• The average life span of a taste bud is 10 days.
• During a kiss, as many as 278 bacteria colonies are exchanged.

Tidbit #58 - June 14, 2011

Continuing on the subject of data storage, I'd like to familiarize you all with the system of units we have to measure electronic information:

• Bit: The smallest of the electronic storage spectrum, a bit is basically the building block of data. Ever hear of binary code? (0010101001100110) Every 1 in binary code is a single bit being turned on by a computer. Bits are small, even in the most primitive computers.
• Byte (B): Still one of the smallest units, a byte is made up of eight bits.
• Kilobyte (KB): Back when computers were first invented, if you had a kilobyte of space, you were the life of the party. A kilobyte consists of 1,000 bytes, 8,000 bits. (8,000 ones in binary code)
• Megabyte (MB): Whoa, slow down, there, speed racer. In the early days of computing, megabytes didn't even exist unless you counted the most advanced mainframes of the day, which could only hold a few hundred megabytes. Nowadays, a single song's electronic size ranges from 3 to 20 megabytes. A megabyte consists of 1,000 kilobytes, or 1,000,000 bytes, or 8,000,000 bits.
• Gigabyte (GB): Let's skip forward a few decades, to 1980. That's when the first gigabyte hard drive was introduced. A gigabyte is 1,000 megabytes, 1,000,000 kilobytes, 1,000,000,000 bytes, and 8,000,000,000 bits. Think about how much that would've shocked the people from 1953.
• Terabyte: This is still a lot of space for today's standards, although not shocking. A terabyte is 1,000 GB, 1,000,000 MB, 1,000,000,000 KB, 1,000,000,000,000 B, and 8,000,000,000,000 bits.
• Petabyte (PB): This is big boy stuff, even at today's standards. Only enormous companies like Microsoft and Apple use petabytes to measure their total storage. A PB consists of 1,000 TB, 1,000,000 GB, 1,000,000,000 MB, 1,000,000,000,000 KB, 1,000,000,000,000,000 B, and 8,000,000,000,000,000 bits.
• Exabyte: Don't mess around with the exabyte. An exabyte of information is a LOT of storage. An exabyte is 1,000 PB, 1,000,000 TB, 1,000,000,000 GB, 1,000,000,000,000 MB, 1,000,000,000,000,000 KB, 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 B, and 8,000,000,000,000,000,000 bits.
• Zettabyte: Here's where we start getting into the units that no one's ever heard of. Not many amounts of information can give themselves the prestigious name of zettabyte. A ZB is 1,000 EB, 1,000,000 PB, 1,000,000,000 TB, 1,000,000,000,000 GB, 1,000,000,000,000,000 MB, 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 KB, 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 B, and 8,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 bits.
• Yottabyte: Starts to sound funny, doesn't it? A YB is 1,000 ZB. 'Nuff said.

Tidbit #57 - June 14, 2011

Some Information on Data Storage: Five Charts on Electronics that will Blow Your Mind


The world of electronics has increased HUGELY since first being introduced in 1956, with IBM's 350 systems, which only held 5 million bits. But just how much have humans increased their capability to store information since then? As of 2011, the results could be stunning. Take a look at these charts and find out what you've been missing:

Look at all of those, and search up many more with Google Images.

Tidbit #56 - June 13, 2011

More than 90% of diseases are caused or complicated by stress. That stresses me out!

Tidbits #50-55: June 11, 2011

I've decided to make a small tweak here: on occasion, I will be posting more than one tidbit at a time to post some in sections. For example:

1. About 200 babies are born worldwide every minute.
2. August is the most common month that babies are born.
3. 12 babies are given to the wrong parents every day.
4. The world record for most babies to one mother is 69.
5. You share a birthday with at least 9,000,000 other people in the world.
6. There are about 15,000 people in the US over the age of 100.

So, there you have it. We've got an entire section of tidbits now. Isn't it funny how much a blog evolves over the course of just a few months?

Tidbit #49 - June 11, 2011

82% of the world's population believes in an afterlife.

Tidbit #48 - June 11, 2011

The McDonald's at the Skydome in Toronto is the only one in the world that sells hot dogs.

Tidbit #47 - June 11, 2011

Fanta Orange is the third-largest selling soft drink in the world.
Wanta Fanta?

Questions? Comments? Tidbit Ideas?

Forward them to my email, tidbitsz.on.blogspot@gmail.com to request a post, ask a question on a post, or just to comment on what you think of the site!

Tidbit #46 - June 10, 2011

A short time before Abraham Lincoln's assassination, he dreamed he was going to die, and he related his dream to the Senate. He died in the same bed that had been occupied by his assassin, John Wilkes Booth. His ghost is said to haunt the White House.

Tidbit #45 - June 10, 2011

George Washington's false teeth were actually made of whale bone.

Tidbit #44 - June 10, 2011

A baby giraffe is about six feet tall at birth.

Tidbit #43 - June 10, 2011

American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating a single olive from every first-class salad.

Tidbit #42 - June 10, 2011

The Kodak corporation is the largest user of silver in the world.

Tidbit #41 - June 10, 2011

A baseball has exactly 108 stitches.

Tidbit #40 - June 10, 2011

In the nineteenth century, the British Navy attempted to dispel the superstition that Friday was an unlucky day to embark on a ship. The keel of a new ship was laid on a Friday; she was named HMS Friday, commanded by a Captain Friday, and finally went to sea on a Friday. Neither the ship nor her crew was ever heard of again.

Tidbit #39 - June 10, 2011

A typical double mattress can contain up to two million house dust mites.

Tidbit #38 - June 3, 2011

Rainbows can only occur when the sun is forty degrees or less above the horizon.

A Somewhat Dramatic Change and Tidbits #35-37 - June 3, 2011

Unfortunately, I haven't been learning much stuff that I had been wondering about recently, which is why I haven't been updating the blog much.

The good news? I found a great blog on Tumblr that inspired me to create a new theme for this blog.

Don't worry, your useless information will still be available, but not in the form of answers to commonly asked questions (unless one comes up).

Instead, the information will come up in facts that you hadn't thought about before, such as the following (which are counted in our total tidbits:

• Napoleon Bonaparte was afraid of cats.
• Approximately 98% of software in China is pirated.
• Toronto was the first city in the world with a computerized traffic system.

So, as you can see, you easily learn more random things with this new system than you ever did with the old system.

So, I will be posting one of these per post, while keeping a nice count. I figure you guys can learn much more this way.

Happy learning!

Tidbit #34 - May 25, 2011

Fruits have some strange names... Especially the grapefruit. Why the weird name? It has nothing to do with the little elliptical fruit... Right?

