Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Accidental Discoveries

Part of today's lunch table discussion encompassed "accidental discoveries" - we were puzzling about how certain things ever got discovered. Like, for example, maple syrup. Who on earth ever figured out that you could stick a spout into a tree, extract the sap, then boil it till it was this sweet substance that was good to eat? Or who would figure that poppy seeds could be a drug? That sort of thing.

So while waiting for a process to finish running, I took a look online to see what sorts of accidental discoveries there are out there. Found some interesting stuff, of course!

http://listverse.com/miscellaneous/top-10-accidental-discoveries/
Listverse in and of itself is fascinating to those of us who like lists. Of course, the "Top 10" designation is purely subjective.

Toll House cookies were discovered by accident? Really? Now THAT'S the kind of accident I wouldn't mind having.

This list leaves off a couple of really important things, like Silly Putty and Vulcanized rubber. Ice cream cones.

Some of the items weren't so much mistakes as they were simply people using the materials they had on hand to substitute for something else and found that it was simply better in some way. (See the ice cream cones example!)

There are so many examples out there, mostly in the area of science or food. It's amazing!

So, panda news. Looks like Mei Xiang isn't going to have a cub this year. The folks at the National Zoo are speculating that she actually might have lost a fetus in an early stage that was reabsorbed into the uterine lining. I guess it's not uncommon in mammals, but it still makes me sad. :-( Guess Tai Shan is still an only child!

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Waterblogged

Couldn't resist, Matt. You rock at post titles!

So, water. Cool, pure, lovely (that's for Kelli) water. I love it. It's always been my drink of choice - well, except for coffee - even as a kid. (Yes, I drank coffee as a kid. I started drinking it regularly when I was twelve, but that's another whole story.) I've never really been one for flavored waters, especially those that are carbonated. Yeah, I can drink them, and I would prefer to drink that over soda, but give me a plain old glass of spring water any day.

But I generally like to try new things, and I particularly like to peruse the shelves of "Nature's Marketplace" at Wegmans. Recently in my perusals I discovered an herbal water called "Ayala's Herbal Water." Feeling adventurous, I purchased a few bottles (of different flavors) and much to my surprise, I REALLY liked them!

Now, the folks at work find these highly amusing for some reason. However, you lunch table people need to know that there ARE others who like them as well. And I'll also have you know that the woman who developed them is a pediatrician.

So there.

In panda news, they're still watching Mei Xiang (that's her at right) at the National Zoo and hoping that she'll deliver a cub. Ditto Lun Lun at Zoo Atlanta. Ultrasounds on pandas are generally inconclusive, and they experience pseudopregnancies, so until either their urine analyses show that hormone levels have returned to normal or they deliver a cub, we're all in the dark!

Here's a great YouTube video on the birthday celebrations of 3-year-old Su Lin and her 1-year-old sister Zhen Zhen at the San Diego Zoo! There's something highly amusing about a panda cub climbing all over (and falling off of) a cake made of ice, bamboo, and other frozen treats!