The Military Dietis a fad diet popularized on social media that was designed to be a quick weight loss program. It is not associated with the dietary patterns of those who serve in the army. The diet is used to lose a significant amount of weight rapidly– up to 10 pounds (4.5 kg) in one week. This kind of dieting raises concerns about its safety.
The meal plan consists of high-protein meals. It is low in total calories, fat, andcomplex carbohydrates. Losing weight through this method means that the amount you manage to stave off is actually just a loss of water from consuming less salt, sugar, alcohol, processed food, and overall food mass. It’s not a true fat loss diet at all!
On the legendary U.S. Route 66 lies one of the longest operating motels on the road. The Blue Swallow, which was built in 1939, is a small 12-unit, L-shaped property in New Mexico that is on the list of the National Register of Historic Places.
Photographer Rick Sammon captured the location in bright and cool tones, which make the hotel look old and vintage– which it actually is. Sammon used HDR photography to snap the image in a 7-stop exposure sequence to also capture the rising sun. According to the photographer, he wanted the viewer of the photo to see into the building and notice the sun.
In 1928, microbiologist Alexander Fleming noticed that "mold juice" tended to kill off staphylococcal bacteria. That was the discovery of penicillin, but it was only the beginning of the research into it. It took another decade to extract and purify the mold juice, and then tests on mice began, which showed promise in killing bacterial infections. Would it work in humans? Who wanted to the be the first test case?
Albert Alexander of Oxford, England, was suffering from sepsis, a virulent blood infection caused by his infected facial scratches, and was near death when doctors decided there was no hope for recovery with standard treatment. Fletcher knew he would be the perfect candidate for the experimental penicillin serum. Alexander received his first dose of penicillin on Feb. 12, 1941. And over the course of a ten-day treatment, the infection improved! Sadly, there was not enough prepared penicillin to save Alexander's life in the long run. But the treatment was proven to be safe and effective for human use.
However, the story illustrates how awful infections were before the age of antibiotics. It is horrifying to think that a man who had been scratched on his face by the rose bushes in his garden could suffer and die that way. The way Albert Alexander's story is told in microbiology classes is designed to elicit that reaction, but it isn't quite so. Read the real reason behind his painful injury and death at the Conversation. -via Damn Interesting
In a list of the strangest animals on earth, the sarcastic fringehead swims in its own lane. The species is Neoclinus blanchardi, named after Dr. S. B. Blanchard, who collected the first described specimen, but you really want to know how it got its common name. So do I. The "fringehead" most likely came from the fish's enormous and flexible mouth, which it uses in fights. Watch two sarcastic fringeheads do battle in this video. Swallow whatever it is you're drinking first.
They are not really trying to kiss each other to death; it's more of a measuring contest. The fish that has the largest mouth always "wins." If they were talking, we can imagine they would be saying something sarcastic. Still, the name seems like a stretch. If I were coining its common name, I would call it hairtrigger bigmouth. Read more about the sarcastic fringehead and 16 other of the world's most bizarre animals in a list at Science Focus. -via Digg
There's no such thing as a bad hair day when you're this cute! Meet Lockland Samples, a toddler from Roswell, Georgia, who looks like a rock star all day, every day. He's got a rare condition called "Uncombable Hair Syndrome." The condition is so rare that he's one of just about 100 known cases in the world.
Psst, wanna stay at an Airbnb shaped like a Hobbit's house? It's one of the most popular vacation home made by the Queen of Offbeat Airbnbs.
Forget Tinder! Competition for single females in London is fierce so young Jeevan Bhachu knows that the way to meet his future wife is by taking out an ad in the tube station (Oxford Circus? That's high-street shopping district so you know he's aiming high!)
Isn't a meteorite hitting your house basically the universe taking a potshot at you? If so, then Roky the German Shepherd is one lucky dog. A meteorite slammed into his doghouse and punched a 7-inch hole in its roof. Roky survived AND his humans sold the doghouse at auction for $44K! That'll buy a whole lot of dog treats!
The latest in the Scream movie franchise hit the theater a while ago, but if you haven't seen it (or if you have seen it), then check out this scarily honest Honest Trailer for Scream 5. But who answers phone calls anymore these days?
Beth Ann Malow is a Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University, and is the director of the university's sleep research division. She is a proponent of keeping standard time all year long, instead of switching to Daylight Saving Time, as we will do this weekend. It's not so much of a problem in the fall, when we set our clocks back one hour, but setting them ahead in the springtime causes all kinds of problems. While everyone has anecdotal complaints in the spring, Malow has the numbers to back up her opinion. There is evidence that the time shift leads to increased strokes, heart attacks and sleep deprivation.
This effect may be due to the balance between cortisol, a stress hormone, and melatonin, a hormone that promotes drowsiness. It might also have to do with the amount of light and its effect on the amygdala, a part of the brain that processes emotions. Young people are especially affected by the time change, from the onset of puberty through the mid-20s, when the correct amount of sleep is crucial to the body's efficiency. And it makes a difference whether you live on the eastern edge or the western edge of a time zone. Read about the effects of springing forward to Daylight Saving Time at the Conversation. -via Damn Interesting
The postage stamp named "Russian warship, go f**k yourself!" will appear in🇺🇦. The sketch by artist Boris Groh received the most votes and will soon be published by Ukraine's state postal company. 🇺🇦✌️#StandWithUkraine#StopRussianAgressionpic.twitter.com/ByYAzw2tYq
If you haven't heard of the February 24th attack on Snake Island in Ukraine, Wikipedia has a recap. The audio is on YouTube, with NSFW subtitles. We didn't post it here because it was first believed that all the Ukranian military guards were killed, but that doesn't seem to be the case. The operant phrase has become a rallying cry for Ukrainians.
