Veda #59 : Yaaaawn... 10:49 PM

Day 59
"Why do we yawn, and why other people start yawning if someone is yawning in front of them?"
Okay, like usual. Late night post, i'm yawning so much because it's already late. Most of you probably already knew that if we yawn, it's a sign that our brain is lacking oxygen. So medically, yawning is not a sign of sleepy. But did you know why if we yawn, some other people that sees us will start yawning too? (although it's not whole people, but it's much more likely they'll yawn too)

One is that when we are bored or tired, we just don't breathe as deeply as we usually do. As this theory goes, our bodies take in less oxygen because our breathing has slowed. Therefore, yawning helps us bring more oxygen into the blood and move more carbon dioxide out of the blood.
Yawning, then, would be an involuntary reflex (something we can't really control) to help us control our oxygen and carbon dioxide levels. Sounds good, but other studies have shown that breathing more oxygen does not decrease yawning. Likewise, breathing more carbon dioxide does not increase yawning. Hmmm. Now what?

Another theory is that yawning stretches the lungs and lung tissue. Stretching and yawning may be a way to flex muscles and joints, increase heart rate, and feel more awake.

Other people believe that yawning is a protective reflex to redistribute the oil-like substance called surfactant that helps keep lungs lubricated inside and keeps them from collapsing. So, if we didn't yawn, according to this theory, taking a deep breath would become harder and harder, and that would not be good

But there is one idea about yawning that everyone knows to be true. It seems contagious. If you yawn in room, you'll probably notice a few other people will start yawning, too. Even thinking about yawning can get you yawning. No one knows for sure, but a study published in a recent issue of the journal Cognitive Brain Research theorizes that yawning in response to someone else’s yawn may be an empathetic response, similar to laughter.

How many times have you yawned while reading this article?
Read More

Veda #58 : Red Eye 7:36 PM

Day 58
"Why do we often see "red-eye" on flash photograph?what is red eye?"

We've all see photographs where the people in the picture have bright red eyes. These are photos taken at night with a flash. Where do the red eyes come from?

The red color comes from light that reflects off of the retinas in our eyes. In many animals, including dogs, cats and deer, the retina has a special reflective layer called the tapetum lucidum that acts almost like a mirror at the backs of their eyes. If you shine a flashlight or headlights into their eyes at night, their eyes shine back with bright, white light.
Humans don't have this tapetum lucidum layer in their retinas. If you shine a flashlight in a person's eyes at night, you don't see any sort of reflection. The flash on a camera is bright enough, however, to cause a reflection off of the retina -- what you see is the red color from the blood vessels nourishing the eye.

Now, many cameras have a "red eye reduction" feature. In these feature, the camera's flash goes off twice, once right before the picture is taken, and then again to actually take the picture. The first flash causes people's pupils to contract, reducing "red eye" significantly.

Read More

Veda #57 : Chickenpox VS Cold 12:48 AM

Day 57
"Why did we get chicken pox only once, but we might encounter cold or flu several times?"

Most of you probably had chicken pox when you was a little kid. If now you see any people got chicken pox, you're free from worries of having that disease again, because you know that it won't do you any harm again. why did that happen?it's just not like flu or cod that can strike us all over and over again.

Chickenpox is caused by a virus called varicella zoster. People who get the virus often develop a rash of spots that look like blisters all over their bodies. The blisters are small and sit on an area of red skin that can be anywhere from the size of a pencil eraser to the size of a dime.

When you get sick, your white blood cells fight the harmful germs with special germ killers called antibodies. White cells manufacture antibodies for each particular sickness, so if you have chicken pox, your white blood cells make chicken pox antibodies. After you are recovered, these antibodies stay in your blood and keep killing any chicken pox viruses that get into your body. That is why you can’t get chicken pox twice. You have become immune to it. You've probably heard that chickenpox are itchy. It's true. The illness also may come along with a runny nose and cough. But the good news is that chickenpox is a common illness for kids and most people get better by just resting like you do with a cold or the flu.

It's very rare case, but actually chicken pox will do harm to you twice, if the first one was happened too mild. That's why many eldest group their kids if one of them having a chicken pox, to infect all of them. Because having chicken pox on age 20 and more is considered dangerous and deadly. Most adults who get chickenpox are immunosuppressed meaning that their immune systems aren't functioning properly.

In the same way, when you get a cold from a cold virus, your body makes antibodies to fight that particular cold virus. You can never get a cold from that particular kind of virus again. However, since there are more than 200 different kinds of viruses that can cause colds, a new cold virus can enter your body and you will not have antibodies in your blood to fight it. Then you will get another cold.

Read More

Veda #56 : Chicken Or Egg? 9:02 PM

Day 56
"Which comes first?chicken or egg?"

