Echoes of Why

This is brilliant!

I just checked out the traffic for this place and have been seeing a lot of visits from some site called Alpha Inventions - it's brilliant, in theory, bloggers with similar messages can comment and communicate - pretty much in real time. This guy is going to make a ton of money and he has the best of intentions! Good for him!

http://alphainventions.wordpress.com/2008/09/22/alpha-inventions/

Random Fact Generator

I LOVE THIS WEBSITE!!   Random Fact Generator 

An example:

Technically, green peppers, zucchini, cucumbers, and tomatoes are all fruits. But don’t try telling that to the U.S. Supreme Court. Per the 1893 case Nix v. Hedden, the court decided tomatoes were veggies and therefore subject to the vegetable tariff. What was the Supreme Court’s reasoning? Tomatoes have to be vegetables because they’re usually served with dinner, not dessert.

How can you argue with logic like that :(

Useless Knowledge

1.     In 1892, the Goodyear tire company started to manufacture rubber and canvas shoes named "Keds" - when one ad man made the claim that the shoes were quiet on most surfaces, the name "sneakers" became an everyday term for the shoes. For more strange info on sneakers such as Kool-Aid flavored sneakers, see http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/12131

2.     John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on the same day - July 4, 1826 - the 50th anniversary of their signing of the Declaration of Independence.

For more useless knowledge that will make you feel smart visit www.mentalfloss.com

Expand your mind.

I got a solicitation in the mail for a magazine I am actually going to subscribe to (as if I don't already get enough magazines!) - ODE magazine. Plus, they plant a tree in your name when you subscribe (and you get a meditation CD with your order, too).

http://www.odemagazine.com/

The magazine for intelligent optimists... articles on changing the world - instead of news about wars and violence and negativity.

Green stories and stories of hope and energetic revolution.

See website in the "Change the World" category to the right ------>

 

Hula-Hoop Creator dies.. (the #1 toy of all time)

Arcadia, Calif. -- Richard Knerr, co-founder of the toy company that popularized the Hula Hoop, Frisbee and other fads that became classics, has died. He was 82.

Knerr, who started Wham-O in 1948 with his childhood friend Arthur "Spud" Melin, died Monday at Methodist Hospital after suffering a stroke earlier in the day at his Arcadia home, his wife, Dorothy, told the Los Angeles Times.

Knerr and Melin got their start in business peddling slingshots. They named their enterprise Wham-O after the sound a slingshot made when it hit its target.

They branched into other sporting goods, including boomerangs and crossbows, then added toys that often bore such playful names as the Superball, Slip 'N Slide and Silly String.

When a friend told them in 1958 about a large ring used for exercise in Australia, they devised their own version and called it the Hula Hoop.

Melin died in 2002 at age 77.

Curses that seem to be doing their jobs...

(Taken from the Mental Floss Magazine Blog)

The Curse of William Penn

William Penn is not a man to be crossed. His wrath isn’t confined to one sport – no, he has cursed all four professional sports teams in Philadelphia. A statue of Penn adorns the top of City Hall in Philly, and legend has it that an agreement was made that no building in town would ever stand taller than the statue. That was all fine and dandy until 1987, when One Liberty Place was constructed three blocks away from City Hall, dwarfing William Penn by nearly 400 feet. Ever since that date, not one of the professional teams in Philly has won any of their respective championships. There may be hope, though – in June 2007, a new tallest-building-in-Philly record was set with the Comcast Center, which stands 58 stories. When the final beam was raised, the iron workers attached a William Penn figurine to the top of it, officially making him the tallest thing in town again. We’ll see if it appeases Mr. Penn. It hasn’t appeared to yet… along with the Cubs, the Phillies lost their hopes at a 2007 World Series win last weekend.

