Miss Cellania's Blog Posts
Faulders Studio has designed a building called GEOtube that, if built in Dubai, would develop its own outer surface from salt! The building plans include a lattice of pipes on the outside, which would grow solid from salt deposits over 15-30 years.
The GEOtube building is covered in a vascular pipe system following a grid of structural lattice and is situated in a salt-water pond, carried to the building from the adjacent Persian Gulf via an underground viaduct. Utilizing floating solar panels for power, the seawater is pumped from basement level to the rooftop and is then gravity-fed through the vascular system.
The lace-like skin forms once the seawater, misted onto its exposed mesh, evaporates and leaves a layer of salt behind. Because the Persian Gulf has the world’s highest salinity for oceanic water, the salt deposits accumulate quickly, making the transparent skin take on a new crystalline appearance.
Once the building is covered, salt could be harvested for other uses. Of course, this project is just a concept for now. Link
Pre-1869 A HEARSE WITH NO NAME
Long before ambulances hit the scene, hearses served as the first responders to emergencies. The people who decide if a critically-injured patient goes to the hospital or the morgue are, for the most part, funeral directors and morticians.
1869 DOCTORS GET ON BOARD
New York City's Bellevue Hospital becomes the first hospital to put doctors in ambulances, which also come equipped with tourniquets, bandages, handcuffs, a straitjacket, and a quart of brandy.
1966 THE UNITED STATES BECOMES LESS DANGEROUS THAN VIETNAM
The National Academy of Sciences publishes a landmark study, "Accidental Death and Disability: The Neglected Disease of Modern Society," which shows that U.S. Soldiers in Vietnam are more likely to survive an injury than drivers on American highways. The study prompts Congress to create the Department of Transportation, to regulate mobile emergency services across the country.
1968 AMERICANS LEARN TO DIAL 911
1970 HELP FROM ABOVE
2001 MAN TAKES DIRECTIONS FROM MACHINE, WITH MIXED RESULTS
2005 TRULY MOBILE UPLOADS
More and more ambulances begin using cell phones to transmit their patients' EKG heart-monitor readings to ER doctors before they reach the hospital. The new technology significantly improves the time it takes to diagnose and treat heart attack patients, but unfortunately, it's also vulnerable to the ill-timed dropped call.
Be sure to visit mental_floss' entertaining website and blog for more fun stuff!
Long before ambulances hit the scene, hearses served as the first responders to emergencies. The people who decide if a critically-injured patient goes to the hospital or the morgue are, for the most part, funeral directors and morticians.
1869 DOCTORS GET ON BOARD
New York City's Bellevue Hospital becomes the first hospital to put doctors in ambulances, which also come equipped with tourniquets, bandages, handcuffs, a straitjacket, and a quart of brandy.
1966 THE UNITED STATES BECOMES LESS DANGEROUS THAN VIETNAM
The National Academy of Sciences publishes a landmark study, "Accidental Death and Disability: The Neglected Disease of Modern Society," which shows that U.S. Soldiers in Vietnam are more likely to survive an injury than drivers on American highways. The study prompts Congress to create the Department of Transportation, to regulate mobile emergency services across the country.
1968 AMERICANS LEARN TO DIAL 911
(Image credit: Wikipedia user Dhscommtech)
In conjunction with the Federal Communications Commission, AT&T announces that 9-1-1 will be the new number for emergency services everywhere in the United States. The digits are chosen because they're easy to memorize, and because 9 and 1 are far apart on the dial of a rotary phone, making misdials less likely.1970 HELP FROM ABOVE
(Image source: FH1100 manufacturing Corp.)
