Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Human Mysteries


















Again, Peeps, I have been doing some exhaustive research through my 10’s of emails and came up with this bit of information to make you more smarterest.  This is also in keeping with my commitment to enriching your life and making you look smarter at Trivial Pursuit or to make you sound good to the opposite sex in the bars.

The Human Body is a treasure trove of mysteries and one that still confounds doctors and scientists as to the details of its working.  It's not an overstatement to say that every part of your body is a miracle.  Here are 50 facts about your body, some of which will leave you stunned.

1.  It is possible for your body to survive without a surprisingly large fraction of its internal organs.  Even if you lose your stomach, your spleen, 75% of your liver, 80% of your intestines, one kidney, one lung, and virtually every organ from your pelvic and groin area, you wouldn't be very healthy, but you would live.

2.  During your lifetime, you will produce enough saliva to fill two swimming pools.  Actually, Saliva is more important than you realize.  If your saliva cannot dissolve something, you cannot taste it. 


3.  The largest cell in the human body is the female egg and the smallest is the male sperm.  Also, the egg is actually the only cell in the body that is visible by the naked eye.

4.  The strongest muscle in the human body is the tongue and the hardest bone is the jawbone. 


5.  Human feet have 52 bones, accounting for one quarter of all the human body's bones. 

6.  Feet have 500,000 sweat glands and can produce more than a pint of sweat a day. 

7.  The acid in your stomach is strong enough to dissolve razor blades.  The reason it doesn't eat away at your stomach is that the cells of your stomach wall renew themselves so frequently that you get a new stomach lining every three to four days. 

8.  The human lungs contain approximately 2,400 kilometers (1,500 mi) of airways and 300 to 500 million hollow cavities, having a total surface area of about 70 square meters (91.6 sq yds), roughly  the same area as one side of a tennis court.  Furthermore, if all of the capillaries that surround the lung cavities were unwound and laid end to end, they would extend for about 992 kilometers (616.5 mi).  Also, your left lung is smaller than your right lung to make room for your heart. 

9.  Sneezes regularly exceed 100 mph, while coughs clock in at about 60 mph. 

10.  Your body gives off enough heat in 30 minutes to bring half a gallon of water to a boil. 

11.  Your body has enough iron in it to make a nail 3 inches long. 

12.  Earwax production is necessary for good ear health.  It protects the delicate inner ear from bacteria, fungus, dirt and even insects.  It also cleans and lubricates the ear canal. 

13.  Everyone has a unique smell, except for identical twins, which smell the same. 

14.  Your teeth start growing 6 months before you are born.  This is why one out of every 2,000 newborn infants has a tooth when they are born. 

15.  A baby's head is one-quarter of its total length, but by the age of 25 will only be one-eighth of its total length.  This is because people's heads grow at a much slower rate than the rest of their bodies.

16.  Babies are born with 300 bones, but by adulthood the number is reduced to 206.  Some of the bones, like skull bones, get fused into each other, bringing down the total number. 

17.  It is not possible to tickle yourself.  This is because when you attempt to tickle yourself you are totally aware of the exact time and manner in which the tickling will occur, unlike when someone else tickles you. 

18.  Less than one third of the human race has 20-20 vision.  This means that two out of three people cannot see perfectly. 

19.  Your nose can remember 50,000 different scents.  But if you are a woman, you are a better smeller than men, and will remain a better smeller throughout your life. 

20.  The human body is estimated to have 60,000 miles of blood vessels.

21.  The three things pregnant women dream most of during their first trimester are frogs, worms and potted plants.  Scientists have no idea why this is so, but attribute it to the growing imbalance of hormones in the body during pregnancy. 

22.  The life span of a human hair is 3 to 7 years on average.  Every day the average person loses 60-100 strands of hair.  But don't worry; you must lose over 50% of your scalp hairs before it is apparent to anyone. 

23.  The human brain cell can hold over five times as much information as an encyclopedia.  Your brain also uses 20% of the oxygen that enters your bloodstream, and is itself made up of 80% water. Though it interprets pain signals from the rest of the body, the brain cannot feel pain. 

