Today's interesting fact has to do with World War 1. Nick likes World War 1 and has requested this subject today.
I remember reading some years ago, that while may people think that the causes of WW1 was the assanation Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, which because of treaties signed over the years, required the begining of a war. Indeed, when I was in school, that was exactly what I was taught.
But the article insisted that the real reasons were economic. Oil, had become an important commodity. Oil companies, and nations, had worked out that the need for oil would be paramount for years to come. The article suggested that it was only after Germany had been cut off from the oil fields in the countries they had invaded, that they had effectively lost the war, with the same occuring again in WW2, when Germany was cut off from it's oil supplies.
I don't know how accurate this is, but it is an interesting fact that others believe this to be the facts for the war.
Monday, November 01, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Today's interesting fact has to do with our ancestors.
Bread has been used as a foodstuff for thousands of years. It is often thought that bread only comes from the flour of wheat. Wheat was first cultivated around 8000 years ago. But bread only requires a starchy flour. The use of Wheat adds gluten, but so does the use of Rye or Barley, although the type of gluten in these are different to the one in wheat.
But flour and bread has been created from many other starchy sources, the corms and fruit from the banana plant, various grass seeds, such as maize (corn) and rice, indeed almost any starchy source will allow you to create a type of bread. While the bread created from these materials doesn't rise as much as it does in wheat breads. It is the type of gluten in wheat that causes modern breads to rise as they do.
Until the Victorian Age, bread was made from oats and rye, not just wheat. Bread was used as plates and bowels, especially for the poor.
Bread has been used as a foodstuff for thousands of years. It is often thought that bread only comes from the flour of wheat. Wheat was first cultivated around 8000 years ago. But bread only requires a starchy flour. The use of Wheat adds gluten, but so does the use of Rye or Barley, although the type of gluten in these are different to the one in wheat.
But flour and bread has been created from many other starchy sources, the corms and fruit from the banana plant, various grass seeds, such as maize (corn) and rice, indeed almost any starchy source will allow you to create a type of bread. While the bread created from these materials doesn't rise as much as it does in wheat breads. It is the type of gluten in wheat that causes modern breads to rise as they do.
Until the Victorian Age, bread was made from oats and rye, not just wheat. Bread was used as plates and bowels, especially for the poor.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Today's interesting fact, again has to do with our ancestors.
The sequencing of DNA from a thousand humans from around the world, has thrown out some interesting results. For the most part, we have a very limited genetic diversity, with a few exceptions.
The additional sequencing of DNA from a Neanderthals bones has thrown light on some of these differences.
If you are descended from Europeans, you are likely been 1% and 8% of genes that seem to have come from one or more Neanderthal ancestors, depending on the articles you read. The genes identified do not match with genes found in the general populations of Africa or China.
This research has also identified that the Chinese also have a set of genes that seems to have come from another unidentified ancestor.
I find this fascinating, as this may partially support the idea of a multi-regional origin of modern humans, where ancestors of the modern human left Africa, and then mated with modern humans after they left Africa about 60,000 years ago.
The Recent Out-of-Africa model seems to be supported by more scientists at the moment suggests that modern man didn't leave Africa before that, or if they had, they had died out. The multi-region theory suggests that there was a merging of several different subspecies of humans creating our modern selves. One recent dig has placed modern humans in China 100,000 years ago has placed more emphasis on this possibility.
There are those of course, who will bridle at the prospect of having Neanderthal genes. The Neanderthal has been portrayed as a brutish lout, that was so hideous that no modern man or woman would want to have anything to do with them. They were thought to be unable to speak, to have no culture, unimaginative, no religion, forced to use substandard tools, and eventually out competed by modern man.
The mixing of our genes along with recent archaeological finds, possibly tells a completely different story.
For over 130,000 years Neanderthal lived in Europe and parts of east Asia. As species go, this is successful run. The latest finds, suggest that they looked after their infirm, may have had religion (often burying their dead with tools, flowers and food for the afterlife), and were far more innovative than they have been credited by popular culture, even using grindstones to create flour from roots for the making of bread.
When the Neanderthal was found in the 17th Century, it was decided that they had to be sub-human, brutish and images created of them showed this bias. Recently, using techniques used by the police on finding dead individuals, by using their skulls and recreating the looks of those individuals by skilled artists, Neanderthal images were recreated. When these images were placed in modern clothing, even scientists who were primed with the information that one or more images in a picture would be a Neanderthal, were unable to determine with any accuracy, the modern humans verses the Neanderthals.
This just proves are not as different as many suspected.
The sequencing of DNA from a thousand humans from around the world, has thrown out some interesting results. For the most part, we have a very limited genetic diversity, with a few exceptions.
The additional sequencing of DNA from a Neanderthals bones has thrown light on some of these differences.
If you are descended from Europeans, you are likely been 1% and 8% of genes that seem to have come from one or more Neanderthal ancestors, depending on the articles you read. The genes identified do not match with genes found in the general populations of Africa or China.
This research has also identified that the Chinese also have a set of genes that seems to have come from another unidentified ancestor.
