Science of Handwashing

In 1846, Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis worked in a hospital in Vienna where maternity patients were dying at an alarming rate. He compared the statistics between the hospital and a clinic staffed only by midwives and found the hospital had five times as many deaths in their maternity ward. Using the scientific method, he eliminated variables one at a time and eventually discovered those dying had been treated by student physicians who worked on cadavers during an anatomy class before beginning their rounds in the maternity ward.

Handwashing was an unrecognized hygienic practice at the time and pathogenic bacteria from the cadavers regularly were transmitted to the mothers via the students' hands. In an experiment considered quaint at best by his colleagues, Semmelweis insisted that his students wash their hands before treating the mothers; deaths on the maternity ward fell five-fold.

Unfortunately, Semmelweis’s ideas were not accepted by all of his colleagues. Indeed, many were outraged at the suggestion that they were the cause of their patients’ miserable deaths. Consequently, Semmelweis met with enormous resistance and criticism. It was decades before the medical profession was ready to accept his discovery.

This week, a look at the science of handwashing.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "They say dreams are the windows of the soul – take a peek and you can see the inner workings, the nuts and bolts." - Henry Bromel, Northern Exposure, The Big Kiss, 1991

   Science of Handwashing by fredwine on Scribd

Are You There God? I’d Like to Sue You

We are a litigious society. See below if you doubt that statement.

 

This week, a look at those who have tried to sue God.

 

TTFN, Fred.

 

Quote of the week: "They say that blood is thicker than water. Maybe that's why we battle our own with more energy and gusto than we would ever expend on strangers." - David Assael, Northern Exposure, Family Feud, 1993

Are You There God? I’d Like to Sue You by fredwine on Scribd

The Back of the Napkin

My family ate dinner together at the dining room table every single night growing up, even when my sister and I were in high school. The table was always set before the food was put down, with a folded paper napkin, a fork and a knife. The napkins were paper because, well, that's what we used. In the house, at the patio table during barbeques, at the annual Italian Picnic at Manning Park, napkins were paper. I don't remember the first time I encountered a cloth napkin, but I'm sure I was confused as to why anyone would use that and then throw them away.

Cloth napkins are the norm in our house now, with several different kinds just to mix it up. I still linger in the supermarket and look at the multitude of paper napkins and their various designs, wondering which my mother would pick out to grace her table. While the only constant is in the universe is change, a good paper napkin can take me back 50 or so years, hanging on a cart in a grocery store that no longer exists, watcing her survey the choices and picking the one that was just right.

This week, a look at the origins of the napkin.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "The path to our destination is not always a straight one. We go down the wrong road, we get lost, we turn back. Maybe it doesn't matter which road we embark on. Maybe what matters is that we embark." - Barbara Hall, Northern Exposure, Rosebud, 1993

   The Back of the Napkin by fredwine on Scribd

How Pumpkin Pie Sparked a 19th-Century Culture War

Pumpkin pie is a dessert pie with a spiced, pumpkin-based custard filling. The pumpkin is a symbol of harvest time, and pumpkin pie is often eaten during the fall and early winter. In the United States and Canada, it is featured on Thanksgiving.

This week, a look at pumpkin pie and a 19th century culture war.

TTFN, Fred. 

Quote of the week: "Talking perceptions, people. Do we really see each other for what we really are, or do we just see what we want to see, the image distorted by our own personal lenses? I lost someone today and the funny thing is, I don't even know who she was." - Jeff Melvoin, Northern Exposure, Lovers and Madmen, 1994 

How Pumpkin Pie Sparked a 19th-Century Culture War by fredwine on Scribd

How Books Designed for Soldiers’ Pockets Changed Publishing Forever

Once I learned to read there was no stopping me. I became a compulsive reader, spending my boyhood, adolescence and college years with my nose in hundreds of books.

Paperback books were easy to carry. I learned to read while walking, not wanting to waste the time between the bus and home.

I have since moved to an e-reader, which can leave a mark on my forehead when I fall asleep reading at night, but that's the price of having a library in your hands.

This week, a look at paperback books and hoiw they came to be.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "The idea of an election is much more interesting to me than the election itself...The act of voting is in itself the defining moment." - Jeff Melvoin, Northern Exposure, Democracy in America, 1992

   How Books Designed for Soldiers’ Pockets Changed Publishing Forever by fredwine on Scribd

The Age of the Bed Changed the Way We Sleep

A bed is a piece of furniture which is used as a place to sleep or relax. While that may be a factual definition, it leaves out so much of what truly emcompasses a bed. It is a place of both rest and frenzied activity, of quiet and noise, of playfulness and seriousness. After a long day it is a comfortable respite from the frenzy of life; in the morning it is a launch pad for what lies ahead of us.