As part of a new government program, critically ill patients in remote areas of the United States are transported to hospitals in military helicopters. Many of the pilots are returning Vietnam vets, some of whom can't get enough action. After dropping off patients, a few pilots pull dangerous stunts, such as landing in football stadiums, flying under bridges, and buzzing neighborhood pools.2001 MAN TAKES DIRECTIONS FROM MACHINE, WITH MIXED RESULTS
(Image source: TeleNav)
Global Positioning Systems quickly become standard in ambulances across the country. But during the next few years, the novelty of GPS fades. Several accounts emerge of the devices giving faulty directions, leading ambulance drivers minutes-or even hours-off course. (Although GPS is still widely used today, most ambulances also keep good, old-fashioned neighborhood maps in the front seat, just in case.)2005 TRULY MOBILE UPLOADS
More and more ambulances begin using cell phones to transmit their patients' EKG heart-monitor readings to ER doctors before they reach the hospital. The new technology significantly improves the time it takes to diagnose and treat heart attack patients, but unfortunately, it's also vulnerable to the ill-timed dropped call.
__________________________
The above article by Maggie Koerth-Baker is reprinted with permission from the Scatterbrained section of the September-October 2010 issue of mental_floss magazine.Be sure to visit mental_floss' entertaining website and blog for more fun stuff!
For the fifth year, College Scholarship.org is offering the $10,000 Blogging Scholarship. If you are a college student with a weblog, get your entry in by October 21st!
The winner will be announced on November 2nd. While you're on site, check out the blogs of past winners. Link -Thanks, Cindy!
* Your blog must contain unique and interesting information about you and/or things you are passionate about. No spam bloggers please!!!
* U.S. citizen or permanent resident;
* Currently attending full-time in post-secondary education in the United States; and
* If you win, you must be willing to allow us to list your name and blog on this page. We want to be able to say we knew you before you became a well educated, rich, and famous blogging legend.
The winner will be announced on November 2nd. While you're on site, check out the blogs of past winners. Link -Thanks, Cindy!
Artist Mike Lahue worked with a medium we relate to when he created a bust of actor Kevin Bacon made out of ...bacon! A Seattle company that makes bacon products, J & D Foods, commissioned the sculpture.
Actually, there is a good reason. The bust is going up for sale on eBay this afternoon to benefit Ashley's Team, a group that helps children with cancer and their families. Link -via Fark
(Image credit: J & D Foods)
Since owners Justin Esch and Dave Lefkow live by the motto "everything is better with bacon," the duo -- in partnership with bacon-crafting website What Do Bacon Do? -- decided to commission an artist to make a life-size bust of Kevin Bacon entirely out of bacon.
Why, you ask?
Well, they ask, "Why not?"
Actually, there is a good reason. The bust is going up for sale on eBay this afternoon to benefit Ashley's Team, a group that helps children with cancer and their families. Link -via Fark
(Image credit: J & D Foods)
The cat wants to learn from the tree. You know how cats are, so let's see how that turns out. A Russian animated fable from 1983, with English subtitles. -via Nag on the Lake
With this web toy (also known as a Javascript bookmarklet), you can turn any website into your own game of Asteroids. Drag the script to your toolbar, then activate it to begin shooting stuff on the page. You can see how I vaporized our Neatobot! Not that I would ever advocate doing that, but I needed an example, you see. Click your mouse to turn it off, and refresh the page to get whatever you destroyed back in place. Link -via Gorilla Mask
(YouTube link)
Last Friday, the Snohomish Panthers were losing a home football game to the Lake Stevens Vikings. It would have been a game to forget until they put in 17-year-old Ike Ditzenberger, who has Down syndrome. Ike ran the ball 51 yards to score the team's only touchdown in the game. Link -via Buzzfeed
When you get up in the dark of the night, what is it that you really need to see? The toilet! LavNav lights up only the toilet, so you can see where you are "going". It's motion-triggered, which saves batteries, and glows red when the seat is up and green when the seat is down. What will they think of next? http://www.arkon.com/toiletnightlight.php -via the Presurfer
Can men and women ever really be "just friends"? A series of articles at Slate magazine this week explores the question from different angles. Today's feature highlights platonic relationships in Hollywood movies, which may or may not reflect real life. The most famous example is in When Harry Met Sally.
