Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Dunnock

Another blogger (in England) mentioned seeing a dunnock when she was collecting her morning milk from the doorstep. I had no idea what a dunnock was, so I looked it up -- it is a small bird. I don't think we have them in Australia. But there you go.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Cell regeneration

Received wisdom is that every cell in the body is replaced every seven years, but according to COSMOS magazine it varies by body part. 2-3 days for the lining of the small intestine, 7 days for the outer layer of the cornea (and apparently the rest of the eye doesn't regenerate at all), 180-400 days for the liver, 10 years for the brain, 15 years for muscles. The heart only regenerates about 1% of its cells each year in a young adult and less as you age.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Fish faking the big O

Apparently a female trout will act as though releasing eggs into the water (shaking her body vigorously) so that an undesirable male will ejeculate. He rolls over and goes to sleep, figuratively speaking, and she heads off and finds herself a more attractive trout to actually fertilise her eggs.

I suppose everyone wins.

Doesn't matter, had sex.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Misophonia

While I don't think I have better hearing than anyone else (well, maybe a bit, I certainly prefer the TV and music turned down lower than the rest of my family), I do find certain sounds very annoying. Doesn't everyone? Apparently not. My husband can sleep through a dripping tap, no problems, while I lie awake. Sniffing drives me crazy. But the worst is the sound of someone eating. It's ok if I am eating too because then I can only hear myself, which doesn't bother me. But other people! Yuck! The sound of the food smooshing around their mouth makes me feel ill. My husband usually gets home too late to have dinner with me and the kids, and I'm sure he would like me to sit with him to chat while he has his meal; but I just can't.

And there is a name for this ... disorder!

COSMOS magazine says that misophonia has been recognised in the last decade, and describes the inability to tolerate certain patterns of sound. And they quote someone saying: "I can't handle listening to people eat," he says. "It's the chomping and clicking sound - saliva getting sloshed around in there." (p43)

So, there is name for it!