This is a classic question and the answer could be neither of them comes first.
but let's take a look at this possibilities below. This wasn't purposed to makes you more confused, but just think these reasons as a possible and logical reasons. At least this can help you argue with your friend.

if you answered : The Chicken!

• Using literature, the chicken comes first.
• Using grammar, "the chicken" comes first in the sentence (They come before the words, "the egg.")
• In a dictionary, the word "chicken" comes before "egg."
• The answer is the chicken: God created all the animals and not all the eggs. It's easy because for those that believe in Him God made animals not eggs. The chicken because God wouldn't just put a egg on the earth and even if he did nothing would warm the egg for it to hatch.
• The chicken... it had to be. Creatures in the sea evolved and they didn't evolve into eggs now, did they?
• The chicken. It has to be around to lay the egg.
• In the seven days that God created the earth, it makes no mention of animals' eggs. Thus, the chicken came first.
• I say that the chicken came first because the chicken was made before the egg because God made all the animals first and birds and etc..... so the chicken came first before the egg, the eggs came when a male(rooster) and a female chicken repopulate with each other.
• The chicken came first because, if the chicken didn't come first, there would be no egg or care for it. So, God had to make the chicken first.
• If you are an evolutionist, you probably think that the chicken evolved from a dinosaur or something. But the chicken came first; if you think about it, how was the chicken alive before the egg...

If your answer is : The Egg!

• The answer is the egg! For an animal to change, its genetics would have to change also and this is impossible. Therefore the change would have to take place as an embryo or egg. So the first chicken was most likely spawned in prehistoric times as an embryo/egg. Concluding that the first living organism had to come from the form of an egg or embryo.
• The egg would have come first laid from another animal when it was hatched it was that animal but had to move its habitat so it had to adjust and became the chicken.
• Theoretically, the egg must come first. A chicken is conceived and born in an egg; therefore, without the egg the chicken could not have been either conceived or born, it may be that the egg was the product of two different species accidentally mating to conceive the egg that contained the first, "chicken" as we know it. the egg came first, think about it logically, instead of trying to question it, there is no other logical/practical conclusion.
• The egg came first. Two animals who really liked each other and were not the same breed, mated and the female laid an egg and it came out a chicken. They didn't know what to call it so they just named it chicken. Therefore the chicken is a crossbreed. I don't know what between though.
• The egg came first. Dinosaurs laid eggs for millions of years before chickens were present on Earth.
• The egg came first because other animals came before the chicken that had eggs of some kind. One kind are the fish in the seas; fish lay eggs. Another are snakes; snakes also lay eggs.
• A chicken could not have its genetic material altered during life, so the egg must have evolved and been first.
• If you take into account the doctrine of evolution, the egg's coming first becomes plausible on the cellular level under perfect circumstances (abundant food and resources). There will be an asexual reproduction once the environment becomes unfavorable. The species would then evolve, and a lot of animals have no parental instincts but through evolution some have started to look after their young.
• An asexual reproduction is reproduction in which there is no fusion of male and female sex cells gametes.
• The egg came first because the chicken descended from a dinosaur, and it laid an egg that was changed from Darwin's theory.
• The egg came first because a chicken comes from an egg. At whatever point you decide to call the chicken a true chicken, it must have come from an egg. Because the different species before it must have evolved to make a chicken, the egg came first.

If you prefer peaceful life and answer : Neither!

• Isn't it both? Because the chicken would have to teach the chick how to do stuff and the egg to reproduce the chickens.
• The chickens most recent ancestor laid the egg. Think of it this way: along the slow and steady evolution from single celled organisms to full fledged modern chickens, at some point, if you could observe every animal in that evolutionary line, you would have to say, "well, this one's not a chicken, but the next one is." The line simply must be drawn somewhere. So whatever egg that the first chicken hatched from would have come first!
• There is no final answer but the most reasonable conclusion is that a certain breed of dinosaur laid an egg, then a period of extremely cold weather preserved the egg. Whilst that occurred the egg genetic form was rearranged into a creature similar to the chicken. At first the animal could have been very different from the chicken we know today but over time it changed into the chicken form we are so familiar with today.
• Neither the chicken, nor the egg came first. It was the rooster that came first.
• The egg and the chicken came at the same time. The chicken and the egg are just two different names for the same process or being. It's like water on its way to becoming ice is still water, and vice versa.
• Chicken. Read your Question again you will come to know why.
• Darwin's theory; the chicken egg came from a different species.
• There is no answer. Since the question is a paradox, there is no answer. If the chicken came first, it came from the egg. If the egg came first, then it came from a chicken, and so forth.
• Evolution suggests that both chickens and eggs evolved from creatures and "egg-things" you would not recognize to be part of the lineage. (Similar to how, in the very distant past, some molecule[s] that was [were] not what we would call "life" became "life".) That was the beginning.

