Tonic water is a liquid that it often used as a mix in for alcoholic drinks, but did you know that it was originally used to prevent malaria? As the European powers colonized South Asia and and Africa, they began encountering new diseases such as malaria that caused much pain and suffering.
One of the solutions to the malaria epidemics was quinine, which was known to help ease the symptoms. However, quinine is extremely bitter and so it was diluted in water to create tonic water. In modern times, tonic water isn’t used as a cure or prevention of malaria, but that is how it began, as a medicine to prevent malaria.
An interesting note: tonic water glows blue under a black light, due to the quinine in it.
Every day we use water from the tap, from our sinks and showers, our hoses and washing machines. What few people know about this water is that it is actually treated with flourosilicic acid. This flouridation of the water is designed to help prevent tooth decay among the general population in a similar manner to the iodizing of salt.
“Some Folks at Google” have created a small website to help people understand what a web browser is and to help them find one that works best for them. The site has a short video plus some tips and tricks and links to 5 major browsers. Check it out: WhatBrowser.org
Household oil fires are notoriously hard to put out, they are pools of fuel that are burning and pouring water on them is not a good idea. Now imagine a pipe from which thousands of gallons of highly flammable oil and gas are shooting out and immediately burning. These fires are typcally so hot that it is impossible to approach them without first cooling the ground around them and working under a continual spray of water. On top of this, every minute that the fire burns means more toxic smoke in the air, more toxic sludge on the ground, and more danger in putting it out. These factors all combine to give those men and women who fight oil well fires the name “HellFighters.”
So how do these HellFighters actually put out burning oil wells? The only way is to starve them of oxygen using methods ranging from blowing them out with concentrated streams of water, to dowsing them with flame retardant chemicals, to the most spectacular of methods, blowing them out with dynamite.
The original method for putting out burning oil wells is blasting them with dynamite. The basic idea behind this technique is simple, detonate an explosive in the heart of the fire and the resultant explosion will remove all the oxygen in the area and thus starve the fire. In practice, it is much harder. First the area must be cooled and all debris removed to prevent re-ignition. Then the firefighters must remove the crust of burned oil that has built up around the wellhead. It may sound easy, but they are working right next to a 3000 degree fire and must continually work behind heat shields and be cooled by streams of sprayed water. Once the area is clear, they have to maneuver highly volatile explosives into the heart of the fire without detonating them prematurely. Then they detonate them and put out the fire. Finished right? Nope, the firefighters then have to go in, remove the old wellhead, replace it with a new one, and then shut off the flow; all this with the oil still raining down on them and threatening a deadly explosion if even the least of sparks is made.
Needless to say, oil well fires are extremely dangerous and difficult to put out.
In November of 1944 as the second world war was nearing its end, a hydrogen balloon floated over the Alaskan coast and dropped a small bomb. It didn’t do any damage whatsoever, but it marked the beginning of an extremely unusual type of attack; Fire Balloons.
The Japanese Fire Balloons were hydrogen filled balloons much like a weather balloon, with various types of explosive payloads. These balloons were launched from Japanese beaches into the gulf stream and floated across the Pacific Ocean into US airspace. Once above US soil, the balloon’s payload was dropped and detonated and shortly after, an explosive charge detonated the hydrogen in the envelope was detonated as well. The balloons also had mechanisms that detected the change in altitude of the balloon and adjusted ballast and hydrogen so as to keep them within the confines of the gulf stream.
Over the course of about six months, more than 9000 of these balloons were launched into the sky and an estimated 1000 actually reached US soil. These balloons were extremely inefficient and caused only a minor amount of damage. In addition, the US press agreed not to release information about the balloons, thus preventing the Japanese from knowing that they had any effectiveness at all.
There is only one recorded incident of a fire balloon actually killing anyone. The balloon had drifted over Oregon and gotten caught in a tree. It was found by a group of people on a church picnic and exploded while they were attempting to pull it from the tree, killing the pastor’s wife and five of the attending children. After the deaths, the media blackout was lifted so as to warn the public about the dangers of these balloons.
Ever wonder how the people who build huge oil tankers and ocean liners get their creations into the water?
They launch them!
There are three different ways to “launch” a ship. The most known one is the stern first launch. In a stern first launch the ship is built on a slipway (a long ramp that leads to the water and some of the way into it). When the hull is completed, the ship is released and slides down the slipway and into the water. Drag chains are used to slow it down and prevent it from moving too far away from the dock. It is then tied up at the dock and the super structure is completed.
Another form of ship launch is the side launch. This is often used in cases where there is not sufficient room for a stern first launch, such as in a river or other narrow body of water. In this case, the ship is built next to the water, facing parallel to the shore. When it is ready to be launched, it slides sideways over the edge of the shore and into the water. This method also helps reduce the stresses in the keel that are caused by a stern first launch.
The final form of ship launch is not actually a real launch. Instead, the ship is built in dry dock and when it is completed, the dry dock is flooded and the ship floated out.
One of the most famous sled dog races is the annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska. It is run every year to commemorate the 1925 “Serum Run” and to celebrate the sport of dog mushing. This nearly 1,200 mile race tests dogs and mushers to the limit as they struggle to cross icy terrain in subzero weather. The Iditarod is one thing that I try to follow every year, but I didn’t know that there are quite a few other races out there. For example, the Yukon Quest race is another annual sled do race and is widely considered to be even tougher and more dangerous than the Iditarod. In addition to these two races, there are numerous other long and short distance events for mushers and sled dogs.
This Saturday the Smithsonian Magazine is sponsoring “Museum Day,” a nationwide event where participating museums offer free admission for one day. There are quite a few participating locations in the Los Angeles Area, including the California Science Museum. Also participating is perhaps my most favorite museum, The California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento. Be sure to check out this event. Fill out the form on the website for your free admission card.
This is a fascinating infographic that I found on DarkRoastedBlend.com It describes the sheer volume of information found on the web: If You Printed the Internet. Needless to say, there are tons of interesting infographics out there that can help you visualize information in a quick and entertaining way.