Meanwhile, the business of government goes on in Ukraine, despite the attacks from the Russian military. The Ukraine postal service held a contest for a new postage stamp design, and the above image by artist Boris Groh garnered the most votes from the public. We don't yet know when the stamp will be available for sale. Read more about the project at the Guardian. The article contains NSFW text. -via reddit
Trooper Toni Schuck, a 26-year veteran of the Florida Highway Patrol, was, last Sunuday, providing protection to 7,000 runners participating in the Skyway 10K in New Port Richey, Florida. She heard a radio report that a woman in a BMW blew through barricades blocking off the runners' route. Schuck swung around and moved to intercept the suspected drunk driver.
Fox 13 News reports that Schuck's Chevrolet Tahoe cruiser was the last obstacle between the BMW and the runners. As you can see in the above footage, she took a head-on collision to bring the drunk driver to a complete stop.
This is what her cruiser looked like afterward:
Police arrested the driver, who, at a hospital, tested three times over the legal limit for alcohol. Trooper Schuck was seriously injured and remains on medical leave until she has recovered and can resume her heroic duties.
Theodosia Burr Alston was the daughter of Aaron Burr, Vice-President of the United States and the man who killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel. Theodosia led a tragic life, with the loss of her health due to a complicated childbirth, her father a pariah after that fateful duel, the death of her young son, and a probable case of cancer. Her husband, Joseph Alston, was elected governor of South Carolina in 1812, so he could not accompany her on her annual migration to her father's home in New York. Aaron Burr arranged for her to travel on a boat named the Patriot. The schooner launched from Georgetown in February of 1813, and was never seen again.
There were many theories about what happened to the Patriot, most having to do with pirates. Theodosia was said to have been forced to walk the plank to her death. The Patriot may have been attacked by the British. Or it could have been a storm that sunk the ship. Other tales had the young woman surviving the ship's demise. Some men have even confessed to witnessing the end of the Patriot. And there have been some intriguing clues unearthed over the years. Read about the life and mysterious death of Theodosia Burr Alston at Atlas Obscura.
One of the few things I recall from being in the Girl Scouts in the 1960s was reading about how young children, such as we were, could perform a blood transfusion in case of a nuclear attack or other wartime emergency. It didn't seem all that absurd to me at the time, but it drove home how precarious we thought our lives were. I memorized all the steps and probably earned some kind of badge for it. But Girl Scout badges come and go, and some are better left in the dustbin of history.
Girl Scouting has been around for 110 years as of March 12th, and in that time, there have been badges for grooming, laundry, and invalid cooking (which is preparing food for invalids, not cooking from your bed). There were also badges called Gypsy and "Oil-up," which were both for skills that had nothing to do with the title. Read what these and other erstwhile Girl Scout badges required as accomplishments at Mental Floss.
Thursday, KTLA reporter Gene Kang was on Hoover Street in Los Angeles reporting on a fatal hit-and-run crash that had occurred on February 26. No sooner did he utter the words "It's one of the most dangerous street in all Los Angeles...." when two sedans collided behind him, in full view of the camera. That's not a good time to flee the scene of an accident, but one car did. The TV crew called 911, since it was not an illustration for the story. No one appeared to be injured from this crash, which may be solved fairly soon, since the license plate fell off the car that fled the scene. That and the video evidence mean this hit-and-run driver will not get away with it.
Police are still looking for the perpetrator of the February 26 crash, which killed a 42-year-old pedestrian who pushed his wife and 2-year-old son out of he way. -via Digg
The idea began with Holly Harper. Faced with D.C.’s expensive rent, she roped in her best friend Herrin Hooper to pool money to find a living space for themselves and their kids after divorce. Soon they found a third single mom who agreed to move in.
The three began remodeling their home, each family getting their own separate fully-functioning units. Thanks to this arrangement, they were able to save approximately $30,000. As a bonus, their children get to have live-in bestfriends to spend the days with.
The project sets up a hotline that anyone can call up. Once you’re connected, you get the options to press different numbers in order to hear the message you need most.
“If you are feeling mad, frustrated or nervous, press 1. If you need words of encouragement or life advice, press 2. If you need a pep talk from kindergartners, press 3. If you need to hear kids laughing with delight, press 4. For encouragement in Spanish, press 5,” says the kid at the other end of the line.
And for nearly a minute, the kids will offer both profound and whimsical advice. Each in their own voice.
Martins’ idea for the hotline is inspired by the “Callin’ Oates” hotline launched a decade ago in which callers could press either 1 or 2 to listen to different songs. She believes that with the dire state of the world nowadays - wildfires, pandemic, wars - people could use a little pick-me-up.
👨🚒 Firefighters of the Chino Valley Fire District got some cute new additions during the Pandemic: babies! Fifteen of them, in fact, though we think that playing with LEGOs above might just be a tad cheaper than putting all these cuties through college. Congrats, new dads!
Vitomir Maričić, a Croatian freediver, is a master athelete in his sport. Last year, he smashed through the Guinness World Record for the longest underwater walk. That record had also been held by a Croatian freediver and was almost 315 feet.
Maričić conducted his attempt at the pool of Thalassotherapia Opatija, a rehabilitation center in Croatia, in September of last year. Maričić says that he didn't actually train for this project. As a world-class freediver, he didn't need to. Instead, he held a weight (to keep himself from rising) and walked back and forth along the 164-foot pool for 3 minutes and 6 seconds.