The Curse of Tippecanoe

Broken but still worth mentioning, The Curse of Tippecanoe was placed in 1811, when William Henry Harrison defeated Tecumseh (at right) and his brother Tenskwatawa in battle. They cursed Harrison – and all future Presidents. For the next 120 years, every president who was elected on a 20-year interval would die before his term officially ended. Harrison was elected in 1840 and died of pnumonia the next year. Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield and William McKinley, respectively elected in 1860, 1880 and 1900, were all assassinated. Warren G. Harding, elected in 1920, suffered a stroke before his term was up. Franklin Roosevelt, re-elected in 1940, had a fatal cerebral hemorrhage. Granted, this was during his fourth term, which would not be allowed by today’s laws. John F. Kennedy, elected in 1960, was, of course, assassinated. It was Ronald Reagan, elected in 1980, who finally broke the curse. He narrowly escaped being assassinated, however, so it wasn’t for a lack of effort on Tecumseh’s part.

The Omen (movie)

The Omen author and scriptwriter David Seltzer’s plane to the filming location in the U.K. was struck by lightning, and so was the movie’s star Gregory Peck’s. They were on two separate planes. Poor Gregory Peck kept just barely escaping aviation disaster – in another incident, he canceled a reservation he had on a flight. The flight he canceled crashed and killed everyone on board.

The hotel where director Richard Donner was staying was bombed. And on the very first day of shooting, the main members of the crew got in a head-on collision. Even those barely associated with the movie couldn’t escape: a warden at the safari park used for a scene in the movie was killed by a lion less than 24 hours after the scene was shot.

Finally, the incident that I find the creepiest is that special effects artist John Richardson, who created the famous beheading scene, was injured on the set of a movie a year later. His girlfriend was beheaded in the same accident.

Poltergeist (movie)

The actresses who played sisters in the original movie both died at terribly young ages: Dominique Dunne, who played the older sister, was murdered by her boyfriend in 1982. Heather O’Rourke, who played Carol Anne, died in 1988 of septic shock.

Why the curse? Supposedly, real human remains were used as props for the movie. The actress who played the mom in the movie, JoBeth Williams, said she was told the skeletons used in the swimming pool scene were the real deal. She also said that when she would get back to her house after filming Poltergeist every day, the pictures on her wall would all be crooked. She would move them back to their rightful positions, only to find them crooked again when she got home the next day.

Strange Ritual

This is from list of  "5 Fail-Safe Rituals for Protecting your Newborn"

1. Jump Over Your Baby

In parts of northern Spain, newborns participate in a ceremony that seems part Olympic track and field event, part Evel Knievel stunt. Several babies are placed on a mattress while a man long-jumps over them. The ceremony is based on the biblical story in which King Herod orders all male babies in the area to be killed after hearing that a “new king” has been born in Bethlehem. Just as Mary and Joseph escaped with baby Jesus to Egypt, this Spanish ritual is meant to symbolize a similar “danger” experience for a child. By undergoing it and emerging (hopefully) unharmed, the child is prepared for a safe passage through life.

Berries...

Did you know?

Raspberries are not actually berries! Neither are strawberries or blackberries. They're known as "aggregate fruits" because they contain many smaller fruits inside.

Technically, a berry requires a single ovary with many seeds. Bananas, grapes, and tomatoes are berries - doesn't that hurt your head??

Sobering statistic!!

Nearly half of U.S. teenagers surveyed admit to cutting, burning, or otherwise mutilating their own bodies as a coping mechanism, says LiveScience.com. The disturbing finding comes from an anonymous survey by Brown University of 633 high school students from the South and the Midwest. To the surprise of researchers, 46 percent of the kids reported engaging in one or more self-mutilating behaviors -- including cutting themselves with knives and blades, burning their own skin, biting themselves, and picking at the skin to draw blood. Self-injury was once associated with mental illness, but it has become increasingly common among teenagers, and is glorified in some movies, songs, and Web sites.

In the survey, some teens explained that hurting themselves gives them some sense of control over lives that feel out of control; others said the physical pain helps express and lessen the psychic distress they feel.  Others admitted they hoped the wounds they inflicted On themselves got the attention of their parents or other people. Study leader Elizabeth Lloyd-Richardson says it's now clear that self-injury "is more prevalent among adolescents in the general population than previously thought," and she calls the findings "a wake-up call".