Read More

Veda #55 : OK 10:10 PM

Day 55
"What is OK?and why do people understand it as good meaning?"


Most people all over the world, even if they do not understand English, understand and use the American expression “OK.” Nobody knows for sure exactly where or when that expression became part of our language, but there are several possible sources that are accepted.

The earliest claimed usage of okay is a 1790 court record from Sumner County, Tennessee, discovered in 1859 by a Tennessee historian named Albigence Waldo Putnam, in which Andrew Jackson apparently said:
"proved a bill of sale from Hugh McGary to Gasper Mansker, for a Negro man, which was O.K."
However, the record is hand-written rather than printed, and James Parton's 1860 biography of Jackson suggested that it is really a poorly written "O.R.," which was the abbreviation used for "Ordered Recorded".

Some believe that “OK” may have come from the Choctaw Indian word okeh, which means “it is so, and no other way". Others believe that the expression originated with Andrew Jackson, the 7th president of the United States. Jackson was considered one of the least educated of all the American presidents, having left school at the age of 13 to fight in the Revolutionary War. The story goes that Jackson thought “OK” was an abbreviation of “Oll Kurrect,” which was his spelling of “All Correct.”

In the United States and much of Europe a related gesture is made by touching the index finger with the thumb (forming a rough circle) and raising of the remaining fingers (to form a 'K')
Read More

Veda #54 : Million Dollar Book 5:57 PM

Day 54
"What is the most expensive comic book?"

Many people read comic books growing up as kids, but a certain few retain their passion and become meticulous collectors of expensive comic books. Other people think of comic books as juvenile superhero fantasies, but modern comic books, manga and graphic novels are beginning to change this perception. What is the most expensive comic book in the world?

Any serious comic book collector can tell you that the world’s most expensive comic book is DC’s Action Comics #1 (1938). Written by Jerry Siegel and illustrated by Joe Shuster, this book contained our first 12-page glimpse of the iconic superhero– Superman. One may wonder why this comic would outsell, say, the first appearance of Spider-Man, especially considering the recent success of the Spider-Man movie franchise and the box office flop that marked Superman’s return to Hollywood. The answer lies not in the fact that Action Comics #1 contains the first appearance of Superman, but that it contains the first appearance of the superhero.
All of the stereotypical devices of the superhero genre are combined for the first time in this issue; superpowers, secret identities, pseudo-scientific origins and, yes, even tights. Ultimately, it was the same combination that we still see today, to some extent, in the immensely successful Batman, X-Men and Spider-Man franchises.

The price you asked?
first time published on 1938 it's around 10 cents. now? around $350.000, and some rumors said that the current owner just turned down an offer of $1.000.000
so ladies and gentlemen, start to preserve your comic books, maybe in less than 100 years, you'll gonna be a millionaire...haha

Read More

Veda #53 : It's Autumn 10:42 PM

Day 53
"Why do leaves change it's color at autumn season?"

Often we saw at the road, how leaves change it's color from green to brownish, and then it started to fall. It is a sign of cold or winter or rainy season came close. How did the leaves change it's color?

Leaves are actually little “factories” that manufacture food to help the plant grow. In the spring and summer, these system running, taking in carbon dioxide from the air and water from their roots. Then sunlight enters the leaf and sets the system in motion. But a leaf could not begin its manufacturing process without a chemical already present in its cells. That chemical is chlorophyll, which also gives the leaf its green color. There are other colors present, too, in most leaves (red, orange, yellow, purple), but they have been hidden by the green of the chlorophyll.

When the fall comes, bringing cold weather, the veins in the leaf, which once brought water to it, become blocked. This causes the chlorophyll to break down and stop its job of keeping the leaf green. Then the reds, oranges, yellows, and purples appear.
The color that each tree turns in the fall depends on the hidden pigment, or coloring matter, present in the leaf: xanthophyll, for the yellows; carotene, for the oranges; and anthocyanin, for the reds and purples.
Read More

Veda #52 : Nine Lives Cat 11:54 PM

Day 52
"Why did the term "a cat has nine lives" came from?"


Old-saying, often the cat is said to have 9 lives, because it's very hard to die, throw it upside down, and it'll land with its feet. Left it on the street, it'll find it's way back home (or if not, it'll survive, believe me). This "survival" ability makes the cat hard to die. But did it really have 9 lives?

Most cats live for about 14 years, although some have been known to live to the age of 30 and even beyond. The myth that a cat has 9 lives probably came about because of its ability to escape from many dangerous situations without harm. Cats have good memories, keen eyesight, and exceptional senses of smell and hearing. These combine with their swiftness and agility to help them out of danger. So even though a cat may escape with its life many times, it still lives only once, just as any other animal.