Question: Why is a grapefruit called a grapefruit?


Answer: Huh.. I learned something new today. (As I strive to do thrice every day) We've got a special source: loc.gov. Here's your quoted answer:

Most botanists agree that the grapefruit is a cross between a Pummelo (see http://pas.byu.edu/pas100/pummelo.htm) and a sweet orange (see http://www.floridata.com/ref/C/citr_sin.cfm.) 

Grapefruit, like all citrus fruit, is a Hesperidum, or a large modified berry with a thick rind.

If you see grapefruit growing on a tree, you will notice that they grow in clusters. It is suggested that these clusters resemble the shape of large yellow grapes and so the fruit was called a grapefruit. Another explanation is that the premature grapefruit looks similar in shape to unripe green grapes.

I wish all of the sites gave condensed answers so I wouldn't have to come up with one. Quoted from loc.gov, here is your condensed answer:

It is believed that the name refers to the manner in which grapefruit grows in clusters on a tree.

Peculiar, isn't it? They're like Goliath's grapes.

Tidbit #33 - May 25, 2011

Hey there, everyone out there!
It's been awhile, hasn't it?
I believe my last post was on the first of this month. I've been up to my eyeballs in work this month, seeing as it's the last month of school before summer vacation! I've accumulated a whole bunch of neat tidbits meaning to put them on my blog, but I've never gotten around to it till now.
So, let's get back to business:

Question: Where did the term "pardon my french" come from?


Answer: Lots of people use this phrase without knowing where it comes from. I searched it up, and I found two different answers on the same website, a new site for us: Google Answers. Here's the first one:

Some English-speakers stereotype the French as permissive about
anything risqué. This was particularly true a hundred years ago when
the phrase took off as an "apology" for swearing. "Excuse my French"
or "Pardon my French" isn't just play-acting that you're speaking a
foreign language. It's also a bit like saying, "I know those words are
naughty - but maybe I could get away with behaving like that in
France, where people are more tolerant of obscenity."

 And here's the second one:

It is thought that the term French is employed in this sense as it already had a history of association with things considered vulgar. As far back as the early 16th century, French pox and the French disease were synonyms for genital herpes, and French-sick was another term for syphillis.  The OED [Oxford English Dictionary] also equates the adjective French with "spiciness", as in French letter for "condom", French kiss (1923) and French (i. e. "sexually explicit") novels (from 1749).

Well, now, I assume that you guys still want condensed answers, correct? Well, wait no longer, here you are:

The term could've taken its roots in people playacting as if they were saying something in another language besides a curse word in English; it also could have originated due to the already existing French names for bad things (i.e. French pox = genital warts)

A VERY Important News Announcement - May 1, 2011

If anyone hasn't heard yet, I've got the scoop here.

Osama Bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda and the runner of the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001, has been killed in an operation launched by the United States in Pakistan, where U.S. troops found Bin Laden and, "after a fire fight," killed Bin Laden and took control of his body.

Still don't believe me? Check out the news:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/01/bin.laden.obit/index.html?hpt=T1&iref=BN1

Tidbit #32 - April 29, 2011

This is for all my high-schoolers out there who don't understand it; I know I've thought about it before:

Question: How the heck does a grade curve work, anyways?


Answer: Man, eHow is useful. I searched up the question and it brought me a quick answer through this link:

The bell curve is a method in which the instructor of the class assigns grades on a relative basis, rather than one of absolute value. They do this most often by assigning a bell curve, which is a way in which all grades are accounted for. Interestingly, if a few students score perfectly on the absolute scale, it can create a curve that isn't much different than if the test had been scored in the usual manner. For this reason, many instructors grade their tests on the absolute basis and decide afterward whether to curve based on performance.

How Curving Works

When it comes to the pure use of bell curving, the instructor decides at the outset a number of factors that may seem unfair to the uninitiated. They will assign a grade to the middle of the curve (the highest point, and therefore the most common grade in the classroom), which will usually be a C. They will then assign a certain percentage of students to the high end, and a certain percentage to the low end, with each grade along the way receiving a certain share of the students. Statistically speaking, this method of grading is sound, and usually produces results that are indeed fairer than absolute grading, which fails to take into account any shortcomings on the part of the instructor.

Another Common Method

As many instructors fail to see the fairness in the traditional bell curve system, they use another method that has surpassed bell curving in terms of overall popularity and frequency of use. This method is a bit simpler. The instructor grades all the tests on the absolute grading system. He then takes the highest grade in the class (let's say it was a 93). Seven points separate the highest grade in the class from the highest possible score. The instructor will thus add seven points to everyone's score. Much as with the bell curving system, this method is undermined if the highest score is a 100.

I'm not gonna add a summary on this one (high schoolers, you know that adolescent laziness), but here's your condensed answer:

 There are two types of grade curves. One works by using a relatively average grade to the middle of a scale and placing students' grades accordingly. In the other way, the instructor takes the highest grade in the class (the one that "sets the curve"), and makes the assignment out of that many points.

Tidbit #31 - April 29, 2011

Mmm... If I ever had to cook my food with one oil and only one oil, I would choose olive oil. Olive oil circulated around the ancient Greeks' society; historians say that some Greeks even bathed in olive oil to cleanse themselves. Popeye loved Olive Oyl, too, since she was his girl. Now, I wouldn't bathe in olive oil (or go out with it), but I still wonder whenever I add olive oil into whatever I'm cooking:


Question: Why is it called "extra virgin" olive oil?


Answer: Well, Yahoo! Answers gives us a nice, short, to-the-point explanation:

Extra Virgin olive oil is the oil that comes from the very first pressing of the olives- it has the least impurities and the least amount of processing- no heat or other methods besides pressing was involved in obtaining the oil. (Re: Yahoo! Answers question)

Well, it looks like we've got a short tidbit today! Here's your condensed answer:


Extra virgin olive oil is so named because only absolutely fresh olives are pressed -- without impurities, like a virgin.


They probably add the "extra" in there just for good measure.

Tidbit #30 - April 29, 2011

Remember the 60s? All the hippies talking about how groovy it'd be if everyone stopped the war, made free love, promoted peace? Yeah, I remember that, too. But, I've wondered what's up with that weird hand sign that they pioneered and is now used in common life. Why do they use that weird two fingers up sign?

Question: Where did the hand sign for peace come from?


Answer: Ahh, Wikipedia. It's helped us quite a bit in the long run, hasn't it? I searched it up, and found an entire article on the "V Sign". You can go to the article here.

An early recorded use of the "two-fingered salute" is in the Macclesfield Psalter of c.1330 (in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge), being made by a glove in the Psalter’s marginalia. 