I find this fascinating, as this may partially support the idea of a multi-regional origin of modern humans, where ancestors of the modern human left Africa, and then mated with modern humans after they left Africa about 60,000 years ago.
The Recent Out-of-Africa model seems to be supported by more scientists at the moment suggests that modern man didn't leave Africa before that, or if they had, they had died out. The multi-region theory suggests that there was a merging of several different subspecies of humans creating our modern selves. One recent dig has placed modern humans in China 100,000 years ago has placed more emphasis on this possibility.
There are those of course, who will bridle at the prospect of having Neanderthal genes. The Neanderthal has been portrayed as a brutish lout, that was so hideous that no modern man or woman would want to have anything to do with them. They were thought to be unable to speak, to have no culture, unimaginative, no religion, forced to use substandard tools, and eventually out competed by modern man.
The mixing of our genes along with recent archaeological finds, possibly tells a completely different story.
For over 130,000 years Neanderthal lived in Europe and parts of east Asia. As species go, this is successful run. The latest finds, suggest that they looked after their infirm, may have had religion (often burying their dead with tools, flowers and food for the afterlife), and were far more innovative than they have been credited by popular culture, even using grindstones to create flour from roots for the making of bread.
When the Neanderthal was found in the 17th Century, it was decided that they had to be sub-human, brutish and images created of them showed this bias. Recently, using techniques used by the police on finding dead individuals, by using their skulls and recreating the looks of those individuals by skilled artists, Neanderthal images were recreated. When these images were placed in modern clothing, even scientists who were primed with the information that one or more images in a picture would be a Neanderthal, were unable to determine with any accuracy, the modern humans verses the Neanderthals.
This just proves are not as different as many suspected.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Today's interesting fact has to do with villages and the oldest found to date.
I'm not sure what defines a village verses a town. From what I remember a towns usually has a market or administrative function for surrounding villages, and villages are usually located in rural areas, but the term seems to have been blurred over the years, because I've seen villages that have all the attributes of a town, as well as being located in heavily populated areas.
As to the oldest, for some time the oldest seemed to have been one found in South America, which is over 14,000 years old. It seemed odd to me that South America, being allegedly settled long after other areas of the world, would have the oldest village, but recently in Israel they have found a village that is around 30,000 years old, and has been announced by the Israeli press as being the oldest found to date. This doesn't appear to be true however, as in Papua New-Guinea, the oldest village found to date is over 49,000 years old.
When you couple this with the oldest farm found to date, 14,000 years old, it makes you wonder if that area of the world, often considered backward, actually exported the technology that fuelled the development of humans throughout the world, although I'm sure that eventually we will find that farming of various foods have existed a lot longer than we currently believe.
In a follow on from yesterday's post, the plant that was farmed, was a type of banana. The species of banana was not one of the hybrids that we eat today where we eat a sterile fruit, but one where the corm, the base of the plant, is harvested. The corm is dried, ground into flour and made into a dough and then baked. This is done in various places in the world even to this day.
I'm not sure what defines a village verses a town. From what I remember a towns usually has a market or administrative function for surrounding villages, and villages are usually located in rural areas, but the term seems to have been blurred over the years, because I've seen villages that have all the attributes of a town, as well as being located in heavily populated areas.
As to the oldest, for some time the oldest seemed to have been one found in South America, which is over 14,000 years old. It seemed odd to me that South America, being allegedly settled long after other areas of the world, would have the oldest village, but recently in Israel they have found a village that is around 30,000 years old, and has been announced by the Israeli press as being the oldest found to date. This doesn't appear to be true however, as in Papua New-Guinea, the oldest village found to date is over 49,000 years old.
When you couple this with the oldest farm found to date, 14,000 years old, it makes you wonder if that area of the world, often considered backward, actually exported the technology that fuelled the development of humans throughout the world, although I'm sure that eventually we will find that farming of various foods have existed a lot longer than we currently believe.
In a follow on from yesterday's post, the plant that was farmed, was a type of banana. The species of banana was not one of the hybrids that we eat today where we eat a sterile fruit, but one where the corm, the base of the plant, is harvested. The corm is dried, ground into flour and made into a dough and then baked. This is done in various places in the world even to this day.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Today's interesting fact has to do with diet. Mostly because I'm constantly told to diet, but partially because we have been told that our ancient ancestors ate mostly meat and vegetables, without foods that are high in carbohydrates. This impression seems to have come about because archaeologists in the past have been too diligent to clean and sterilise both the tools they used as well as the artefacts they have found, without checking the embedded plant materials within or on the surface.
When I was a child, the scout troop I belonged to used to go on survival hikes. Our scout masters had made arrangements with certain farmers for the use of their woods and fields in our search for food. We were required to only find wild forage, and not allowed to raid local crops. We spent our time, searching for wild food which consisted of, roots, berries, fungus, leaves and the like, then preparing it what we found, getting it ready for our three meals. While we were taught how to create snares and traps, except for catching fish, we were not allowed to use what we had learnt for getting meat. Instead, we would be provided with a certain amount of eggs and meat, which were kept refrigerated by our scout masters and doled out every morning and evening to have with what ever we had found in the surrounding forests and fields.