Speaking of agility, the cat can run for about 30mph/hours, nearly as fast as standard traffic car's speed.
And if we speak about exceptional senses, did you know that some cats could predict death? as happened in one of the hospital. Oscar, a cat adopted by the staff of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, R.I., has at least 25 successful predictions, in which patients died hours after the cat sat down by their beds. This was caused by people who are dying emit certain chemicals that aren't detectable by other humans but that may pique cat's heightened sense of smell.

Read More

Veda #51 : Magenta 11:05 PM

Day 51
"What is magenta color?and why did it named magenta?"

Colors play a significant role in our life. Every color has an expressive element that reflects our emotional flows, such as passion, celebration, and sorrow. In press industry, we also recognize 4 type of basic colors : Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key (black, because it is the tkey color to create the hue of each color). Tonight we're gonna talk about Magenta, a purplish-pink color. Did you know that the name Magenta was actually came from bloody history?

The Battle of Magenta was fought on June 4, 1859 during the Franco-Piedmontese war against Austria, resulting in a French victory under Louis-Napoleon against the Austrians under General Gyulai . It took place near the town of Magenta in northern Italy on June 4, 1859.

After the battle was over, the plant that provides a dye called fushina, got mixed with the red from the blood. The combination of purple fushina and the dried blood are used by French's chemist to explain the color of the dried blood of the soldiers. To memorize those event, Magenta was used to pronounce the new color.
Read More

Veda #50 : Say Something Sweet To The Left Ear 11:56 PM

Day 50
"Is that true that if we want to say something sweet, we better say it from the left ear?"


We heard so many sounds and noises everyday, not forget to mention people's speaking. Many expression we could hear every time, announcing happy news or bad news, apologizing, proposing someone, break up, and so on. Amazingly, our ears have each unique characteristics for hearing the sounds.

If you want to reveal that you love someone, you should say it to them through their left ear. Someone will be more visible because of emotional words such as “love”, if they heard it through their left ear. It is revealed in a study conducted by psychologists at Sam Houston State University, Texas. This means that if something is better heard through the right ear, they tend to be easier to forget. The researchers say that this study result can be explained by the fact that the left ear is controlled by the right brain, which is responsible for emotional things.

But, if you want to get someone to do something, ask them in their right ear, say scientists. Italian researchers found people were better at processing information when requests were made on that side in three separate tests. They believe this is because the left side of the brain, which is known to be better at processing requests, deals with information from the right ear. This test has been ran to 160 clubbers, the scientist ask them for a cigarrete, and most of the people asked through the right ear, are responded positively by giving a cigarette.

The other side of the brain is more involved in things such as interpreting emotion.
To put it in simple way, if you want to say something sweet and emotional, say it through the left ear, whil if you seek an apologize or trying to persuade someone (apologizing, in example) say it through the right side of the ear.
Read More

Veda #49 : Ambidexterity 8:42 PM

Day 49
"What is Ambidexterity?"


Often we saw people writing or doing something with their left hand primarily. But there were some peoples that could using their both hands to do the different things at the same time. This rare skill is called Ambidexterity. different than left handed person that sometimes could use their right hand, ambidextruous person could use both of their hands to do different things fluently.

Ambidexterity is the state of being equally adept in the use of both right and left appendages (such as the hands). It is one of the most famous varieties of cross-dominance. People that are born ambidextrous are extremely rare. People that are made ambidextrous are called Penwald ambidextrous; they can also stop being both-handed. The word literally means "both right handed"; in other words, you are as good with the left hand as you are with your right hand.

Although not all scientists agree on the answer, many believe that most people’s brains develop more on one side than on the other. And since the left side of your brain controls the muscles on the right side of your body, and the right side of your brain controls the muscles on the left side of your body, this would influence the muscles in your hands as well.

Therefore, if the left side of your brain is more developed, then you are right landed. If the right side of your brain is more developed, then you are left-handed. If, however, your brain is equally developed on both sides, you are ambidextrous, you can use one hand as well as the other.

In a right-handed person, the right hand is usually larger than the left because its muscles have developed more.
Read More

Veda #48 : Bridesgroom And Bridesmaid 9:27 PM

Day 48
"What is bridesgrooms and bridesmaids function?"


At every wedding, we usually see a couple or more peoples dressing looks just like the groom and the bride. Yes, there are called bridegrooms and bridemaids. The couples vary from 2 to 10 persons. What actually their purposes?

This is a little bit superstitious actually.
Old Roman law required ten witnesses at every wedding to make it legal. But because these ancient people were highly superstitious, they believed that evil spirits envied the happiness of the bride and groom. So they had several of these witnesses dress exactly like the bride and groom to confuse the evil spirits and prevent them from discovering which two people were being married and on which two people to cast their evil eyes.

In Victorian wedding photographs, for example, the bride and groom are frequently dressed in the same fashion as other members of the bridal party.
Read More

Veda #47 : It's Getting Higher 10:13 PM

Day 47
"Did you know Mount Everest is getting higher each year?how is that possible?"


