(The molecule serotonin is best known in humans as a target of anti-depressant drugs. I always thought they were two different species. One nice little green one who never did anyone any harm, and the other a rapacious beasty to be stomped on, but seemingly prior to swarming, the locusts undergo a series of dramatic physical changes - their body colour darkens and their muscles grow stronger for flying. The daft thing is that the change takes place when food becomes short, and they slowly start to cluster together and before you know it there's a real food shortage. Isn't nature weird?)
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Interesting Animal # 82 - Locusts
Posted: January 30th, 2009, 6:01pm EST
Tags: plague
Locusts usually spend their life as harmless hermits, who avoid their fellow locusts like the plague, but these cute green guys turn into a swarming plague of biblical proportions when the brain chemical serotonin kicks in.
(The molecule serotonin is best known in humans as a target of anti-depressant drugs. I always thought they were two different species. One nice little green one who never did anyone any harm, and the other a rapacious beasty to be stomped on, but seemingly prior to swarming, the locusts undergo a series of dramatic physical changes - their body colour darkens and their muscles grow stronger for flying. The daft thing is that the change takes place when food becomes short, and they slowly start to cluster together and before you know it there's a real food shortage. Isn't nature weird?) -
On This Day
Posted: January 30th, 2009, 4:11am EST
Tags: on this day
1948 - Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by an extremist. -
On This Day
Posted: January 30th, 2009, 4:10am EST
Tags: on this day
1933 - Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany. -
On This Day
Posted: January 30th, 2009, 4:08am EST
Tags: on this day
1945 - Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp was liberated. -
Interesting Fact # 978 - Unemployment
Posted: January 30th, 2009, 3:54am EST
Tags: uk
The number of young people aged between 16 and 24 who are not in employment, education or training has risen by 94,000.
(According to the Prince's Trust, NEETs cost tax payers in the UK over £20 million per week in Job Seeker’s Allowance, but the loss of productivity to the UK economy is over £70 million per week. I don't like to think of humans as being "productive units", but I do know if I didn't work, or do "something", I'd be bored out of my skull.) -
Interesting Fact # 977 - Cloning
Posted: January 29th, 2009, 3:33am EST
Tags: dog
S Korean scientist Hwang Woo-Suk cloned the first dog back in 2005.
(It is called Snuppy, and has since fathered 9 puppies. I keep looking at Sam and wondering...) -
Interesting Fact # 976 - Attraction
Posted: January 28th, 2009, 3:26pm EST
Tags: attractive
A study at Stirling and Aberdeen Universities found that averting the eyes by even a fraction can make you appear less attractive.
(You can increase your attraction to the opposite sex simply by looking straight at them and smiling. Of course as I'm completely boss-eyed this advice is completely useless to me.) -
Interesting People # 119 - Thomas Allinson
Posted: January 28th, 2009, 3:19pm EST
Tags: Thomas Allinson
Thomas Richard Allinson (1858 – 1918) was a British doctor, dietetic reformer, business man and journalist. He was struck off the Medical Register in 1892 because he opposed doctors' frequent use of toxic drugs.
(He was a proponent of whole grain (or "wholemeal") bread consumption, and his name is still used today for a bread popular in the UK, Allinson bread. He was also an advocate of equal rights for women and he promoted health through diet, exercise, fresh air and bathing. No wonder they struck him off.)
Footnote: During World War I, the food value of whole grain bread was recognised and he was offered the right to re-register as a doctor but refused.
Source: Wikipedia -
I love my goat [Flickr]
Posted: January 27th, 2009, 8:59am EST by waɪ.tiː
Tags: Christmas Animal goat jan09 christmas08
waɪ.tiː posted a photo:
Well not strictly my goat. It's a goat (probably not this goat) that was bought for me for Christmas for World Vision. I just got this card.
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Interesting Place # 93 - India
Posted: January 26th, 2009, 4:19am EST
Tags: india
India is the most populous democracy in the world.
(India has a population of 1,147,995,904 people and rising.) -
Interesting Invention # 28 - Dental Drill
Posted: January 26th, 2009, 4:17am EST
Tags: Interesting invention
The electric dental drill was patented by Dr George Green of Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA in 1875.
