Ever wondered how many hairs you have on your head? According to "The Doctors" on TV, everyone has about 100,000 hair follicles (I'm sure it varies a bit), of which 90% are in use at any given time.
So you have in the vicinity of 90,000 hairs. Quite a lot.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
Fecal Transplants
If someone has persistant diarrhoea that doesn't respond to antibiotics, one solution of last resort is to give them a fecal transplant to replenish good bacteria in their intestine. Yes, that's right, they transfer someone else's poo into them.
Whose? Apparently someone they live with is best because this gives a match for the balance of bacteria creative by diet and environment. So generally a spouse or family member. I guess a flatmate would do. Kinda weird tho.
How? Well they used to do surgery on the colon to insert it, nowadays they find it is much quicker and less invasive to put a tube down your nostril. Yup, they pour poo down your nose. Someone else's poo. As a medical treatment.
We live in interesting times.
Whose? Apparently someone they live with is best because this gives a match for the balance of bacteria creative by diet and environment. So generally a spouse or family member. I guess a flatmate would do. Kinda weird tho.
How? Well they used to do surgery on the colon to insert it, nowadays they find it is much quicker and less invasive to put a tube down your nostril. Yup, they pour poo down your nose. Someone else's poo. As a medical treatment.
We live in interesting times.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Luddite
While editing today I came across the term Luddite and didn't know what it meant, so looked it up on Wikipedia:
The Luddites were a social movement of 19th-century English textile artisans who protested – often by destroying mechanised looms – against the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution, which they felt were leaving them without work and changing their way of life. The movement was named after General Ned Ludd or King Ludd, a mythical figure who, like Robin Hood, was reputed to live in Sherwood Forest.[1]
The article was actually very interesting. In modern terms a Luddite is someone who is against technology; in the manuscript I was editing it was used to describe someone who didn't know how to use a computer for a particular task,
The Luddites were a social movement of 19th-century English textile artisans who protested – often by destroying mechanised looms – against the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution, which they felt were leaving them without work and changing their way of life. The movement was named after General Ned Ludd or King Ludd, a mythical figure who, like Robin Hood, was reputed to live in Sherwood Forest.[1]
The article was actually very interesting. In modern terms a Luddite is someone who is against technology; in the manuscript I was editing it was used to describe someone who didn't know how to use a computer for a particular task,
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Bowers
According to my Macquarie Dictionary, the term bower (from card games like euchre and 500) for the jack is derived from the German Bauer meaning peasant.
And the joker is "often" called the "best bower" -- can't say I've heard that one.
And the joker is "often" called the "best bower" -- can't say I've heard that one.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Mosquitos and what a man is worth
Stephen Fry says that more than half of the people who have ever lived were killed by mosquitos.
And the ones that give you malaria don't hum.
And if we sold all our body parts a person would be worth more than 400,000 pounds -- but if broken down into component chemicals they would only be worth about 10 pounds, 50 pence of which would be from gold.
And the ones that give you malaria don't hum.
And if we sold all our body parts a person would be worth more than 400,000 pounds -- but if broken down into component chemicals they would only be worth about 10 pounds, 50 pence of which would be from gold.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
The Golden Screw
I put this in my 3BT blog as well, I just enjoyed it so much I had to share it.
In The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss, Kvothe tells a story around a campfire. Condensed: A boy is born with a gold screw in his belly button. No one knows what it is for -- not his parents or grandparents or the wise folk of the town or anyone he meets in his travels. Eventually he meets with the most powerful king in the world and asks him about the gold screw in his belly button. The king opens a gold box on a gold platter and behold, there is a gold screwdriver. He takes it out and turns the gold screw in the boy's belly button. Once, twice, three times. And the boy's ass falls off.
In The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss, Kvothe tells a story around a campfire. Condensed: A boy is born with a gold screw in his belly button. No one knows what it is for -- not his parents or grandparents or the wise folk of the town or anyone he meets in his travels. Eventually he meets with the most powerful king in the world and asks him about the gold screw in his belly button. The king opens a gold box on a gold platter and behold, there is a gold screwdriver. He takes it out and turns the gold screw in the boy's belly button. Once, twice, three times. And the boy's ass falls off.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Funny
http://www.bulwer-lytton.com/2011.htm
These are the hilarious results of a competition for the funniest first lines of imaginary novels.
These are the hilarious results of a competition for the funniest first lines of imaginary novels.
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