Mount Everest, the highest point on earth with height of 8850 metres above sea level. Note that, the latest measurement is 8850m, but let's take a quick look at earlier 1856, the Everest measurement was "only" 8839m. The latest research told that Everest is getting higher with average speed 4mm/years. how did this possible?

Everest, as part of the Himalayan Mountains, they were formed in the last few million years. After the supercontinent of Laurasia broke up millions of years ago, India moved slowly north towards Asia and then crashed into it. The seabed between the two plates (the earth's crust is divided into large areas of land called plates) was crumbled and pushed up on the northern rim of India to form mountains. These two plates of the earth's crust are still moving, so the Himalayas are being pushed up higher, and India is moving northward with it.
Read More

Veda #46 : Bath Time 10:15 PM

Day 46
"How does soap makes our body clean?"

Just for your information, today Banjar is very hot with high humidity. So it mean : hot weather, and the solution is to take more bath. It clean our body and refresh the skin, but how does it makes our body clean?

Water alone may remove some of the dirt from the surface of your skin, soap added to the water does get you cleaner.

If you looked at a cross-section of your skin under a microscope, you would see that it has many hollow areas, or valleys, where particles of grease and dirt can become embedded. Water alone may get under the dirt and push some of it out, but when that water hits grease, it will simply sit on top of it in a bubble or just roll off.

But add soap to that very same water and you have a completely different action. The action of mixing soap into water pumps air into the water and forces it to spread out as it creates bubbles. A bubble is actually a balloon of air with a thin outer covering of soap and water.

While bubbles seem to be very delicate and weak things, they actually work like dozens of strong magnets. Just as magnets pull tacks towards them, soap bubbles-pick up dirt and pull it away from the skin. Then the dirty bubbles are carried away in the rinse water, leaving your skin clean
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone from Sinyal Bagus XL, Nyambung Teruuusss...! Read More

Veda #45 : The Most Expensive Food 9:59 PM

Day 45
"What is the most expensive food in the world?"

If you think caviar is the expensive food,it's true. But if we're gonna talk about the most expensive one, truffle is the winners. Although some truffles are just the size of a pea, while others are as big as an orange, they're very valuable. These black fungi grow in parts of France and Italy. They are used most often in small amounts to give a flavor to certain dishes, especially sauces. It's a good thing that truffles are used in small amounts, because they are the single most expensive food item in the world. Truffles usually cost more than $200 a pound.

Truffles grow underground, and are very hard to find. Farmers use trained pigs to locate truffles. The pigs sniff around until they pick up the scent of a truffle, then begin to dig. The farmer chases the pig away and digs up the truffle for himself. If he's not fast enough, though, the pig will dig up the truffle and eat it. And at $200 a pound, that's an expensive meal for a pig!

Though truffles are the most expensive food in the world, they have no vitamins or other nutritional value!
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone from Sinyal Bagus XL, Nyambung Teruuusss...! Read More

Veda #44 : Mount It From The Left 12:55 AM

Day 44
"Why do if we want to mount the horse, we should do it from the left side?"


The custom of mounting a horse from the left side has really nothing to do with the horse's preference.

The custom probably began hundreds of years ago when men wore long swords on their belts. A man's sword hung down his left leg, making it easier for him to pull it out quickly with his right hand. Because of the sword's position, it was easier for the rider to throw his right leg across the horse's back. That way, the sword wouldn't interfere with the rider's leg as he mounted.

Even though riders today do not wear swords, the custom has lasted through the years, and when horses are trained, they are trained to accept riders mounting from the left. A rider mounting from the right could confuse or startle the animal.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone from Sinyal Bagus XL, Nyambung Teruuusss...! Read More

Veda #43 : Tall And Short 10:10 PM

Day 43
"Why some of humans are short and compact while the others are tall and lean?"

Some of us are short or tall and it all has to do with the genetics of our parents. But apparently, there are new excuses for that matter. There is an effect of climate in which hundreds of generations of their people have spent their lives.

People who have lived in the cold climate of the Arctic need to save every bit of heat their bodies can produce. The more skin they have, the more heat they will lose.
That's why Eskimos are normally short, with short legs and short arms. They have less body surface than most other humans and can stay warmer in their cold climate.

People who live in very hot places must be able to lose body heat, or they would be too warm. That's why most Africans tend to be tall, with long arms and long legs.
This gives them a great deal of body surface through which their extra body heat can escape.

This is based on natural cases, not height that caused by sport and therapies.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone from Sinyal Bagus XL, Nyambung Teruuusss...! Read More

Veda #42 : Life In My Hometown 10:02 PM

Day 42
"How is it like to live in Banjar?"

The electricity ALWAYS went out once every two days,7pm - 12pm. Period.