One of the foods we ate, on a limited basis was the root of bull rushes, which we called Cattails. When foraging, you must be careful to leave enough behind to feed wild animals as well as to continue successful survival of the food source. The American Indians supplemented their diet with Cattails, drying the roots, then grinding them to create a flour, before making bread which was baked in fires and small bread kilns. The flour produced is high in carbohydrates and makes a bread that tastes very good to a small boy who has spent the day making the flour.
Recently in Italy, Russia and the Czech Republic archaeologists found grindstones, that by identifying the plant material embedded on them were used to create flour from the roots of rushes and ferns. From the remains, these grindstones have been dated to have been last used over 30,000 years ago. So our European ancient ancestors were making flour and as other fragments confirm, bread. Instead of having just mastodon burgers and veggies, they may have even put their meat between two slices of bread. Which could put the sandwich's invention many thousands of years before the Earl of Sandwich thought of it.
When I was a child, the scout troop I belonged to used to go on survival hikes. Our scout masters had made arrangements with certain farmers for the use of their woods and fields in our search for food. We were required to only find wild forage, and not allowed to raid local crops. We spent our time, searching for wild food which consisted of, roots, berries, fungus, leaves and the like, then preparing it what we found, getting it ready for our three meals. While we were taught how to create snares and traps, except for catching fish, we were not allowed to use what we had learnt for getting meat. Instead, we would be provided with a certain amount of eggs and meat, which were kept refrigerated by our scout masters and doled out every morning and evening to have with what ever we had found in the surrounding forests and fields.
One of the foods we ate, on a limited basis was the root of bull rushes, which we called Cattails. When foraging, you must be careful to leave enough behind to feed wild animals as well as to continue successful survival of the food source. The American Indians supplemented their diet with Cattails, drying the roots, then grinding them to create a flour, before making bread which was baked in fires and small bread kilns. The flour produced is high in carbohydrates and makes a bread that tastes very good to a small boy who has spent the day making the flour.
Recently in Italy, Russia and the Czech Republic archaeologists found grindstones, that by identifying the plant material embedded on them were used to create flour from the roots of rushes and ferns. From the remains, these grindstones have been dated to have been last used over 30,000 years ago. So our European ancient ancestors were making flour and as other fragments confirm, bread. Instead of having just mastodon burgers and veggies, they may have even put their meat between two slices of bread. Which could put the sandwich's invention many thousands of years before the Earl of Sandwich thought of it.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Today is a follow on to yesterday's post. Been thinking about caring, why we care and what causes the caring and other 'morality' ideals. Recent scientific experiments have revealed that there seems to be a biological, an actual genetic reason for caring as well as, apparently, many of the other morals that most humans seem to have.
We've known since the 19th century that by removing a certain section of the brain, you can turn a conscientious, religious, good father and dependable worker into a antisocial, selfish, erratic worker, poor father, swearing individual. We know this because a construction worker had a large iron rod blown through his head, which removed this section. We know the areas of the brain that were removed, because we still have his skull. Recent developments with MRI scans have shown that these various areas of the brain, are responsible for religious feelings, dependability, being social, as well as caring for others. Not only have they identified the areas that are responsible for these morals, they have determined some of the genetic material (but not yet all) that turns these areas on and off.
Using virtual studies, where they show individuals specific scenarios, they've been mapping these sections of the brain and what goes on when people make decisions, such as saving five people at the cost of one person. They've shown that some people, such as serial killers, don't have certain sections of the brain working the same way as 'normal' people.
This brings into question mental competence. If a killer can show that the section of the brain that would normally prevent a 'normal' person to go out and kill indiscriminately, does that mean that they are not 'normal' and shouldn't be tried under 'normal' rules?
For instance they have identified specific alleles of genes that induce the production of serotonin in the brain. Now they have just started a test of injecting DNA fragments of these alleles into the brain of selected clinically depressed individuals, to see if they can alleviate depression in them. If this succeeds, and they eventually identified variants of genes that can turn on or off certain moral actions, what is to prevent the forced treatment of the individuals who are considered by many to be mentally and morally deficient?
As they have already determined the sections of the brain that induce religious feelings, could someone force a treatment on atheists to become religious or even the other way around. Should we be able to force anyone to change the nature of their brain and as such their beliefs?
We've known since the 19th century that by removing a certain section of the brain, you can turn a conscientious, religious, good father and dependable worker into a antisocial, selfish, erratic worker, poor father, swearing individual. We know this because a construction worker had a large iron rod blown through his head, which removed this section. We know the areas of the brain that were removed, because we still have his skull. Recent developments with MRI scans have shown that these various areas of the brain, are responsible for religious feelings, dependability, being social, as well as caring for others. Not only have they identified the areas that are responsible for these morals, they have determined some of the genetic material (but not yet all) that turns these areas on and off.
