Tag Archives: Good Fact

Watermelon Wonder

When you take that fresh watermelon home, don’t put it immediately in the fridge.  Unlike most produce, watermelons do not deteriorate after being harvested.  You can benefit from storing them at room temperature, until an hour or two before serving.tomatoes.jpg

The red color of watermelons comes from lycopene, the valuable antioxidant relative of carotene.  Scientists at the USDA lab in Lane, Oklahoma discovered that watermelons held for two weeks at room temperature continue to produce lycopene and deepen in color, ending up with 10 to 40% more pigment than freshly harvested melons.  On the other hand, watermelons stored in cold temperatures lose lycopene, and develop areas where cells are damaged and leaky.  This may be a result of the fruit’s origins, namely hot and dry regions of Africa, and therefore don’t do well in cold conditions.

Taxes are good for YOU!

A study by the Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives released its report yesterday entitled, the Social Benefits and Economic Costs of Taxation: A Comparison of High- and Low-Tax Countries by Neil Brooks and Thaddeus Hwong. The report studies high-tax Nordic countries and low-tax Anglo-America countries on 50 social and economic measures and finds the high-tax Nordic countries score better in 42 categories. In short, tax cuts are disastrous for the well-being of a nation’s citizen.

The report alleges that Canada’s fairly low tax rate will cause Canada to fall behind a number of OECD nations in a wide range of social and economic areas. Countries like Finland with high tax rates are actually preforming quite well economically, with a steady share of the research and development market. Smart and savy.

What You May Not Know About Snow

snowflakes.jpgTis the time of year where the air gets crispy, your breath becomes visible and the sky begins to blizzard with beautiful snowflakes! When it snows it’s so fun to watch that it can almost make the frigid temperatures seem completely worthwhile!

There are some very interesting facts about snow that I have recently discovered. For example, did you know that snowflakes make an insane amount of noise when they hit water?? This was a shocker to me because after a snowfall everything always seems so quiet. Apparently snowflakes have a very unique sonic signature not unlike that of the wail of an approaching fire engine; it increases and then fades away after it’s passed you.

Some other interesting facts? Snow can act as a thermal insulator conserving the heat of the Earth and protecting crops from sub-freezing weather. It provides a perfect free toy for children, and also looks amazing under a telescope. The highest seasonally cumulative precipitation of snow ever measured was on Mount Baker, Washington in the United States during the 1998-1999 season when it received 1140 in. (29 metres!!!) of snow.

Ever wondered why snow is white? Why snow crystals have 6 arms? How they form into such complicated geometrical shapes??? I sure have, and I have found this info for your perusal! I feel so much more well informed about this whole winter thing now.

Ancient Computer Hacked

A bizarre looking device that was used to chart and predict moon cycles. Researchers had to use the most modern of today’s technology to understand this 2,000 year old device.

“Using 21st-century technology to peer beneath the surface of the encrusted gearwheels, stunned scientists say the so-called Antikythera Mechanism could predict the ballet of the Sun and Moon over decades and calculate a lunar anomaly that would bedevil Isaac Newton himself.

Built in Greece around 150 to 100 BC and possibly linked to the astronomer and mathematician Hipparchos, its complexity was probably unrivalled for at least a thousand years, they say.”

Safer Homes

A house in West Point, PEI, is the first Canadian home built under the “Designed for safer living” program.  This program is a joint collaboration between the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction, the Canadian insurance industry, and home builders.

This slide show details how the house was rebuilt after being badly damaged by fire last spring.  The Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction says it’s unclear how much the improvements added to the cost of the home, because the program is new.

Five more are expected to be built by December 2007, including one in the Prairies that will withstand wildfires, one in Vancouver that will handle earthquakes, and another in Sudbury to deal with wind and storms.