Everything is Interesting
Fake Shemp is the term for someone who appears in a film under heavy make-up, filmed from the back, or perhaps only showing an arm or a foot.
In 1955, Shemp Howard of the ‘Three Stooges’ died suddenly of a heart attack. At the time, the Stooges still had four shorts left to deliver, according to the terms of their annual contract with Columbia Pictures.
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The term ‘crocoduck‘ was originally presented in a 2004 children’s story, ‘Guji Guji.’ The author and illustrator Chih-Yuan Chen produced the bestselling children’s story in 2004 as a modern day twist on The Ugly Duckling story in which a crocodile egg rolls into a duck’s nest and is raised in a brood of ducklings, growing up as a ‘crocoduck’ who thinks he is ‘not a bad crocodile,’ but ‘Of course, I’m not exactly a duck either.’ It was later used by creationists to claim that the absence of any half-crocodile, half-duck creature disproves evolution, an argument that quickly became a popular theme used to ridicule a common misrepresentation of the theory of evolution.
In 2007 creationists Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort participated in a televised debate, parts of which were aired on ABC Nightline, on the existence of God. Comfort says they produced composite pictures of what ‘we imagined would be genuine species-to-species transitional forms. We called one a ‘crocoduck’ and another was called a ‘birddog.’ These pictures were used to show exactly what they thought evolutionists believe, but can’t back up through the fossil record.’ Their composite picture of the imaginary ‘crocoduck’ showed the head of a crocodile on a duck’s body. However, modern species share a common ancestor, but are neither descended from each other nor from some crude composite chimera, and ducks are not descended from crocodiles.
The Voyager Golden Records are phonograph records which were included aboard both Voyager spacecraft, which were launched in 1977. They contain sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth, and are intended for any intelligent extraterrestrial life form, or for future humans, who may find them. As the probes are extremely small compared to the vastness of interstellar space, the probability of a space faring civilization encountering them is very small, especially since the probes will eventually stop emitting any kind of electromagnetic radiation. If they are ever found by an alien species, it will most likely be far in the future as the nearest star on Voyager 1’s trajectory will only be reached in 40,000 years. Voyager 1 passed the orbit of Pluto in 1990, and left the solar system in 2004. In 2009, it was over 16.5 billion km from the Sun and traveling at a speed of 38,000 mph.
As Carl Sagan noted, ‘The spacecraft will be encountered and the record played only if there are advanced space-faring civilizations in interstellar space. But the launching of this ‘bottle’ into the cosmic ‘ocean’ says something very hopeful about life on this planet.’ Thus the record is best seen as a time capsule or a symbolic statement rather than a serious attempt to communicate with extraterrestrial life. The inscription, by President Jimmy Carter, reads: ‘This is a present from a small, distant world, a token of our sounds, our science, our images, our music, our thoughts and our feelings. We are attempting to survive our time so we may live into yours.’
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‘Echoes‘ is a song by Pink Floyd including lengthy instrumental passages, sound effects, and musical improvisation. Written in 1970 by all four members of the group (credited as Roger Waters, Richard Wright, Nick Mason, David Gilmour on the original release), ‘Echoes’ provides the extended finale to Pink Floyd’s album ‘Meddle.’ The track has a running time of 23:31 and takes up the entire second side of the vinyl recording.
The composition uses many progressive and unconventional musical effects. The ping sound heard at the beginning of the song was created as the result of an experiment at the very beginning of the Meddle sessions. It was produced through amplifying a grand piano and sending the signal through a Leslie rotating speaker. At six minutes in, a funk progression in the tonic minor begins. Gilmour used the slide for certain sound effects on the studio recording.
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Menstrual [men-stroo-uhl] synchrony [sing-kruh-nee], also known as the McClintock Effect, or the Wellesley Effect is a phenomenon reported in 1971 wherein the menstrual cycles of women who lived together (such as in homes, prisons, convents, bordellos, dormitories, or barracks) reportedly became synchronized over time. The existence of menstrual synchrony has not been definitively established, and studies investigating it have been controversial.
The phenomenon of menstrual synchrony also addresses the larger question of whether or not humans have and can perceive pheromones, or utilize chemosignaling. Psychologist Martha McClintock was the first scientist to do a study on menstrual synchrony, reporting her findings in ‘Nature’ in 1971.
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Whole body vibration (WBV) therapy was explored by Russian scientist Vladimir Nazarov, who tested vibration on cosmonauts in an effort to decrease the loss of muscle and bone mass in space. As there is minimal gravitational force in space, muscles and bones are not loaded as they normally are on earth. Humans in space lose their muscular strength very quickly, which is why they are not able to easily walk when they come back to earth. The decrease of bone density increases the risk of bone fractures, so it’s not safe to stay in space for extended periods. The aerospace industry in the former Soviet Union worked with vibration training. Before their departure, cosmonauts were subjected to special training sessions so that the density of their bones would increase and their muscular strength would rise.
A particular form of WBV is vibration training, which is becoming increasingly popular. Initially, vibration training was mainly used in the fitness industry, but the use of vibration equipment is expanding quickly. It is now widely used in physical therapy, rehabilitation and professional sports, but it is also increasingly used for beauty and wellness applications.
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A treadmill desk is a work desk built around a treadmill. A person using the treadmill desk walks slowly on the treadmill while continuing to perform office tasks at the desk. There are several types of treadmill desks available on the open market. Some incorporate a traditional treadmill with a desktop built over it, while most are now commercially built for this specific use. The aim of a treadmill desk is to integrate movement and gentle exercise into the working day of an otherwise sedentary office worker. Rather than sitting all day in a chair, a treadmill desk allows desk-based workers to stand and take a slow walk while working.
A treadmill desk is not typically used for a cardio workout, as most users find walking at a speed of 1.0 – 2.0 mph the ideal range. At slower walking speeds, most able-bodied people can undertake desk-based tasks such as typing or talking on the telephone. However, even at these slower speeds, a person may burn 100 – 150 calories per hour, which may result in increased fitness and weight loss. The aim of the treadmill desk is to improve fitness and reduce obesity in office workers. Scientific research has also shown that walking, like other forms of mild exercise, can also improve one’s mental alertness, heighten creativity, fight depression, increase productivity and improve one’s mood.
A standing desk is both an antique desk and a modern desk form conceived for writing and/or reading while standing up or while sitting on a high stool. The term stand-up or stand up desk is also used. During the 18th and 19th centuries, standing desks were popular in the homes and offices of the rich. While most modern desks are 30 inches (76 cm.) high and most antique desks 29 inches high (73.7 cm), there is no such average for standing desks.
Users of a ‘sitting desk’ are fairly immobile so it is relatively easy to adjust the height of a seat to compensate for variations in the individual height of the users. Users of a standing desk move around a bit more, so it is not practical to have them stand on a small pedestal or some other object. Thus, standing desks tend to vary greatly in height.
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The Daily Omnivore 