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euphorbia's bad side
Registered: Aug 2000
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 stuff (god Im bored)
Blue Tonic Water
Why is tonic water blue?
Although it is hard to notice under ordinary indoor lighting, the tonic water used in mixed drinks is actually blue in color. Unlike the blue color of pure water (see our archives link below) the blue of tonic water is not caused by selective absorption, but is an actual glow.
Tonic water contains quinine, an extract of the bark of the South American chinchona tree. It is the quinine that gives tonic water its bitter taste, and also its blue glow. Quinine is an efficient flourophore, which means that it absorbs one color of light and re-radiates it as a different color.
Quinine's blue glow is less visible under incandescent light because it is triggered by ultraviolet light, which is mostly missing from the light emitted by ordinary bulbs. To see the blue glow, place a glass of tonic water in sunlight or under a "black light."
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Starfish Eyes
From the look of it, you might think that a starfish has no eyes. But in fact, it has an eye on the end of each arm. Most starfish have five arms, so they also have five eyes, but some starfish have as many as twenty arms (or more), and as many eyes.
The very simple eyes of a starfish are unable to form images. Each eye is a tiny spot of red pigment that is sensitive to light. Nerves run from the pigment spots to the starfish's central nerve ring.
The signals from the eyespots affect the animal's behavior, enabling it to avoid light that is too bright and change its light preferences according to the time of day, water chemistry, and other factors. Since a starfish has no brain, it would not be able to make much use of images, even if its eyes were able to form them.
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Woodpecker Brain
Recent research using high-speed films of acorn woodpeckers (Melanerpes formicivorus) shows that their heads can endure up to 1200 gravities of force when the beak hits the wood. Despite this force, their brains do not suffer damage.
The woodpecker's brain is tightly packed into a capsule of dense but spongy bone tissue, which absorbs some of the force of sudden shocks to the outside of the brain case. There is very little fluid surrounding the brain, so it is not free to jerk around. In addition, there are special muscles in the woodpecker's head that contract at just the right moment to absorb still more of the shock. There are also support structures that pass around the back of the skull, starting near the base of the tongue.
The woodpecker's brain is not the only part of the bird's head that must be protected. If it didn't close its eyes just before each peck, they would fly clear out of their sockets.
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Popsicles
Until 1905 the world had no Popsicles. It was in that year that 11-year old Frank Epperson of Oakland, California invented the popular treat by accident.
He had mixed up some powdered soda pop, but he left the cup outside with the stirring stick still in it. That night there was a record frost. When Frank went outside the next morning, there was his cup with the soda pop frozen solid. He grabbed the stick and the frozen pop came out of the cup in one piece. Eighteen years later Epperson started selling "Eppsicles."
The Eppsicle was eventually called the Popsicle, a trademarked name for what is also known as an ice pop. Today they are sold on thin hardwood sticks, and they have evolved into hundreds of varieties including chocolate dipped ice cream pops (Creamsicles), with or without sprinkles.
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03-31-2001 03:12 AM
