Factoids

The ClubHouse: General Discussions - Jan -Apr. 2001: February: Factoids

Soeur

Wednesday, February 21, 2001 - 05:22 pm Click here to edit this post

Survival of the Oddest?
The Kiwi, national bird of New Zealand, can't fly, lives in a hole in the ground, is almost blind and lays only one egg each year. Yet is has survived for 70 million years.

SOURCE: San Diego Zoo

Soeur

Wednesday, February 21, 2001 - 05:23 pm Click here to edit this post

Neurologically Correct?
A support group for people with autism has coined a new term for those who are not autistic- "neurologically typical".

SOURCE: Independent Living

Soeur

Wednesday, February 21, 2001 - 05:26 pm Click here to edit this post

Moving Experience
Bore-hole seismometry indicates that the land in Oklahoma moves up and down 25cm throughout the day, corresponding with the tides. Earth tides are generally about one-third the size of ocean tides.
SOURCE: Oklahoma Geological Survey

Soeur

Wednesday, February 21, 2001 - 05:28 pm Click here to edit this post

SEVEN CHOICES

Two-thirds of cancer deaths can be prevented by healthy lifestyle choices. The American Cancer Society suggests seven choices:

Cut out tobacco
Hold the fat
Opt for high-fiber fruits, vegetables and grains.
Intake of alcohol: only in moderation.
Call your doctor for regular checkups
Exercise every day
Safeguard your skin from the sun.

SOURCE: American Cancer Society

Soeur

Wednesday, February 21, 2001 - 05:30 pm Click here to edit this post

Digital Confessional
Alcoholics are twice as likely to confess a drinking problem to a computer than to a doctor, say researchers in Wisconsin.

SOURCE: New Scientist, 10/97

Soeur

Wednesday, February 21, 2001 - 05:31 pm Click here to edit this post

Medication Nightmare
The bathroom medicine cabinet is one of the worst places to keep medicines. The heat and moisture of the bathroom are just the conditions required to alter medication chemistry, making them weaker and possibly ineffective, and in some cases, toxic. A cool dry area away from sunlight and children is optimal.

SOURCE: The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

Soeur

Wednesday, February 21, 2001 - 05:32 pm Click here to edit this post

Top 10 Backyard Birds
The most frequently seen birds at feeders across North America last winter were the Dark-eyed Junco, House Finch and American goldfinch, along with downy woodpeckers, blue jays, mourning doves, black-capped chickadees, house sparrows, northern cardinals and european starlings.

SOURCE: Project Feederwatch

Soeur

Wednesday, February 21, 2001 - 05:33 pm Click here to edit this post

Eat Healthy
Between three and four million cases of cancer worldwide -- 375,000 in the United States alone -- could be prevented annually through dietary change

SOURCE: New report by the American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Fund

Soeur

Wednesday, February 21, 2001 - 05:34 pm Click here to edit this post

Big Fish
The largest Great White Shark ever caught measured 37 feet and weighed 24,000 pounds. It was found in a herring weir in New Brunswick in 1930. The harmless Whale Shark, holds the title of largest fish, with the record being a 59 footer captured in Thailand in 1919.

SOURCE: Ocean Link

Soeur

Wednesday, February 21, 2001 - 05:35 pm Click here to edit this post

Health Irony
Men who donate blood have a 30% reduced risk of heart disease compared to those who do not. The difference is attributed to reduced levels of iron following blood donation.

SOURCE: David Meyers, M.D., University of Kansas, in the journal Heart

Soeur

Wednesday, February 21, 2001 - 05:37 pm Click here to edit this post

Tiny Tunes
Nanotechnology has produced a guitar no bigger than a blood cell. The guitar, 10 micrometers long, has six strummable strings.

SOURCE: Cornell University

Soeur

Wednesday, February 21, 2001 - 05:37 pm Click here to edit this post

Sunny Weed Killer
Sunflowers have long been used to control weeds in field crops. They possess a property called allelopathy by which they produce natural plant toxins around their roots.

SOURCE: NY Times

Soeur

Wednesday, February 21, 2001 - 05:39 pm Click here to edit this post

TRISKADEKAPHOBIA

Triskadekaphobia, fear of the number 13, dates back to Nordic mythology. But the combination of Friday and the number 13 seems to have originated with Christ, whose last supper before his arrest seated 13 and he was crucified on a Friday.

SOURCE: Dr. Thomas J. Fernsler, Mansfield University, Pennsylvania

Soeur

Wednesday, February 21, 2001 - 05:40 pm Click here to edit this post

HIV Hot Zone

Fourteen percent of the one million citizens of Nairobi, Kenya carry the AIDS virus. Some 20% of the Kenyan military is infected.

SOURCE: Kenya's 'Daily Nation'

Soeur

Wednesday, February 21, 2001 - 05:42 pm Click here to edit this post

TOXIC BREW

There are more than 1,000 chemicals in a cup of coffee. Of these, only 26 have been tested, and half caused cancer in rats.

SOURCE: Dr. Bruce Ames, UC Berkeley, in Smithsonian Magazine 12/95

Soeur

Wednesday, February 21, 2001 - 05:43 pm Click here to edit this post

POULTRY POWER

The waste produced by one chicken in its lifetime can supply enough electricity to run a 100 watt bulb for five hours.

SOURCE: Ireland's Minister of State for Energy, Mr. Emmet Stagg, announcing plans to promote the production of electricity from biomass and waste.

Soeur

Wednesday, February 21, 2001 - 05:44 pm Click here to edit this post

Pearl Jam
When you give the gift of pearls remember that these are actually entombed parasitic worms. The pearl process begins when larvae from parasitic flatworms burrow inside the oyster. The oyster encases the larvae to protect itself.

SOURCE: Prof. Peter Fankboner, Simon Frasier University

Soeur

Wednesday, February 21, 2001 - 05:45 pm Click here to edit this post

Eat Hearty
Chocolate may actually be good for your heart. The beloved substance is high in antioxidants compounds known as flavonoids, which, among other things, inhibit the effects of LDL, the bad cholesterol. The darker chocolates are higher in the antioxidants.

SOURCE: Mayo Clinic Health Letter

Soeur

Wednesday, February 21, 2001 - 05:46 pm Click here to edit this post

Burger Power
One Big Mac provides a 160 man with enough energy to recline on the couch wactching sports for nine hours.

SOURCE: Eurkea!