Using virtual studies, where they show individuals specific scenarios, they've been mapping these sections of the brain and what goes on when people make decisions, such as saving five people at the cost of one person. They've shown that some people, such as serial killers, don't have certain sections of the brain working the same way as 'normal' people.
This brings into question mental competence. If a killer can show that the section of the brain that would normally prevent a 'normal' person to go out and kill indiscriminately, does that mean that they are not 'normal' and shouldn't be tried under 'normal' rules?
For instance they have identified specific alleles of genes that induce the production of serotonin in the brain. Now they have just started a test of injecting DNA fragments of these alleles into the brain of selected clinically depressed individuals, to see if they can alleviate depression in them. If this succeeds, and they eventually identified variants of genes that can turn on or off certain moral actions, what is to prevent the forced treatment of the individuals who are considered by many to be mentally and morally deficient?
As they have already determined the sections of the brain that induce religious feelings, could someone force a treatment on atheists to become religious or even the other way around. Should we be able to force anyone to change the nature of their brain and as such their beliefs?
Monday, October 25, 2010
Today's interesting fact was generated from yesterdays fact. Caring and when we develop the trait.
Very early apparently. New born babies, on hearing other babies cry will cry in response, and will stop when the crying stops. If an infant knows someone is crying or suffering, it will become distressed. As soon as they can move, babies will attempt to move to someone who is distressed and try to comfort, by stroking or handing over a toy or a bottle.
If we have such a response, even so early in life, when would our ancestors have developed the trait? As long ago as a million years ago?
Very early apparently. New born babies, on hearing other babies cry will cry in response, and will stop when the crying stops. If an infant knows someone is crying or suffering, it will become distressed. As soon as they can move, babies will attempt to move to someone who is distressed and try to comfort, by stroking or handing over a toy or a bottle.
If we have such a response, even so early in life, when would our ancestors have developed the trait? As long ago as a million years ago?
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Today's interesting fact has to do with our possible ancient ancestors, Homo Heidelbergensis. This species lived about a half a million years ago, and is thought by some to be the joint ancestors of Homo Neanderthal and Homo Sapiens.
They have recently discovered the bones of one individual who would have been about 45, who's spine was severely bent over and had slipped disks in his lower vertebra. There is no way that this individual could have done more than move around slowly and probably only with the use of a cane.
As there is no way this individual could have fed himself, he had to have been kept alive from the actions of the others in his tribe.
This coupled with the discovery of bones of a 12 year old child from the same group with skull malformations, this suggests that our distant ancestors were as caring as modern humans, and looked after their invalids and infirm as we do ours.
They have recently discovered the bones of one individual who would have been about 45, who's spine was severely bent over and had slipped disks in his lower vertebra. There is no way that this individual could have done more than move around slowly and probably only with the use of a cane.
As there is no way this individual could have fed himself, he had to have been kept alive from the actions of the others in his tribe.
This coupled with the discovery of bones of a 12 year old child from the same group with skull malformations, this suggests that our distant ancestors were as caring as modern humans, and looked after their invalids and infirm as we do ours.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Still with Shipwrecks, but more like archaeology, which I'll be moving the interesting facts to.
Earlier this year, they found what they are calling one of the oldest shipwrecks found to date, over 3000 years old. It was off the coast of Devon and contained copper and tin ingots. What isn't know, is if the copper and tin was coming to Britain or if it was shipping to somewhere Europe.
The copper and tin would have been used for making bronze tools, weapons and possibly jewellery.
Earlier this year, they found what they are calling one of the oldest shipwrecks found to date, over 3000 years old. It was off the coast of Devon and contained copper and tin ingots. What isn't know, is if the copper and tin was coming to Britain or if it was shipping to somewhere Europe.
The copper and tin would have been used for making bronze tools, weapons and possibly jewellery.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Today’s interesting fact is actually two. The first one, Nick already knew about, so I had to think of a second one. The first was:
The Lusitania was sunk during WW1 and is often attributed to being one reason why the US entered the War on the British side. The log of the German u-boat that sank the ship does show who sank the ship, even if there are conspiracy theories that suggest a British u-boat did the deed. However what isn’t very well known is that the ship was carrying munitions and explosives being shipped to the UK, and as such was a legitimate target that the German u-boat then rightfully sank. Apparently the Germans had the information that the ship was carrying the materials.
The second is:
Reed boats were used by the ancient Egyptians, the ancient South Americans, and there is evidence that they were used around the same time in West Africa, the Mediterranean, and Indonesia, and are still used in Peru, specifically Lake Titicaca. The Egyptians used Papyrus reeds, and others used locally sourced reeds.
The interesting thing is that the evidence from pottery, pictures, remains, as well as the boats that are made to this day, is that they look almost exactly the same. Thor Heyerdahl back in the late 60’s successfully took one, the RA 2 from Morocco to Barbados in the West Indies, over 6000 miles. Before he successfully did this archaeologists insisted that a reed boat would decompose and fall apart before such a voyage could be completed.
