Navel/Naval

I don't know what happens if you Google naval though if you Google navel you are only offered a couple of choices then it offers naval. This started early in the day when I came across the word omphaloskepsis which means the contemplation of one's navel for the purpose of meditation. That in turn reminded me of a series of books I read in my early 20s by Carlos Castaneda who based the books on peyote trips he took with an Indian shaman. His theory in the books if I recall correctly was the navel as the source of spirituality,or something like that,they were fairly far out there. Then of course no navel search gets by without some mention of whether Adam and Eve had navels which according to the bible they did not though Adam's navel is clearly visible in "The Creation" which brings about another question...why is God wearing clothes? Weren't they theoretically not invented yet?

Another Marketing Ploy

Nearly every time I brush my teeth I wonder why toothpaste is flavored since it isn't meant to be swallowed why the flavoring? At one time the popular theory was that the mint flavoring was beneficial to your health,but there isn't enough mint oil in any given brand for that theory to hold water. Around the 1920s an advertising executive for Pepsodent found out that the receptors in the mouth think that cold and mint are the same feeling so he built a campaign around the idea of having a minty fresh smile and it didn't hurt that the mint sensation made brushing your teeth become a habit which helped to insure sales. This also explains why other flavors of toothpaste never really take off,though the new Mojito flavor may change things!

Italian Alternative

Today's offering might be best filed under "crazy enough it just might work". Burger King in Italy has launched a Social Distancing Whopper with three times the regular amount of onions. A food comedian in Florida convinced a local outlet to make one and declared it a success saying no one would come within 12 feet of anyone who had just consumed one. Meanwhile Burger King in Germany introduced social distancing crowns when they reopened for limited dining. What the heck? Might as well have some fun with it since we're all going to be living with this for awhile.

Beyond Duty

A 39 year old UK mail carrier is going the extra mile during the lock down. He is dressing up in costumes to deliver his route and make his customers smile. His employer is fine with the costumes as long as he wears the shoes provided by them and carries his employee ID. I was curious about the shoes but couldn't find out what kind he has to wear. Shoes just seem like an odd part of a uniform to be mandatory as people's feet vary so much but I'm guessing it is for safety reasons.

Suckers For Sasquatch

Sasquatch,aka Bigfoot,aka Darrel according to an insurance ad where Flo calls him Bigfoot and he holds up his foot and looks at it and says,"My name is Darrel" Bigfoot has made quite the splash in advertising gimmicks lately. A California real estate agent needed something to make a listing for a five bedroom,3 bathroom house stand out so he got his creative juices flowing and bought a Bigfoot suit,he then did a photo shoot of the house featuring him doing activities in different rooms. It worked quite nicely,along with over 400,000 views on Zillow he also received several offers over the listing price. Go Bigfoot!

Family Reunion

Generally people don't give animals the credit they deserve for their intelligence mainly because we don't speak the same language but people who are around animals a lot see them react to things in ways that aren't easily explained. Today's post is about one such instance. Monty and Rosie are cockapoos from the same litter who were separated when they went to different homes 10 months ago. Their owners happened to be walking the litter mates at the same time and the dogs instantly recognized each other and seemed to embrace as shown in the photos. There were 6 puppies in their litter but Monty and Rosie were always together until they went to their different homes. I can only hope after their reunion that the owners get them together on a regular basis.

Last Laugh

Today's post should be filed under learning something new,at least for me. I knew nitrous oxide was aka laughing gas and I guess I knew that it makes people high but I didn't know that penguin poop when mixed with soil made nitrous oxide so potent that the scientists involved in the study became ill after inhaling it during their study. I don't know why they weren't wearing some type of filters to prevent that from happening. I also didn't realize that nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas and is 300 times more polluting than CO2. In case anyone is wondering why they were studying penguin feces it was to determine how to control the amount of nitrogen used in fertilizers to offset the nitrous oxide it forms.

Paws for Effect

At the beginning of the month I did a post about a robotic dog who was patrolling areas in Shanghai to reinforce social distancing. I was okay with that since it kept another person out of the mix even though it was kind of creepy. Today I found out they are using the same model of robot to herd sheep in New Zealand and I'm not okay with that. First off there are perfectly good REAL dogs to do that work and they literally do for their keep,where as the robo dog costs as much to lease for a year as a new car and their batteries only hold a charge for 90 minutes,plus the dogs are faster (30 mph vs 3 mph) and are totally biodegradable unlike the robo dogs. The robotic dogs could be useful in situations that are hazardous to  humans like mining or the social distancing warnings but I see no reason to employ them where they don't do as good of a job as the tried and true way.

Sensory Science

When my grandmother came to visit when we were kids she would often times bring ice cream and if we stirred it to soften it she would threaten to not bring ice cream again. Finally after all these years our method of enjoying ice cream have been scientifically proven! There is a formula that explains how it works but since most of us aren't scientists I will skip that and go right to the 7 steps to get the most out of your ice cream experience.

1.  Firstly you should leave the ice-cream for 15 minutes after getting it out of the freezer to reach -14C.

It will be soft to the touch - no need to aggressively dig at it with a spoon - this will release the aroma molecules.

2.  Using a teaspoon, scoop out a small amount ice-cream, about half of the spoon.

3.  Then place the teaspoon upside down into your mouth so the ice cream touches your tongue - taste buds - first.

4.  Move the ice-cream around your mouth taking note of the cold sensation and creamy texture.

5.  Inhale through your mouth so that it reaches all your receptors.

6.  Keep the ice-cream in your mouth for a full 12 seconds to experience maximum flavour.

7.  Repeat with every bite to build up the full ice-cream taste profile and sensation.

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Lock down Memories

A 28 year old bored Oregon mom decided to make some family fun by drawing exaggerated eyebrows on her daughter,she then posted the results on Tik Tok where for the most part people thought they were hilarious,though there are always a few that feel the need to judge or shame even though there was no harm done and memories were recorded in a way her daughter can look back on in the years to come. For mental health reasons the mom quit reading the comments which was probably a smart move.

Marrying For Money

Normally marrying for money is frowned upon though these are not normal times. A California man who got his cat Olivia in 2015 decided to marry her and film the ceremony. They are even registered so people can opt to make donations to the animal shelter where he got the love of his life. They are live streaming the event on Instagram May 23rd. They hope to raise $5,000 for the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. I wish them the best,and I can't see Olivia catting around on him.

Sleep On It

This job has to be the perfect fit for someone out there,or a lot of someones after all who wouldn't enjoy getting paid to sleep? Olivia's, a luxury brand of beds, is searching for a "comfort connoisseur" to test different beds which are delivered and set up in your home. The company expects a scorecard to be filled out and a detailed report on each bed and at least two beds to be tested per month. The pay is $73 per hour and all that is needed is a room to set the beds up in and an outside area to test daybeds. It wasn't clear how the hours are calculated but I'm guessing it would be based on the time spent in bed and the time for the paperwork.

Who Were Those Masked Men?

I suppose it was only a matter of time before someone wearing a mask stole something since nowadays masks are the norm. I admit I've had a hard time maintaining my composure seeing all these masked men and thinking of witnesses describing the villain...they were wearing a mask,but maybe that's just my warped sense of humor at work? Anyway,in Louisa,Virginia two men went the extra mile and disguised themselves by wearing hollowed out watermelons with eye holes into a grocery store and allegedly stealing some liquor. An arrest was made not long after the theft was reported and get this,along with being charged with the theft,plus underage possession of alcohol they were also charged with wearing a mask while committing larceny!  You can't make this stuff up.