I absolutely had no clue this was THIS BAD!!!! My son knows a girl in school who cuts herself and I see a patient at the lab every so often that has cuts on her arms - but now I wonder how many people do this and we DON'T know about it???

Research for Forensic Psychology Class...

Many years ago, I was given the diagnosis of PTSD as a result of my traumatic childhood experiences, but in the course of doing research for class, I've found this:

Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD) is a clinically-recognized condition that results from exposure to prolonged interpersonal Trauma, Physical and Emotional abuse, Sexual abuse, Domestic violence, Torture, chronic early Maltreatment in a caregiving relationship, and war. According to van der Kolk and Courtois (2005), C-PTSD better describes the pervasive negative impact of chronic trauma than does the diagnosis "Posttraumatic Stress Disorder". PTSD fails to capture C-PTSD sufferers' loss of a sense of safety, trust, and self-worth, their tendency to be revictimized, and their loss of a coherent sense of self. C-PTSD is under consideration for inclusion in the next revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) as a formal, coded diagnosis. C-PTSD is characterized by chronic difficulties in many areas of Emotional and Interpersonal functioning. Symptoms include:

• Difficulties regulating emotions, including symptoms such as persistent sadness, suicidal thoughts, explosive anger, or inhibited anger

• Variations in consciousness, such as forgetting traumatic events, reliving traumatic events, or having episodes of dissociation (during which one feels detached from one's mental processes or body)

• Changes in self-perception, such as a sense of helplessness, shame, guilt, stigma, and a sense of being completely different from other human beings

• Varied changes in the perception of the perpetrator, such as attributing total power to the perpetrator or becoming preoccupied with the relationship to the perpetrator, including a preoccupation with revenge

• Alterations in relations with others, including isolation, distrust, or a repeated search for a rescuer

• Loss of, or changes in, one's system of meanings, which may include a loss of sustaining faith or a sense of hopelessness and despair.

Although, I consider myself  "healed" (with an occasional flash-back) - this diagnosis fits a lot better than just regular PTSD.

The weirdest animal genitals and "duck rape"....

For years, scientists have puzzled over the ridiculously long, curly penises of some duck species. When it's not mating season, duck penises are tiny - the size of a grain of rice. But when it's time to impregnate a mate, duck penises grow into twisted organs, sometimes longer than the duck's entire body!

Until behavioral ecologist Patricia Brennan began her project to dissect the genitals of ducks, no one could explain why this happened. But when Dr. Brennan cut open her frist female duck, she found the answer.

Apparently long phalli are just an evolutionary answer to female duck genitalia. It turns out that female ducks have vaginal tracts just as curly and complicated as their mates' penises. Though ducks tend to pair off and mate for an entire season, female ducks also face less welcome suitors -- up to 40 percent of copulations are forced upon them by aggresive males. But because of the labyrinthine nature of her genitals, a female duck can capture unwanted male sperm in sacs along her oviduct and then expel it. Long penises are the only way for a mate to steer his way throught hte vaginal maze, Brennan tells The New York Times. "Basically, you get a bigger phallus to put your sperm in farther than the other males."

Among the scary things a kid can say to his parents: "Mom, I want to dissect duck genitalia when I grow up"!!!!!!!!

DUCK RAPE???

Chastity Belts for Spiders

Male wasp spiders have figured out a cure for their mates; wandering eyes: During sex, they break off a piece of their male organ, and use it as a "chastity belt" to plug up the female's genital opening, says New Scientist. German reseearchers studying the wasp spiders noticed that virgin females had sex much longer than those who had previously mated, and so they took a closer look at what was going on. They realized that males were breaking off part of their pedipalp, which delivers sperm, and leaving it behind to thwart future rivals. The detached tip doesn't completely prevent further intercourse, said researcher Stefan Nesler, but it "lugs the orifice so securely that the transfer of semen is probably largely excluded."
That ensures the female will give birth to offspring of the first male on the scene, and not those of her subsequent boyfriends.

THEOSOPHY - explained

(from http://www.crystalinks.com/anthroposophy.html)

The word Theosophy is derived from the Greek words meaning "man-wisdom". Theosophy is a body of belief which holds that all religions are attempts by man to ascertain "the Divine", and as such each religion has a portion of the truth.