The Lusitania was sunk during WW1 and is often attributed to being one reason why the US entered the War on the British side. The log of the German u-boat that sank the ship does show who sank the ship, even if there are conspiracy theories that suggest a British u-boat did the deed. However what isn’t very well known is that the ship was carrying munitions and explosives being shipped to the UK, and as such was a legitimate target that the German u-boat then rightfully sank. Apparently the Germans had the information that the ship was carrying the materials.
The second is:
Reed boats were used by the ancient Egyptians, the ancient South Americans, and there is evidence that they were used around the same time in West Africa, the Mediterranean, and Indonesia, and are still used in Peru, specifically Lake Titicaca. The Egyptians used Papyrus reeds, and others used locally sourced reeds.
The interesting thing is that the evidence from pottery, pictures, remains, as well as the boats that are made to this day, is that they look almost exactly the same. Thor Heyerdahl back in the late 60’s successfully took one, the RA 2 from Morocco to Barbados in the West Indies, over 6000 miles. Before he successfully did this archaeologists insisted that a reed boat would decompose and fall apart before such a voyage could be completed.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Still on shipwrecks. I meant to write this last night, but worked late last night and was so tired by the time I got back to my flat, I just fell asleep without turning on the PC. Fortunately I had already told Nick my interesting fact for the day, just didn't have the chance to inform any on-line readers. So here goes.
There is a cargo ship in the Thames Estuary that was sunk during WW2. It was carrying supplies to the UK and held over a thousand tons of high explosives (and low explosives) when it sank. That ship and the explosives are still there and could go off at any time, as it slowly rusts on the bottom of the estuary.
The anchor broke and it initially ran aground on a sandbar. Much of the cargo was removed, before it flooded and sank.
The condition of the ship is monitored, by the Coastguard, but because of an explosion during an attempt back in the 60's to remove explosives from a similar sunken ship, it was felt to leave things as they are.
It seems that various chemical reactions between the various elements of the explosives and the metals within the ship itself, makes the left explosives more reactive.
The last thing I remember, is that if it does explode, it will generate a large wave, and the every window in the local village will be broken and many buildings will be damaged.
There is a cargo ship in the Thames Estuary that was sunk during WW2. It was carrying supplies to the UK and held over a thousand tons of high explosives (and low explosives) when it sank. That ship and the explosives are still there and could go off at any time, as it slowly rusts on the bottom of the estuary.
The anchor broke and it initially ran aground on a sandbar. Much of the cargo was removed, before it flooded and sank.
The condition of the ship is monitored, by the Coastguard, but because of an explosion during an attempt back in the 60's to remove explosives from a similar sunken ship, it was felt to leave things as they are.
It seems that various chemical reactions between the various elements of the explosives and the metals within the ship itself, makes the left explosives more reactive.
The last thing I remember, is that if it does explode, it will generate a large wave, and the every window in the local village will be broken and many buildings will be damaged.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Still on shipwrecks, today’s interesting fact has to do with the type of ship that gets sunk. Ships made of metal, with the sole exception of possibly aluminium; do not last as long as wooden ships once they reach the bottom of the sea.
Metal ships corrode in the sea, slowly turning into one metal oxide or another. The oldest metal ships on the seabed are rusting away and may soon only be identified by rust stains on the sea bed. Even these can disappear as metal ions dissolve into the water. As the oceans absorb more carbon dioxide from the air, the sea becomes more acidic and the process will intensify.
In addition, metal ships have different types of metal in them, which sets up electrical currents between different metals and increases the oxidation.
An aluminium shell, with no other metals, will last longer, because when a layer of aluminium oxide forms on the outside of the metal, which then protects the metal underneath, preventing further oxidation. However as most boats made from this material also includes other metals, the resulting electrical current created, will cause some damage from this type of boat.
Wood on the other hand, can last millennia, especially if they get covered by sedimentation. Witness the recent discovery of a Roman boat in Germany, which has been sitting on the sea floor for over 2000 years.
At great depths and in cold environments the dissolution of metal ships may be delayed, but Titanic, sunk deep in cold water, as been shown to be rapidly rusting away.
Metal ships corrode in the sea, slowly turning into one metal oxide or another. The oldest metal ships on the seabed are rusting away and may soon only be identified by rust stains on the sea bed. Even these can disappear as metal ions dissolve into the water. As the oceans absorb more carbon dioxide from the air, the sea becomes more acidic and the process will intensify.
In addition, metal ships have different types of metal in them, which sets up electrical currents between different metals and increases the oxidation.
An aluminium shell, with no other metals, will last longer, because when a layer of aluminium oxide forms on the outside of the metal, which then protects the metal underneath, preventing further oxidation. However as most boats made from this material also includes other metals, the resulting electrical current created, will cause some damage from this type of boat.
Wood on the other hand, can last millennia, especially if they get covered by sedimentation. Witness the recent discovery of a Roman boat in Germany, which has been sitting on the sea floor for over 2000 years.
At great depths and in cold environments the dissolution of metal ships may be delayed, but Titanic, sunk deep in cold water, as been shown to be rapidly rusting away.