According to a popular legend, the two-fingered salute or V sign derives from the gestures of longbowmen fighting in the English army at the Battle of Agincourt (1415) during the Hundred Years' War. According to the story, the French claimed that they would cut off the arrow-shooting fingers of all the English and Welsh longbowmen after they had won the battle at Agincourt. But the English came out victorious and showed off their two fingers, still intact. Historian Juliet Barker quotes Jean Le Fevre (who fought on the English side at Agincourt) as saying that Henry V included a reference to the French cutting off longbowmen's fingers in his pre-battle speech. If this is correct it confirms that the story was around at the time of Agincourt, although it does not necessarily mean that the French practised it, just that Henry found it useful for propaganda, and it does not show that the two-fingered salute is derived from the hypothetical behaviour of English archers at that battle.

The first definitive known reference to the V sign in French is in the works of François Rabelais, a sixteenth-century satirist.

It was not until the start of the 20th century that clear evidence of the use of insulting V sign in England became available, when in 1901 a worker outside Parkgate ironworks in Rotherham used the gesture (captured on the film) to indicate that he did not like being filmed. Peter Opie interviewed children in the 1950s and observed in The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren that the much older thumbing of the nose (cock-a-snook) had been replaced by the V sign as the most common insulting gesture used in the playground. (Re: Wikipedia.com Article)

Okay, that was a nice wall of text. Here's your summary:

The sign for peace could have started as a salute around the 1330s, where the sign was made from a glove. Some say that the sign was derived from the English Battle of Agincourt in 1413, when the French threatened to cut off the British's fingers, and the British showed off their two remaining digits. Henry V also made reference to this in a pre-battle speech. It was first referred to as the "V Sign" by François Rabelais, a satirist of the time. In 1901, a British worker used the gesture on a camera to show that he didn't want to be filmed. In the 1950s, Peter Opie discovered through interviewing children that biting your thumb at people had been replaced with the V sign as an insult gesture, like flipping someone off is today.

Still not satisfied? Here's your final condensed answer:

The V sign for peace could've been introduced in the 1330s as part of a glove or 1415 during the Hundred Years' War. It was first put into popular use in 1901.

Tidbit #29 - April 27, 2011

I've decided that tonight, I'll be ridding my phone of all stored, unanswered questions, because it's getting irritating to have to read through all of them. So, tonight I'll be posting and sharing 6 tidbits with you, including the one on the moon and this one.

Okay, so this tidbit is for all of my guys (or most of them, anyways), since most girls already know the answer. I learned the answer to this question the other day, and it's a pretty neat system, so I figured I'd write about it:

Question: How do they put on acrylic nails?


Answer: While searching for this answer, I stumbled upon a website called enotes.com. On enotes, I found an entire article on acrylic nails and how they're put on, so here you go:

Raw Materials

Monomer liquid

Artificial nail enhancements are made of acrylic plastic. Acrylic is the generic name given to the type of plastic made from a chemical called methacrylate. There are many types of acrylic resins based on different types of methacrylate molecules, but their chemistry is similar. The acrylic used in sculpted nails is formed by the reaction of a monomer liquid with a polymer powder. The monomers ("mono" meaning "one") contained in the liquid are microscopic chemical units which react together when mixed with chemicals in the powder. The monomers combine with one another in a head to tail fashion to form long fibers. These long chains of connected monomers are called polymers ("poly" meaning "many").

Polymer powder

A powdered polymer is then blended with the liquid to adjust the consistency of the plastic. The powdered polymer typically used in acrylics is polyethylmethylmethacrylate (PMMA). PMMA yields a very hard inflexible plastic, but it may be blended with softer polymers to improve its flexibility. When the polymer powder and monomer liquid are mixed, the polymer fibers react in a process known as crosslinking, forming a rigid netlike structure. The polymer strands will eventually dry to form a hard resin that can be made to resemble a fingernail.

Resin modifiers

Other ingredients are added to the monomer liquid and the polymer powder to control the properties of the resin. Crosslinking agents are used to hook the polymer chains together to make the plastic more rigid. The most common is ethylene glycol dimethacrylate. The polymer powder also carries an initiator, which starts the reaction that links the monomers together. A common initiator is benzoyl peroxide (BP), the same ingredient used in acne creams. When the liquid and powder are mixed together and applied to the client's fingers, the BP molecule is capable of exciting or energizing a monomer. Once energized, the monomers join together to form a polymer. Catalysts are also added to the formula to control the speed by which the initiator activates the reactions. A relatively small amount of catalyst is required to do the job, typically about only 1% of the monomer. Chemical inhibitors are added to the liquid monomer blend to prevent the monomers from reacting together prematurely, which turns the liquid into an unusable gel. Inhibitors help prolong the shelf life of the monomer solution. Plasticizers are used to improve resin performance. These liquids help lubricate the polymer chains so they are better able to resist breaking caused by stress.

Misceilaneous ingredients

A variety of ingredients are added to complete the resin. Dyes and pigments may be included to alter the resin's appearance. For example, titanium dioxide, a pigment commonly used in house paint, is used to whiten the nail and create a more natural appearance. It is also used to create special color effects like the white nail tips used in French manicures. Other colorants are added to give the polymer a pinkish or bluish color cast; these shades give a pleasing color to the nail bed. Flow agents are added to help control how polish spreads on the surface of the resin. Finally, color stabilizers are used to prevent yellowing. These materials absorb ultraviolet light that can cause discoloration of the resins.

Design

Every company that produces acrylic nail kits uses the same basic chemistry. However, each has designed its own formula with its distinct advantages and disadvantages. The real design work in creating acrylic nails is done by the nail technician. Each set of sculpted nails has its own idiosyncrasies which must be taken into account when designing the acrylic nails. In this sense, the technician designs the shape of the nail based on the requirements of the client.

The Manufacturing Process

Sculpted acrylic nails are not manufactured on an assembly line by a machine. Instead, as the name implies, they are "sculpted" by a nail technician. Each handcrafted nail is formed one at a time using a process which consists of the following steps: cleansing, priming, mixing, sculpting, and finishing.

Cleansing the nail

1 Before the new nail can be sculpted, the natural nail must be properly prepared. A nail bed cleanser is used to thoroughly clean the surface of the nail. These cleansers are typically solvents such as isopropyl alcohol, which dissolve oils and grease from the surface of the nail. They will also remove bacteria from the area to help reduce the chance of infection. Care must be used when applying these solvents because they may dry out the skin surrounding the cuticle. This occurs because the solvents also remove the skin's own natural moisturizing oils.

