Benefits of Napping

Today's stumble seemed to come at the perfect time - before finals week, where sleep is almost as rare as an empty desk in the library. This article discussed research proving that napping is beneficial and essential in memory formation and the learning process.

The experiment consisted of 2 groups who were tested performing a task relating to the hippocampus, the scores were relatively the same. Then one group took a 90 minute nap while the other group stayed awake. The tests were performed again and "those who napped did markedly better and actually improved in their capacity to learn.


In order to better understand the way these naps work, they made a comparison we can all compare to- emails...“It’s as though the e-mail inbox in your hippocampus is full and, until you sleep and clear out those fact e-mails, you’re not going to receive any more mail. It’s just going to bounce until you sleep and move it into another folder,” Walker said.


Researchers believe the stage associated with this information is stage 2, which occurs before REM and consumes 50% of the time we spend sleeping. They hope this research and others like it will eventually lead to cures associated with memory loss, such as Alzheimers.


http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/3ixYg0/www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2010/02/22_naps_boost_learning_capacity.shtml 

Haiti Today

Over a year ago Haiti was destroyed by one of the most powerful and damaging earth quakes to occur. The already poor country was devastated by the disaster and thousands of people were left homeless with nothing other than their lives. America and other countries around the world scrambled to create relief funds and help the country rebuild, but the natural environment was largely ignored...

International Conservationists traveled to Haiti to gather information about the countries ecosystems, specifically in amphibians. They were surprised to find species of frogs who had been missing for over 20 years were appearing to make a come back. This discovery provided a sense of hope for the country, because if ecosystems are rebuilding and flourishing, there is certainly hope for the human population.

Critically endangered species were captured and transported to the Philadelphia Zoo where they will attempt to preserve the species by facilitation captive reproduction. Due to mass destruction from the coal industry, less than 1% of Haiti's original forest is left, which raises a whole new set of problems for the country.

To learn more or find ways you can help, check out the international conservation's website...http://www.conservation.org/Pages/default.aspx

Most Boring Day Ever

Scientists from Cambridge University have declared April 11, 1954 the most boring day in history due to a lack of important historical events or famous births or deaths. They made the conclusion using a data base that contains over 300 million facts, finding the most exciting thing to be a general election in Belgium...

The article ends with a comical, yet intriguing point - Is it still the most boring day if it is being recognized as the most boring day?

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/3jyX9P/newslite.tv/2010/11/26/april-11-1954-most-boring-day.html

Junk Food Facts

M&M's - Named after Forrest Mars and Bruce Murrie (son of Hershey President). Mars needed Hershey's chocolate to compensate for the demand caused by WWII

Pringles - Not actually potato chips because only 48% is considered potato based content according to FDA, this raised many questions and disputes because it was misnamed and falsely advertised.

Snickers- named after a horse and inspired by a simple snack of nougat, peanut, and caramel, snickers has alway been and continues to be a world wide favorite. Mars made it his own by coating it with chocolate and selling it wholesale. Sales amount to over 2 billion annually!

Pop Rocks- pop rocks are made by combining 4 main ingredients, boiling the soultion, pressurizing it using CO2, and then cooling into a solid substance. The pressure is then released and the substance shatters, leaving behind tiny pieces of candy that react with the saliva in your mouth.

Tootsie Pop- Sugary treat is most popularly known for its slogan: How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootise pop? Depending on various factors such as tongue size and amount of saliva, it takes the average adult approximately 250 licks to reach the tootsie roll center.

Mr. Goodbar- The idea of chocolate and peanuts together was originally frowned upon by Hershey's owner at the time. However,Wiliiam Murrie was allowed to create the combo if a fake name was used in order to protect the Hershey name.

Tang, Cool whip, pop rocks, jell-o, powdered egg whites, and a tapioca substitute - all created by the same scientist who worked for General Foods. He patented over 70 things through out his life time. Pop rocks were invented in attempt to recreate an instant carbonated drink.

Tang and Space- The drink was not created for space, but became popular after Mercury flight and Gemini Project used the product to enhance the taste of water.

Tootsie Rolls- Created as a hard to melt chocolate and named after the creators daught, Clara, who went by the nickname tootsie. The product became part of the daily rations for soliders in WWII and was popular because of its low cost. Over 64 million tootsie rolls are made everyday.

Lifesavers - Spark can be seen with all flavors, not just wintergreen. Electrical charge produced is comparable to lightening on a much smaller scale. Wintergreen flashes brighter due to a chemical in the flavoring, however all hard candys emit light when crunched.


http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2aFrjp/www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2011/03/10-interesting-junk-food-facts/

Soda Pop

What Happens To Your Body Within An Hour Of Drinking A Coke:

With a title like that, who wouldn't want to read more? Although I knew the information would make me sick to my stomach, I was dying to know the truths... why is soda so unhealthy?