Theosophy, as a coherent belief system, developed from the writings of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. Together with Henry Steel Olcott, William Quan Judge and others, she founded the Theosophical Society in 1875.

A more formal definition from the Concise Oxford Dictionary describes theosophy as "any of various philosophies professing to achieve a knowledge of God by spiritual ecstasy, direct intuition, or special individual relations, esp. a modern movement following Hindu and Buddhist teachings and seeking universal brotherhood."

Adherents of theosophy maintain that it is a "body of truth" that forms the basis of all religions.

Theosophy, they claim, represents a modern face of Sanatana Dharma, "the Eternal Truth", as the proper religion of man.

Christian Theosophy is a term used to designate the knowledge of God and of Jesus obtained by the direct intuition of the Divine essence.

The five prominent symbols visible in the Seal of the Theosophical Society are the Star of David, the Ankh, the Swastika, the Ouroboros, and above the seal is the Aum. Around the seal are written the words: "There is no religion higher than truth".

(from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theosophy)

According to Theosophy, nature does not operate by chance. Every event, past or present, happens because of laws  which are part of a universal paradigm. Theosophists hold that everything, living or not, is put together from basic building blocks evolving towards consciousness. H.P. Blavatsky's Theosophy is non-theistic, however some of her followers seem closer to theistic attitudes.

Man is "provisionally" immortal:
Theosophists believe that all human beings in their "higher selves" are immortal, but their lower personalities are unconscious of the link with their eternal spiritual nature and will perish.

Reincarnation is universal:
Like esoteric Buddhism, from which much of Theosophical thought springs, Theosophy teaches that beings have attained the human state through myriad reincarnations, passing through the mineral, plant and animal stages since before the birth of life on earth. However, Theosophy differs from the esoteric belief that regression is possible. Human beings cannot reincarnate as animals or plants again except in the rare cases of disintegrating "lost souls." Conversely, people are considered only the epitome of physical life on Earth and not the end stage of evolution, which continues for further stages, including the form of the Dhyani Chohans or Buddhic beings.

Universal brotherhood:
Theosophy teaches that every thing of whatever kind is from one divine source.

Evolution:
Theosophists believe that religion, philosophy, science, the arts, commerce, and philanthropy, among other "virtues," lead people ever closer to "the Absolute." Planets, solar systems and even galaxies are seen as conscious beings, fulfilling their own evolutionary paths.  The spiritual units of the universe are the monads, which at different times may manifest as planets, angels, human beings or in various other forms.

___

Theosophists also believe that human civilization, like all other parts of the universe, develops through cycles of seven stages. Thus, in the first age, humans were pure spirit; in the second age, they are known as Hyperboreans; in the third as Lemurians; and in the fourth, Atlanteans. Since Atlantis was the nadir of the cycle, the present fifth age is a time of reawakening humanity's psychic gifts.
___________________________________
Famous people who investigated Theosophy include:
Thomas Edison
W. B. Yeats
Owen Barfield
T. S. Eliot
Carl Jung
Sir Conan Doyle
Lewis Carroll
Shirley MacLaine
D.H. Lawrence
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
James Joyce
Jane Goodall
Elvis Presley
Mohandas Ghandi
Gloria Steinem
Abner Doubleday - Father of Baseball

Myth Busting...

Courtesy of the folks at LiveScience.com

A chicken can live without its head: True - and not just for a few minutes. A chicken can stagger around without its noggin because the brain stem, often left partially intact after a beheading, controls most of its reflexes. One robust fellow lives a full 18 months! (Not sure I believe that, but growing up on a farm, I have seen them run around for a while.)

Water drains backward in the Southern Hemisphere due to the Earth's rotation: False - Not only is the Earth's rotation too weak to affect the direction of water flowing in a drain, tests you can perform yourself in restrooms will prove that water whirlpools flows both ways depending ont he sink's structure, not the hemisphere. (Boy, and I thought I had learned this lie from The X-Files.)

