Category: Science

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Is Being Killed by a Guillotine Painless? Learn the History, and Everything We Know About It.

Sure, it seems terrifying – a giant blade dropping toward the back of your exposed neck – but it turns out that the people on revolutionary France were actually being relatively humane (at least when it came to how they executed their many victims).

In the intervening centuries, the U.S. (the only developed nation to still use the death penalty) has tried out all sorts of ways to legally murder its citizens, almost all of which have been found to be, well, bad.

If not excruciating.

So, if quick and painless is what we’re going for when it comes to executions, perhaps the guillotine should make a re-entrance. Find a new day in the sun, as it were.

Death by guillotine (as long as the blade is sharp) would be completely painless – the blade almost immediately severs the nerves from your spinal cord to your brain, paralyzing you and blocking pain receptors from sending signals to your brain.

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Daily #Art – Day 08-03-19 (2019) In the Name of freedom Here's an illustrated tribute to French revolutionary Madame Roland (Mar 17, 1754 – Nov 8, 1793), with a portrait of her before being guillotined by the mob. Her famous last words was: “'O Liberté, que de crimes on commet en ton nom!” “O freedom, what crimes are committed in your name!” I would like to use this art to condemn all violent rioters who use freedom and democracy as a guise to create chaos and destruction. . 每日藝術 – 2019年8月3日 （2019）自由之名 這是一幅向法國大革命時期政治家羅蘭夫人（1754年3月17日－1793年11月8日）致敬的畫, 繪了她在被暴民送上斷頭台前的肖像。 羅蘭夫人臨刑前留下了一句為後人所廣為傳誦的名言： 「自由啊，古今天下多少罪惡，假汝之名以行！」 謹以此畫指責古今中外借自由民主為名來製造混亂和破壞的暴徒。 (#15,678 / #268 / #164) . . . #dailyart #illustration #pendrawing #portraitart #revolutionary #madameroland #roland #freedom #liberté #mob #mobjustice #guillotine #crime #自由 #罪惡 #羅蘭夫人 #反送中 #香港 #hinxlinx #ericlynxlin #elynx #軒 #instaart #artofinstagram

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It would be so fast, in fact, that experts don’t think you would feel the blade at all; your death would be nearly instantaneous.

There might be spasms or jerks that happen – involuntary eye or muscle movements – which are common up to five minutes after death as the brain suffocates from lack of oxygen. But the deceased person is, you know…deceased. So they can’t feel anything at all.

Even studies that acknowledge brain activity can continue after death agree that the subject is really not alive in any practical way, which means they do not have any kind of feelings, including pain.

While the guillotine was much more humane than being shot by a firing squad, hanged, or burned at the stake, the idea of being murdered in much the same way as a chicken was surely something people were trying to avoid by the time it went out of fashion.

Though if I ever found myself on the wrong side of the law (or the mob), this does sound like the best possible way to go.

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Many Parents Have a Favorite Kid – and It’s Often Their Youngest

Your parents may have promised they never played favorites (and you say the same to your kids). But as children grow into adults, I think it’s normal to find that, while you might not have a favorite, some people just get on more easily than others.

That said, there is actually some pretty convincing science behind the idea that parents tend to favor their youngest child more often than their older siblings.

Image Credit: Pixabay

First, let’s go with self confessions from both parents and grandparents. According to The Independent, a Mumsnet survey of both groups did indeed find favoritism among both groups (though with differing preferences).

Of the 1185 parents and 1111 grandparents who responded, 23% of parents and 42% of grandparents admitted to having a favorite. But while 56% of the committed parents said their youngest was their favorite, 40% of grandparents prefer their eldest grandchild.

Half of the survey responders thought having a favorite was “awful” and potentially damaging for the favorite child’s siblings, as well.

Image Credit: Pixabay

In studies that are more scientifically rigorous, similar biases have emerged.

This one revealed that 70% of fathers and 74% of mothers admitted to showing favoritism, but youngest kids don’t always feel the most loved. Another study, done in 2005, found that oldest children tend to feel like they’re the favorite (even if that’s perhaps not true), and that younger children typically feel as if their parents are biased toward their older sibling.

And this 2017 study found that when the younger child feels as if favoritism plays a role in their household, they were much more affected by it than older siblings (whether for better, if they were the favorite, or worse, if they were not), while older children’s relationships with their parents were not affected regardless of who the perceived “favorite” child was in the house.

Image Credit: Pixabay

BYU professor Alex Jensen, though, noted that how you show favoritism plays a role, too.

“When parents are more loving, and they’re more supportive and consistent with all of the kids, the favoritism tends to not matter as much… you need to treat them fairly, but not equally.”

