– BEAUTIFUL BODY – They’re the smallest living organism and the building block of the body. Join Tidbits this week as we explore the basic unit of life. • The human body contains over 30 trillion cells – that’s the number 30 followed by 12 zeroes! This number can vary depending on age, gender, body size, and environment. About 200 different types of cell make up this total, including blood cells, skin, nerve, bone, and fat cells. Red blood cells are the most abundant, making up 80% of the total. Each cell contains an astonishing 100 trillion atoms! • The […]
Ear Wax – BEAUTIFUL BODY –
– BEAUTIFUL BODY – by Janet Spencer • The nose is protected by hairs and mucus; the eyes are protected by hairs and tears; but the ear is protected by hairs and wax. • Ear wax is not really wax, though it does have a waxy texture. It’s composed of several things. • First are cast-off cells from the special type of skin that lines the ear canal. Like all skin, it’s constantly renewing itself because even the tiniest break in the skin here will lead to ear infections and ear aches. • The skin in the ear canal […]
The First Waterpark
• Bob Byers and his wife Dolores bought 320 acres of desert land in California’s Mojave Desert in 1953. The land was barely suitable for cattle ranching and alfalfa farming. Bob Byers drew water from the underground aquifer for his cattle and crops. • Byers lost 50 acres of their property when I-15 was completed, connecting Los Angeles to Las Vegas and bringing much traffic. Then, in 1963, cattle prices bottomed out. • Bob Byers created an artificial lake from springs in the area, so his family members could swim. Then he wondered if he could make a little money […]
Great Wall of China
Travel with Tidbits to China this week as we explore the longest man-made structure in the world. • In the Chinese language, the term for the Wall, “Wanli Changcheng,” literally translates “The Long Wall of 10,000 Miles.” • Construction began in 770 B.C. for border defense and continued for hundreds of years, with the last construction taking place in 1878 during the Qing Dynasty. Although more than 20 Chinese dynasties worked on the construction between the 7th century B.C. and the 19th century, the best-known sections were built during the Ming Dynasty, between 1368 and 1644, a […]
TIDBITS® Investigates Creepy Crawlies
by Kathy Wolfe This week, Tidbits offers the facts on some weird and sometimes disturbing creatures that creep and slither. • Tapeworms are nothing to joke about. These horrid little parasites, which can reach lengths of 12 feet, can infiltrate your intestines, and drain the body’s nutrients for years without a person’s knowledge. They typically enter the body through raw or undercooked meat, most commonly beef, pork, and freshwater fish. A tapeworm’s head has suction cups and tiny hooks that attach to the lining of the intestines. While the most common symptoms are diarrhea, nausea, weakness, or a mild stomach […]
Benefits of Exercise – BEAUTIFUL BODY –
– BEAUTIFUL BODY – It’s alarming to learn that roughly 3.2 million people die every year due to physical inactivity. Here are some facts and suggestions to avoid becoming part of that statistic! • Are you a couch potato? Do you have a sedentary lifestyle? If your life includes a lot of sitting and lying down with very little to no exercise, this might describe you. Our lives have become more inactive – long days sitting at a desk at work, sitting in cars, buses, or trains, binge-watching TV, or playing hours of video games. • What’s bound to […]
World’s first central air
• Charles Gilbert Gates had two main claims to fame. First, he was the son of oil tycoon and shipping magnate John Warne Gates; second, he built the world’s first residence that boasted central air conditioning. He died before he ever got to flip the air conditioning “ON.” • To tell the story of Charles Gates and his air-conditioned mansion, let’s start with the source of his money: his father, John Gates. • John Gates started his rise to riches as a salesman for a company that sold newly-invented barbed wire. He thought the cattle ranches of Texas would offer […]
TIDBITS® Installs Air Conditioning
by Janet Spencer As we head into the summer heat, let’s appreciate the comfort of air conditioning! In The Beginning • Willis Carrier was an engineer who worked for a publishing firm in New York City in 1902. In the summer, problems arose because the paper would absorb the humidity in the air and become wrinkled, jamming up the presses when it rolled through. The ink took a long time to dry. Paper had to be rolled through the press several times for full-color images, but the lines wouldn’t match up because the paper was warped. Carrier was tasked with […]
Blonds – BEAUTIFUL BODY –
– BEAUTIFUL BODY – • Blond hair is relatively rare globally, while being extremely common in certain areas. It’s estimated that about 84% of the world’s population has black or dark brown hair. Brunettes come in second with 11%. Only about 3% of the population is blond, and an additional 2% are redheads. • The percentage varies regionally. Black is the most common throughout Africa and Asia. But in the U.S., only 7.5% of the population has black hair. Scotland has the highest percentage of redheads, with 13%. Red hair with blue eyes is the rarest combination of hair and […]
LEGOS
This week, Tidbits stacks up the facts on the favorite creative toy of millions, Lego bricks. • In 1932, Ole Kirk Christiansen was the 41-year-old owner of a woodworking shop in Denmark, a carpenter specializing in furniture making. That year, because his furniture business was in a slump, Christiansen made the decision to expand into the production of wooden toys, including pull-along animals, yo-yos, and trucks. It wasn’t enough to keep him from bankruptcy, but a bail-out loan from his siblings allowed him to keep the company afloat. • Christiansen chose to focus strictly on toys, and in […]