Additional note : and I can't browse using my blackberry...the signal sucks!
Mati lampu + udara panas + susah konek = darah tinggi
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone from Sinyal Bagus XL, Nyambung Teruuusss...! Read More

Veda #41 : It Was Really A Fairy Tale 11:49 PM

Day 41
"What were cinderella's shoes made from?"

Okay so this is a warning. If you don't believe or don't care too much about the fairy tale,please go on. But if you really love the cinderella fairy tale, I suggest you stop reading,or read at your own risk. Cause tonight we're gonna reveal the truth about cinderella's glass shoes.

Most of you probably knew about cinderella's story. To tell long story short, A poor girl, tortured by her step mother and step sisters, imagining to live in the big castle, met with the mother fairy because of her patience, and so on and so on. Until the time she left one of her glass shoe. And the curious prince search the entire region just to find the owner of the shoe.

Okay, did the glass shoe really made from glass?
Here's the interesting thing. It actually wasn't made of glass according to the original story.
The standard explanation for cinderella's famous footwear is that it is the result of a mistranslation, someone having mistaken pantoufle de vair (fur slipper) for pantoufle de verre (glass slipper) when making an English version of Charles Perrault's Histoires ou contes du temps passé avec des moralités (1697). The title of Perrault's collection in English, Stories or Tales of Olden Times with Morals.
But in some other versions from another country, some said that it was made from silk, gold, and crystal.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone from Sinyal Bagus XL, Nyambung Teruuusss...! Read More

Veda #40 : More Than Words 10:29 PM

Day 40
"Uniqueness in english language"

We've probably knew about interesting facts about english language. Let's take an example with "stewardesses",it's a longest word in english that can be typed with left hand only.
Or "typewriter", the english word that can be typed with only the letters from top row.

Now,with only 26 letters in alphabet, the combination to form words in english can be interesting. Here's some of them you might didn't know :
1. AEGILOPS, is the longest word with letters in alphabetical order. It means goat grass
2. QUEUING, is the word that has the longest run of vowels.
3. SWIMS, is the longest word with 180 degree symmetry.
4. STRESSED and DESSERTS, are the longest words that can be reversed.
5. ESOPHAGOGRAPHERS, is the longest word in which all letters appear twice.
6. STRENGHTS, is the longest word that only has one vowel.
7. DERMATOGLYPHICS, is the longest word without a repeating letter.
8. LACHSTRING, is the word with the longest run of consonants.
9. SCREECHED, is the longest word that could be read and pronounciated with one syllable.
10. HONORIFICABILITUDINITATIBUS, is the longest word that alternate consonants and vowels
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone from Sinyal Bagus XL, Nyambung Teruuusss...! Read More

Veda #39 : TIP 8:28 PM

Day 39
"What is tipping?"

Whenever we eat at the resturant,or after using somebody's service, we usually handed over small amount of money in exchange for the good services we've received. This is called "tipping". Who knows that "tip" actually has its own story?

A tip (also called a gratuity) is a payment made to certain service workers in addition to the price of the transaction. The amount of a tip is typically calculated as a percentage of the transaction value before applicable taxes. Usually given as a token of gratitude for the good services received.

"Tip" (or often called "tips") is often said to be an acronym of:
. To Insure Promptness.
. To Insure Performance.
. To Improve Performance.
. To Insure Prompt Service.
. To Insure Proper Service.

The 1895 New York (NY) Tribune published an etymology of the word "tip" stating that an old time English tavern had box for coins, which was written the words "To Insure Promptness.". The purpose of this coin is a "reward" for the bartender and the waiter/waitress for their good service and friendly responses.

The word "tip" is cited since the 1700s as a form of the word "tip" (meaning "to give" or "to hand" or "pass" or "to let one have").
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone from Sinyal Bagus XL, Nyambung Teruuusss...! Read More

Veda #38 : Feather Is Heavier Than Gold 9:08 PM

Day 38
"If we measure 1 kg of feathers, and 1 kg of gold, which one is heavier?"

Simple and classic question, if we measure the same amounts of feathers and golds, or any other things, which one is heavier?.
Most of you probably answer it with confident that they are same in weight.
Now, think again.

It appears that there were another measuring equation to each items. Take it for example, 1kg of feathers compared with 1kg of solid gold,which one is heavier?
The answer is feathers.how so?
1kg of feathers are measured with "avoirdupois" metrics, where 1kilo of feathers equal with 907gram.
When 1kg of gold always measured with "troy" metrics, where 1kilo of gold is "only" 680 gram.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone from Sinyal Bagus XL, Nyambung Teruuusss...! Read More

Veda #37 : Poisonous Vegetable (?) 9:00 PM

Day 37
"Is it true that if we re-heat spinaches,it'll become poisonous?"