Perhaps the most important outcome is from this 2006 study, which suggests the best thing to do (as a kid) is just to not let it bother you – research suggests you can’t change it no matter what you do, and that mothers, especially, rarely switch up their favorite child over the course of their lives.

So, oldest or youngest or middle child – be yourself, and know that even if they don’t love you the most, your parents still love you a whole lot.

And that should count for something, right?

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10 Facts That Are Good for Quiet Reflection

With this fact set, you’re getting quality and quantity.

Enjoy! And learn!

1. Harmful

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2. Get a load of those names

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3. Are you living it?

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4. Prudish

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5. Thank God!

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6. Dream away

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7. I think I sound like Barry White

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8. That is cool!

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9. Clone wars

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10. Ahhhhh, that’s better

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I can safely say I didn’t know any of those facts. How about you?!?!

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This Non-Profit Recycles the Soap from Hotels You Leave Behind When You Check out

Every time you check out of a hotel, you leave behind a mostly-unused bar of soap. It may even be untouched, if you’re the type of person who has strong soap preferences. So what happens to it?

The answer is pretty disappointing: hotels generally just throw the soap away for sanitary reasons. And all that soap adds up; about one million bars of soap are thrown out every day in the U.S., between travelers and hotels.

One traveler was unhappy to discover this wasteful practice, so he decided to do something about it. Shawn Seipler, a former tech employee who used to travel five months out of the year, thought that he could make better use of all those slivers of soap, so he started Clean The World. The Orlando-based company collects unwanted hotel soap, sanitizes it, melts it down, and redistributes it around the world.

Just last year, Clean The World made over 7 million bars of recycled soap, which were then donated to people in need. Thousands of children die from diseases that are preventable with basic hygiene — or, as Clean The World puts it, “Soap saves lives.” The organization also recycles shampoo, conditioner and body wash for homeless shelters around the world.

Clean The World partners with hotels for the modest price of 50 cents per room per month. There are operating centers in Orlando, Las Vegas, Montreal, India and Hong Kong.

“There’s a whole world of hotels out there we can get to start donating,” Shawn told Thrillist. “Right now we’ve got 20 percent of all hotels in the US. That’s a lot of room to grow, and a lot of soap to make.”

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This Is Why Humidity Make Us Feel Hotter

The actual temperature outside is around 91 degrees as I write this, but the “heat index” is about 106 degrees – but what is it about the extra water in the air that makes it feel (absolutely, one-hundred-percent) unbearable outside?

Well, part of that reason can be explained by our bodies natural cooling system – sweating.

Sweat works to cool us by evaporating from our skin, which wicks away heat in the process, but when the air outside is too moist, the sweat drips of us instead of evaporating.

It leaves you just as smelly, but not nearly as cool.

The National Weather Service has a handy chart to help weather people determine the relative humidity (the amount of water the air can hold, based on temperature) and compute the “heat index,” too.

In 1979, Robert G. Steadman, an academic textile researcher, wrote a paper that laid out the basic factors that affect how hot a person felt under a given set of conditions, and the resulting chart is basically being used to calculate heat index today.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The research relies on the idea of a “typical” person – 5’7, 147 pounds, wearing long pants and a short-sleeved shirt, and walking over 3mph in the shade (enjoying a light breeze), so while it may vary slightly from person to person, probably not enough to make a huge difference on any given day.

The National Weather Service has a four-tiered system to tell people how dire the heat situation is out there, with days with a heat index over 130 classified as “extreme danger,” and “danger” days ranging from 105-130.

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Current perceived temperature: #romansigner #heatindex

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On those days, prolonged exposure to the heat and humidity can cause sunstroke, heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke, so you know. You probably want to stay inside.

I’ll be here on my couch, praying my air conditioner makes it through another six weeks of summer weather.

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Take a Look at Iceland’s First Dead Glacier Captured in Satellite Images

This is scary and sad at the same time.

The Okjökull glacier was dead, declared Oddur Sigurðsson, a geologist in the Icelandic Meteorological Office back in 2014.

By then, the glacier had mostly disappeared.

Fast forward five years and Sigurðsson and other scientists are hiking to the old summit to place a plaque commemorating it upon the volcano it once dominated. It is officially the first glacier lost to climate change.

These dramatic satellite images show the tragic change of the glacier between 1986 and 2019.

 

The Okjökull glacier is only one of Iceland’s receding glaciers, many of which are also changing at dramatic rates. According to Sigurðsson, glacier conditions all around the world are on the decline due to the impending climate crisis.

