Friday, August 29, 2008

First ain't gonna have...

Birds don't have receptors in their mouths to taste the spiciness of chili. This way they can take the seed of the chili pepper and spread them around while other animals will stay away. It is thought that the spiciness of a chili is do to keep the fungus off the plant as the spice is anti-microbial.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Gunsmoke Longevity

"Gun Smoke:" was the longest running TV series. It ran for 20 years.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Wasps(?) are being(?)...

Wasps are being used to replace security dogs at airport. They can sniff bombs and they can sniff drugs. They're only used for about 48 hours and then they're released, it only take for half hour to train them and only costs a hundred dollars to do so.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

The world's tallest...

The world's tallest man was 8 feet 11 inches tall. listen

Powered by Jott

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Tug of War used to be...

Tug of War used to be an Olympic sport. listen

Powered by Jott

Her reward used to be...

Her reward used to be listing sport. listen

Powered by Jott

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Wonder Bread - The Sliced Bread Pusher

It may get a lot of credit now, but at the time of its debut in 1928, sliced bread received less-than-rave reviews. Baker and inventor Otto Frederick Rohwedder had spent 15 years perfecting his bread slicer (finally settling on one that wrapped the sliced bread to hold it together as opposed to the hat pins he’d tried earlier), but consumers weren’t quick to convert. People found the sliced bread strange and senseless.

It wasn’t until the advent of Wonder Bread, and the collective realization that sliced bread worked better in the toaster, that Rohwedder’s invention really took off. By World War II, the military was using sliced bread to serve peanut butter & jelly sandwiches as part of soldiers’ rations. Previously uncommon, the PB&J gained a loyal following among servicemen, who kept making the sandwich, sliced bread and all, after they came back to the home front.

This explanation originally appeared in the “25 Most Important Questions in the History of the Universe” issue of mental_floss magazine.
* * * * *

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Turning red at stop...

Turning red at stop light actually became law with the ability to do so. Became law to promote less gas ____ is in the 70. listen

Powered by Jott

Monday, August 4, 2008

White Chocolate is Not Chocolate

It's coco butter, sugar and goodness, but does not contain chocolate.

Friday, August 1, 2008

Japanese Government Taxes Large Waistlines

According to a June 13th article by the NY Times " a national law that came into effect two months ago, companies and local governments must now measure the waistlines of Japanese people between the ages of 40 and 74 as part of their annual checkups. That represents more than 56 million waistlines, or about 44 percent of the entire population.

Those exceeding government limits — 33.5 inches for men and 35.4 inches for women, which are identical to thresholds established in 2005 for Japan by the International Diabetes Federation as an easy guideline for identifying health risks — and having a weight-related ailment will be given dieting guidance if after three months they do not lose weight. If necessary, those people will be steered toward further re-education after six more months.

To reach its goals of shrinking the overweight population by 10 percent over the next four years and 25 percent over the next seven years, the government will impose financial penalties on companies and local governments that fail to meet specific targets. The country’s Ministry of Health argues that the campaign will keep the spread of diseases like diabetes and strokes in check.

The ministry also says that curbing widening waistlines will rein in a rapidly aging society’s ballooning health care costs, one of the most serious and politically delicate problems facing Japan today. Most Japanese are covered under public health care or through their work."

Interesting...