Some of you maybe ever heard a "fact" about spinach, that if spinach-based meal reheated, it'll become poisonous later. Although I've never been heard about death case because spinach poisoning, but did this really true?

Well,to answer this myth, first we need to know basic compositions from spinach. Actually,spinach consist more of fibres,vitamins,and minerals rather than protein,fat,and carb.
Consuming one small bowl of spinaches, could fulfill daily need of vitamin A and about 15% of daily vitamin C needed by your body.
Spinaches also consist of mineral such as kalium to help neutralize acid inside your body and cells.

Now we know that spinach consist more of vitamins and minerals, those that very sensitive to heat. So if we re-heat the spinaches, of course they'll left no vitamins and minerals again.
It's just like eating something that aren't have any good effects on our body.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone from Sinyal Bagus XL, Nyambung Teruuusss...! Read More

Veda #36 : Ugly Handwriting 11:12 PM

Day 36
"Why do most of doctors have a terrible non-human handwriting?"


You probably have ever gone to see a doctor, or at least go to pharmacy to take the medicine that prescribed for you. Take a look, or remember what it's like to see the prescription and the doctor's handwriting. It's so ugly and most of the time, it's not readable. But amazingly, the pharmachists were able to read and gave the right medicine prescribed, complete with the dosages. Why do most of the doctors have a completely unreadable handwriting?

Okay, so before you thought that they've been teached to write badly at medical school, doctors do not have bad handwriting, they just choose to write badly. This is not a conscious decision to confuse people, but an unintentional consequence of viewing other things as more important or urgent in the moment. In this case, the patient's health and other patient's health also, and the much more important is to putting all energy into diagnosis and treatment concerns.

This bad handwriting also has something to do with medical records and doctors not wishing their patients to be able to read the entries in theirs. The other and more interesting aspect is prescriptions and the era prior to the 1960s. Before that time there were both fewer stock prepared drugs and more custom compounded medicines, often using the doctor's favored remedies. The combination of poor handwriting, Latin and abbreviations of Latin kept the patient from knowing what exactly they were taking, and trying to make their own medication (that of course, will caused something unexpected to happen if they read it and interpreted it by themselves).

But a more simple fact that actually could be put into consideration,after all the years of taking notes quickly in medical school, the handwriting got messier and messier. :p
How did the pharmacist able to read this messy handwriting?it's simple, usually at the beginning of the sentences, there were actually 2-3 letters that are correct, the rest usually concluded by the pharmacist through year and years of learning medicine.

Read More

Veda #35 : Fortune Cookies 11:57 PM

Day 35
"How did Fortune Cookies get its name?"

Did you ever heard of fortune cookies?. A traditional chinese's snack made from flour, sugar, vanilla, and oil with a small rolled paper wrapped inside, with some quotes written on them. Although there is still some dispute about it's origin, fortune cookies have become an iconic symbol in American culture, inspiring many products. Anyway, how did the "fortune" could get inside a cookies?

The Origin
There is still some unclear definition about the origin of this cookies whether they were made from Chinese traditions or an American actually made it as snacks. Most people nowadays believe that fortune cookies were created by a Japanese man named Makoto Hagiwara in 1914 in San Francisco. Hagiwara owned what is now called the Golden Gate Park Japanese Tea Garden, where he served tea and fortune cookies. However, many still hold to the popular belief that fortune cookies were invented by a Chinese-American named David Jung, who owned the Hong Kong Noodle Company in Los Angeles. He claimed to have stuffed the cookies with passages from the Bible and handed them out to unemployed men near his bakery in 1918.

But if we track back the inspiration of this cookies, we could go far back in time. Many accounts trace the cookies’ origin back to 13th and 14th century China, which was then occupied by the Mongols. According to legend, secret plans for an uprising were hidden in moon cakes that would ordinarily have contained lotus nut paste, which was unpalatable to the Mongols. The successful uprising, planned with the help of the hidden notes, led to the formation of the Ming Dynasty. This story may be true, and later could become the first inspiration of fortune cookies.

How the Fortune Got Its Name
Actually, this cookies purposes was to encourage peoples. This was called "Fortune", traditionally, the fortunes were Confucian phrases about life. Nowadays, the fortunes inside the cookies contain just about everything from quotes to advice. In order to make this fortune come true, there were many beliefs about this.

Variations on this idea include not eating the cookie if a fortune seems unlucky, or eating the entire cookie as well as the fortune, or the idea that the entire cookie must be eaten before the fortune is read. Conversely, the fortune must be read before any of the cookie is eaten. While some people believe the fortune will not come true if it is read aloud, or read at all, other people follow rules involving how the cookie is selected—including selecting a cookie with closed eyes, passing a cookie to another person at the table, or choosing the cookie that seems to be pointing directly at you.
Read More

Veda #34 : Man Behind The Google Logo 9:19 PM

Day 34
"Who ceated the logo for Google, everyday?"