He has been documenting the vanishing of approximately 56 out of the 300ish smaller glaciers in the northern part of Iceland.

Here is the image of the Okjökull glacier in September, 1986.

Photo Credit: NASA Earth Observatory

Here is the image of the glacier taken August, 2019.

Photo Credit: NASA Earth Observatory

Every continent, except for Australia which does not have glaciers, is experiencing the loss of glaciers, some slow, others much quicker.

Alex Gardner, a NASA glaciologist, told Mashable, “We’re not trying to figure out whether the glaciers will melt in the future. We’re just trying to find out how much and how fast.”

Since 2001, 18 of the 19 warmest years on record have occurred. The warm temperatures have thinned the rivers of ice that create the glaciers.

Photo Credit: Vojife

Sigurðsson calculated that in 1890 the Okjökull glacier occupied 16 square kilometers, or 6 square mile. By 1945, it was dwindling, and it eventually died in 2014. Now, only small amounts of snow and ice exist along the slope.

Assuming warming trends continue along with unchanged rates of carbon emissions – which seems to be our trajectory unless something dramatic happens in the global political landscape – Iceland will see a decline in its glaciers of 40 percent by the end of the century.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, all of Iceland’s ice masses could disappear by 2200, if not sooner.

In the meantime, Sigurðsson is taking on the sad task of tracking all the living glaciers, especially those in retreat.

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Your Yellow Pit Stains Aren’t Sweat — Learn the Science Behind All the Chemical Reactions Happening

White tees are a crucial part of any wardrobe for men and woman — until the inevitable yellow pit stains. The stains can be super annoying to get out, and many people think they’re caused solely by sweat. So, antiperspirant or deodorant should prevent them, right? Wrong.

On the contrary, yellow pit stains are actually caused by antiperspirant.  They develop from a chemical reaction among the proteins in sweat, the cotton in T-shirts, and the aluminum salts in antiperspirant.

Photo Credit: iStock

Aluminum is the key active ingredient in antiperspirant, and it’s what differentiates antiperspirants from plain deodorants. The ingredient has become controversial in recent decades due to a fear that it is linked to breast cancer (though there’s actually not a clear link). Some health advocates also say that it’s just healthier to let yourself sweat.

Well, apparently there is another reason to avoid aluminum — it is the cause of those pesky yellow pit stains. At the very least, adding more antiperspirant is definitely not going to solve the yellow stain problem.

Photo Credit: iStock

But even before aluminum-based antiperspirant, sweat stains came in a wide range of colors depending on what products people used for deodorant. Around the turn of the 20th century, a product called Odorono tended to result in red underarm stains. Clothing artifacts from history show sweat stains that are yellow, orange, red, brown or even green.

Luckily, there are other

to prevent yellow pit stains without switching your deodorant. You can pre-treat your new, unyellowed T-shirts with an enzymatic laundry spray right after you wear them, or add a bit of lemon juice to your load of whites (but only whites!).

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8 Important Things You Might Not Know About the Myers-Briggs Test

Many of us have taken the Myers-Briggs test at some point. Teachers, professors, managers – they all seem to think that the results are interesting not only, but that they might be able to provide insight into their workgroups that will make the days, months, and years easier to navigate.

Is that true?

The psychological community has been quick to point out that the test is only one of many that measures a person’s “type” when it comes to dealing with others, how they view decisions and decision-making, and communication skills…but that hasn’t stopped most people from treating the test a little bit like the Harry Potter sorting hat.

If you’re curious about the test and want to know more, these 8 facts are a good place to start.

8. It’s a popular tool used in the hiring – and firing – of employees.

Officials in the U.S. Army, as well as bigwigs with General Electric, Standard Oil, and Bell Telephone were some of the firs to be convinced that being able to spot the right people for the right jobs could help reduce turnover, but having test results in hand also led to some people being reassigned or even fired, based on their “type.”

7. The test was developed by a mother-daughter team.

Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter, Isabel Briggs Myers, developed the test together.

6. Psychologists refer to the test as a “fortune cookie.”

Though it was long taken as gospel, researchers today argue that the Briggs women misread Carl Jung’s work on types, which led to “an act of irresponsible armchair philosophy and “a Jungian horoscope” that amounts to “little more than an elaborate Chinese fortune cookie.”

The test is still used by a majority of Fortune 100 companies and earns around $20 million a year.

5. Katharine Cook-Briggs was inspired by her future son-in-law (or love for her daughter, depending on how you look at it).

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1F–vShW4d/

When Isabel Briggs returned home from Swarthmore College with her new beau – law student Clarence “Chief” Myers – in tow, Katharine was fasciated by his personality, which was completely unlike everyone else’s in her family.