This week, a look at how the bed changed the way we sleep.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "In Kyudo philosophy, you don't aim – you become one with the target. Then, in fact, there's nothing to aim at." - Martin Sage and Sybil Adelman, Northern Exposure, The Bumpy Road to Love, 1991

   The Age of the Bed Changed the Way We Sleep by fredwine on Scribd

The Long Linguistic Journey to ‘Dagnabbit’

The Urban Distionary defines "dagnabbit" as an "Oldcootism used during great consternation or surprise. Used by 1890’s prospectors, cantankerous old farmers, and young people playing old people on TV in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s." Hard to argue with that.

This week, a look at how "dagnabbit" may have come to be.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "If you're here for four more years or four more weeks, you're here right now. I think when you're somewhere, you ought to be there. It's not about how long you stay in a place, it's about what you do while you're there, and when you go, is that place any better for your having been there?" - Karen Hall and Jerry Stahl, Northern Exposure, Soapy Sanderson, 1990

   The Long Linguistic Journey to ‘Dagnabbit’ by fredwine on Scribd

Decoding the Design of in-Flight Seat Belts

A car seat belt is designed to arrest as much momentum as possible in the case of a sudden stop (i.e. a front end collision). This is also the purpose served by the airbag. Without a seat belt, your car would stop and you would keep moving forward: into the steering column or through the front windshield. In other words, the car seat belt assumes that if there is a difference between your momentum and the car's momentum, it will be that you are moving forward relative to the car.

An airplane accident is not usually a sudden front end collision. If it happens in the air, such as engine or control surface failure, the airplane's attitude could change drastically and the difference between your momentum and the plane's could be in any direction. The lap belt is designed to keep you in your seat in the event of loss of conventional downward gravitational acceleration and nothing more.

This week, a look at in-flight seat belts.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "I used to think of all the billions of people in the world, and of all those people, how was I going to meet the right ones? The right ones to be my friends, the right one to be my husband. Now I just believe you meet the people you're supposed to meet." - Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, Northern Exposure, The Quest, 1995

   Decoding the Design of in-Flight Seat Belts by fredwine on Scribd

When Women Channeled The Dead To Be Heard

The practice of channeling – a person's body being taken over by a spirit for the purpose of communication – has been around for millennia. There are countless stories of shamen, witch doctors, prophets and others who claim to hear voices or receive some supernatural knowledge from the spirit world. Channelers, also sometimes known as psychic mediums, often use what are called "spirit guides," friendly spirits who give them knowledge and help them on their spiritual journeys.

This week, a look at when women channeled the dead to be heard.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "I used to think of all the billions of people in the world, and of all those people, how was I going to meet the right ones? The right ones to be my friends, the right one to be my husband. Now I just believe you meet the people you're supposed to meet." - Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, Northern Exposure, The Quest, 1995

   When Women Channeled the Dead to Be Heard by fredwine on Scribd

George Washington's Whiskey

As commander in chief during the American Revolution, Washington acknowledged that there should always be “a sufficient quantity of spirits with the army, to furnish moderate supplies to the troops.”

Ever the enterprising businessman, Washington opened an expansive whiskey distillery in 1797 at the urging of his Scottish farm manager James Anderson. It became one of Mount Vernon’s most profitable ventures.

This week, a look at George Washington's Whiskey.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "I guess what I'm trying to say is, I don't think you can measure life in terms of years. I think longevity doesn't necessarily have anything to do with happiness. I mean happiness comes from facing challenges and going out on a limb and taking risks. If you're not willing to take a risk for something you really care about, you might as well be dead." - Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, Northern Exposure, Northern Lights, 1993

   George Washington's Whiskey by fredwine on Scribd

ATM

An automated teller machine (ATM) is an electronic telecommunications device that enables customers of financial institutions to perform financial transactions, such as cash withdrawals, deposits, transfer funds, or obtaining account information, at any time and without the need for direct interaction with bank staff.

ATMs are known by a variety of names, including automatic teller machine in the United States (ATM, American, British, Australian, Malaysian, South African, Singaporean, Indian, Maldivian, Hiberno, Philippines and Sri Lankan English), often redundantly ATM machine, automated banking machine (ABM, Canadian English). In British English, the terms cash point, cash machine, minibank (the official name of the Yorkshire bank ATM's) and "hole in the wall" are most widely used.