Priming the nail

2 After the nail bed has been cleansed, a primer is applied to the nail bed to make sure the acrylic will adhere properly. Primers are available in two types, non-etching and etching. The non-etching type works like double-sided tape; one side of the primer is very good at sticking to the natural nail, and the other end is equally attracted to the acrylic polymers used in the artificial nail. The etching type of primers are acids, such as methacrylic acid, which actually dissolve a thin layer of the nail itself. This etching process allows the acrylic to adhere to the nail better. The etching primers are more commonly used than non-etching. There is some debate regarding the proper use of etching primers; some chemists argue that the primer should dry thoroughly before applying the acrylic. Others believe that the acrylic should be applied while the primer is still wet to pull the acrylic deeper into the nail and anchor it more firmly.

Mixing the acrylic resin

3 The resin is made when the acrylic liquid is mixed with the acrylic powder. The nail technician must work quickly with the resin once the liquid and powder are mixed. If not, the resin will harden before it can shaped into a nail and will not be useable.

Sculpting the nail

4 Before the resin is applied, a nail-shaped form is placed over each fingertip in order to hold the resin in place and ensure it takes the correct size and shape. These forms may be made of metalized foil or plastic. One common type consists of a thin metallic foil with an adhesive backing. The form is peeled off a roll (like a label) and carefully affixed to the fingers. The technician then applies the resin to the client's fingertips. The resin is sculpted to look as natural as possible before the resin hardens. The form is then removed.

Finishing the nail

5 After the acrylic dries, the new nail is filed and manicured to shape. Finally, coatings and polishes are used to complete the manicure. As the natural nail grows, further application of the liquid plastic is needed for the acrylic nail to maintain a regular contour. In some cases, an acetate tip is also applied to the end of the nail to provide a stronger base for the layers of acrylic resin. 

(Re: enotes.com article)

Okay, now even I was too lazy to read that enormous wall of text. So, I skimmed through it and found that only four of the bold sections of that article are truly needed to find out the bare answer to our question. Those four sections are italicized AND bold above.

So, here's your summary:

First, the nail is cleansed with a special cleanser. Afterwards, a primer is put on the nail to ensure that the acrylic stays on. (There are two types: the non-etching and etching type; the non-etching type works like double-sided tape, and the etching type actually dissolve a little layer of the nail itself to let the acrylic adhere better) After the nail is primered, "a nail-shaped form is placed over each fingertip in order to hold the resin in place..." Then, the resin is added "and carefully affixed to the fingers." When the acrylic dries, the new nail is filed, manicured, and covered with special polishes to complete it.

So, basically, here's your condensed answer:

The nail is cleansed and primered, and then a technician applies the resin and the acrylic immediately afterwards, filing, manicuring, and covering it with polish to ensure that it looks good.

Tidbit #28 - April 27, 2011

Ahh, the wonders of the stars. Astronomy helps us to understand one of the most beautiful, romantic things in the world: the night sky. One of the most beautiful aspects of the night sky is that giant ball of cheese in the sky: the moon. Astronomers have given many names to the "phases" of our moon, or how much sunlight reflects off of it to Earth at what time of the month. My question is:

Question: Why is a visual half-moon called a quarter-moon?


Answer: Well, I was hoping to have another long tidbit like our analysis of the dollar bill, but thanks to WikiAnswers, our answer is once again cut short to a small quote and condensed answer:

A half moon looks like half a circle. It is sometimes called a quarter moon because this moon has completed one quarter of an orbit around the Earth from either the full or new position and one quarter of the moon's surface is visible from Earth. (Re: WikiAnswers Question)

 Well, you were probably able to get the answer from that, but just in case you didn't:

A visual half-moon is called a quarter-moon because only a quarter of the moon's entire surface is lit.


That makes enough sense, right? If we see a 2-D half moon, it means we're only seeing a quarter of the 3-D full moon!

Tidbit #27, Part 2 - April 26, 2011

Okay, let's finish up our dollar bill analysis. We've already gone over all of the symbols on the front with any general relevance, so let's go over the back, where the real history lesson is.

If you need the dollar bill pictures, you can check 'em out in the last post.

Okay, the back of the dollar has a LOT of symbols. Before we begin, here's a neat factoid about the back of the dollar:

• The Great Seal of the United States (the circles on the back) was actually designed by Ben Franklin and his peers when the First Continental Congress requested it of them. It took them four years to complete, and another two to get Congress to approve it.

Let's start with the pyramid. Here are your facts about the left half of the Great Seal of the United States (follow the photo below):

• Annuit cœptis is a phrase with Latin roots. Annuit comes from the Latin word annuo, meaning "to approve." Cœptis comes from a Latin word coeptum, meaning "commencement" or "undertaking." When translated, this phrase was meant to say "He approves of the undertakings." (He being God)
• The other motto on the pyramid, Novus Ordo Seclorum, translates in Latin to "New Order of the Ages," which means that there's a new power in the world, people better watch out! The idea was pitched by Latin expert Charles Thomson, who worked on the Seal with Franklin.
• MDCCLXXVI, located at the bottom level of the pyramid, is the roman numeral for 1776, which is, of course, the year in which the United States signed its Declaration of Independence.
• If you look closely, you will see the the pyramid (if you don't count the top section with the eye) has 13 sections to represent the original 13 colonies.
• The eye at the top of the pyramid is supposed to represent God, shining onto the fledgling country like the sun. Franklin believed that one man couldn't make this Seal alone, but with the help of God, men are capable of anything.
• The lit end of the pyramid represents the original U.S., while the dark half represents the then unexplored West, which puts the idea of manifest destiny into our Seal.
• Wonder why the pyramid was uncapped? It was another symbol of manifest destiny, that our country was just getting started.