The desire to understand it – and the man who would eventually propose to her daughter – led to her study of the psychology of personalities.

4. It’s statistically unreliable.

The Myers-Briggs test suffers from low reliability, which means that if you take the test more than twice, there’s a high chance your classification will change – and if you retake the test with more than a 5-week gap between testings, there’s a 50% chance your classification will be different.

Scientifically speaking, that’s not good.

3. The test was inspired by Carl Jung.

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ENFP aka Campaigner Extraverted iNtuitive Feeling Perceiving (rare 7%) ENFPs are both "idea"-people and "people"-people, who see everyone and everything as part of a cosmic whole. They want to both help and to be liked and admired by other people, on both an individual and a humanitarian level. This is rarely a problem for the ENFP, as they are outgoing and warm, and genuinely likepeople. Some ENFPs have a great deal of zany charm, which can ingratiate them to more stodgy types in spite of their unconventionality. ENFPs often have strong, if sometimes surprising, values and viewpoints. They tend to try to use their social skills and contacts to persuade others gently (though enthusiastically) of the rightness of these views; this sometimes results in the ENFP neglecting their nearest and dearest while caught up their efforts to change the world. ENFPs can be the warmest, kindest, and most sympathetic of mates; affectionate, demonstrative, and spontaneous. Many in relationships with an ENFP literally say, "They light up my life." But there is usually a trade-off: the partner must be willing to deal with the practical and financial aspects of the relationship, and the ENFP must be allowed the freedom to follow their latest path, whatever that entails. For some ENFPs, relationships can be seriously tested by their short attention spans and emotional needs. They are easily intrigued and distracted by new friends and acquaintances, forgetting their older and more familiar emotional ties for long stretches at a time. And the less mature ENFP may need to feel they’re the constant center of attention, to confirm their image of themselves as a wonderful and fascinating person. In the workplace, ENFPs are pleasant and friendly, and interact in a positive and creative manner with both their co-workers and the public. ENFPs are also a major asset in brainstorming sessions; follow-through on projects can be a problem, however. ENFPs do get distracted, especially if another interesting issue comes along. They also tend towards procrastination, and dislike performing small, uninteresting tasks. #myersbriggs #campaigner #enfp

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When Katharine Briggs discovered Jung’s 1921 treatise Psychological Types, her world changed forever. In it, Jung argues that humans have two perceiving “function-types” and two judging “function-types,” both of which are moderated by a person’s introversion or extraversion.

2. It’s not based on any formal psychology.

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For the first time in years, my personality typing has changed. For my time in the military and after, I have always been an ESFJ and am now typed as INFJ-T. This is a significant change and tells me a lot about my growth and change as an individual. The following is a description of INFJ type personalities and I believe suits me to a tee. INFJ: The Advocate personality type is very rare, making up less than one percent of the population, but they nonetheless leave their mark on the world. Advocates have an inborn sense of idealism and morality, but what sets them apart is that they are not idle dreamers. These individuals are capable of taking concrete steps to realize their goals and make a lasting positive impact. People with this personality type tend to see helping others as their purpose in life. Advocates can often be found engaging in rescue efforts and doing charity work. However, their real passion is to get to the heart of the issue so that people need not be rescued at all. Advocates indeed share a unique combination of traits. Though soft-spoken, they have very strong opinions and will fight tirelessly for an idea they believe in. They are decisive and strong-willed, but will rarely use that energy for personal gain. Advocates will act with creativity, imagination, conviction, and sensitivity not to create an advantage, but to create balance. Egalitarianism and karma are very attractive ideas to Advocate personalities. Advocates find it easy to make connections with others. They have a talent for warm, sensitive language, speaking in human terms, rather than with pure logic and fact. #myersbriggs #personality #personalitytypes #infj #infjpersonality #advocate #passionate #justice #karma #decisive #helpingothers #change #changeisgood #growth #understanding

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Neither Katharine Briggs nor Isabel Myers had any formal education in psychology or psychometrics, or any real professional training at all. Though Katharine would have said “one need not be a psychologist in order to collect and identify types any more than one needs to be a botanist to collect and identify plants,” many disagree.

1. The first test was immersed in the world of the WWII job market.

World War II created a change in the American workforce that’s never been repeated. Women were working, the GI Bill was passed, and many career consultants went into the new era with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator firmly in hand. The idea was that it would help people be matched with the best job for them, but with hindsight, many wonder if that ended up being true.

 

So go ahead and enjoy your results – just know that no one test defines you!

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Drinking Water All Day IS NOT the Best Way to Stay Hydrated — Learn the Best Methods

I’ve heard my fair share of the advice “make sure you drink a lot of water!”