Monday, October 18, 2010
This morning Nick changed the topic he wanted me to cover to; Shipwrecks.
There are many shipwrecks in the worlds oceans. Many of them are from the first and second world wars. When these ships sank, most of them contained ship fuel oil, one of the most dirty fuels available at the time. All of these shipwrecks are in the process of degrading, slowly rusting on the bottom of oceans, harbours and seas. If all the oil was released, the amount that would go into the seas would rival that of the recent release in the Gulf of Mexico, by a factor of ten or more.
There are companies that are reclaiming this oil, but the process is slow and at the current rate many shipwrecks are not going to be emptied before they rust and release their toxic cargo.
There are many shipwrecks in the worlds oceans. Many of them are from the first and second world wars. When these ships sank, most of them contained ship fuel oil, one of the most dirty fuels available at the time. All of these shipwrecks are in the process of degrading, slowly rusting on the bottom of oceans, harbours and seas. If all the oil was released, the amount that would go into the seas would rival that of the recent release in the Gulf of Mexico, by a factor of ten or more.
There are companies that are reclaiming this oil, but the process is slow and at the current rate many shipwrecks are not going to be emptied before they rust and release their toxic cargo.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Interesting Fact for the day.
Nick often gives me a topic to consider. The latest one is hot air balloons. After thinking about this over the past several hours, this is what I have dredged out of my memory.
Two Frenchmen in the late 1700's, pioneered the use of hot air balloons in Europe. They first worked out how to get lightweight bags to rise with hot air, and demonstrated it's use by sending three animals, one of which was a duck, I suppose because it could fly down if there were problems. Eventually they started making manned flights, at first tethered to the ground, but later without connections to the ground.
Hot air balloons have been around a lot longer than the 1700's though, having been in use in China for over 2000 years, as well as in India, Japan and Indochina, in the form of sky lanterns. The Chinese used them for signalling troop movements. There is evidence that they also used the balloons in conjunction with large tethered manned kites. Marco Polo commented on how the Chinese used manned kites to survey the surrounding waters by ships at sea. There is no evidence that the Chinese created manned balloons.
Sky lanterns are used in celebrations, festivals and other special occasions, throughout Asia.
Lately there has been pressure in the some countries to ban the use of sky lanterns. When they were made from rice paper and thin slivers of bamboo, these lights in the sky were completely biodegradable. However on landing, they have lately been causing fires in crops, fields and forests. Also modern sky lanterns are often produced with thin metal wires to hold the balloon into shape. These have been thought to be ingested by jet aircraft, causing damage to the engines, as well as by cattle, when they have fallen into pastures, causing damage to valuable livestock.
That's all for today. Later on, I'll be checking my facts and will post an update.
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The first documented balloon flight in Europe was demonstrated by Bartolomeu de Gusmão.
On 19 Sep 1783 Pilatre De Rozier launched the first recorded hot air balloon in Europe with passengers, a sheep, a duck and a rooster and the balloon stayed in the air for a grand total of 15 minutes. I remembered the duck, thought the sheep might be a goat, for some reason completely forgot the rooster, in my mind it was a pig.
The first untethered manned flight in Europe was on On 21 Nov 1783 by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes.
Zhuge Liang of the Shu Han kingdom, in the Three Kingdoms era (220–80 AD) used airborne lanterns for military signalling.
The Chinese did use manned kites in for spotting troop movements, and Marco Polo did record the use of a manned kite on a ship for checking the surrounding waters.
Hot air balloons might been used by people of the Nazca culture of Peru some 1500 to 2000 years ago, used as a tool in designing the famous Nazca ground figures and lines.
Sky Lanterns are under threat of legal action. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-11265560
Nick often gives me a topic to consider. The latest one is hot air balloons. After thinking about this over the past several hours, this is what I have dredged out of my memory.
Two Frenchmen in the late 1700's, pioneered the use of hot air balloons in Europe. They first worked out how to get lightweight bags to rise with hot air, and demonstrated it's use by sending three animals, one of which was a duck, I suppose because it could fly down if there were problems. Eventually they started making manned flights, at first tethered to the ground, but later without connections to the ground.
Hot air balloons have been around a lot longer than the 1700's though, having been in use in China for over 2000 years, as well as in India, Japan and Indochina, in the form of sky lanterns. The Chinese used them for signalling troop movements. There is evidence that they also used the balloons in conjunction with large tethered manned kites. Marco Polo commented on how the Chinese used manned kites to survey the surrounding waters by ships at sea. There is no evidence that the Chinese created manned balloons.
Sky lanterns are used in celebrations, festivals and other special occasions, throughout Asia.
Lately there has been pressure in the some countries to ban the use of sky lanterns. When they were made from rice paper and thin slivers of bamboo, these lights in the sky were completely biodegradable. However on landing, they have lately been causing fires in crops, fields and forests. Also modern sky lanterns are often produced with thin metal wires to hold the balloon into shape. These have been thought to be ingested by jet aircraft, causing damage to the engines, as well as by cattle, when they have fallen into pastures, causing damage to valuable livestock.