That's a lot for just ONE half of our seal, right? Well, I'm just getting started. The Eagle side has just as many, if not more, symbols in it. Here are your Eagle factoids (refer to the photo below):

• First, of course, we have our eagle, which represents our country's bravery. Want a neat fact? Our forefathers chose the bald eagle for our national symbol because the bald eagle is the only bird that's ever been known to fly during a storm. It's also smart, since it knows to fly over the storm instead of through it. (UPDATE: Ben Franklin actually wanted the turkey to be the national emblem rather than the eagle. You can read more on that here.)
• The eagle isn't wearing a crown, which means that our country will never have a monarch.
• There are 13 stars in the set of stars at the top of the seal, once again to represent the original 13 colonies. The clouds around these stars are doubt and misunderstanding, drifting away.
• If you look at the ribbon in the eagle's mouth, you'll see our third motto: E. Pluribus Unum. This phrase translates from Latin to "One nation from many people."
• The shield in front of the eagle is unsupported; this was the country saying that it didn't need any more support from England.
• If you look at the shield in front of the eagle, there are 13 large vertical stripes, if you count the sets of 3 black stripes as 1. (Kind of prying, I know, but there's still 13, so it's gotta have some meaning, right?)
• The eagle's talons hold two items: an olive branch and a set of arrows. The olive branch represents peace, while the set of arrows represents war. In a nutshell, the country was saying: "We're a peaceful country, but we're not afraid to defend ourselves!"
• Going further into the olive branch, there are 13 leaves on the branch, and 13 olives.
• Going further into the arrows, there are 13 arrows in the eagle's talon.
• Notice the direction the eagle's head points? What does it point to? The olive branch or the arrows? If the eagle's head points towards the olive branch, then that dollar was printed during an official time of peace in US History. However, if the eagle's head is facing the arrows, then the dollar was printed during a time of war. (Most of the time, the eagle's head points toward the olive branch, since it wants to maintain peace however possible)
• The set of stars at the top of the seal is shaped like a Star of David, which could represent many different things. It could represent the coming together of man and woman (which is what the Star of David itself represents) or the country's religious tolerance, making stars in the shape of a Jewish Star.

So, as you can see, the dollar is much more than that piece of paper (starched cotton-linen) that you use to buy Twix.

Obviously, we put a lot of emphasis on the number 13. ("13 colonies, 13 signers of the Declaration of Independence, 13 stripes on our flag, 13 steps on the Pyramid, 13 letters in the Latin above, 13 letters in "E Pluribus Unum", 13 stars above the Eagle, 13 bars on that shield, 13 leaves on the olive branch, 13 olives, and if you look closely, 13 arrows. And, for minorities: the 13th Amendment." [Re: terroristwatch.tripod.com])

We put emphasis in our seal for the number 1776, our bravery, and God.

Want to learn more? Check out my sources below, and I hope you guys enjoyed learning more about the dollar!

Sources:

• http://terroristwatch.tripod.com/dollar_bill.html (for lots of the analysis)
• http://www.lighthouseinvestmentmanagement.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/United_States_one_dollar_bill_reverse-low.jpg (high-res photo of the back of a dollar bill)
• http://content.reviewed.com/products/10206/specs/5032/PANASONIC_DMC_GF2_dollar_full.jpg (high-res photo of the front of a dollar bill)
• http://www.kilroywashere.org/06-Images/Dollar/TreasurySeal.jpg (Department of the Treasury Seal)
• http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/d/dollarbill.htm (Confirmation of some of the analysis)
• http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Evils%20in%20Government/Federal%20Reserve%20Scam/Eye.jpg (Photo of pyramid on Treasury Seal)
• https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1fncy2EaU545qAcIsbNyOfg9ENgenokXM_2PX7y2KpxRbj6FOCXu6c3OZh8G4XgIj630_1d2CYhJ-2W-6iAozgSWL73OX-SeQ-oh9YYRfimciwraHp9zLSpHNelOe4VxpUwk_55XE9D0/s1600/Eagle.jpg (Photo of Eagle on Treasury Seal)
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novus_ordo_seclorum (Information on Novus Ordo Seclorum)
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E_pluribus_unum (Information on E. Pluribus Unum)
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annuit_c%C5%93ptis (Information on Annuit cœptis)

Tidbit #27 - April 25, 2011

I'm gonna mix things up a bit: for this tidbit, there will be no question leading to it; it's just something you didn't know before, and probably never thought about.

After all, most people don't think about the significance of all those little symbols on an American $1 bill when they're using it to buy a Twix bar, are they?

Well, prepare to learn the meaning of every nook and cranny that has a meaning, because we're analyzing a dollar today.

First, we'll need a dollar bill. Take one out if you have one on you; if you don't, just check out the high-res dollar bill below. (You may need to open a new window or tab to check it out at higher quality)

I'll need to post two pictures: one of the front and one of the back. Here they are:

Okay, let's get started.

First, here's some general information you might now have known about American currency:

• All dollar bills, no matter their worth, aren't paper; they're a special cotton linen blend, with little red and blue silk fibers running through them. (That's why they don't fall apart when you accidentally put them through the washer.)
• The ingredients for the ink used to make the dollar bills is the best kept secret in the United States.
• After being printed, dollar bills are starched for water resistance, then pressed. (The starch makes it feel and sound so crisp.)
• The one dollar bill you're looking at was originally printed in 1957 with that design. (Re: truthorfiction.com)

Okay, let's start with the front side of the dollar bill. Got your dollar out/picture loaded? Okay, let's begin!

Okay, can you locate the US Treasury Seal? It looks like this: 

Well, those four symbols (yeah, I said four) have meanings:

• The scales on the top are supposed to represent a balanced budget.
• The key at the bottom half is actually the imprint of the key to the treasury. (This is debated, as some people say the key is nothing but a symbol of authority)
• The divider between the scale and the key is a carpenter's square, which is a symbol for an "even cut." (This is debated, as some people say that it's a chevron representing the original 13 colonies, since there are 13 stars on the chevron)
• And, of course, the encasing for all of these symbols is the shield, which represents the country's strength.

Unfortunately, that's all for the front side of the dollar bill that has any meaning relevant to us.

And, just to keep you in suspense, I'm postponing the next part of the dollar bill analysis for tomorrow! So come on back and learn something new! (:

Tidbit #26 - April 23, 2011

Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Isn't it annoying when your dog barks all night? You're trying to get to sleep and its insistent howling and barking gets so aggravating! But then, just a few hors later, the Earth starts shaking! You're too late to realize that your dog was trying to warn you, and too scared to wonder how it was able to try to warn you!

Question: How do dogs sense an earthquake hours before it happens?


Answer: There's a whole website that I found out about based solely on questions just like this. It's called onearthquakes.com, and I found a forum question that asked exactly what we're looking for here. If you don't want to read that whole article, I fished around in the comments and found the answer, no wall of text or summary needed:

"Animals are sensitive to the change in the Earth's magnetic field just before the earthquake." (Re: onearthquakes.com)

Tidbit #25 - April 22, 2011

It's so weird when it happens, isn't it?
It's so weird when it happens, isn't it?

WHOA! Anyone else feel déjà vu there? I sure did, and it made me wonder: What makes déjà vu happen?

Question: What causes déjà vu?


Answer: By definition, déjà vu is "the feeling that you have experienced a situation before even though you know you haven't" (Re: science.howstuffworks.com).

Furthermore, there are different types of déjà vu that someone can have. Precognitive experiences are one type, in which someone feels like they know what's going to happen next, and that happens. There are many other types that we won't get into, seeing as this tidbit only focuses on what makes déjà vu occur.

