Mr. Hartan's Science Class
"Knowledge is a reckoning . . . a way to assess your location, your true position, not a strategy for improving your position." -Walter Kirn-Archive for August, 2009
Single Molecule Pictured for First Time
Single Molecule, One Million Times Smaller Than a Grain of Sand, Pictured for First Time.
by Claire Bates (28 August 2009)
It may look like a piece of honeycomb, but this lattice-shaped image is the first ever close-up view of a single molecule.
Scientists from IBM used an atomic force microscope (AFM) to reveal the chemical bonds within a molecule.
‘This is the first time that all the atoms in a molecule have been imaged,’ lead researcher Leo Gross said.
Fast Food Reality
Fast Food Revealed: Real vs. Ads
by Olivia Putnal from WomansDay.com (27 August 2009)
Pizza Hut Tuscani Lasagna (Ad vs. Reality)
You know how fast-food menu items always look amazingly juicy and delicious in advertising and marketing materials? WD was curious to see exactly what these food-styled concoctions actually look like fresh from the fast food, er, kitchen. We hit the city, dealing with long lines and mediocre service to snap some photos of a few franchises’ signature items. See what we found below, as we compare actual results with what the company advertises—the good, the bad and the ugly. READ ON.
Profit Over People
Percentage change since 2002 in average premiums paid to large US health-insurance companies: +87%
Percentage change in the profits of the top ten insurance companies: +428%
Chances that an American bankrupted by medical bills has health insurance: 7 in 10
—Harper’s Index, September 2009
THIS ISN’T REFORM IT’S ROBBERY by Chris Hedges
Rat-Eating Plant Discovered
Rat-Eating Plant Discovered in Philippines:
A Carnivorous pitcher plant that eats rats and insects has been discovered in the Philippines and named after Sir David Attenborough.
17 August 2009 by Chris Irvine
Rat-eating plant: The team of botanists, led by British experts Stewart McPherson and Alastair Robinson, found the plant on Mount Victoria in the Philippines. Photo: STEWART MCPHERSON
Sigg Bottles Contain BPA
Sigg Bottles Made Before August of Last Year (2008) Contain BPA
Click on the above picture for more Information.
Double-Down
Western Civilization: Dabbed in Saturated Fat
by Abby Zimet
KFC Double-Down
Double-Down on this. KFC has come up with a new artery-defying, extra-crispy, gimme-everything-you got marvel of a sandwich featuring bacon, two kinds of cheese, and an elusive “Colonel’s Sauce” all between two fried chicken patties masquerading as whole wheat bread or something else that won’t kill you. Oddly, it doesn’t appear on the website and is apparently being marketed only in Omaha, which KFC evidently doesn’t like, as part of a “Rethink KFC” campaign that’s ostensibly about eating healthy. Possibly hungry Whole Foods boycotters, beware. It beats out all the other Triple Everythings With Cheese and Salt, equalling the sins of three Big Macs put together.
From the Vancouver Sun: “This one menu item can be estimated to supply more than the daily recommended allowance in fat (124%), saturated fat (117%), cholesterol (105%), sodium (125%) and protein (194%), as well as 61% of your daily recommended calorie intake.
The 7 Most Horrifying Parasites on the Planet
Cymothoa exigua
Click on the above picture or HERE to read the rest of the story (Note: Some of the pictures are fairly graphic).
Human Werewolf Syndrome
Hypertrichosis: The ‘Human Werewolf Syndrome’
Hypertrichosis is a [sad] medical condition that causes excessive growth of hair in areas where hair does not normally grow. It may be present over the entire body, or you could have it in only one or more areas. Some individuals will be born with the condition and others will develop it later on in life. Congenital Hypertrichosis is very rare. In fact, it is so rare that there have been only 50 verified cases since the Middle Ages. On 2008, the press interviewed Pruthviraj Patil, an 11-year-old indian boy who’s face and body are covered with hair. He rarely leaves his home village in India because of the cruelty of strangers. Pruthviraj’s family has tried homeopathy, traditional Indian Ayurvedic remedies even laser surgery without success, and he’s now appealing to doctors to help him find a permanent cure since even after laser treatment the hair grows back. (Text courtesy of oddee.com)