That's all for today. Later on, I'll be checking my facts and will post an update.
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The first documented balloon flight in Europe was demonstrated by Bartolomeu de Gusmão.
On 19 Sep 1783 Pilatre De Rozier launched the first recorded hot air balloon in Europe with passengers, a sheep, a duck and a rooster and the balloon stayed in the air for a grand total of 15 minutes. I remembered the duck, thought the sheep might be a goat, for some reason completely forgot the rooster, in my mind it was a pig.
The first untethered manned flight in Europe was on On 21 Nov 1783 by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes.
Zhuge Liang of the Shu Han kingdom, in the Three Kingdoms era (220–80 AD) used airborne lanterns for military signalling.
The Chinese did use manned kites in for spotting troop movements, and Marco Polo did record the use of a manned kite on a ship for checking the surrounding waters.
Hot air balloons might been used by people of the Nazca culture of Peru some 1500 to 2000 years ago, used as a tool in designing the famous Nazca ground figures and lines.
Sky Lanterns are under threat of legal action. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-11265560
Thursday, October 14, 2010
For the past month or so, I've been challenged to come up with an interesting fact that he doesn't know every day by one of my work colleagues, one Nick Myall. I entertain him and those near his desk, with bits of information dredged from my brain.
Because I read constantly, I have lots of odd bits of information bouncing around and I try to give him these facts, without relying on Wikipedia, Google search or any other websearch.
Because some of my audience are going on holiday, and they still want to hear these facts, at least facts as I remember them, I'm going to start posting these here, every day.
Because I read constantly, I have lots of odd bits of information bouncing around and I try to give him these facts, without relying on Wikipedia, Google search or any other websearch.
Because some of my audience are going on holiday, and they still want to hear these facts, at least facts as I remember them, I'm going to start posting these here, every day.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
The sacking of Professor Nutt by Alan Johnson, the British Home Secretary, has to do with the differences between belief and evidence. For some, such as the Home Secretary, belief is more important than evidence. The Home Secretary believes that drugs are the cause many of the problems found in our society, whereas the evidence, gathered by hundreds of scientists over many years of research, shows quite the opposite.
The acceptance of belief over evidence has been occurring for thousands of years. The Catholic Church, persecuted Nicholas Copernicus back in 14th century, because he pointed out that the earth was not the centre of the universe, just as Alan Johnson has persecuted Professor Nutt. The same happened to Galileo in the 15th century, when he found that Jupiter had moons. This condemnation based on belief, is not limited to politicians, the ideas of plate tectonics and warm blooded dinosaurs that later became birds were both condemned by those in power in the scientific community, when they were proposed, because the concepts did not fit in the beliefs of the scientists who controlled research.
What has happened here, is the same that had occurred in the 1800's the poor were considered to be lazy, and laws were passed to force them to work, when in reality, the poor were just that, because of economic factors that they could not control. The poor were punished because those in power believed they were at fault for their own situation. It took others to find the evidence that the poor were poor, because of other factors, and it took many years before those in power were willing to admit that the poor were not lazy.
In this case, the evidence shows that alcohol and tobacco causes more heath problems than cannabis. It has also been shown that smoking cannabis creates only a "relatively small risk" of psychotic illness. Many of the individuals who do smoke cannabis that also have psychotic illnesses have been shown to be better off smoking the drug, than they would be if they hadn't been smoking it. Many doctors feel these individuals have been successfully self medicating themselves.
But this is not what the Health Secretary believes to be true. Therefore, he must punish Professor Nutt, much as the Catholic Church punished those who also found evidence that contradicted their beliefs, and for the same reason.
As long as evidence is not allowed to be given it's proper due, scientists will not be allowed to have opinions.
The acceptance of belief over evidence has been occurring for thousands of years. The Catholic Church, persecuted Nicholas Copernicus back in 14th century, because he pointed out that the earth was not the centre of the universe, just as Alan Johnson has persecuted Professor Nutt. The same happened to Galileo in the 15th century, when he found that Jupiter had moons. This condemnation based on belief, is not limited to politicians, the ideas of plate tectonics and warm blooded dinosaurs that later became birds were both condemned by those in power in the scientific community, when they were proposed, because the concepts did not fit in the beliefs of the scientists who controlled research.
What has happened here, is the same that had occurred in the 1800's the poor were considered to be lazy, and laws were passed to force them to work, when in reality, the poor were just that, because of economic factors that they could not control. The poor were punished because those in power believed they were at fault for their own situation. It took others to find the evidence that the poor were poor, because of other factors, and it took many years before those in power were willing to admit that the poor were not lazy.
In this case, the evidence shows that alcohol and tobacco causes more heath problems than cannabis. It has also been shown that smoking cannabis creates only a "relatively small risk" of psychotic illness. Many of the individuals who do smoke cannabis that also have psychotic illnesses have been shown to be better off smoking the drug, than they would be if they hadn't been smoking it. Many doctors feel these individuals have been successfully self medicating themselves.