24.  The tooth is the only part of the human body that can't repair itself. 

25.  Your eyes are always the same size from birth but your nose and ears never stop growing. 

26.  By 60 years of age, 60% of men and 40% of women will snore. 

27.  We are about 1 cm (1/2 in) taller in the morning than in the evening, because during normal activities during the day, the cartilage in our knees and other areas slowly compress. 

28.  The brain operates on the same amount of power as 10-watt light bulb, even while you are sleeping.  In fact, the brain is much more active at night than during the day. 

29.  Nerve impulses to and from the brain travel as fast as 170 miles per hour.  Neurons continue to grow throughout human life.  Information travels at different speeds within different types of neurons. 

30.  It is a fact that people who dream more often and more vividly, on an average have a higher Intelligence Quotient. 

31.  The fastest growing nail is on the middle finger. 

32.  Facial hair grows faster than any other hair on the body.  This is true for men as well as women. 

33.  There are as many hairs per square inch on your body as a chimpanzee. 

34.  A human fetus acquires fingerprints at the age of three months. 

35.  By the age of 60, most people will have lost about half their taste buds. 

36.  About 32 million bacteria call every inch of your skin home.  But don't worry, a majority of these are harmless or even helpful bacteria. 

37.  The colder the room you sleep in the higher the chances are that you'll
have a bad dream. 


38.  Human lips have a reddish color because of the great concentration of tiny capillaries just below the skin. 

39.  Three hundred million cells die in the human body every minute. 

40.  Like fingerprints, every individual has an unique tongue print that can be used for identification. 

41.  A human head remains conscious for about 15 to 20 seconds after it has been decapitated.

42.  It takes 17 muscles to smile and 43 to frown, but only one raised middle finger to make a statement. 

43.  Humans can make do longer without food than sleep.  Provided there is water, the average human could survive a month to two months without food depending on their body fat and other factors.  Sleep deprived people, however, start experiencing radical personality and psychological changes after only a few sleepless days.  The longest recorded time anyone has ever gone without sleep is 11 days, at the end of which the experimenter was awake, but stumbled over words, hallucinated and frequently forgot what he was doing. 

44.  The most common blood type in the world is Type O.  The rarest blood type, A-H or Bombay blood, due to the location of its discovery, has been found in less than hundred people since it was discovered. 

45.  Every human spent about half an hour after being conceived, as a single cell.  Shortly afterward, the cells begin rapidly dividing and begin forming the components of a tiny embryo. 

46.  Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people do. 

47.  Your ears secrete more earwax when you are afraid than when you aren't.

48.  Koalas and primates are the only animals with unique fingerprints. 

49.  Humans are the only animals to produce emotional tears. 

50.  The human heart creates enough pressure to squirt blood 30 feet in the air.

Now, let the games begin…

Sunday, June 23, 2013

TOOLS AND HOW THEY ARE ACTUALLY USED






















For my Peeps who do your own home repairs or are considering entering into a project that will require power tools, I offer you my assistance.  (Okay, let’s keep the clapping and whistling down to a dull roar, Peeps.)  

At any rate you will more than likely need one or more of these tools, yet you have no idea how to use them or what the definitions are for the required tool listed in the enclosed directions.

So, to make your job easier I am giving you the tool, how it’s used and remind you to keep a phone with 911 capability close by.

SKILL SAW:
A portable cutting tool used to make boards too short.

BELT SANDER:
An electric sanding tool commonly used to convert minor touch-up jobs into major refinishing jobs.

WIRE WHEEL:
Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light.
Also removes fingerprints and hard-earned calluses from fingers in about the time it takes you to say, 'Oh shit'.

DRILL PRESS:
A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, denting the freshly-painted project which you had carefully set in the corner where nothing could get to it.

Channel Locks:
Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in the creation of blood-blisters.

HACKSAW:
One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle... It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.

VISE-GRIPS:
Generally used after pliers to completely round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.

OXYACETYLENE TORCH:
Used almost entirely for igniting various flammable objects in your shop and creating a fire. Also handy for igniting the grease inside the wheel hub out of which you want to remove a bearing race.

TABLE SAW:
A large stationary power tool commonly used to launch wood projectiles for testing wall integrity. Very effective for digit removal!!

HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK:
Used for lowering an automobile to the ground after you have installed your new brake shoes, trapping the jack handle firmly under the bumper.

BAND SAW:
A large stationary power saw primarily used by most shops to cut large pieces into smaller pieces that more easily fit into the trash after you cut on the inside of the line instead of the outside edge.

TWO-TON ENGINE HOIST:
A tool for testing the maximum tensile strength of all the crap you forgot to disconnect.

PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER:
Normally used to stab the vacuum seals under lids or for opening old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splashing oil on your shirt; but can also be used, as the name implies, to strip out Phillips screw heads.

COMMON SCREWDRIVER:
A tool for opening paint cans. Sometimes used to convert common slotted screws into non-removable screws and butchering your palms.

PRY BAR:
A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part.

PVC PIPE CUTTER:
A tool used to make plastic pipe too short.

HAMMER:
Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

UTILITY KNIFE:
Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door.  Also works particularly well on contents such as seats, vinyl records, liquids in plastic bottles, collector magazines, refund checks, and rubber or plastic parts; especially useful for slicing work clothes, but only while in use.

That’s about it, for now.  Happy project realities.
.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Food For Thought - Founded By Geniuses Run By Idiots



"If we concentrated on the really important stuff in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles" 
























Food For Thought 
By Junius P. Long 

If you can get arrested for hunting or fishing without a license, but not for being in the country illegally... you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.

If you have to get your parents’ permission to go on a field trip or take an aspirin in school, but not to get an abortion... you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.

If the only school curriculum allowed to explain how we got here is evolution, but the government stops a $15 million construction project to keep a rare spider from evolving to extinction... you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.

If you have to show identification to board an airplane, cash a check, buy liquor or check out a library book, but not to vote who runs the government... you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.

If the government wants to ban stable, law-abiding citizens from owning gun magazines with more than ten rounds, but gives 20 F-16 fighter jets to the crazy new leaders in Egypt... you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.

If, in the largest city, you can buy two 16-ounce sodas, but not a 24-ounce soda because 24-ounces of a sugary drink might make you fat... you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.

If an 80-year-old woman can be stripped searched by the TSA but a woman in a hijab is only subject to having her neck and head searched... you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.

If your government believes that the best way to eradicate trillions of dollars of debt is to spend trillions more... you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.

If a seven year old boy can be thrown out of school for saying his teacher’s "cute," but hosting a sexual exploration or diversity class in grade school is perfectly acceptable... you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.

If children are forcibly removed from parents who discipline them with spankings while children of addicts are left in filth and drug infested “homes”... you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.

If hard work and success are met with higher taxes and more government intrusion, while not working is rewarded with EBT cards, WIC checks, Medicaid, subsidized housing and free cell phones... you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.

If the government's plan for getting people back to work is to incentivize NOT working with 99 weeks of unemployment checks and no requirement to prove they applied but can’t find work... you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.

If being stripped of the ability to defend yourself makes you more "safe" according to the government... you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.

If you are offended by this article, I'll bet you voted for the idiots who are running, and ruining our great country. 


Friday, June 14, 2013

Teenage Advice From Dahlonega, GA

I spent the day in Dahlonega with Judy and the grandkids.  We panned for gold, road a tractor pulled cart through the old abandoned gold fields on a trail lined with OLD farming and mining equipment and some goats, chickens, turkeys and pigs.  



















Plus we walked around the old town square shopping and had a great lunch on a patio.  

 

















It was a fun day, but the most productive thing of the day was the above t-shirt that gives words of wisdom to all the teenagers out there.

Plus, with today being Flag Day and the 238 Birthday of the US Army, my grandson, Jarrett, told me he talked to the Army Recruiter and will sign up for the Future Soldiers Program and will start when he graduates next year.  I tired and failed to get him to talk to the Navy and Air Force, but the Navy was closed and the Air Force said he would have to go to a different office because of were he lives.  But he has had his heart set on the Army because of his dad, granddad and grandmom in Texas who were both Army during Korea.

I am so proud of him and his sister that I could burst.  They are both good, caring kids... and I expect payment for those comments in the mail soon. HA!