Oct 7, 2011

Bacon Bandages

A friend of mine, Jeff Flanagan came back from a recent trip and gave me a gift he picked up along the way. (Likely after a few beers.) Anyway, the gift was a tin of real bandages. These are no ordinary bandages, these are bacon bandages.

I quickly went home to administer a small cut to test the 'die cut sterile strips' and see how they worked. Below is a picture of my hand with the beautiful medical strip attached.

It really is a good mini bacon replica. Alas, it does not have the bacony goodness smell, but it is a true bandage. However, it also makes me hungry just looking at it. Time for breakfast. Thanks Jeff.

IgNobel Awards

Each year for the past 21 years, the Ig Nobel Prizes are given. Last week, they were presented at Harvard University, 10 awards in the fields of Physiology, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature, Biology, Physics, Mathematics, Peace and Public Safety.

It points out the ridiculousness of real research that we have to scratch our heads and wonder why would anyone actually spend money to study that. Naturally, much of it is government funded and that should end the lingering doubt about why.

Winners researched such areas as a safety alarm that sprays wasabi and beetles that mate with beer bottles. One study was conducted to find out about contagious yawning of red footed turtles. Another all wet study sought to uncover why people make better decisions about some kinds of things, but worse decisions about other kinds of things when they have a strong urge to urinate.  If you are truly curious you can read more at the following link, or just be happy that somebody else studies these studies.  LINK 

Record and Record

The TV show House has the largest audience in the world of all TV shows. 81 million people from 66 countries watch it. That's a prescription for success, especially for an English actor that uses a fake American accent.

Another Brit, Adele, claimed the World Guinness Record for her music topping the British records list for 11 weeks in a row. If you have not heard her,  it is worth a listen, she is great.

Easier Pancakes

What could be easier than mixing pancake mix and water to make pancakes. There is a product called Batter Blaster that comes in a can, like whipped cream that you just shake and squirt for pancakes and waffles. It squirts out propelled by CO2.

The website has bunches of ways to use the product. It is listed in this month's 'Women's Health' as one of 125 best packaged foods for women, along with 'unsweetened blackberry essence water, rythm superfoods bombay curry kale chips, and applegate the great organic uncured hot dog. I am not kidding. Batter Blaster is even advertised as "USDA-certified organic and Kosher." Sorry, I had to share.

Vitamin C Facts

It has been talked about as a cure-all for everything from preventing colds and AIDS to curing cancer. The death of its biggest proponent and Nobel prize winner in Chemistry (not medicine), Linus Pauling died of cancer. Reminds me of the eye doctor on TV pushing his weight loss pills.

Vitamin C, ascorbic acid, does slow down and prevent some cell damage. It really does prevent scurvy and anemia. It is essential for the repair of bones and teeth. It helps to produce collagen and cells are held together by collagen. Collagen is found in your skin, bones, ligaments, tendons, liver, cartilage, bone marrow and blood vessels.

Occurrence of cataracts, hay fever, and asthma can be reduced, to some extent, with daily doses of the vitamin and its role in reducing common cold is known, but sometimes debated about dosage required. The body eliminates vitamin C rapidly, so it is better to take a lesser amount more often to keep it in your body.

it is not usually mentioned, but meat and potatoes both contain vitamin C. It is a preservative that can be used in jams and pickles. Kiwi has almost twice as much vitamin C as an orange.

Too much Vitamin C can cause kidney stones and also cause diarrhea.

What's in a Name, Soapbox

I tend to be a bit outspoken on many more subjects that I should and sometimes hear my friends say, "Oh, he is on his soapbox again." Of course, that just makes me talk faster and louder. Ha.

Younger folks have no idea where that saying comes from. The term originates from the days when speakers would elevate themselves above the crowd by standing on a wooden crate originally used for shipment of soap or other dry goods. A person would stand on the box to make an impromptu speech, often about religion, politics, or any other topic about which they wanted to have their opinion heard.

Many times hucksters would get on their soapbox to sell any number of things from snake oil and wonder potions to books. Central Parks were favorite public areas to get on your soapbox and be heard in the days before television and the internet.

Today's equivalent of a soapbox is a blog, or facebook, or twitter, etc. and soap is no longer shipped in wooden crates. Some of us send out regular 'soapbox' emails to anyone willing to 'listen'. Please don't throw rotten tomatoes.

BTW, the original soapbox derby encouraged the use of soap boxes and orange crates to make the cars. Also, 'snake oil salesman' is a derogatory term for people who sell quack medicine or any product with exaggerated marketing, but questionable quality or benefit. I'll bite my tongue on further commentary about that.

Oct 4, 2011

Vitamin Water Facts

The original Vitamin Water, owned by Coke, and Sobe Life Water, owned by Pepsi are two of the biggest. Others with light to clear colors and healthy sounding names are all over the food and drink shelves.

Vitamin Water and Life Water both contain 32.5 grams of sugar per bottle, about the same as a Snickers bar (30 grams of sugar). Others

Origin of the Trampoline

It was 1930 and 16-year-old George Nissen, a member of his high school gymnastics and diving teams, was goofing off in his parents’ garage when he decided to stretch canvas over a rectangular steel frame, using materials he found in a local junkyard, according to MIT . Seven years later when he was in business school at the University of Iowa, he and his gymnastics coach refined the invention with nylon and started a traveling acrobatics troupe called the Three Leonardos.

They initially called it a “bouncing rig,” but after traveling through the Midwest and Southwest, they learned the Spanish word for diving board, “el trampolin” and changed the name to Trampoline and got a patent.
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Bacon in Your Pocket

Now you can carry that magnificent bacon flavor in your pocket. Here are some effervescent bacon tablets and they make regular water taste better than vitamin water.

They act like Alka Seltzer. Just drop a few in a glass of water or any other favorite beverage and swoon to the bacony goodness. how about a sparkly Bloody Mary with a hint of bacon, or vodka rocks sparkle. The possibilities are endless.