INTERESTING STUFF

diapers.com

This was in our mailroom at work today. Nice tagline.

rosa sat...

The following quote is being attributed to many different people, ranging from rapper JayZ to an elected official in Lousiana. It appeared on our blog a few months ago, but the following youtube video puts a whole new perspective on it. You must check it out!


one giant leap for mankind


When I was just a baby, my mother propped me up in my older sister's lap and snapped a picture of us holding a newspaper with the headline "Man Lands on the Moon!" Jake is only 2 and a half years old, and won't remember this week's election - but I felt it was worth capturing the moment for posterity. This feels like a really special time to me.

The following are a few of my favorite quotes, celebrating the occasion:

that's smokin'

On the way into work today, I heard a story on NPR indicating that smoking of cigarettes is down considerably in China over the last few years - down to 350 million smokers! That's considerably more Chinese who smoke than the entire U.S. population (around 300 million). Apparently more than half of adult men in China are regular smokers. Zoiks!

banana slugs everywhere

On my way into work today, I saw several large gooey banana slugs. The weather's warm these days and, like us humans, our mollusk friends are coming out to play. Here are my favorite banana slug facts:

  • They are hermaphroditic - each slug is equipped with both male and female reproductive organs...so they can mate with themselves! They choose to do this only when no other slugs are around, typically seeking partners so they can trade their genetic material and create a healthier slug geen pool.
  • They have sex rituals - Slug sex lasts for hours and is characterized by ritualized bouts of lunging, nipping, and side swiping with their tails.
  • They are well endowed - During sex, slugs display extremely large sex organs...up to half their body size. In fact, the scientific name for banana slug - dolichophallus - is Latin for "long penis."
  • They apophalate! - After sex, slugs often have trouble "disengaging" from their partners. They spend hours twisting and pulling...and frequently resort to the practice of apophalation to separate themselves. That's a big scientific word that means "biting your partner's wee-wee off."
  • They are faster than you think - Despite being, well, sluggish...they cover a fair amount of ground. They can move 6.5 inches per minute, or 32 feet in an hour. Of course, this means they "run" a 100-yard dash in a little over 9 hours. But trust me...when watching them, they move faster than you'd expect.
  • They are slimey - and their slime is really amazing stuff. It serves as a deterrent to predators because it tastes bad and has a natural anesthetic (which numbs your lips if you kiss them - trust me, I know). The slime prevents moisture loss, and helps them get where they are going - by providing a lubricant to squeeze into tight places, adhere to steep surfaces, or hang upside down from slime threads. It also protects their fleshy underparts from dry or sharp objects. A banana slug can actually glide easily across a sharp razor blade without cutting itself!
  • supposably

    Some friends and I recently debated whether "supposably" is a word. Turns out, it's a word...but it isn't a synonym for "supposedly" in the way that so many toddlers use it. According to Webster's:

    Supposable \s&-'pO-z&-b&l\, adj.

    Capable of being supposed: CONCEIVABLE
    sup·pos·ably \-blE\ adv.

    envrironmental amnesia

    I read something interesting today about the concept of "environmental amnesia" - check it out:

    If one’s only experience is with a certain amount of pollution, then that amount becomes not pollution but the norm against which more (or less) polluted states can be measured at a later time...I have called this environmental generational amnesia (Kahn & Friedman, 1995).

    true majority

    Ben Cohen (cofounder of Ben & Jerry's) started an organization called True Majority. One of their earlier works uses stacks of Oreo cookies to show how much the U.S. spends on defense versus other programs.


    woo-woo water crystals

    OK, this is a little bit woo-woo, but it's pretty amazing if true. Masaru Emoto, a Japanese scientist, has taken photographs of ice crystals formed from different samples of water. To do this, he uses a dark field microscope with photographic capabilities. Water from pristine sources shows the beautiful geometric and crystalline patterns...and water from nasty toxic water shows uglier distorted crystalline structures. Many believe that Emoto's work demonstrates the impact of our intentions on the world around us. Consider the following photographs of ice crystals from different water sources:


    Fujuiwara Dam, before offering a prayer

    Fujuiwara Dam, after offering a prayer

    population growth

    Some interesting statistics on World Population:

    In the 19th century, global population grew by only 600 million, but in the 20th century it grew by 4.4 billion. There are twice as many people today as there were in 1960. One tenth of all the people who have ever lived are alive today. There has been more growth in population since 1950 than during the 4 million years since our early ancestors first stood upright.

    World population reached:

  • 1 billion in 1804,
  • 2 billion in 1927 (123 years later)
  • 3 billion in 1960 (33 years)
  • 4 billion in 1974 (13 years)
  • 5 billion in 1987 (12 years)
  • 6 billion in 1999 (12 years)
  • 7 billion in 2013 (14 years - projected)
  • 8 billion in 2028 (15 years - projected)
  • 10.7 (high) or 8.9 (middle) or 7.3 (low) billion projected for 2050
  • The average life expectancy is 61, up from 40 in just 50 years. The numbers of people 65 and older make up 10-15% of the world population today and is expected to increase to 20-30% by 2050. If fertility remained at current levels, the population would reach the absurd figure of 296 billion in just 150 years.

    Source: www.overpopulation.org

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