Have you notice that Google's logo change everyday, based on international or cultural events?. Tell you what, it really change everyday, and for me "the one who most likely to google everything", it's kind of routine. I almost google everything, daily, that's why i notice this change (and somehow, it's very interesting, trying to guess whats the meaning of the logo and what event). Imagine, it's just like a 365 projects, drawing a logo everyday. Now we're gonna meet the man behind this creative creation.

First Google logo, made by Sergey Brin

Google is a most popular search engine on the net. In 1998, when the company was founded, Sergey Brin created a basic logo using open source image editor GIMP. It remained standard logo for a long time. During Burning Man Festival of 1998, Larry Page and Sergey Brin designed the first doodle in order to notify users of their absence. Since then, Dennis Hwang was assigned to create Google logos.

All those beautiful doodles that show up at Google home page on festivals and special occasions are made by Dennis Hwang, a webmaster from Google team. First time, Larry Page and Sergey Brin asked him to come up with the doodle for Bastille Day in 2000. Realizing his talent and considering the fact that Dennis Hwang was graduated from Art major, Page and Brin decided to assigning Hwang as webmaster, since then he is incharge for drawing doodles for festivals, birthdays, Olympics, independence days and national holidays.

Dennis Hwang, man behind the festive logo

After lot of research, brainstorming and search for images on Google, Dennis Hwang sketches the subject in combination with letters of Google. He uses digital tablet and software’s like Painter or Photoshop to transform ideas into art. His favourite characters are O and L which can be manipulated easily. He finds G the most difficult to deal with, and gives little attention to E because of its location.
And now, to search more talent and to introduced Google to children, he made a competition called "Doodle 4 Google", the winner's logo of this competition will displayed on Google homepage one whole day.

Here's some of the Goggle logo that've been made and published :


If you interested to see the logo that've been made up until present day, you can visit Google Logo

Read More

Veda #33 : The Rain's Smell 11:08 PM

Day 33
"Do you know what is the rain's smell?"

A few past months was the beginning of our rainy season, and up until now, maybe it always raining everyday. Lucky for me (and for you) who have a garden or live not in the center of the city (that lacks of soils and trees), you can always smell the rain and the soils. Somehow it's very vibrant and refreshing. But did you know actually what caused this and what its name?

The smell of rain in the dry grounds officially called Petrichor. More specifically, petrichor is the pleasant smell that often accompanies the first rain after a long period of dry weather. It was named by two Australian researchers, who discovered that the smell is an oily essence emitted from rocks or soils. The oil is a complicated mixture of at least fifty different compounds, rather like a perfume. (i wonder if it is gonna be a hot selling item if there are actually a perfume makers who want to make petrichor as their fragrance)

It turned out that the oils are given off by vegetation during dry weather and absorbed to the surface of rocks and soil particles, to be released into the air again by the next rains. There has been some suggestion that the smell may trigger reproductive behaviour in kangaroos and other marsupials. And for most human, they described the smell as pleasant and refreshing, and help to trigger human's memory that connected to creative side. (as for me, it definitely connect to "sleepy" side)

The word comes from Greek petros, a stone, plus ichor, from the Greek word for the fluid that flows like blood in the veins of the gods. So next time you're gonna say "i love the smell of rains", say this instead : "I love the smell of petrichor".
there, you're officially sounds way better, plus 10 for you. :))
Read More

Veda #32 : Double U 11:53 PM

Day 32
"Why we called letter "W" with "double u", when in facts it looks more like "double v" ?"

W

Twenty-third letter of alphabet, W, pronounciated "double u", despite the facts that it looks more like two v's standing together. Okay, in Indonesia we called it "We", but how did this "W" ended up with "double u" ?

The history itself goes all the way back to the 11th century.
After the Norman invasion of Britain, the Anglo-Saxon language was written down using Roman letters.
The Roman alphabet doesn't have a W. It doesn't have a V, either, but what looks like a V is actually their U. In Rome it was often carved as V to avoid the difficult-to-carve rounded bottom.

When the English adopted the 23 letters of the Roman alphabet a long time ago, they decided they needed a new letter to pronounce the W sound, so they made a "double U" with the Roman V, They paired together two U's (at that time, it was like "VV" that makes a W). But, they didn't call it "double U" they called it "wyn" first time, and it looked sort of like a P with a short leg, not like the W we used to know. The usage of this symbol makes it more biased and look similar with alphabet "P" that already formed before.

Then, the French came along and adopted the W again. They weren't content with that, however, and sort of made it into a combination of W and G, which is why we have words like "warranty" and "guaranty" that mean the same thing. At any rate, they re-imported W into the English language in 1066, and the English set it back to the old Roman combination.

Read More