So, I went ahead and searched up déjà vu on howstuffworks, and found a neat little article (or big article, rather). You can look at the article I viewed here.

"[Many scientists] have since determined that the medial temporal lobe is involved in our conscious memory. Within the medial temporal lobe are the parahippocampal gyrus, the rhinal cortex and the amygdala. John D.E. Gabrieli at Stanford University found in 1997 that the hippocampus enables us to consciously recall events. He also found that the parahippocampal gyrus enables us to determine what's familiar and what isn't (and without actually retrieving a specific memory to do it)." (Re: science.howstuffworks.com)

That wasn't a big wall of text, but it certainly had some big words! Let's break it down into my own summary:

Many parts of the brain are involved in déjà vu. Our conscious memory is where it generally happens, but a part of our brain called the hippocampus allows us to recall memories. Something called our parahippocampal gyrus (pretty much another name for the stuff around the hippocampus) also plays a role in déjà vu by encoding our initial memories so we can think we remember them later on.

I also found a neat article on Wikipedia (where else?) that really shone the light, if what you've already read didn't:

The similarity between a déjà-vu-eliciting stimulus and an existing, but different, memory trace may lead to the sensation. Thus, encountering something which evokes the implicit associations of an experience or sensation that cannot be remembered may lead to déjà vu.

Basically, that stated our condensed answer:

 Déjà vu happens when our brain associates an existing memory with a new one.

Tidbit #24 - April 19, 2011

Another great from Feldman's Imponderables series:

Question: Why is $ the sign for the US dollar?


Answer: I remember looking up Feldman's book online and finding this and thinking that I had to show this to everyone at the blog, but I can't seem to find it now, so I can't remember exactly the citation except the very condensed answer, so sorry about that: short tidbit!

The $ sign is thought to be a twist on the sign for the Spanish Peso.

Tidbit #23 and Announcement - April 19, 2011

Before I begin, I'd like to make an announcement:

From this point onward, I have become too busy to post a new tidbit every day. Therefore, in most cases, I will be posting two tidbits every two days instead of the traditional one a day I started with. It's just a lot more convenient for me, and maybe for you guys, too.

Anyways, let's get on with the tidbit.

Remember first grade? Your hardest tests were timed addition tests (7+8, anyone?), recess still existed, and white glue was your duct tape: it could fix anything. You probably never bothered to wonder why the sticky stuff inside the bottle would always be able to slide right down the bottle and not get stuck.

Question: Why doesn't glue stick to the bottle?


Answer: Our friends at Answers.com have this one covered, as usual:

Another great and puzzling question. Why doesn't glue stick inside of the glue bottle?

Glue on paper: As the glue connects with oxygen it becomes sticky and if left to dry in this oxygen it becomes hard and keeps multiple things together. 

Glue inside the bottle: Glue doesn't stick inside the bottle because the chemicals within the glue is triggered by oxygen (what we breathe) so when the glue bottle is opened it triggers the chemicals to make it sticky. That's why if a bottle if left out with no cap the glue becomes quite hard. (Re: Answers.com)

So, what's our summary of the text wall?

Normally, glue sticks to paper because the chemicals that make it up become sticky when it crosses paths with oxygen, and dries after awhile and becomes strongly attached to whatever you attached it to. However, if glue is inside the bottle, oxygen can't get to it, and therefore it remains nonadhesive until it comes into contact with any type of oxygen in the air.

Here's your condensed summary:

Glue doesn't stick to the bottle because the chemicals in glue only make the glue sticky if it is exposed to oxygen, which isn't inside the bottle.

Tidbit #22 - April 17, 2011

Dogs truly are man's best friend. They're fun to play with, they're loyal, they can be trained, they... have wet noses? What's up with that?

Question: Why do dogs have wet noses?


Answer: Ahh, Answers.com, where would we be without you?

Dogs noses secrete a small amount of mucus which serves two purposes: to help their sense of smell, and to keep themselves cool. The thin layer of mucus helps with the absorption of scent chemicals from the air. In addition, the nose, along with the mouth and the pads of the feet, is one of the locations where dogs bodies release heat. (Re: Answers.com)

Yep, that's right. That wet stuff on your dog's nose is mucus. Granted, it doesn't feel like that, but it is.

Short tidbit today, huh?

Here's your condensed summary for the day:

The wet stuff on a dog's nose is a thin layer of mucus that helps its sense of smell and helps to cool it down.

Tidbit #21 - April 16, 2011

When you hear the word Calorie, what's the first thing that comes to mind? Food? Bad? I need to stay away from those? That's what most people hear, because a Calorie has come to be known as the standard cause of weight gain, and something to be avoided at all costs. What lots of people don't REALLY know is what a Calorie is, and why it's always capitalized.

So, for today's tidbit, two questions will be integrated into one.

Question(s): What is a Calorie, and why is it capitalized?


Answer: When asked this question, most people end up stuttering and giving an answer like "it's the fat in.. um.." or "isn't it.. um.. the building blocks.. uh.." or just a flat "i don't know." The problem is, even I know this, and it's a simple answer, too, no summary needed.

It's actually a chemistry definition: a calorie is a specific measure of heat. By definition, a Calorie is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 liter of water by 1° celsius.

So, that's one question down, but why is it Capitalized Like This?


Well, strictly speaking, there are two different varieties of the heat measurement: calories and Calories. The difference is in the capitalization of the letter c in the word. A little c calorie has the same proportion to a big C calorie as a gram does to a kilogram. (In other words, 1000 calories = 1 Calorie)


If you didn't catch the answers in there, here they are:


A Calorie is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 liter of water by 1° celsius.
There are two types of calories: big C and little c. (1000 calories = 1 Calorie)

Tidbit #20 - April 15, 2011

2nd tidbit of the day.

This is also our 20th tidbit in the blog's history!! So sit back and learn your 20th fact.

In light of the upcoming Christian holiday, I'm also making my first seasonal tidbit! Can you guess what it is?

No? Then check out right below for a hint (it's the answer):

Question: What are the origins of the Easter bunny?


Answer: Wikipedia sure has some interesting stuff, wouldn't you agree? Here's what the millions of writers have typed up about the origins of the Easter bunny:

Bringing Easter eggs seems to have its origins in Alsace and the Upper Rhineland, both then in the Holy Roman Empire, and southwestern Germany, where the practice was first recorded in a German publication in the 1500s (early 16th century). The first edible Easter Eggs were made in Germany during the early 19th century and were made of pastry and sugar.