This week, a look at the ATM.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "A person has three choices in life. You can swim against the tide and get exhausted, or you can tread water and let the tide sweep you away, or you can swim with the tide, and let it take you where it wants you to go." - Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, Northern Exposure, Northern Lights, 1993

   ATM by fredwine on Scribd

Traditional Balsamic Vinegar

Traditional balsamic vinegar is produced from the juice of just-harvested white grapes (typically, Trebbiano grapes) boiled down to approximately 30% of the original volume to create a concentrate or must, which is then fermented with a slow aging process which concentrates the flavors.

The flavor intensifies over the years, with the vinegar being stored in wooden casks, becoming sweet, viscous and very concentrated. During this period, a portion evaporates: it is said that this is the "angels' share", a term also used in the production of bourbon whiskey, scotch whisky, wine, and other alcoholic beverages.

This week, a look at Traditional Balsamic Vinegar.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "I can't criticize what I don't understand. If you want to call this art, you've got the benefit of all my doubts." - Charles Rosin, Northern Exposure, Aurora Borealis, 1990

   Traditional Balsamic Vinegar by fredwine on Scribd

Post It Notes

There was always a note pad next to the phone in my parent's house. On it were telephone numbers, scribbled drawings and important bits of information. Same with the phone at my desk when I went to work. Somewhere along the line, the note pad was replaced by the now ubiquitous yellow post-it. I think my desk was less cluttered with a single note pad versus a dozen or so post-its that move about in importance.

This week, a look at Post-It notes.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Einstein said God doesn't play dice with the universe, but I don't know – maybe not as a whole, but I think he gets a pretty big kick out of messing in peoples' back yards." - Dennis Koenig and Jordan Budde, Northern Exposure, Roots, 1991

   Post It Notes by fredwine on Scribd

How America Fell in Love With Vodka

Alcoholic spirits are put through a distillation process that involves the spirit being distilled from fermented grains, fruits, or vegtables. Sometimes alcohol spirits are malted, distilled, aged or distilled, filtered and aged. Aging is not done everytime on every alcoholic spirit.

I prefer my alcohol brown, as opposed to clear. American whiskey, brandy and rum fall into my preferred category, while vodka, gin and ouzo would not. Of course, if you'e buying I may not be that picky.

This week, a look at how America fell in love with vodka.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "As a scientist, I am not sure anymore that life can be reduced to a class struggle, to dialectical materialism, or any set of formulas. Life is spontaneous and it is unpredictable, it is magical. I think that we have struggled so hard with the tangible that we have forgotten the intangible." - Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, Northern Exposure, Zarya, 1994

   How America Fell in Love With Vodka by fredwine on Scribd

 

What is an Artificial Ingredient, Anyway?

The term "artificial" refers to something produced to imitate nature. The term "artificial food" also creates images of edible food made from substances that do not occur naturally. No wholly artificial foods exist in the strict sense, but some foods are called artificial or seem artificial to some people. Viewing a food as artificial is most likely if it contains ingredients, such as colorings or flavorings, that are not inherent in the food. An example is artificial strawberry flavoring created in the laboratory to mimic the natural taste of fresh strawberries.

Foods may also be "artificial" for medical reasons or to suit personal beliefs. For example, artificial milk is created for infants born with a genetic disease called phenylketonuria (PKU). The artificial milk replicates the nutritional content of real milk but lacks a specific amino acid, phenylalanine, not tolerated by an infant with PKU.

This week, a look at artificial ingredients.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "A man should not leave this earth with unfinished business. He should live each day as if it was a pre-flight check. He should ask each morning, am I prepared to lift-off?" - Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, Northern Exposure, All is Vanity, 1991

   What is an Artificial Ingredient, Anyway by fredwine on Scribd

We Definitively Solved the Debate Over Whether You Can Still Eat Cheese With Mold on It

If your relationship with cheese is an intense commitment, you might have a hard time letting go.

You went to your favourite cheesemonger and bought three to five cheeses of various textures and milks, went home and arranged them artfully on your favourite cheeseboard, poured a glass or three of wine while the cheese came to room temperature, and had a little post-work snack. You know, just a regular day.

Then you wrapped up the leftovers, put them in the fridge, bought new cheese the next day, and forgot the old cheese existed until the smell from your cheese drawer is so overpowering that you’re forced to investigate.

And then, a dilemma: do you keep or toss the moldy cheese? You still love it, after all. You never stopped.