I’m guilty of worrying over whether my nieces and nephews are hydrating well enough, too, especially on these hot summer days. Dehydration causes fatigue, saps endurance, and can interfere with your mood and ability to concentrate.

And while the National Academy of Medicine does recommend adults drink between 91 and 125 fl oz of water every day, guzzling the stuff morning, noon, and night may not be the optimal way to keep hydrated.

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💧 Do you have access to clean drinking water whenever you want? ⠀ ⠀ 📃Last UNICEF report says: 1 in 3 people globally do not have access to safe drinking water: ⠀ 📌 2.2 billion people around the world do not have safely managed drinking water services ⠀ 📌4.2 billion people do not have safely managed sanitation services ⠀ 📌3 billion lack basic handwashing facilities ⠀ 👩🏼‍🏫Next time you think your life sucks remember the above and say thank you for what you have! ⠀ Much love ❤ • • • • • #unicef #un #motivation #appreciate #saythankyou #cleanwater #water #drinkingwater #report #savetheearth #bestlifescenario #travelbloggervibes #africa #children #kids #beirut #baalbek #byblos #lebanon

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Especially, says professor of public health David Nieman, if you’re not drinking it with a meal.

“If you’re drinking water and then, within two hours, your urine output is really high and is clear, that means the water is not staying in well…plain water has a tendency to slip right through the human digestive system when not accompanied by food or nutrients.”

In fact, if you think your clear urine is a sign you’re doing something right, that’s not exactly the case, either, according to the Cleveland Clinic – it’s a sign of “overhydration” in most cases.

A 2015 study found that many kinds of drinks help you rehydrate – some as efficiently as water – and that several different elements come into play when considering how much H2O is absorbed in the process. Their research found that if you ingest water along with animo acids, fats and other minerals, it seems to help the body retain the much needed hydration.

For that reason, orange juice, milk, tea, and sports drinks were all good options when hydration is your goal.

“People who are drinking bottles and bottles of water in between meals and with no food, they’re probably just peeing most of that out,” Neiman confirms.

Also? Drinking too much water can actually be harmful.

“In athletes or people who are exercising for hours, if they’re only drinking water, they can throw out too much sodium in their urine, which leads to an imbalance in the body’s sodium levels,” Nieman adds.

The result can be a potentially deadly condition called “hyponatremia,” and in those cases, sports drinks and other beverages that contain nutrients are a better option.

Even if you’re not an athlete, there are better ways than pounding water all day to keep your body and your brain running at optimal levels. Sipping water prevents an overload in the kidneys and helps your body retain and use the water you’ve drank.

Another good tip is to drink water before, during, and immediately after a meal or snack.

“Drinking water with amino acids or fats or vitamins or minerals helps the body take up more of the water, which is why beverages like milk and fruit juice tend to look pretty good in these hydration studies.”

Some of Neiman’s own research suggests that even eating a banana would be a better way to recover from a workout than drinking a bunch of water.

The long and short seems to be that you can and should keep drinking water, but it’s not a bad idea exercise more discretion in the whens and hows – not so much all at once, and taken with food whenever possible.

“Water is good for you,” Neiman cracks, “but you can drown in it, too.”

Words to live by.

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A Mexican Physicist Solved a 2,000-Year-Old Lens Problem with One Wild Equation

Even Isaac Newton couldn’t crack this case — but Rafael G. González-Acuña did.

A physicist in Mexico just solved a problem that has plagued scientists for over 2,000 years.

For centuries, lenses have faced a problem: the corners and edges are always a little soft and out of focus. It’s called “spherical aberration,” and it’s caused by differences in light refraction across the lens, along with imperfections in its shape and materials.

Photo Credit: iStock

Spherical aberration was presumed to be an unsolvable issue. Lens designers have developed workarounds to counteract and correct the effect, resulting in a uniformly clear image. However, these adaptive techniques can get incredibly pricey — which is part of why high-quality photography gear costs so much money.

Enter Rafael.

Rafael is a doctoral student at Mexico’s Tecnológico de Monterrey. After months of work, he came up with an equation to design a lens that eliminates spherical aberration completely. This equation works for a lens of any size, material or purpose.

This development is not only exciting on a scientific level, but it will also provide practical benefits to many different types of people. Cameras of all kinds, including smartphone cameras, will be easier and cheaper to design. Photographers will no longer have to deal with focus issues with their high-end equipment. Sharper lenses will also be able to be used for other optical devices, like telescopes and microscopes.

All in all, Rafael’s breakthrough is evidence that no problem is too old to solve.

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