The main point from the article include...

• In The First 10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system.
• 20 minutes: blood sugar spikes, liver responds by turning sugar into fat.
•  40 minutes:  pupils dilate, blood pressure rises, livers dumps more sugar into your bloodstream. The adenosine receptors in your brain are now blocked preventing drowsiness.
• 45 minutes:  ups dopamine production stimulating the pleasure centers of your brain. 
• >60 Minutes: It makes you have to pee, sugar crash, may become irritable and/or sluggish. 

The sequence of events that occurs within an hour is repulsive. This information needs to be exposed to more people and soda ingredients need to more strictly regulated. Coca Cola is probably one of the most commonly consumed beverages on a daily basis, yet is comparable to heroin. I think campaigns similar to the tobacco or alcohol abuse awareness should be created to alert people of the health risks. 


http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1IXWfO/nutritionresearchcenter.org/healthnews/what-happens-to-your-body-if-you-drink-a-coke-right-now

Teleportation

Lately I have found myself wishing more and more that teleportation would be possible, as dorm food gets worse and my bunk bed gets more uncomfortable, I long for a quick and easy method of transportation to the comforts of my home.

After stumbling upon an article from Discovery News, my dreams of appearing home in less than second from over 300 miles away vanished.

Teleporting is accomplished using a method of quantum physics called entaglement. I translated this explanation into a process similar to a copier machine. Information is scanned, copied, and reproduced, however the replica is never exactly the same. Physicists have already teleported light particles, called photons, and electrons over various distances, but these are single particles and are not comparable to teleporting a a human. Currently, scientists in Japan are working on teleporting energy, which will hopefully lead into larger things. The biggest risk  involved in teleporting is the destruction of the original image after scanning and copying the information. In other words, if the teleportation failed, a replica would not be produced, and the original would be destructed.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2ADyJD/news.discovery.com/space/teleporting-energy.html

Unexplained World Wonders

The article I stumbled upon today is titled "6 Insane Discoveries That Science Can't Explain," by Andy Guerriero. 


The first mystery is titled The Voynich Manuscript. It is an ancient piece of writing that virtually no one alive today can decipher. It has puzzled military code-breakers, cryptographers, mathematicians, and linguists. Not even a single word has been discovered....


Secondly is the The Antikythera Mechanis, a complex piece of machinary found near a shipwreck in Greece. Expert's best guesses suggest it was used to determine astrological positions. The only problem - it was made in 100BC before  any laws of gravity or direction were established. 


The Baigong Pipes are a complex system of pipes running through mountains in China, where civilization has never been present. The pipes all vary in size and lead to different destinations, and were created in a time shortly after fire was even discovered. Another strange note - despite the hundreds of years the pipes have spent within the mountain, they are clean of debris.


The Giant Stone Balls of Costa Rica are spherical balls littered around composed of volcanic rock. The size varies from golf ball to wrecking ball, and appear to serve no definite purpose. Inhabitants of Costa Rica have tried cracking the rocks open in hopes of finding treasure, but nothing has been found.


There are 2 additional explorations found on the site 


http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1b9Ujn/www.cracked.com/article_16871_6-insane-discoveries-that-science-cant-explain.html

Introduction

After being assigned a blog for a writing class, I realized I am not passionate enough about anything to continuously write about it week after week. Every time I came to blogger to start my posts, I would stare at the blank screen rummaging through my brain for something interesting to discuss. In reality, my life is nothing spectacular and writing about it would not only bore the reader to death, but probably cause to me to fall asleep before I finished. So, after a couple days of intensive blogger mentality, I have decided to write about the first thing that pops up on my StumbleUpon site. For those of you who are not familiar with "stumbling," it is a website that provides you with pictures, articles, games, movies, etc, that appeal to you based on the interests you select. You can rate the information with a thumbs up or down, which in turn, helps the website find exactly what types of things interest you. Essentially, it is Pandora but instead of music, it is information.

Today I stumbled upon the world's deepest pool. It is located in Brussels, Belgium at a recreational diving center. The pool is available to the public under one condition, they are certified by a professional scuba diver. I can't be sure, but I'm assuming this is because the pool is 108 FEET DEEP! Based off the pictures provided, the bottom of the pool is decorated with building structures and artifacts for exploring. 

If you want to check it out yourself,  I will try to always post the link or a couple pictures.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/to/s/2TWHrZ