The Easter Bunny was introduced to the United States by the German settlers who arrived in the Pennsylvania Dutch country during the 18th century. The arrival of the Osterhase was considered one of "childhood's greatest pleasures", similar to the arrival of Kris Kringle on Christmas Eve.

According to the tradition, children would build brightly colored nests, often out of caps and bonnets, in secluded areas of their homes. The "O_ster Haws_e" would, if the children had been good, lay brightly colored eggs in the nest. As the tradition spread, the nest has become the manufactured, modern Easter basket, and the placing of the nest in a secluded area has become the tradition of hiding baskets.

Are you a text-wall-skipper? Read the summary:

Summary: Waay back when (we're talking Bronze Age), the bringing of easter eggs seems to have taken its roots in different parts of the Holy Roman Empire. Southwest Germany got with it, too, in the 1500s. The Easter Bunny (or "osterhase"), however, was introduced to the U.S. by the Germans who arrived in the Pennsylvania Dutch country in the 1700s. Tradition said that if children laid brightly colored nests (generally made our of caps or bonnets) in hidden areas of the house, that "O_ster Haws_e" would put eggs in those nests.

Eventually, the process modernized, evolving into the happy-go-lucky bunny and eggs we know of today.

Unfortunately, those delicious Easter eggs weren't part of the easter tradition until the 1800s.

I tip my cap to whoever was able to read that, but to the rest of you, here is your condensed answer:

The Easter bunny seems to have taken its roots in the German settlers (for whom it had been a tradition since the days of the Holy Roman Empire) who came to the U.S. in the 1700s.


And a very happy Easter to everyone visiting tidbitsz.blogspot.com!

Tidbit #19 - April 15, 2011

Oh no! I missed a day!

Well, the good news is, I'll be more than compensating for it: I'll be posting not one, not two, but three tidbits today. How cool is that???

Okay, let's get started:

Have you ever heard anyone use the expression "I got laid last night!"? Did you promptly become angry at that person for describing it so blatantly? Well, you shouldn't have, because most people, although imbued with the knowledge that that expression means having sex, don't know where the term came from and how it was coined.

Question: Why is it called getting laid?


Answer: There are a few possible reasons. I couldn't find the first reason online, but my stepdad (a historian) told me about the first one:

1. It is said that the term was coined in the early days of the famous (or infamous, rather) Chicago Everlay Club, in which people would.. do their business.. and come out saying that they got "layed," since the club was famous for that. Eventually, the spelling changed, but the name stuck.
2. Someone on lunaticoutpost.com thinks they know the answer, and I think they might be on to something: "it's hard to have sex standing up"

So, as a condensed answer, what do we have?

Getting laid could have been coined due to either the reputation of the Chicago Everlay Club or the positioning of intercourse when it happens (in most cases).

Tidbit #18 - April 13, 2011

I don't know about you, but I find eggs to be an excellent food. They're just so good-tasting however they're made: scrambled, hard-boiled, sunny-side up, they're still the same delicious eggs. They can also be divided into subcategories, which is what we're taking a look into today. What I wanna know is:

Question: What's the difference between brown and white eggs??


Answer: Well, at first, I thought that brown chickens laid brown eggs. (Bear with me on this, I was 7 or 8 when I had this theory.) Then, several months ago, I discovered something at the store: it seemed that the only eggs that were organic were brown. Although I didn't go checking every egg in the store, I thought that was it for awhile, and until I searched the answer, I still thought it. I found a good answer, though, titled and everything!

The Difference Between White Eggs and Brown Eggs

The first and obvious difference is their color, the second is the type of chicken it comes out of, personally I haven't tasted any difference between the two. 
Nutritionally there is no difference, various breeds lay different colors. White eggs are popular with grocery stores visually (clean and fresh looking) and one of the best laying breeds happens to lay white eggs. Restaurants often prefer brown eggs as it is easier to see bits of shell when they fall in the food being prepared. A tiny white bit of shell in a pound of flour is hard to find until somebody crunches it. Yolk color is adjusted by feed contents. 
Really, the only true difference is the one you mentioned, the color. They taste the same, have the same amount of nutrients, everything. The only difference is the genetics of the chicken that laid the egg. 


Note - Many people do not know this, but technically, brown eggs and white eggs have the same shell color - white. The brown you see is an "overlay" of color. Hence, both eggs have white shells - but the brown has an "overlay" of color that makes it a brown color.
Note 2- White eggs are the product of chickens with white ears and chickens with red ears lay other colors including Blue and green. The quality of the egg depends on if you get the egg from a grocery store that has mass produced eggs or from a farmer that lets the eggs run freely. 
The reason you see more white eggs in the stores is because the mass producers will normally use the Leghorn chicken one of the best egg producers it is also a smaller chicken and not as often used as a eating chicken. These chickens have white ears.

(Re: wiki.answers.com Question)

If you just skipped that giant wall of text, let me summarize it for you:

Strictly speaking, there is no difference between them besides, obviously, the color. They taste the same, they have the same nutritional value, everything. I guess the only difference is the type of chicken that lays the egg; in general, chickens with white ears lay white eggs, while chickens with red ears lay different color eggs.

As an added note, my dad told me that whenever he bought brown eggs, he told me he felt a tougher shell. Don't know is this is true, but you never know, right?

So, as a condensed answer (and mind you, this is very condensed) is:

Strictly speaking, the only difference between the two types of eggs is the color and the type of chicken that lays them.

Tidbit #17 - April 12, 2011

Anyone up for some Starbucks? I always get a Tall Strawberries n' Cream Frappucino. Mmmm... Milkshakes. But why is it a Tall size if it's so small?

Question: Why is tall coffee the small size?


Answer: This one was tougher to search up than I thought. I found what seems to be the right answer, though:

Originally, most coffeeshops only had two sizes: short and tall, based on not only the amount of drink they held, but by their height. (hence, short and tall) Eventually, as supply and demand grew, so did the drink sizes, and what was once the largest size (tall) became the shortest size, and the name just stuck. You can still order it as a "short" size and you'll get the same size, but isn't it sad how demand has grown like that?

So, as a condensed answer, we have:

Tall coffee is the small size because, due to increasing demand for more drink, the large (tall) became the small, and the name stuck.

Tidbit #16 - April 11, 2011

I don't know about you, but when I come home after a long day, the first thing I have to eat is a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich, better known as PB&J action. It really hits the spot, the mixture of sweet and salty and peanut-buttery, with the taste of the bread... Anyways, I'm getting off topic. When I was having my sandwich today, I was thinking: "What's so different about jams, jellies and preserves?" So, naturally, I posted it on here.

