Amusing, InformationComments Off on James May – Why Do Boomerangs Come Back?
Oct172013
James May answers the question “Why do boomerangs come back?”.
Discover the scientific principles of the Boomerang with James May in the latest Head Squeeze Q & A video.
Not limited just to Aborigines in Australia, Boomerangs have been found all over the world – even in the tombs of Ancient Egypt. Did early hunter gatherers really use these to take our their opponents at long distance, or were they better suited to small prey like birds?
Boomerangs work by harnessing both gyroscopic and aerodynamic forces, much like helicopters and they must be thrown at a very specific angle to function properly.
The world record for a boomerang flight is an incredible six minutes.
Coffee is the lifeblood of most of our mornings, but do you know what’s actually inside that cup of coffee you’re drinking each day? You’d be surprised.
Amusing, InformationComments Off on The Periodic Table With The Country Of Discovery For Each Of The Elements
Oct152013
Another day, another awesome take on the Periodic Table of Elements. In this one, science communicator and PhD student Jamie Gallagher mapped out where the scientists were living when they made their discoveries.
Amusing, Funny, How ToComments Off on How To Of The Day: How To Pour The Perfect Glass of Water
Sep202013
This is how you do it!
In his ongoing series Bryce Chartwell offers his not inconsiderable advice on how to pour the perfect glass of water. Contrary to popular opinion (something Bryce is never unduly influenced by) this is actually harder than it may first appear. Bryce walks the viewer through the left-handed “De Fluge” technique, first developed in the spas of Europe in the late 19th century.
Scientists say the legendary New Orleans’ noodle dish is proven to cure a hangover.
Scientists have proven the legendary New Orleans hangover remedy “Old Sober” is more than just an old wives’ tale. Yesterday at the National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society in New Orleans, Dr. Alyson E. Mitchell of UC Davis presented evidence on how the noodle soup dish, also known as “Yaka-mein,” can ease the morning-after symptoms brought on by heavy drinking. The dish, often sold from sidewalk vendors during New Orleans festivals, is made with a salty beef and soy-based broth, carb-rich spaghetti noodles, a protein source like beef (or chicken or shrimp), onions, chopped scallions and a sliced hard-boiled egg. The recipe is rumored to have originated in Korea, and traveled stateside after the war. “Folklore has it that American soldiers from New Orleans stationed in Korea in the 1950s learned to appreciate Yak-a-mein on the morning after, and brought a taste for it back home,” says Mitchell. “It may be a good example of intuitive science—an effective remedy, and with the scientific basis revealed only years later.”
So how does it work, exactly? The broth helps replace sodium, potassium and other salts lost through urination from alcohol’s diuretic effects. The egg contains cysteine, proven to help remove acetaldehyde, the product of ethylene metabolization thought to cause hangovers. And the noodles are rich in much-needed carbohydrates. “Old Sober” also contains at least two sources of vitamin B1, eggs and wheat-based noodles, which helps prevent the buildup of glutarate—a substance linked to headaches. Scientists have yet to verify a number of other traditional hangover cures from around the world, including:
a lump of soot from the fireplace mixed into a glass of warm milk
a pickled herring wrapped around an onion or pickle
a prairie oyster—a concoction of vinegar, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, tomato juice and a raw egg
Montreal’s poutine (fries drowned in cheese and gravy)
