Wednesday; Curiosities;

Gömböc

The Gömböc is a self-righting object, which means that no matter which way you put it down, it stands itself back up. It's like a Weeble, except it doesn't cheat by having a weight at the bottom, and it's the only shape that can do this.


The existence of a shape with these properties was conjectured in 1995, but it took ten years for someone to figure out how to actually make one that worked. And then everyone was embarrassed when it turned out that turtles had evolved this same basic shape in their shells a long time ago, to make it easier for them to roll themselves back over if they get flipped.

Tuesday; psst..."Toilet talk";

Painting by Jacek Yerka;

Many toilet cleaning products have chlorine, ammonia and hydrochloric acid as ingredients, all of which are highly corrosive and can shorten the lifespan of the valve in the cistern. Additionally, while these agents kill bad bacteria, they also kill helpful bacteria further along the system that can assist in breaking down our waste. Chlorine can react with other organic substances in the environment and generate hazardous compounds such as furans and dioxins.

Another chemical that may be found in toilet cleaning products, used mainly in chemical toilets for camping and RV's, is formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is a carcinogenic also shown to cause mutations in animals.


Some popular toilet products contain damaging ingredients:
Diethylene glycol monobutyl ether - volatile organic compounds harmful to aquatic organisms
Sodium dichloroisocyanurate - very toxic to aquatic organisms - may cause long-term damage in the environment
Chlorinated phenols - respiratory and circulatory toxins
Triclosan - a cumulative toxin, primarily used for anti-bacterial purposes, but can also damage plant, animal and aquatic life.
Many of the descaling ingredients used in toilet cleaners are based on petrochemicals, crude oil. 

The big problem with identifying environmental toxins in your toilet cleaner is in many countries, companies are not required to disclose all of the components. Some products may also be tested on animals while in development.
In addition to all the chemicals, there's the plastics and packaging for these products; particularly the plastic cages used in rim blocks. The cages are used once, then thrown away - multiply that by millions of people who use these products and it becomes quite a substantial amount of non-biodegradable waste.



Greener toilet cleaners
Good hygiene is important, but as with other aspects of modern life; attempting to overdo it and maintain a sterile environment in the average home isn't possible or beneficial for that matter. Regardless of what the marketers might tell you, our attempts at disinfecting the average home are futil and only help to breed stronger bugs while killing beneficial bacteria.
There are many earth friendly products available now based on citric (e.g. orange oil) or acetic acid that act on bacteria within the immediate area, then quickly lose their potency to prevent damage to other organisms not being targeted further down the system. 


Earth friendly toilet cleaning products will be more likely to list their ingredients in order to satisfy eco-savvy customers, so check the label of a "green" cleaning agent you're considering purchasing and do some research of the ingredients on the Internet.


Check it out, there are many earth friendly toilet cleaning  products around.


It will benefit  the planet and everything and everybody living on it.

Sepia Saturday 125; Kitchens; 12. May 2012

I am short of kitchens from my ancestors, but fortunately I have many copper pots, pans  and cake tins which were used  by my great grand mother. They hang  now as ornaments in my kitchen. Unfortunately the pictures  are all in colour, not from the Sepia picture time.

This was my first kitchen in the early 1960is;  early training; he has not improved!

One of my copper cake tins, I have many different patterns and sizes of those.

This was my second kitchen, when we moved into our first own home.  Also in the 1960is.

I still have got the weights, but I think I gave the scales away. My grandchildren loved to play with the weights. 

This is my kitchen now;

Some of my old copper pans and pots;

Copper pans and pots I use. Tagine is  my favourite cooking pot, I use it every day.

I hope you enjoyed old and new!

