Wednesday, July 22, 2020

Personal "air conditioners" aren't what they seem

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2horH-IeurA

I had a swamp cooler in my first house in Salt Lake City. It worked very poorly and my house would get unbearably hot, which is why I installed central air. I wouldn't dream of using a swamp cooler in my current home Indiana where the humidity is already at unpleasant levels.

Top 10 Freaking Amazing Explosions - YouTube

This is ten years old and still one of my favorite youtube videos.

https://youtu.be/yRRGaxx8Zf4

Tuesday, July 21, 2020

This Is Why Inbreeding Is So Dangerous

Oddly enough, the presenter ties this into what would happen if the world population mostly got wiped out, or if we tried to colonize another world.

Sunday, July 19, 2020

Marie Curie - Wikipedia

She was interred at the cemetery in Sceaux, alongside her husband Pierre.[49] Sixty years later, in 1995, in honour of their achievements, the remains of both were transferred to the Paris Panthéon. Their remains were sealed in a lead lining because of the radioactivity.[77] She became the first woman to be honoured with interment in the Panthéon on her own merits.[5]

Because of their levels of radioactive contamination, her papers from the 1890s are considered too dangerous to handle.[78] Even her cookbook is highly radioactive.[79] Her papers are kept in lead-lined boxes, and those who wish to consult them must wear protective clothing

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Curie



Best wishes,

John Coffey

Tuesday, July 7, 2020

Scott Adams on Climate Change

Scott Adams, the cartoonist, has some interesting things to say about Climate Change from 21 minutes to 31 minutes in the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac8OOeaIgFo

Monday, July 6, 2020

Toxic methanol that causes blindness found in hand sanitizers, FDA warns | Ars Technica

All nine hand sanitizers are made by Eskbiochem SA de CV in Mexico. The agency said in its advisory that it discovered methanol while testing two of the company's products. One, called Lavar Gel, was 81-percent methanol—and no ethanol, a safe alcohol meant to be used in hand sanitizers. Another, CleanCare No Germ, was 28-percent methanol.

"Methanol is not an acceptable ingredient for hand sanitizers," the FDA wrote. With use of hand sanitizers at a high amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency advised that anyone who has used the methanol-containing products "seek immediate treatment, which is critical for potential reversal of toxic effects of methanol poisoning."



https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/06/toxic-methanol-that-causes-blindness-found-in-hand-sanitizers-fda-warns/

Toxic hand sanitizers have blinded and killed adults and children, FDA warns | Ars Technica

In an updated safety warning, the agency identified five more brands of hand sanitizer that contain methanol, a simple alcohol often linked to incorrectly distilled liquor that is poisonous if ingested, inhaled, or absorbed through the skin.

The newly identified products are in addition to nine methanol-containing sanitizers the FDA identified last month, which are all made by the Mexico-based manufacturer Eskbiochem SA de CV.

Wednesday, July 1, 2020

TIMELAPSE OF THE FUTURE: A Journey to the End of Time (4K) - YouTube

This covers timescales so vast that they might as well be infinite.  Our species will experience almost none of it. Even if we do manage to survive more than a few million years, our very distant descendants will be much different than we are now.

Our understanding of the laws of physics is not complete enough to know for sure what will happen in the very far future. Maybe the universe will collapse and be reborn.

https://youtu.be/uD4izuDMUQA