Suppressing Intelligence since 2004
Posts tagged Science
The 3-second Rule – An Update
Aug 20th
According to Sean, the study wasn’t exactly forthcoming with the results of a brief exposure of food to the ground. According to Wikipedia,
In 2003, intern Jillian Clarke of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign found in a survey that 56% of the men and 70% of the women surveyed were familiar with the five-second rule. She also determined that a variety of foods were significantly contaminated by even brief exposure to a tile inoculated with E.coli.
The Article is here, if you’re curious. But with the further inquiry, the Wikipedia article goes on to say,
A team from Clemson University conducted a study measuring the bacteria levels on classic 5 second rule locations such as outdoor soil, the sidewalk, kitchen counters (especially porous counters – this doesn’t include granite), and kitchen floors. It may shock you to find out that it might be MORE dangerous to eat food that you just dropped on your floor in the kitchen than on a sidewalk.
Also, a similar explanation can be found on the Snopes website, but it’s suspiciously similar to the Wikipedia page.
Hmm…which came first, Snopes or Wiki?
and from a link from the Wiki Page, here are some facts:
Here are some figures from the report:
100 billion: The number of bacteria in our mouths.
100 trillion: The number of bacteria in our gastrointestinal tracts.
2.5 billion: The number of bacteria found in one gram of garden soil.
7.2 billion: The number of germs in the average kitchen sponge.
25,000: The number of germs, per square inch, on an office telephone.
49: The number of germs, per square inch, on a toilet seat
You’re safer eating food off of your Toilet Seat.
Yikes.
In The name of science…
Jul 27th
I’m all for old things and even keeping some items that have good historic value, but when I read about this in the paper, I am left to rethink my original thought.
When Galileo died, he wasn’t allowed to have a proper Church burial because he was labeled a heretic for his discovery and his belief. Years later, when the Catholic church realized their error, they allowed him to be free of his 200 year purgatory. However, before this, the Freemasons had taken care of this oversight and had exhumed his body and gave him a proper and dignified burial.
So, while the Masons had exhumed, they decided to take some souvenirs, for example; a few digits and some molars. They decided to not take his brain, but leave it where it was.
Anyway, these parts were then moved to different places, one being the Galileo Museum. However, in 1905, some parts were missing until just last October when someone said they had it in their private collection.
These Parts are not being placed in a museum for people to see.
So, what’s the big deal?
Um….fingers? Molars? I’m not sure if a finger from Galileo would be something I would want see. his original writings, drafts of his ideas, jots of his thoughts? Yes. old body parts? not so much. I can see studying his brain to see if there are any interesting developments or parts, as is the belief of many famous scientists and people. But a finger?
You can read the article here, which is a bit more eloquent than I can say.
It’s a great read, and not from the National Post.
But another aside, I’m going to see if I can say it first..
Up in Sudbury, well, see for yourself:
Eager to answer the question of what’s hiding out in the cold darkness of space, a team of U.S. physicists is eyeing a move to a subterranean warren of laboratories two kilometres down a mine shaft near Sudbury, Ont., that has quickly become a world destination for ‘‘dark matter’’ researchers.
The U.S.-based Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) team is seeking funding to expand its work and relocate the project from an underground laboratory in Minnesota to Sudbury’s SNOLAB, one of the researchers revealed at a physics conference in Paris over the weekend.
The Article is from the National Post, but again…Seriously? Sudbury is dark enough, now they have a team of scientists coming after Sudbury to see how dark and dreary it is…*
*To any Sudbury Folk: I’m just teasing. Sudbury is a wonderful and spectacular place to go. In Fact, The have Science North, which is much better than our measly Ontario Science Centre. Check it out!
Just a neat Quote…
Jul 26th
So, before I get to the quote, I’ll explain a bit of the background of this:
Often, I get into arguments or discussions with people about the homeopathic ideas and even what is good for you. Some people do believe that if a scientist or a laboratory has created something to be be better, it’s not really because it’s not ‘natural’. Even the word ‘Organic’ doesn’t seem to mean what it supposed to mean.
To me, ‘natural’ means that something has been created in Nature, not with any interference from humankind. This is from an Oxford Dictionary. I can agree that ‘Natural’ does mean unaltered by humans. Genetically Modified foods can be seen as ‘un-natural’ but still pretty good for us.
With ‘Organic‘, it is derived from living matter. I even can remember that an ‘organic’ substance has Carbon in it, but this may not necessarily be correct. Anyway, Organic means to be from living matter.
When I hear the word ‘Organic’ meat, I wonder what would constitute ‘inorganic meat’. Much to the chagrin of people, our Beloved mystery meat found in hot Dogs would be considered Organic.
I’ll keep going.
So, some people wish to reject some medicines or even substances that can help them, because they are not ‘natural’. Apparently only things that are natural are good. When we read the ingredients of a food item, often we cannot pronounce the ingredients. Yes, sometimes there are some nasty-sounding things in processed foods, but they are necessary for the creation of that food. Because of someone’s ignorance, it doesn’t mean it’s not bad for them.
But getting back to Natural, if it’s Natural, the belief is that it is good. Cyanide is natural, but it’s something I choose not to ingest.
so, the quote comes from an article about the ‘Pure Milk’ movement, and how many people argue that unpasteurized milk is good for you. here is the quote:
After a dairy in Washington state was linked to an E. coli outbreak last December, the farmer himself put it like this in an interview with the Seattle Times. Scientists were wrong to malign his milk because “everything God designed is good for you.”
It seems an odd conclusion to draw from an outbreak of Escherichia Coli O157: H7, an organism dangerous enough to kill people by causing complete renal failure. I wish someone would explain the logic that leads to the conclusion that this apparently divine infection is actually “good for you.”
I have to agree to this. If ‘natural’ things were so, why do we like the small pox vaccine? Why are we ok with the polio vaccine? Why do we wash our hands? Naturally, there was not ‘soap’ for us to use?
Just a thought.
For the article: Click Here for the Dairy Cult
Professionals? What are they for?
Jul 18th
I was thinking about this…
A few people I know; not friends, but associates, have thought they were smarter than the average bear. What I mean by this the following:
Science and Research as done a pretty good job on figuring out many things that would have killed us by now. For instance, Polio, Small Pox, Diphtheria, malaria, and the like. Even our discovery of Soap has essentially quelled many a baddies entering our bodies.
So, with that: Why don’t we put more stock in our beliefs about science? Apparently the war-cry of many are: What do scientists know?
It’s not what a scientist knows, it’s more of what they know they don’t know. Let’s try that again….
They are aware of the things they do not know. Do they know that certain things work? Not really, but they do know what doesn’t work. Basic science or even reason is based upon eliminating what you know doesn’t work for sure.
I often come across people who don’t believe Scientists. But what does this have to do with anything? Well, Scientists are like professionals. If a professional understands how something works, they give their name to it. Sure, there are those quacks who like to shovel Woo* to us. But for the most part, our professionals have a certain standard to uphold. Even if they come across research that contradicts a current practice, they adopt the new information readily.
But Why don’t we believe these people? Why do we (for the most part, ignorant) common folk not believe them?
Well, I can see that there are many examples in the past of those who have knowledge, abusing their positions for their own betterment.
Of course that can still happen. But hopefully we can see if there is an abuse now, with our clear understanding of the past, right?
There’s so much more I can say, but I’ll wait…
Ugh, Unlike the old Blogger, you can’t see when I posted this. It must be a setting somewhere.
*Woo – Woo-woo (or just plain woo) refers to ideas considered irrational or based on extremely flimsy evidence or that appeal to mysterious occult forces or powers. Click here to see a full definition