The Elements Revealed: An Interactive Periodic Table In the October 2011 issue of Scientific American, we celebrate the International Year of Chemistry. Learn more about its impact on our daily lives in our Special Report. UPDATED: 06/18/2013 In honor of the 2013 Lindau meeting, which focuses on chemistry, we have updated our interactive periodic table with links to Nature Chemistry's In Your Element essay series. Each essay tells the story of a particular element, often describing its discovery, history and eventual uses. Main Sources & More to Explore: The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York. Interactive by Krista Fuentes Davide Castelvecchi Davide Castelvecchi is a freelance science writer based in Rome and a contributing editor for Scientific American magazine.
Human World Human World The women of the Tiwi tribe in the South Pacific are married at birth. When Albert Einstein died, his final words died with him. The nurse at his side didn't understand German. St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was not Irish. The lance ceased to be an official battle weapon in the British Army in 1927. St. Many sailors used to wear gold earrings so that they could afford a proper burial when they died. Some very Orthodox Jew refuse to speak Hebrew, believing it to be a language reserved only for the Prophets. A South African monkey was once awarded a medal and promoted to the rank of corporal during World War I. Born 4 January 1838, General Tom Thumb's growth slowed at the age of 6 months, at 5 years he was signed to the circus by P.T. Because they had no proper rubbish disposal system, the streets of ancient Mesopotamia became literally knee-deep in rubbish. The Toltecs, Seventh-century native Mexicans, went into battle with wooden swords so as not to kill their enemies.
List of emoticons A simple smiley This is a list of notable and commonly used emoticons or textual portrayals of a writer's mood or facial expression in the form of icons. The Western use of emoticons is quite different from Eastern usage, and Internet forums, such as 2channel, typically show expressions in their own ways. In recent times, graphic representations, both static and animated, have taken the place of traditional emoticons in the form of icons. Emoticons can generally be divided into two groups: Western or Horizontal (mainly from America and Europe), and Eastern or Vertical (mainly from east Asia). Western The emoticon in Western style is written most often from left to right as though the head is rotated counter-clockwise 90 degrees. Eastern Eastern emoticons generally are not rotated, and may include non-Latin characters to allow for additional complexity. Unicode characters References
Learn the phonetic alphabet By stretch | Thursday, December 31, 2009 at 3:18 a.m. UTC How often have you been on one end of a telephone conversation that went like this? A: "Okay, give me the MAC address." B: "Zero zero, zero two, six bee--" A: "Six what?" ...and so on. The phonetic alphabet is a mapping of individual letters and numbers to specially chosen words which are unlikely to be mistaken for one another (for instance, none of the words in the phonetic alphabet rhyme). About the Author Jeremy Stretch is a network engineer living in the Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina area. Comments Dedan (guest) December 31, 2009 at 3:28 a.m. I find this usually identifies the person I am talking to as a veteran. ciscomonkeyDecember 31, 2009 at 3:45 a.m. I do this by habit (former military here). haakon (guest) December 31, 2009 at 3:58 a.m. Using the NATO phonetic alphabet saved me so much frustration when doing first level helpdesk. gabrooksDecember 31, 2009 at 3:58 a.m. alvarezpDecember 31, 2009 at 4:07 a.m. I'll bite.
Fallacy List 1. FAULTY CAUSE: (post hoc ergo propter hoc) mistakes correlation or association for causation, by assuming that because one thing follows another it was caused by the other. example: A black cat crossed Babbs' path yesterday and, sure enough, she was involved in an automobile accident later that same afternoon. example: The introduction of sex education courses at the high school level has resulted in increased promiscuity among teens. A recent study revealed that the number of reported cases of STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) was significantly higher for high schools that offered courses in sex education than for high schools that did not. 2. SWEEPING GENERALIZATION: (dicto simpliciter) assumes that what is true of the whole will also be true of the part, or that what is true in most instances will be true in all instances. example: Muffin must be rich or have rich parents, because she belongs to ZXQ, and ZXQ is the richest sorority on campus. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.
