Did You Know…?

I’m guessing that you didn’t know. I found a couple of these articles scary and a couple pretty informative. This deserves to go under the title “Did You Know…”? Anyway, I thought I’d just compile articles into a post. They may have nothing to do with each other, but each one gives some insight.

1) If you’re planning a crime and it involves shooting someone, beware: I know this sounds like something from CSI or some futuristic show, but this is in fact REAL. The head of forensics at the Northamptonshire Police in UK has come up with a new way to fingerprint bullets, with: Electricity. He made a couple of startling discoveries, all of which could help identify a criminal who loaded the gun. Be careful guys. He discovered that the extreme heat that occurs when firing a gun causes salt from a fingerprint to slightly corrode the casing of the bullet. By zapping the casing with electricity, he can detect the prints even years after the shots were fired. It’s hopeful that a whole bunch of cold cases will be re-opened and solved. I guess you should wear glove when you LOAD your magazine too.

On the same line of bullets and guns, let’s see how and iPod can save your life. The iPod below saved a man’s life in Iraq. He was ambushed in the streets of Tikrit and shot in the chest at close range with an AK-47. Thankfully he had an iPod, the 20gb version and it slowed the bullet down enough. Pretty lucky dude. Lesson? Carry a huge iPod in your pocket.

2) Students prefer Gmail and text messaging: It’s just not the same. In Japan, it seems that e-mail is the way to go. That’s what phones are for there. Instead of actually talking on the phone or even text messaging, instead, they e-mail each other. However, here in the US, a survey was done by eROI taken by 283 high school and college students from 20 states to determine which e-mail was the most popular and the preferred methods of communication. The results? Gmail is the preferred e-mail at 32%, followed by Yahoo at 19%. 37% of students prefer text messaging and 26% use e-mail, followed closely by social networks and then instant messaging. Just a look at our habits.

3) Golfers are at risk for hearing loss, do wear earplugs, or be seen with a hearing aid: From BBC, players who are using the new high tech and more modern thin-faced titanium drivers should wear ear protection. Ear specialists suspect that the “sonic boom”, when the club head hits the golf ball damaged the hearing of a 55 year old golfer. The man played with a King Cobra LD titanium club and said that the noise of the club sounded “like a gun going off”. It turns out that since the modern drivers are so thin, it makes a louder sound. For example, the Ping G10 driver clocked in at 130 decibels. That’s pretty loud. The prolonged exposure to this type of sound could cause a lot of damage, so researchers are recommending ear protection. Oh, and just so you get a sense of how loud this stuff is: a rifle gunshot is 140-170 decibels and the threshold of pain is 130 db. With a suppressor, it may be reduced to around 115 db. So if you golf with those high-tech drivers, get some ear protection.

cobra

4) Tetris wipes out bad memories: According to researchers at Oxford University, playing Tetris can help significantly reduce emotional scars. I guess Tetris really is the greatest game ever invented in computing history. Researchers showed subjects graphic images of violence and asked half of the group to play Tetris. Those who played the game reported fewers bad memories than those who didn’t play it. Researchers are trying to apply it to people who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, especially military vets. How in the world does Tetris do it’s thing? According to Dr. Emily Holmes of Oxford’s psychiatric department, Tetris blocks the brain’s ability to store painful memories because it requires intense concentration, competing with your brain’s resources for sensory information. That means that it interferes with the way sensory memories are laid down. Too bad I can’t just play away my bad memories. You have to play the game immediately after your traumatic experience. I guess I just have to live with my bad memories. Boo hoo hoo.

tetris

5) Recycling Bins are more effective when they have holes: I saw this on Treehugger. I try my best to recycle wherever I go. However, there are places where recycling bins are just not available. In that case I keep my recyclables in my pack until I get home. I’m big on this subject. Anyway, according to Sean Duffy, an associate professor of psychology at Rutgers, small holes in bins make people more willing to recycle. It’s believed that people associate holes on the lids of recepticles with recycling. It increases the rate of reycling by 34%. Since recycling bins are starting to spring up in all over public places, it makes sense that they use this research in their design.

recycling holes