Humans use only 10% of their brains: False. This myth has been around for at least a century. MRI imaging clearly demonstrates, in technicolor, that humans put most of their cerebral cortex to good use, even while dozing.

Eating a poppy-seed bagel mimics opium use: True. Tests suggest ingesting just two poppy seed bagels may produce a positive result for opiates on a drug screen. (I work in a lab - I know it's true!)

A penny dropped from a tall building could kill a person: False - a penny isn't the most aerodynamic of weapons. A combination of its shape and wind friction means that, tossed even from the 1,250-foot Empire State Buildin, it would travel fast enough to merely sting an unlucky pedestrian.

Adults don't grow new brain cells: False. Much of the human's crucial brain development happens during childhood, but it isn't all downhill from there. Studies have shown that neurons continue to grow and change well into the adult years.  (So there's hope for me yet!)

Yawning is contagious: Empirically, this is tough to deny. The real question is whether there's actually something physiological at work here, and the answer is likely "yes": Even chimpanzees mimic each other's yawns. (I hope you're not yawning reading this!)

A falling cat will always land on its feet: True - studies have demonstrated that, when dropped from most heights, cats will land gracefully on their feet. Results change only whit cats dropped upside-down from 1 foot or less. (Do not try this at home!)

The Great Wall of China is the only man-made structure visible from space: False - Astronauts can spot the Great Wall from low Earht orbit, along with other things like the Giza pyramids and even airport runways. But they can't see the Wall from the Moon.

American (Ohio) Inventor

OHIO – THE CRADLE OF INVENTION

Ohio has a rich history of inventors creating innovations that enrich, or sometimes even save, our lives. Here are a few examples of our area’s contributions to modern life:

Dr. Theodatus Garlick of Geauga, Mahoning and Trumbull counties, developed the first fish hatchery in 1857.

Thomas H. White of Massachusetts invented a small, hand-operated sewing machine in 1857 and moved his company to Cleveland in 1867. His sons developed a major automobile company, although White told them the idea of a horseless carriage would never be accepted.

William S. Wright,Chardon Ohio Jeweler, invented the Wright Pantograph, an engraving machine.

Jephtha Wade of Cleveland, founder of Western Union in 1856, invented underwater cable and a cable insulator.

Platt R. Spencer, Ashtabula County native, developed the Spencerian form of handwriting in the 1850’s.

James W. Penfield of Willoughby invented the first drain tile machine in 1853.

Dayton Miller of Strongsville invented the first X-ray machine in 1866.

Henry Sherwin and Edward Williams of Cleveland developed the first ready-mixed paint during the 1870’s.

Charles F. Brush of Euclid invented the electric arc light in 1877, making long-lasting electric light bulbs possible.

William Burton of Standard Oil, Cleveland, developed modern petroleum refining.

Garrett Morgan of Cleveland invented the gas mask.

Herman Black of Cleveland developed standard sized for clothing in the 1870’s.

Ohio Columbus Barker of Akron developed the first book of matches in 1881.

Worcester Warner and Ambrose Swaneyof Cleveland invented a 36-inch telescope in 1888.

Charles G. and Alfred F. Harris - Niles - invented off-set printing in 1906.

Charles Martin Hall of Thompson Township developed aluminum processing by electrolytic action in 1888. His process allowed inexpensive aluminum production.

Coburn Haskell of Cleveland and Benjamin G. Work of Akron created the modern golf ball in 1898.

Elmer A. Sperry of Cleveland invented the Gyroscope, essential to navigation, in the 1890’s.

Walter C. Baker of Cleveland invented the ball bearing in 1895.

Alexander Winton of Cleveland built the first diesel engine, the first eight cylinder car in 1903, the first mail truck in 1899, and developed many other “firsts” in the automotive industry.

Harry C. Gammeter of Akron and Henry C. Osborn of Cleveland developed the first copying machine in 1903, the multigraph.

Dr. George Crile, founder of the Cleveland Clinic, performed many surgical firsts, including the first successful thyroid operation and the first successful direct blood transfusion.

James W. Packard of Warren invented the steering wheel, as did Winton, in 1901. Packard also developed the “H-pattern” gear shift.