(Imagine if they'd called it a Kalamazoo.) -
On This Day
Posted: January 26th, 2009, 4:08am EST
Tags: usa
1998 - In response to allegations that he had an affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, President Bill Clinton declared: I did not have sexual relations with that woman. -
Interesting People # 118 - Walter Raleigh
Posted: January 24th, 2009, 6:07am EST
Tags: american
A £30,000 statue of Sir Walter Raleigh that stands in the Devon village of East Budleigh, his birthplace, was sponsored by British American Tobacco.
(Raleigh brought tobacco from America, so I guess BAT are very grateful to him.) -
Interesting Fact # 975 - Accents
Posted: January 22nd, 2009, 6:01pm EST
Tags: accent
According to David Crystal, professor of linguistics at the University of Bangor, everyone has an accent and, within the UK, accents change noticeably about every 25 miles.
(I'm not sure what my accent is, because I've travelled more than 25 miles.) -
On This Day
Posted: January 22nd, 2009, 10:41am EST
Tags: indian
1950 - The independent republic of India was officially born, after nearly 100 years of British rule. -
Interesting Fact # 974 - Advertising
Posted: January 22nd, 2009, 10:40am EST
Tags: Interesting fact
A poster campaign proclaiming "There's probably no God" does not breach British advertising rules.
(More than 300 people complained about the the atheist campaign where the slogan "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life," was stuck on around 800 buses. Now that's free speech.) -
Interesting Fact # 973 - The Inauguration
Posted: January 21st, 2009, 6:57am EST
Tags: Interesting fact
At the inauguration of Barack Obama around two million people packed into the Washington National Mall to see the ceremony.
(I watched it on TV along with two billion other people.) -
Interesting Fact # 972 - Climate Change
Posted: January 20th, 2009, 3:30am EST
Tags: fog
According to a report in the journal Nature Geoscience the number of foggy and misty days in Europe is falling.
(Scientists say that these changes may have increased the temperatures across Europe, just not this winter.) -
On This Day
Posted: January 19th, 2009, 2:25pm EST
Tags: on this day
1929 - Martin Luther King was born in Atlanta, Georgia. -
On This Day
Posted: January 19th, 2009, 2:22pm EST
Tags: on this day
1882 - A.A.Milne was born.
(Today is designated Winnie the Pooh Day. Yes the bear with little brain (aka the great philosopher) has his own day. And why not?) -
Today
Posted: January 19th, 2009, 7:16am EST
Tags: monday
Is Blue Monday.
(Why?
Well according to Cliff Arnall, a former psychology academic at Cardiff University:
Lousy weather
Post-Christmas debt
Failed New Year's resolutions
Time elapsed since Christmas festivities
Motivation levels
The need for something to look forward to
For me it's Blue Monday because I locked myself out and had to break into my own house!) -
Interesting Fact # 971 - Money
Posted: January 19th, 2009, 7:02am EST
Tags: uk
According to David Cameron, the Tory leader, every child born in Britain starts life owing £17,000.
(Seemingly this is the result of record borrowing under Labour. How accurate the figures are, I couldn't say. It's all part of a poster campaign, the poster reads: "Dad's nose, Mum's eyes, Gordon Brown's debt." Which is quite clever for the Tories.) -
In vs On [Flickr]
Posted: January 18th, 2009, 9:07am EST by waɪ.tiː
Tags: wales river words usk abergavenny
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Interesting Fact # 969 - The Moon
Posted: January 18th, 2009, 7:13am EST
Tags: Interesting fact
The Moon's distance from the Earth can vary by about 30,000km.
(The Moon's orbit is eliptic, it does not follow a circular but rather an oval path. This means that its distance from the Earth is not constant.) -
Interesting Place # 92 - England
Posted: January 17th, 2009, 10:08am EST
Tags: Interesting place
According to data from the Office for National Statistics, England is now the most densely populated major country in the European Union.
(This doesn't surprise me. You only have to go shopping in Nottingham on a Saturday to realise there are too many people.) -
Today
Posted: January 16th, 2009, 6:20am EST
Tags: divorce
Today is known as D-Day. It's nothing to do with the war, the D stands for divorce, because today more people file for divorce than the rest of the year. The stresses of Christmas and the New Year take their toll. -
On This Day
Posted: January 16th, 2009, 6:19am EST
Tags: edmund hillary
2008 - Sir Edmund Hillary died.