This week, a look at chese and mold.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Listen, can you hear it? Spring's sweet cantata. The strains of grass pushing through the snow. The song of buds swelling on the vine. The tender timpani of a baby robin's heart. Spring." - Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, Northern Exposure, Wake Up Call, 1992 

We Definitively Solved the Debate Over Whether You Can Still Eat Cheese With Mold on It by fredwine on Scribd

When the Microwave is Actually Healthier

Almost every American home has a microwave oven. The convenience they offer is undeniable. But despite the widespread use of microwave ovens and their excellent safety record, some people have lingering doubts that cooking food with microwaves somehow makes food less healthy by zapping the nutrients out of food. Does cooking with microwaves do that? Is microwave food healthy?

This week, a look at when using microwave is actually healthier.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "We're not talking about historical accuracy, we're talking about art. I've set in motion a geometric inevitability. If I start chiseling there, chipping here, the whole form is compromised." - David Assael, Northern Exposure, Family Feud, 1993

   When the Microwave is Actually Healthier by fredwine on Scribd

Is Natural Flavor Healthier Than Artificial Flavor?

Natural flavors and artificial flavors are more closely related than we might expect. Regardless of their origins, both are manufactured in a controlled environment by humans. The major difference is that artificial flavors do not come from a natural source such as a plant or animal.

So, which is better, natural flavors or artificial flavors? While both meet the FDA's Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) standards, the smartest move you can make as a consumer is to do your research, then decide if either are right for your dietary preferences or needs. While natural flavors may sound better, remember that neither term reflects a food’s nutritional value.

This week, a look at natural versus artificial flavor from a health perspective.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "George Washington had a vision for this country. Was it three days of uninterrupted shopping?" - Jeff Melvoin, Northern Exposure, Bolt from the Blue, 1994

Is Natural Flavor Healthier Than Artificial Flavor by fredwine on Scribd

What Rum and Cokes Have to Do With War

We've talked about alcohol before. I'll let you search through the history for the exact subjects, but trust me, they are there.

One of early my favorite drinks was Rum and Diet Coke. Who knew its origins stretched back to the Spanish-American War?

This week, a look at what Rum and Cokes have to do with war.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "One of the things that keeps you from dropping them in the nearest volcano is that you had to work too hard to get them. You had to cry, you had to scream, you had to sweat, you had to cuss out health care officials, and when that's all over with, you'll be willing to put up with a lot more from your kids." - Barbara Hall, Northern Exposure, Baby Blues, 1994

What Rum and Cokes Have to Do With War by fredwine on Scribd

This Food Poisoning Expert Revealed the 6 Things He Refuses to Eat

An employee of mine once suggested the department could go out to dinner together for sushi. I replied that I didn't eat sushi. She asked what I didn't like about it and I said I had never tried it. She then said (and I'm paraphrasing here), "Oh, you're afraid of it."

Yes, I readily admit to that. 

I know, I know. The cases of sushi-related illness fall far below the number of people sickened by contaminated produce such jalapeno peppers. Even in those rare cases, the rice in sushi is more often the culprit than the fish. But that doesn't change my mind. 

Bill Marler is the nation's leading foodborne illness attorney, representing victims of the largest foodborne illness outbreaks since 1993. If anyone know what not to eat, it would be Bill.

This week, as look at what Bill Marler won't eat.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "It's no accident that the church and the graveyard stand side by side. The city of the dead sleeps encircled by the city of the living." - Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, Northern Exposure, Lost and Found, 1992

This Food Poisoning Expert Revealed the 6 Things He Refuses to Eat by fredwine on Scribd

The Century-Old Tool Being Used to Battle Flames

The Thomas fire became California’s largest by size since modern recordkeeping began in 1932 with over 281,900 acres burned as of this writing. It sped from the urban edge of Ventura to deep into the Los Padres National Forest. It covered huge distances without stopping, climbing in an out of the Santa Ynez, Topatopa and Sierra Madre ranges at will. On East Camino Cielo, 3,600 feet above Santa Barbara, fire crews shored up lines on the ridge. Below that ridge, mandatory evacuations worked their way into the city limits.

One the tools used by firefighters is the Pulaski, a special hand tool used in wildland firefighting. The tool combines an axe and an adze in one head with a rigid handle and it can be used to both dig soil and chop wood.

This week, a look at the Pulaski, the tool that has fought many fires and saved many homes and lives.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Dreams are postcards from our subconscious, inner self to outer self, right brain trying to cross that moat to the left. Too often they come back unread: 'return to sender, addressee unknown.' That's a shame because it's a whole other world out there – or in here depending on your point of view." - Dennis Koenig and Jordan Budde, Northern Exposure, Roots, 1991

The Century-Old Tool Being Used to Battle Flames by fredwine on Scribd