But this is not what the Health Secretary believes to be true. Therefore, he must punish Professor Nutt, much as the Catholic Church punished those who also found evidence that contradicted their beliefs, and for the same reason.
As long as evidence is not allowed to be given it's proper due, scientists will not be allowed to have opinions.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Over the past several weeks, I've travelled on various trains and the London Underground (the Tube) to get to work.
I've been impressed with the number of foreign languages I've heard.
When I regularly traveled on the Tube a few years ago, most people spoke English, even if they were speaking with a heavy accent.
Now I hardly ever hear English, even the Underground staff can often be heard speaking to one another in foreign tongues.
I can't help but wonder how many words British English is going to pick up from this influx of visitors, as it has from all the others in the past.
I've been impressed with the number of foreign languages I've heard.
When I regularly traveled on the Tube a few years ago, most people spoke English, even if they were speaking with a heavy accent.
Now I hardly ever hear English, even the Underground staff can often be heard speaking to one another in foreign tongues.
I can't help but wonder how many words British English is going to pick up from this influx of visitors, as it has from all the others in the past.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Many newspapers are reporting that teachers and some scientists are suggesting that creationism should be taught in school science classes, see:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2988753/Creationism-should-be-taught-in-science-lessons-say-teachers.html
I must admit that after careful consideration and thought, I've decided they are all correct, provided... all religious organisations start allowing and paying for the teaching of Science in all it's forms, as part of their Religious services.
Seems fair to me!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2988753/Creationism-should-be-taught-in-science-lessons-say-teachers.html
I must admit that after careful consideration and thought, I've decided they are all correct, provided... all religious organisations start allowing and paying for the teaching of Science in all it's forms, as part of their Religious services.
Seems fair to me!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
I have three emails accounts I use from home. One is targeted for work, one I used socially and the third is the one I use for registering when asked for an email address. The third one gets so much spam, I hardly ever use it except to go on to delete spam.
On my social email address I hardly ever get spam... usually the only spam I get are those who I've decided I don't want to read their emails anymore and I've marked their email addresses as spam.
My work email address until recently I never got spam. But over the last few months, while looking for a new contract, I started to get spam for drugs, rollex watches and sex sites... all items I have never searched for or suggested in any of my work emails that I might want to purchase any of these items.
Those who send these spam, must do so to make money, but it really makes me wonder how they stay in business... Do that many people actually click through and purchase fake rollex watches to pay for someone to go through the trouble? Selling real Rollex watches now, selling one $10,000 watch, would pay for a lot of emails though.
It makes me wonder if someone did a study which showed that for every 10,000 bogus rollex emails sent, it meant that another real Rollex was purchased, and that when more emails get sent, more people decide to purchase the real thing
It would certainly explain the increase in spam in my box.
On my social email address I hardly ever get spam... usually the only spam I get are those who I've decided I don't want to read their emails anymore and I've marked their email addresses as spam.
My work email address until recently I never got spam. But over the last few months, while looking for a new contract, I started to get spam for drugs, rollex watches and sex sites... all items I have never searched for or suggested in any of my work emails that I might want to purchase any of these items.
Those who send these spam, must do so to make money, but it really makes me wonder how they stay in business... Do that many people actually click through and purchase fake rollex watches to pay for someone to go through the trouble? Selling real Rollex watches now, selling one $10,000 watch, would pay for a lot of emails though.
It makes me wonder if someone did a study which showed that for every 10,000 bogus rollex emails sent, it meant that another real Rollex was purchased, and that when more emails get sent, more people decide to purchase the real thing
It would certainly explain the increase in spam in my box.
Friday, August 01, 2008
I get so many thoughts during the day, I have to remember to type them out on here, even if no one else ever reads them, at least I get a release from the thoughts that invade my head.
I read a lot of scientific journals... for my enjoyment I hasten to add, no one says I have to read them, I just enjoy it. And sometimes I put things together on reading them.
Corn Syrup, and more importantly High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is used more and more in our foods and drinks.
Now in a study, that has just been released this week, it seems that animals that have a lot of fructose in their diet, (and no matter what others say, we are animals), are more likely to to become obese and to develop diabetes.
Before anyone says anything, they have also studied humans on diets high in fructose, and found that we humans are more likely to become obese on the diet and perhaps the diabetes is the same.
So why don't they use Corn Syrup for alcohol to run our cars, and leave it out of our foods?
I read a lot of scientific journals... for my enjoyment I hasten to add, no one says I have to read them, I just enjoy it. And sometimes I put things together on reading them.
Corn Syrup, and more importantly High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is used more and more in our foods and drinks.
Now in a study, that has just been released this week, it seems that animals that have a lot of fructose in their diet, (and no matter what others say, we are animals), are more likely to to become obese and to develop diabetes.
Before anyone says anything, they have also studied humans on diets high in fructose, and found that we humans are more likely to become obese on the diet and perhaps the diabetes is the same.
So why don't they use Corn Syrup for alcohol to run our cars, and leave it out of our foods?
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