(In 1953, he took part in John Hunt's expedition, in which he and Tenzing became the first to reach the summit. Interestingly there's only a photo of Sherpa Tenzing at the top, Tenzing couldn't take Sir Edmund's photo, but seemingly he didn't mind.) -
On this day
Posted: January 16th, 2009, 6:18am EST
Tags: on this day
2008 - Iwao Takamoto, the US animator who created cartoon dogs Scooby-Doo and Muttley, died aged 81. -
On This Day
Posted: January 16th, 2009, 6:17am EST
Tags: on this day
Francois Mitterand died on this day in 1996. Seemingly for his last meal he decided to eat a tiny little yellow songbird called an ortolan which is illegal in France.
A typical ortolan weighs only 55 g and is about the size of a man's thumb. Depending on the preparation, the diner is sometimes required to first bite off the head of the bird and discard it on the plate. Then, the rest of the bird is eaten in one mouthful, including the bones and internal organs. A napkin is worn over the diner's head to prevent the aroma from escaping (or to cover their shame).
God grant me the grace to have something more interesting to do when I am dying. -
Interesting Place # 91 - Alaska
Posted: January 16th, 2009, 6:16am EST
Tags: law
In Fairbanks, Alaska: its illegal to give alcohol to a moose.
(I'm not sure if this is true, but most laws come about through precedent. So, who did it?) -
For Poetria [Flickr]
Posted: January 16th, 2009, 5:18am EST by waɪ.tiː
Tags: pink flower spring 2009 hyacinth
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Interesting Fact # 969 - Climate Change
Posted: January 15th, 2009, 3:08am EST
Tags: global cooling
Scientists say that in 2008 the world was cooler than at any time since the turn of the century.
(Cooling La Nina conditions in the Pacific brought temperatures down to levels last seen in the year 2000. That said the average global temperature is still about 0.7C above pre-industrial times. So, is it global warming or global cooling?) -
Interesting Words # 83 - Quantitative easing .
Posted: January 15th, 2009, 3:04am EST
Tags: money
Quantitative easing is the act of printing more money to increase the supply.
(It effectively means that the central bank prints new money, in order to increase the supply of money. 'Quantitative' refers to the money supply; 'easing' essentially means increasing. I tried it once, but I was arrested.) -
Interesting Fact # 968 - Etiquette
Posted: January 13th, 2009, 3:24am EST
Tags: etiquette
At a dinner party, etiquette dictates that a man should always talk to the woman on his left during the first course, and on his right during the main course.
(Leaving the woman on his left wondering what she said wrong!) -
Moon over Abergavenny [Flickr]
Posted: January 12th, 2009, 12:01pm EST by waɪ.tiː
Tags: wales abergavenny dec2008 dec2009
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Interesting Fact # 967 - Law
Posted: January 12th, 2009, 5:07am EST
Tags: australia
In Australia it's legal to serve legal papers by Facebook.
(The Australian courts have granted permission for people to be served with legally binding papers via email and text messages. I wonder if they'll do it via forums next too.) -
Interesting Fact # 966 - Writing
Posted: January 10th, 2009, 6:01pm EST
Tags: Interesting fact
80 years since the last one, a new Winnie-the-Pooh story is to be published.
("Return to the Hundred Acre Wood", written by David Benedictus, is to be released in Britain and the United States on October 5. Well, I've heard of milking the cow, but never of milking the bear.) -
Interesting Fact # 965 - Education
Posted: January 10th, 2009, 3:15pm EST
Tags: Interesting fact
According to a paper, published by the British Medical Journal, children who badly misbehave in school are likelier to end up with a dud job, have poor mental health, end up in a teen pregnancy or get divorced.
(Forty years after monitoring Britons born in 1946, a clear link was found between misbehaviour at school and difficulties in adult life. I'm going to look at some of my old school reports and see where I went wrong.) -
Travelling Light [Flickr]
Posted: January 9th, 2009, 11:35am EST by waɪ.tiː
Tags: sea water dec2009
waɪ.tiː posted a photo:
Travelling Light means travelling without much luggage or to take very few things with you when you go on a trip.
If you look at the top left of this picture you'll see a seagull, who's not just travelling light, but he's travelling in the light too.
Top left = Jonathan Livingston Seagull. -
Interesting Fact # 964 - Houses
Posted: January 9th, 2009, 8:58am EST
Tags: thirteen
Councils in the UK are banning the number 13 from council houses on new developments.