List of unusual deaths This is a list of unusual deaths. This list includes unique or extremely rare circumstances of death recorded throughout history, noted as being unusual by multiple sources. Some of the deaths are mythological or are considered to be unsubstantiated by contemporary researchers. Oxford Dictionaries defines the word "unusual" as "not habitually or commonly occurring or done" and "remarkable or interesting because different from or better than others Some other articles also cover deaths that might be considered unusual or ironic, including List of entertainers who died during a performance, List of inventors killed by their own inventions, List of association footballers who died while playing, List of professional cyclists who died during a race and the List of political self-immolations. Antiquity[edit] Middle Ages[edit] Renaissance[edit] 18th century[edit] 19th century[edit] 20th century[edit] 1920s[edit] 1950s[edit] 1960s[edit] 1961: U.S. 1970s[edit] 1980s[edit] 1990s[edit]
Yurt Buildng Here is a free copy of my book Build your own yurt, written in 1995, It has been used by a great many people who have built their own yurts. Our designs have progressed enormously since 1995. For a much more comprehensive guide see The Complete Yurt Handbook or see the rest of our website A complete guide to making a Mongolian Ger by P.R. Third Edition Fully revised and expanded for 1998 Internet Edition Jan 2000 The Yurt The English word Yurt comes from the Russian Yurta describing a circular trellis walled framed tent. The Kirgiz yurt with bent-wood roof poles and crown and a domed overall shape. The two tiered yurt with a pointed roof and two layers of wall section placed one on top of the other. The Mongol or Kalmuk ger with straight roof poles, a heavy timber crown, often supported by two upright poles, and fitted with a wooden door. This proven design is equally well suited to the many uses for moveable dwellings in this country. Figure 1.
Earthbag Construction EarthBag Homes - you're standing on the building materials... earthbag home Long sandbags are filled on-site and arranged in layers or as compressed coils. Stabilizers such as cement, lime, or sodium carbonate may be added to an ideal mix of 70% sand, 30% clay. earthbag home Plastic bags recycled into plastic bags -- if plastic does not break down for a thousand years, this building is sure to last several lifetimes. earthbag construction Foundations differ as per site. earthbag construction The time consuming part, filling the bags. earthbag construction Testing the strength of an arch. earthbag home Project Seres, Guatemala. projectseres.org, flickr.com earthbag home CalEarth -- Emergency Shelter Village, Hesperia, California. earthbag home Cal Earth -- Emergency Shelters. earthbag home CalEarth let the layers show. CalEarth -- this might not be totally earthbag, but like the fish face. earthbag home CalEarth photo by Mike Smith flickr.com CalEarth Vault under construction. Resources:
How to Make Modern Cement Planters Using Packaging | Apartment Therapy Re-Nest Previous image Next image Make this planter! I started making these eco planters for gifts a year ago and haven't stopped. They are simple, stylish and downright lovable. Each pot is unique and has an organic, handmade feel. What You Need IngredientsCement (it's the glue that binds the other ingredients)Vermiculite (you can use sand instead, but the planters become very heavy)Peat moss, pearlite, gravel or rock (add for fun!) Materials and ToolsGlovesApronFood containersPlastic BucketSucculentsShovel3 - 9 x 12 pieces of sheet metal or plexiglass. Instructions The ratio is one to four. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Thanks, Sofie!
Penn Gazette | Essays | Notes from the Undergrad By Andrew Newburg | Yawn. Go ahead: Laugh if you want (though you’ll benefit your brain more if you smile), but in my professional opinion, yawning is one of the best-kept secrets in neuroscience. Even my colleagues who are researching meditation, relaxation, and stress reduction at other universities have overlooked this powerful neural-enhancing tool. However, yawning has been used for many decades in voice therapy as an effective means for reducing performance anxiety and hypertension in the throat. Several recent brain-scan studies have shown that yawning evokes a unique neural activity in the areas of the brain that are directly involved in generating social awareness and creating feelings of empathy. One of those areas is the precuneus, a tiny structure hidden within the folds of the parietal lobe. Why am I so insistent? As a young medical student, I was once “caught” yawning and actually scolded by my professor. My advice is simple.