They Eyes Have It

 A few fun facts about eyes are the order of the day. All humans had brown eyes until around 6,000 years ago when a mutation occurred creating a blue eyed individual which considering the time frame it's amazing they weren't killed at birth making blue eyes wait thousands more years for another mutation. Today brown eyes are still found on 70-79% of the population with 8-10% sporting blue eyes, 5% hazel or amber, 2% green and 1% have heterochromia or different colored eyes. Also humans can see a lot farther than they think they can but because of curvature of the Earth and atmospheric conditions that distance is usually limited to around 3 miles but step outside in the dark and just like magic you can see millions of miles into the stars and even our neighboring galaxy,  Andromeda. 

Smelling a Rat

 Who would have guessed that smell is the sense most linked with memory? The four other best known senses send their electrical impulses to the thalamus where they are relayed to the appropriate areas for memory. Smell  goes directly to the olfactory bulb which is directly connected to the hippocampus, the area of the brain responsible for emotional processing making the memories of smells most powerful. Of course several companies know of the smell association and use those pleasant memories to promote sales much like a type of subliminal messaging. It's a scary world out there folks, and nothing is sacred! 

Pump It Up

 There are some really oddly named foods out there with some of those foods being equally disgusting but we won't go there today. Today we'll stick with pumpernickel bread which originated in Germany. The ingredients were a combination of rye flour, molasses, and sourdough starter that was baked at a low heat for a whole day though many bakers today add yeast to both speed up the process and take care of  the side effect (flatulence) that gave pumpernickel its name. Pumpern in German means, "to break wind" and nickel means, "goblin or devil", when used together the words translate to "devil's fart." 

Menace Duo

 File today's post under learn something new, that is unless you already knew that there are two Dennis the Menaces. On March 12,1951 Dennis the Menace appeared for the first time in the British weekly comic magazine, "The Beano". That same day Dennis the Menace also appeared for the first time in 16 US newspapers. You're probably thinking it was the same character with international distribution but that would be wrong. The British Dennis was drawn by David Law and was dark haired ,scowling and known for deliberately causing trouble where the US Dennis drawn by Hank Ketcham was blonde, friendly but likely to have things go south due to good intentions turning sour. Neither artist was aware of the other and their separate / same creations and neither ever bothered with copyright infringements and both had long runs in their own countries.    

Says Who?

 It's fun to hear witty quotes from famous people both past and present but how many of those are actually misquotes? Mark Twain is credited for saying, "Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it." What he actually said was,   “I reverently believe that the Maker who made us all makes everything in New England but the weather. I don't know who makes that, but I think it must be raw apprentices in the weather-clerk's factory who experiment and learn how, in New England, for board and clothes, and then are promoted to make weather for countries that require a good article, and will take their custom elsewhere if they don't get it.”

Marilyn Monroe has been credited with saying, "Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world." Even though Marilyn had plenty of clever quotes this wasn't one of them since it was a response to a question and answer period where Bette Midler was asked,  “Is it true that you really have a passion for shoes? If so, what kind do you prefer?” She responded: “The spike-heeled kind. They’re not always easy to find. I firmly believe that with the right footwear one can rule the world. Fortunately for the world, I have not found the correct footwear to achieve that goal. However, shoe stores across the nation can attest to my sincere and persistent efforts in that direction.”

Wigging Out

 Were our founding fathers fashionistas with their wig wearing styles or was there another reason behind the wig wearing? Wigs go way back to ancient times but became a fashion accessory in the 1600s when Louis XIV who was considered a trend setter began losing his long hair. He turned to wigs and had his own wig makers to make perfectly fitting hairpieces out of human hair where the lower class made do with horse, goat or yak hair wigs though it wasn't always about fashion some wigs were to hide bald spots and sores caused by syphilis...oh and the powdering of wigs that was about stench of the lower quality wigs that were worn daily without being aired out plus the animal fats used to set the wigs becoming rancid. It's anyone wonder some of those folks looked so crabby. 