Fred and William Folberth of Cleveland invented the first automatic windshield wiper.

The Fisher brothers of Cleveland were seven brothers credited with inventing the modern enclosed car body in 1910.

Frank Menches,Canton sausage maker, invented the hamburger at a county fair in the 1890’s, when he ran out of sausage and substituted ground beef.

Harry M. Stevens of Niles invented the “hot dog” in 1904.

Claude H. Foster, a Cleveland native, invented the shock absorber in 1910, and the musical auto horn.

Halsey W. Taylor of Warren invented a sanitary drinking fountain in 1912.

Clarence Crane, a Cleveland chocolatier, in 1912 invented Life Savers candy that would not melt in the summertime.

Waldo Seman, Akron chemist for Goodrich, developed synthetic rubber, which revolutionized the automobile tire industry.

Dr. Robert H. Smith of Akron, along with William G. Willson of New York, developed Alcoholics Anonymous in 1935.

Dan Beard, a Painesville native, founded the Boy Scouts of America.

Dr. James H. Salisburyof Cleveland invented the Salisbury Steak.

W.O. Frohring of Newbury Township invented several diagnostic aids related to the medical field, as well as ready-made baby formula.

George Hulett of Ashtabula invented a huge machine to load and unload large quantities of iron ore and coal.

Dr. Ross Gunnof Cleveland developed the nuclear-powered “atomic submarine” in 1939.

Willem J. Kolff of Cleveland invented the first kidney dialysis machine in 1944. He also invented an early version of the artificial heart.

Charles J. Strosacker of Medina County developed Saran Wrap for Dow Chemical Co.

V.L. Smithers of Kent in 1954 invented oasis floral foam, which make it possible for floral arrangements to last longer.

Robert and Joseph Switzerof Cleveland developed Day-Glo paint and inks.

Paul R. Frohring of Bainbridge Township developed Vitamin A from carotene.

Glenn Frohring, Newbury Township, invented a plastic injection mold nozzle.

Al Moen of North Olmsted invented the washer-less faucet.

Vincent Marotta,Cleveland, invented Mr. Coffee in 1972.

James Ferguson, Kent State University professor, developed liquid crystal, used for displays on calculators, watches and video games.

Ohio Nuclear Inc. of Solon developed the first commercial whole-body scanner in 1975.

James Murray Spangler, a Canton janitor, invented the first vacuum cleaner in 1907 by attaching an old fan motor, soap box and pillow case to a broom handle. His Electric Suction Sweeper Co. eventually became the Hoover Corp.

William Semple of Mount Vernon patented chewing gum in 1869.

Granville T. Woods of Columbus invented a telegraph that could be used on moving trains during the 1880’s.

William H. McGuffey of Oxford developed a standardized reading textbook that was used nationwide for many years.

Michael Owens, Toledo glass blower for Edward Libbey, invented a glass-blowing machine in 1891 that made it easy to make inexpensive light bulbs and bottles.

William and Orville Wright, Dayton bicycle makers, invented the first successful airplane in 1903.

Thomas Edison, Milan native, held more than 1,000 patents and is generally considered America’s greatest inventor. He developed the electric light bulb, the phonograph and moving pictures.

Letty Lally of Foeller’s Drug Store, Columbus, invented the banana split in 1904.

James Gamble of Cincinnati invented floating soap that became the basis of the Proctor and Gamble Corp.

Charles F. Kettering of Dayton invented the electrical starter for automobiles, eliminating the need for an exterior hand-crank starter.

Powell Crosley of Cincinnati invented the modern home radio in the 1920’s.

Arthur Compton of Wooster invented the fluorescent light tube in 1930.

James Wright invented Silly Putty in 1943.

Ohio Art of Bryan developed the Etch-a-Sketch toy in 1960, based on a toy invented in the 1950’s by Arthur Granjean.

Carl Djerassi, Kenyon College graduate, developed technology that led to the development of the birth control pill.

Dr. Henry Heimlich of Cincinnati developed an anti-choking maneuver that bears his name. Since first introduced in 1974, it has saved countless lives.