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SepiaSaturday 125

Thursday...oh no;

Funny but costly;

One of the lovely, brown hens at my daughters place was looking sick, sitting listlessly in a corner, not eating. A beautiful plump hen and a good layer, was looking sad.. My daughter  and I were discussing what we could do.  Talking about this and that we both  thought it was best to bring her to the vet. There is a specialist wild bird vet in the valley, he could check her out.  We packed the hen into a basket and off we went, driving all the way into the valley and up through rainforest where the vet lives. He examined her and then came to the conclusion that he could not save her and the best would be to give her an injection. He asked, if we wanted to take the bird with us or leave it with him and his assistant. We looked at each other, and ML said, we leave her with you there is no point of taking a dead hen home. OK said the vet we will give her a nice, decent funeral. My daughter and I said  at the same time ...wow...! then he gave ML the bill; 40.00$ for the  examination; 30.00 for the injection; and 30.00 for the funeral!  100.00 for a dead chook, when we could have bought a live one for 20.00 $   We did not think that he overcharged but we laughed  about the fallacy of trying to save a hen.

Outside in the car we looked at each other, really we paid 100 $ for a dead hen. At least, hopefully it got a decent funeral, perhaps the vet or his assistant played  the funeral march!  

It is getting better; visiting a friend with a backyard keeping some  fowl and ducks. She said one of the ducks was  looking poorly, not eating, so she thought of bringing it to the the vet to put it to rest.  S. took the duck to the same vet in the valley.

When she picked up her duck, it cost her 800.00 $ ! She said it was quite an experience, she never owned a duck worth 800.00 $. I guess we  came away with one blue eye while poor Miss S. was thoroughly  fleeced.  Her duck died too. 

Sepia Saturday 123; Maypole dance;

Stereograph - Federation Celebrations, Maypole Dancing, Children's Fete at the Exhibition Oval, Carlton Gardens, Melbourne, Victoria, 1901




Summary:
These two identical sepia stereographic views mounted on card, depict Maypole Dances at the Children's Fete on the Exhibition Oval, in front of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York, on 11 May 1901, at 2.30 p.m.


The opening of the Australian Parliament on 9 May 1901 was an occasion for great celebrations in Melbourne. Ten days of festivities (from 6-16 May) were planned to mark the Federation of the new nation and honour the Royal visitors, the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York. The city was transformed with decorations - flags, bunting, colourful lights and festive arches - and a series of public events were held, including a military tattoo and several street parades. Unprecedented numbers of people arrived in Melbourne from the rest of Victoria and throughout Australia to take part in the celebrations. The State School Children's Fete was held as part of these celebrations.
Description:
Two identical sepia stereographs mounted on card, depict Maypole Dances at the Children's Fete on the Exhibition Oval. The girls are wearing white flowing ankle length dresses with white shoes and stockings. They have white crowns on their heads. A large crowd is gathered in the background. The facade of the REB is visible in the background.
Description Of Content:
Maypole Dances at the Children's Fete on the Exhibition Oval, in front of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York, on 11 May 1901, at 2.30 p.m. The girls are wearing white flowing ankle length dresses with white shoes and stockings. They have white crowns on their heads. A large crowd is gathered in the background. The facade of the Exhibition Building is visible in the background. The State School Children's Fete was held as part of the celebrations for the opening of the first Australian Federal Parliament on 9 May 1901 and the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall & York.
Acquisition Information:
Donation from Mrs Jillian Gengoult Smith


Courtesy  Museum Victoria

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Tuesday; Friendship;

My granddaughter made for  me friendship bracelets.

A Friend Like You

There's lots of things 

With which I'm blessed, 

My problems have been few, 

But of all, this one's the best: 

To have a friend like you. 

In times of trouble 

Friends will say, 

"Just ask, I'll help you through it." 

But you don't wait for me to ask, 

You just get up and do it! 

And I can think 

of nothing more 

That I could wisely do, 

Than know a friend, 

And be a friend, 

And have a friend like you. 

by Unknown

Sunday; sleuth;

Aerogel

It is also known as frozen smoke, Aerogel is the world's lowest density solid, at 96% air. It's a gel made from silicon. The liquid has been taken out and replaced with gas. Holding a small piece in your hand, it's nearly impossible to either see or feel it,  if you poke it, it feels like styrofoam.


Aerogel is useful. It supports up to 4,000 times its own weight and could  withstand a direct blast from two pounds of dynamite. It is  the best insulator in existence. It is not used  as insulator in jackets,  because it works so well that people were complaining about overheating on Mt. Everest.