(Some people are just reluctant to live in a house with an "unlucky" number. And before you mock British superstition, they are not alone. Seemingly in Japan, hotels, hospitals and apartment blocks often skip the unlucky number four. And in the US, skyscrapers often leave out a 13th floor.) -
On This Day
Posted: January 8th, 2009, 4:33pm EST
Tags: 1974
1974 - The Loch Ness Monster was photographed. -
Interesting Fact # 962 - Energy
Posted: January 8th, 2009, 1:14pm EST
Tags: Interesting fact
Only 2% of gas in the UK comes from Russia.
(Britain still uses its North Sea reserves for most of its gas supply, supplementing it with imports from Norway. However, that hasn't stopped the wholesale price of gas from rocketing 26% in the last three days whilst the continuing gas wrangle between Russia and Ukraine has reduced supply to Europe. I guess it was just too good an opportunity to miss.) -
Interesting Fact # 962 - Music
Posted: January 6th, 2009, 6:01pm EST
Tags: Interesting fact
According to a three-year study, carried out at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, on the links between personality and music taste, classical music fans have high self-esteem while heavy rock fans lack self-belief. Indie music listeners lack self-esteem and lovers of pop music are uncreative, while country and western fans are hard-working and rap fans have an outgoing personality.
(I wonder what they'd make of me. I like most genres. Maybe that makes me a full of self esteem whilst lacking self belief, uncreative, creative, hard-working, outgoing schizophrenic.) -
Interesting Fact # 961 - Music
Posted: January 6th, 2009, 4:24am EST
Tags: Interesting fact
According to a three year study published by a university in Edinburgh, heavy metal fans and lovers of classical music have more in common than they may like to think.
(Although fans of heavy metal bands like Metallica are traditionally portrayed as work-shy, long-haired students, and lovers of Mozart are seen as sober and hard-working, researchers found that both music types attract creative people who are at ease with themselves but can be introverted. I must say I've never seen anyone head banging to Mozart though.) -
Interesting Fact # 960 - Law
Posted: January 6th, 2009, 4:19am EST
Tags: law
Defaming the royals in Thailand carries a a maximum jail sentence of 15 years.
(Just as well the Royals in the UK don't enforce such a law. The jails would be overflowing.) -
Interesting Fact # 959 - Suicide
Posted: January 6th, 2009, 4:10am EST
Tags: Interesting fact
According to a report in the British Journal of Psychology, the number of suicides in England and Wales fell by about 40 percent after the July 2005 London bombings.
(This echoes a trend recorded after the attacks on September 11, 2001, in New York, where suicide rates also dropped by about the same percentage. Psychologists believe traumatic national events such as these help potentially suicidal people to feel less alone and more a part of society. Or maybe they just realise how sacred life is.) -
Interesting Food # 33 - Chips
Posted: January 2nd, 2009, 6:01pm EST
Tags: chip pan fires
According to figures from RoSPA (The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents)chip pans are the second biggest cause of accidental house fires in Britain.
(Seemingly most chip pan fires are caused by men cooking after they have been drinking. The moral of this story is don't drink and fry.) -
Ships that pass in the night [Flickr]
Posted: January 2nd, 2009, 3:20pm EST by waɪ.tiː
Tags: english idiom shipsthatpassinthenight learnenglish
waɪ.tiː posted a photo:
If two people are like ships that pass in the night, they meet once or twice by chance for a short time and then do not see each other again.
Of course, this photo is literally two ships passing in the night. -
Interesting Fact # 958 - Leap Seconds
Posted: January 1st, 2009, 6:01pm EST
Tags: seconds
The world's official timekeeper, the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS) in Paris, decided to prolong 2008 by one second.
(We all know about leap years, which occur once every four years because it takes 365 days plus six hours for our planet to complete an orbit around the Sun, but seemingly leap seconds are added on a strictly at need basis, because satellites orbit at speeds calculated in miles per second, and the Internet, (GPS) global positioning systems etc all need to know exactly what time it is.
So the countdown to 2009 went something like this: "...3, 2, 1 and a half, 1... Happy New Year!") -
Butterflies [Flickr]
Posted: January 1st, 2009, 3:52pm EST by waɪ.tiː
Tags: fdsflickrtoys butterflies jawaherdinasamarikramandtahrirbalousha
waɪ.tiː posted a photo:
Five sisters; Jawaher, 4, Dina, 8, Samar, 12, Ikram, 15 and Tahrir, 17, were all killed in their beds in a night-time Israeli air strike in Gaza on 30th December 2008.
The real victims of war are always the innocent civilians on both sides
Created with fd's Flickr Toys.