The upshot is that truly platonic cross-sex friendships appear to be easier in real life than in Hollywood movies. Link
Are we supposed to believe that Harry and Sally were once satisfied with friendship, or that they always harbored romantic feelings? Option 2 seems more likely: Their friendship was actually a courtship all along. Like Harry and Sally's friends, the viewer expects and wants the couple to get together. And even first-time viewers with the most basic understanding of plotting must realize that, narratively, romance is inevitable.
The upshot is that truly platonic cross-sex friendships appear to be easier in real life than in Hollywood movies. Link
Over the weekend, a cat in Swindon, England was turned over to the RSPCA in a suspected case of abuse because it had been dyed bright pink. The shelter found the cat to be in good health, and could see that whoever dyed it had taken care to keep the dye out of the cat's face, leaving a white mask effect. Now the cat's owner, 22-year-old Natasha Gregory, has stepped forward and admitted she dyed the cat with food coloring to match her own pink hair.
Link -via Arbroath
"It's my favourite colour, I love it. I've dyed my hair pink and I adore pink clothes. Turning Oi! Kitty pink seemed like a good idea. I always wanted a pink animal - a bit like my hair.
"I read the instructions on the food colouring and there was nothing that would harm humans or animals. We eat the food the dye is used on, so I knew it wasn't toxic."
Miss Gregory has now contacted the RSPCA, who have been caring for Oi! Kitting, to ask them to return the animal. Officers have washed the cat since it was found, and its colour has faded slightly.
Link -via Arbroath
It's once again time for the Fill in the Bubble Frenzy with boy genius Mal and his talking dog Chad! What is he saying in this empty speech bubble? Tell us and you might win any T-shirt available in the NeatoShop -take a look around, pick one out and tell us what shirt you’d like with your submission in the comments. If you don't specify a t-shirt with your entry, you forfeit the prize. Enter as many times as you like (text only, please), but leave only one entry per comment. For inspiration, check out Mal and Chad’s comic strip adventures by Stephen McCranie at malandchad.com.
Update: Congratulations to kantoboy, who wins with the caption “Dear Mal, You have won the Island Getaway Sweepstakes. Congratulations!” Kantoboy gets a t-shirt from the NeatoShop!
Neatorama and mental_floss have teamed up for another chance for you to win prizes! The latest How Did You Know contest starts today at mental_floss. Every day this week, you'll get a challenges at noon at mental_floss. Every day, someone who solves the challenge will win a prize from the NeatoShop ($25 limit)! Be sure to post your answer at the proper place. Solve the ultimate week-long puzzle and win more prizes from mental_floss! PLUS there's a LIVE! podcast for our Bonus Round, tonight at 9pm ET. Get all the details at mental_floss. Good luck! Link
OK, the snakes are not supposed to be there, and the mice are not suffering from or enjoying the drugs because it's Tylenol and they're dead anyway. The brown tree snake is native to Australia, but hitched a ride to Guam after World War II and became so invasive that some native wildlife species were driven to extinction. The government has tried many methods to control the snake population, but nothing has worked well so far. Now they are planting dead mice with 80 milligrams of acetaminophen stuffed inside in the jungle areas of Guam. Brown tree snakes will scavenge dead animals, unlike most snakes, and even a child's dose of acetaminophen will kill one.
Some of the mice are equipped with radio transmitters, so the success of the program can be tracked. Link -Thanks, Marilyn Terrell!
(Image credit: George Grall/National Geographic)
In the U.S. government-funded project, tablets of concentrated acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, are placed in dead thumb-size mice, which are then used as bait for brown tree snakes.
In humans, acetaminophen helps soothe aches, pains, and fevers. But when ingested by brown tree snakes, the drug disrupts the oxygen-carrying ability of the snakes' hemoglobin blood proteins.
"They go into a coma, and then death," said Peter Savarie, a researcher with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wildlife Services, which has been developing the technique since 1995 through grants from the U.S. Departments of Defense and Interior.
Some of the mice are equipped with radio transmitters, so the success of the program can be tracked. Link -Thanks, Marilyn Terrell!
(Image credit: George Grall/National Geographic)
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