Question: What's the difference between jam, jelly and preserves?


Answer: Luckily, we have TLC's cooking website to help us out. Someone asked on the forum and we've got a nice answer:

Jelly, jam and preserves all contain fruit in some form, mixed with sugar and pectin; the difference between them is caused by the form of the fruit in the substance:

• In jelly, the fruit comes in the form of fruit juice.
• In jam, the fruit comes in the form of fruit pulp or crushed fruit (and is less stiff than jelly as a result)
• In preserves, the fruit comes in the form of chunks in a syrup or a jam.

Pectin is a type of carb that your stomach can't digest and that is found in a fruit's cell walls. "When heated in water with sugar, it gels, giving jelly, jam and preserves their thickness.

So, what do we have here?

Jelly, jam and preserves differ in the form that the fruit takes in the container.

Tidbit #15 - April 10, 2011

Lots of you have probably heard of David Feldman's puzzling series of books called "Imponderables," all with different titles. As a reminder, I have not utilized any of his imponderables.. Until now. I'm using one of his most famous questions, and summarizing it in my own words:

Question: How does Aspirin find a headache?


Answer: I looked it up, and I found someone on uh.edu who found his book and typed up Mr. Feldman's answer:

Try that aspirin question: I always thought aspirin just entered the blood and reduced pain wherever the blood went. Aspirin does enter the blood, but then it acts selectively on pain and inflammation. Not 'til the 1970s did pharmacologists figure out how it did that. Aspirin attacks a certain fatty acid that serves as an early warning system by increasing the sensitivity of pain receptors. Aspirin turns those painful warning bells off.

And, as always, my condensed summary:

When you take Aspirin, the pill dissolves into the blood and attacks a fatty acid that causes pain receptors to tell the body something's wrong, shutting it down.

Tidbit #14 - April 9, 2011

Aren't bobbleheads peculiar? They have bobbleheads of so many different people, particularly sports players. Take all of those different bobbleheads of the Yankees or the Dodgers. Why do they make those? Where did they originate? When and why did they become so famous?

Question: Where did the bobblehead originate?


Answer: An easy-to-find answer, found on (what else?) Wikipedia.

• "The earliest known reference to a bobblehead is thought to be in Nikolai Gogol's 1842 short story 'The Overcoat,' in which the main character's head was described as 'like the necks of plaster cats which wag their heads.' The modern bobblehead appeared in the 1950s. By 1960, MLB had gotten in on the action and produced a series of paper-machié bobblehead dolls, one for each team, all with the same cherubic face." (Re: Wikipedia)
• As an added fact, bobbleheads were still available before the modern type was introduced in the '50s. In fact, there was a bobblehead created in the 1920s of a New York Knicks player.

So, what do we have as a condensed answer?

Bobbleheads are thought to have been introduced in Nikolai Gogol's 1842 short story "The Overcoat."

Tidbit #13 - April 8, 2011

The sound of rain is among the most beautiful sounds in our world. People love to sit inside with all the lights off and listen to its beautiful sound. However, some people like to utilize it to have a pool right outside the house, and they run out with a swimsuit on to dance around in it. They're probably having too much fun to wonder why it doesn't hurt them, falling 10,000 feet from the sky.

When you think about it, the question can be quite confusing,

Question: Why doesn't rain hurt?


Answer: Only one true answer, straight and simple:

                 Quoted: "For the same reason that a person jumping out of an airplane at 20,000 feet doesn't hit the ground with the same speed as a person jumping out of a plane at 10,000 feet. A falling object's speed continues to increase (because of the force of gravity) until the force of air resistance exactly cancels gravity. This occurs at a speed called the 'terminal velocity' for that object and depends on the object's mass and shape. That's why snow falls much more slowly than rain and why a feather falls slower than a rock with the same mass. The terminal velocity for a person is about 120 MPH." (Re: newton.dep.anl.gov)

                 Summarized: When a raindrop is released from a cloud, the force of gravity will pull it downwards, increasing its speed. The reason the speed doesn't increase indefinitely until it reaches an object that will stop it is because all the time it's falling, the air is pushing back on it, increasing the pressure at which it pushes all the time gravity pushes it down. Eventually, this "struggle" between gravity and air will equalize, and the rain will continue to fall, but it will not speed up, causing it to hit you softly with its pitter patter.

So, what do we have as a condensed summary?

When rain falls, the force of gravity and air pressure equalize its velocity, keeping it from traveling faster than the speed we know it to fall.

Tidbit #12 - April 7, 2011

Like, what's up with, like, people's speech nowadays? Like, it's like, like, all of their, like, sentences are, like, supplemented with, like, the word like. Like, why do you think that is?

Question: Where did the pause in speech, "like", come from?


Answer: There could be a few reasons:

Shaggy and Scooby:
Like, enthusiasts of the word like.
(And quintuple-decker sandwiches)

1. Someone in Yahoo! Answers was so kind to give us a nice, detailed answer: "'Like' is a 'filler' word that has kind of crept into the English language over the past decade or so. There isn't really anything you can say instead of like; hence the 'filler' term. A 'filler' word is just something you use out of habit, really. Same with 'umm' and 'uhhh' etc, they have no meaning and no real substitutes, they are just there for the sake of being there." (Re: Yahoo! Answers)
2. Another great Yahoo! Answer: "The word 'like' has been used as a postponed filler ('going really fast, like') from 1778; as a presumed emphatic ('going, like, really fast') from 1950, originally in counterculture slang and bop talk." (Re: Yahoo! Answers) The rest of this article seemed too long and tedious to read, so I summarized it and made it answer #3:
3. The word "like" might also have originated from some famous media. For example, it might be a fad following Frank Zappa's hit song "Valley Girl", from 1982. The TV character Maynard G. Krebs from the series "Dobie Gills" (1959-1963), who used the expression a lot, might have brought it to prominence. Shaggy and Scooby from "The Adventures of Scooby Doo!" might have had something to do with it as well: "ZOINKS! LET'S, LIKE, GET OUTTA HERE, SCOOB!" Anthony Burgess' 1962 novel A Clockwork Orange had the narrator using his teenage slang: "I, like, didn't say anything." 
4. Finally, it could have originated in Scotland in R.L. Stevenson's 1886 novel Kidnapped: "What's like wrong with him?" (p.193)

Well, what have we got here as a final answer?

It could have originated from lots of famous media, such as the TV show "Dobie Gills", Frank Zappa's song "Valley Girl", Shaggy and Scooby from "The Adventures of Scooby Doo!", Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange, or R.L. Stevenson's 1886 novel Kidnapped.

Want it more condensed than that?

It most likely originated from a type of famous media.