Ashes to Ashes

 It seems like everyone pretty much agrees that we need more trees since they are being cut faster than they can grow which makes this idea really attractive. A company named Loop Biotech is making biodegradable coffins from mushroom roots and hemp fiber which are grown together in a mold into a coffin that in turn delivers the remains back to nature in about 1 1/2 months rather than using a wooden coffin which take decades to break down and of course use trees to produce them. The company is also offering burial urns made from the same components that also include a sapling that grows from the ashes once the urn breaks down. But wait there's more! along with being environmentally friendly they are reasonably priced, the coffins are just over $1,000 and the urns are $212. 

Diaper Houses

 Today's post is exceptionally good news for those of us with environmental concerns, the focus today is on disposable diapers. A university in Japan has developed a way to recycle the diapers for use in building which not only keeps them out of landfills but by replacing from 9-40% of the sand in concrete also lowers greenhouse gas emissions so win-win. There are still things to be worked out before this becomes a widespread use such as how to keep the diapers separate from the rest of the trash so they can be washed and processed before doing their part as a building material but hey, it's a step in the right direction! 

Let Me Be Frank

In 1936 Oscar Mayer's nephew, Carl, suggested the company build a German sausage shaped vehicle to promote the wieners and the Wienermobile was born. Since that time the vehicle has undergone a number of changes, upgrades and adaptations including a Wienercycle and WienerDrone but the name remained the same that is until recently when the company announced it was renaming the Wienermobile to reflect the new recipe for all beef franks. The new name is Frankmobile, the operators are now Frankfurters instead of hotdoggers, the decals on the sides now read "The All-Beef Frank Frankmobile" though the license plates remain the same, IWSHIWR.    

Spewing Red

 Other than knowing it's cold no one thinks much about Antarctica which is a shame because there is some interesting things about that continent to be learned. Antarctica is the world's largest, coldest desert and gets less precipitation than the Sahara though before we go into any more of that type of info since the list is long what I wanted to feature today is Blood Falls which is curious for many reasons. First who would expect water to flow in sub zero weather? and what's up with the red color? The water flows because it is hypersaline meaning it contains three times more salt than seawater and the blood red color comes from the iron in the water which rusts when it mixes with the oxygen. Now everyone knows more about the southern continent other than it's cold! This may be my last post for awhile as I will be taking a break for about a week or maybe a bit longer so stay tuned for my return. 

Illicit Fruit Rolls

 Normally when a person thinks of smuggling it involves drugs, illegal pet trade or art and antiquities but recently Israel has been finding hundreds of pounds of fruit roll-ups in people's luggage. One couple had 375 lbs. confiscated from their luggage and it's not just individuals smuggling the fruit snacks in they are also being shipped in commercial quantities but not paying import taxes. Are you scratching you head wondering what's up with the snack smuggling? I was too plus why was it a problem, the problem part I'm still not sure on other than the tax thing since most fruit roll-up snacks are kosher though the Health Ministry issued a warning about consuming too much sugar. The reason for the demand is a video posted on TikTok about a snack made with a small scoop of ice cream sandwiched between two fruit roll-ups. I do believe the world has officially went nuts...or maybe fruity? 

Wasted

 Though not listed as an official definition most people in the US know that wasted can also mean being drunk. With that thought in mind Epic Cleantec is working to help tackle drought by turning gray waste water into potable beverages. Epic One Water Brew partnered with Devil's Canyon Brewing Company to develop a beer from the waste water (shower, laundry and bathroom sinks) collected from a 40 story apartment building in San Francisco where Epic has equipment to capture and treat the graywater. At this point the brew is for demonstration purposes, to get people thinking about ways to reuse waste water but  out of the people who voluntarily tasted the beer 99% were surprised to find out it was good. The explanation for the clean taste is that most beer is made with tap water which can result in flavor inconsistencies where with Epic One Water Brew the taste in consistent because of the treated water, though it will not be on the market any time soon. 

Ladybug Buns

 Actually the buns in question have nothing to do with ladybugs though they certainly put a person in mind of ladybugs. The red and black buns coming to Burger King this month are part of the advertising for the new Spider Man film coming out this month and will be available from May 15 through June 31. If you don't want a Whopper with a dyed red bun and black sesame seeds not to worry you can acknowledge the new movie but indulging in a Spidey Verse Sundae featuring soft serve ice cream topped with red and black popping candies. Burger King has offered colored buns in the past mostly around Halloween including the black Halloween Whopper, white Ghost Whopper, an orange Ghost Pepper Whopper and a green Nightmare Whopper. Have it your way!